有声英文阅读-彩虹来自何方

Where Do Rainbows Come From?

Throughout history, rainbows have been a source of mystery and legend. Rainbows are also important symbols in a number of cultures around the world.
 
In the Old Testament¹ of the Bible, for example, God shows Noah a rainbow to let him know that the Flood is over and that he will never destroy the earth again with flooding. An ancient Mayan book also tells of a rainbow signaling a new age after the destruction of the earth.

In a myth from Germany, the rainbow is the palette that God used to paint the birds. Some Native American groups believed that rainbows were made from wild flowers. In other traditions, the rainbow is the hem² of a particular god's coat.

In an ancient Japanese myth, the rainbow is a bridge from heaven to earth. The first man and woman walked down this bridge to learn the ways of the world.

Today, we know exactly how rainbows are made. In the seventeenth century, the scientist Isaac Newton and the mathematician³ and philosopher Rene Descartes analyzed⁴ them very carefully. They concluded that rainbows were caused when sunlight was broken up as it passed through raindrops.

When it rains, the colors that make up white light separate because they bend at different angles when they pass through water. The result is the full spectrum⁵ of colors the human eye can see, as well as some that it cannot; at the outermost⁶ edges of a rainbow lie ultraviolet and infrared⁷ light.

Everyone knows that we can sometimes see rainbows on a rainy day. However, you actually have a chance of seeing a rainbow anytime there is light behind you and water in the air in front of you. So, if you want to know what it feels like to have the power of a god, get a spray bottle, stand with your back to the sun, and create a rainbow!

彩虹来自何方

有史以来，彩虹一直都是神话和传奇的源泉，在世界多种文化中，彩虹还是重要的象征。

举例来说，在《旧约》里，上帝通过彩虹让诺亚知道大洪水已经结束， 而且他再也不会用大洪水来毁灭地球。一部古老的马雅典籍也讲述彩虹标志着在地球毁灭后新世纪的来临。

在德国一则神话故事里，彩虹是上帝用来为鸟儿上色的调色盘。一些美国土著群体认为彩虹是由野花做成的。在其它传说里，彩虹是某一位神祗外衣的褶边。

在古老的日本神话里，彩虹是连接天堂和人间的桥梁，人类的第一个男人和女人一起从这座桥上走下来，学习人间世事。

现在，我们已确切知道彩虹是怎样形成的。在十七世纪，科学家牛顿和数学家兼哲学家的笛卡尔，就非常仔细地分析过彩虹，他们断定-彩虹的形成是因为阳光穿过雨滴时被打散所致。

下雨时，那些构成白色光的颜色穿过水滴时以不同的角度被折射而散开，就形成了完整的光谱，其中有些颜色肉眼能看得到，有些看不到；彩虹的最外围是紫外线和红外线。

大家都知道，有时在雨天我们能看到彩虹。其实，只要你身后有光线，面前的空气中有水分，任何时候都有机会看到彩虹。所以，如果你想试试当上帝的感觉，就拿一瓶喷雾器，背向太阳，自己做一道彩虹吧！

1 testament   

n.遗嘱；证明

参考例句：

• This is his last will and testament.这是他的遗愿和遗嘱。
• It is a testament to the power of political mythology.这说明，编造政治神话可以产生多大的威力。

2 hem   

n.贴边，镶边；vt.缝贴边；(in)包围，限制

参考例句：

• The hem on her skirt needs sewing.她裙子上的褶边需要缝一缝。
• The hem of your dress needs to be let down an inch.你衣服的折边有必要放长1英寸。

3 mathematician   

n.数学家

参考例句：

• The man with his back to the camera is a mathematician.背对着照相机的人是位数学家。
• The mathematician analyzed his figures again.这位数学家再次分析研究了他的这些数字。

4 analyzed   

v.分析( analyze的过去式和过去分词 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析

参考例句：

• The doctors analyzed the blood sample for anemia. 医生们分析了贫血的血样。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The young man did not analyze the process of his captivation and enrapturement, for love to him was a mystery and could not be analyzed. 这年轻人没有分析自己蛊惑著迷的过程，因为对他来说，爱是个不可分析的迷。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 spectrum   

n.谱，光谱，频谱；范围，幅度，系列

参考例句：

• This is a kind of atomic spectrum.这是一种原子光谱。
• We have known much of the constitution of the solar spectrum.关于太阳光谱的构成，我们已了解不少。

6 outermost   

adj.最外面的，远离中心的

参考例句：

• He fired and hit the outermost ring of the target.他开枪射中了靶子的最外一环。
• The outermost electron is shielded from the nucleus.原子核对最外层电子的作用受到屏蔽。

7 infrared   

adj./n.红外线(的)

参考例句：

• Infrared is widely used in industry and medical science.红外线广泛应用于工业和医学科学。
• Infrared radiation has wavelengths longer than those of visible light.红外辐射的波长比可见光的波长长。