【英语时差8,16】驾驶室内发生的有趣事情

 You're driving along on your way to deliver some helium balloons to a birthday party. Suddenly you hit the brakes. As your car rapidly decelerates, you feel yourself pushed up against the wheel. Why?   That one's probably not too tough. Although you may think you are sitting still when driving, your body is moving forward at the same speed as the car itself. So, when you hit the brake the car slows down but your body is still trying to go forward. You experience a sensation something like being pressed against the front of the car.

The next question is a little trickier¹. Which direction did the balloons move?

Think for a second. The car is going forward and abruptly² stops. Which direction do the balloons go?

Surprisingly, if you've ever had this experience you might have noticed that the balloons move backwards³ -- just the opposite of your body. Why?

It's because the balloons are floating in the air that fills the car. The air itself is subject to the same acceleration⁴ as your body. When you hit the brakes, the air continues moving forward the same way you do. More air gets pushed to the front than remains⁵ in the back. So there is momentarily greater air pressure at the front of the car. The floating balloons register this by being pushed backwards.

You can try this with a candle inside a glass container. Push the container forward and then stop. The flame will tilt⁶ backward! The air inside has been accelerated so that it briefly⁷ crowds one end of the container, forcing the candle flame back toward the area of lower pressure. 

1 trickier   

adj.狡猾的( tricky的比较级 )；（形势、工作等）复杂的；机警的；微妙的

参考例句：

• This is the general rule, but some cases are trickier than others. 以上是一般规则，但某些案例会比别的案例更为棘手。 来自互联网
• The lower the numbers go, the trickier the problems get. 武器的数量越低，问题就越复杂。 来自互联网

2 abruptly   

adv.突然地，出其不意地

参考例句：

• He gestured abruptly for Virginia to get in the car.他粗鲁地示意弗吉尼亚上车。
• I was abruptly notified that a half-hour speech was expected of me.我突然被通知要讲半个小时的话。

3 backwards   

adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地

参考例句：

• He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。
• All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。

4 acceleration   

n.加速，加速度

参考例句：

• All spacemen must be able to bear acceleration.所有太空人都应能承受加速度。
• He has also called for an acceleration of political reforms.他同时呼吁加快政治改革的步伐。

5 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

6 tilt   

v.(使)倾侧；(使)倾斜；n.倾侧；倾斜

参考例句：

• She wore her hat at a tilt over her left eye.她歪戴着帽子遮住左眼。
• The table is at a slight tilt.这张桌子没放平，有点儿歪.

7 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。