英伦广角 2011-09-26 失控卫星将冲向地球

 The rule is what goes up must come down, but the trouble is nobody knows exactly where the six-ton NASA satellite will crash land. This white blob is the UARS probe as it spins out of control during its descent, the footage was taken by an astronomer¹ last week as it passed 156 miles overhead in Northern France.

 

"Most satellites when they come down, they are smaller, they burn up, and no one is anyone the wiser. This one, though, because of its size, so a little more significance."

 

NASA said the chance of debris² from this spacecraft actually hitting someone is remote 1 in 3200 to be precise.The satellite is about this big, most of it will break up as they reenter the earth atmosphere, but some components³ will stay intact, they could be up to the size of a fridge and weigh anything up to 300 pounds. And you wouldn't want more of those hurtling towards you at 240 miles an hour.

 

Here is where it could land, anywhere in the world, south of Alaska, to the bottom tip of south America, this covers the most inhabited areas on earth. It's been tracked by radar⁴ stations around the world, including New Yorkshire.

 

We've got some world-class analysts⁵ here, help working around clock as we do have the specialists already for practice to began working with radar. However, due to the size and shape of this object, it's impossible for anyone using any of the resource we have across the global to accurately⁶ predict where and exactly when the subject will be reaching.

 

Flight director Ron Spencer indicating that the time of closest approach has come and gone, no impact.

 

The satellite has caused a scare already. In 2010, it forced international space station into a collision avoiding maneuver⁷. NASA will reassure⁸ us that in 50 years of space travel, no one has ever been hurt by falling debris. But cosmic junk is no rocket science, it’s a case of watch this space, literally⁹.

 

Ashish Joshi, Sky News

1 astronomer   

n.天文学家

参考例句：

• A new star attracted the notice of the astronomer.新发现的一颗星引起了那位天文学家的注意。
• He is reputed to have been a good astronomer.他以一个优秀的天文学者闻名于世。

2 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

3 components   

（机器、设备等的）构成要素，零件，成分； 成分( component的名词复数 )； [物理化学]组分； [数学]分量； （混合物的）组成部分

参考例句：

• the components of a machine 机器部件
• Our chemistry teacher often reduces a compound to its components in lab. 在实验室中化学老师常把化合物分解为各种成分。

4 radar   

n.雷达，无线电探测器

参考例句：

• They are following the flight of an aircraft by radar.他们正在用雷达追踪一架飞机的飞行。
• Enemy ships were detected on the radar.敌舰的影像已显现在雷达上。

5 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

6 accurately   

adv.准确地，精确地

参考例句：

• It is hard to hit the ball accurately.准确地击中球很难。
• Now scientists can forecast the weather accurately.现在科学家们能准确地预报天气。

7 maneuver   

n.策略[pl.]演习；v.(巧妙)控制；用策略

参考例句：

• All the fighters landed safely on the airport after the military maneuver.在军事演习后，所有战斗机都安全降落在机场上。
• I did get her attention with this maneuver.我用这个策略确实引起了她的注意。

8 reassure   

v.使放心，使消除疑虑

参考例句：

• This seemed to reassure him and he continued more confidently.这似乎使他放心一点，于是他更有信心地继续说了下去。
• The airline tried to reassure the customers that the planes were safe.航空公司尽力让乘客相信飞机是安全的。

9 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。