英语听力：探索发现 2014-07-13 BBC 地平线：陨石的真相-27

 On 6th October 2008, asteroid¹ hunter Richard Kowalski saw something that would change the assessment² of threats presented by asteroid impacts. The night was proceeding³ normally and up on the screen came another asteroid. 

 

As I continued to make observations throughout the night, it appeared to be moving slightly faster. And this indicates that the object is close to the Earth. 

 

As with any other asteroid, Richard reported what he’s found to the Minor⁴ Planet Centre. 

 

I got up in the morning about 7 o’clock and I had a message on the computer saying, “Could not compute⁵ an orbit for a particular object.” I grabbed the observations of this object and I computed⁶ an orbit and it was immediately apparent, right then, that that object was going to hit the Earth. And, sort of ominous⁷ fashion, it said it was in 19 hours. 

 

Following a strict written protocol⁸, Tim quickly reported the findings to NASA’s asteroid investigation⁹ team in California. 

 

We got a call from Tim Spahr, at the Minor Planet Centre, saying we had an impacter coming in, in less than 24 hours. That woke me up.

 

NASA’s expert on asteroid orbits, Dr Steve Chesley, raced to verify the data. 

 

The first thing I saw was a 1.000, a 100% probability of impact in less than a day’s time. I’d never seen anything like this outside of simulations and software testing.

1 asteroid   

n.小行星；海盘车(动物)

参考例句：

• Astronomers have yet to witness an asteroid impact with another planet.天文学家还没有目击过小行星撞击其它行星。
• It's very unlikely that an asteroid will crash into Earth but the danger exists.小行星撞地球的可能性很小，但这样的危险还是存在的。

2 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

3 proceeding   

n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报

参考例句：

• This train is now proceeding from Paris to London.这次列车从巴黎开往伦敦。
• The work is proceeding briskly.工作很有生气地进展着。

4 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

5 compute   

v./n.计算，估计

参考例句：

• I compute my losses at 500 dollars.我估计我的损失有五百元。
• The losses caused by the floods were beyond compute.洪水造成的损失难以估量。

6 computed   

adj.[医]计算的，使用计算机的v.计算，估算( compute的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He computed that the project would take seven years to complete. 他估计这项计划要花七年才能完成。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Resolving kernels and standard errors can also be computed for each block. 还可以计算每个块体的分辨核和标准误差。 来自辞典例句

7 ominous   

adj.不祥的，不吉的，预兆的，预示的

参考例句：

• Those black clouds look ominous for our picnic.那些乌云对我们的野餐来说是个不祥之兆。
• There was an ominous silence at the other end of the phone.电话那头出现了不祥的沉默。

8 protocol   

n.议定书，草约，会谈记录，外交礼节

参考例句：

• We must observe the correct protocol.我们必须遵守应有的礼仪。
• The statesmen signed a protocol.那些政治家签了议定书。

9 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。