英语听力：自然百科 穿越银河系的旅行 Through Milky Way—7

 This is a picture of the Orion Nebula¹ in visible light. We can see all of the gas here located in front of what we know are stars in the background, and we want to be able to look inside this nebula/ and see the stars.

In infrared² light in this image, we can now pick out the stars inside the nebula and we can see dusty cocoons³ around the stars.

 

But to learn the true significance of these stars, we need to strip away the dust all together.

 

How do we get rid of all this haze⁴ and fog? The way to do that is with an X-ray picture. Now, when we transit⁵ this into the X-ray image, you can see just the stars in cells. The X-ray is coming from the surfaces of the stars. And now we can study them in great detail.

 

By analyzing⁶ the light from these stars, astronomers⁷ have made an astounding⁸ discovery. Hidden within the Orion Nebula/ are some of the youngest stars known, just a few hundred thousand years old, a mere⁹ heartbeat in the life of the galaxy¹⁰. So the Orion Nebula/ is a place where stars are born. And the same thing is happening in nebulae throughout the galaxy spiral arms.

 

These regions are the nurseries for new stars. There are young stars in these regions that are heating up gas clouds that surround them and making those gas clouds glow pink.

 

Stars are made out of gas basically, and our galaxy has gas. In fact, our galaxy, you can think of it, is having an atmosphere of gas and dust that surrounds all of stars that we see in the disc. And it is from this gas that new stars are born.

 

By observing nebulae at different stages in their evolution, we can piece together the story of star birth. It all starts within cold dark clouds of dust and hydrogen gas where a subtle tug-of-war begins. The cloud wants to dissipate like smoke in air, but gravity wants to pull it together.

1 nebula   

n.星云，喷雾剂

参考例句：

• A powerful telescope can resolve a nebula into stars.一架高性能的望远镜能从星云中分辨出星球来。
• A nebula is really a discrete mass of innumerous stars.一团星云实际上是无数星体不连续的集合体。

2 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。

3 cocoons   

n.茧，蚕茧( cocoon的名词复数 )v.茧，蚕茧( cocoon的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The silkworms have gone into the bushes to spin their cocoons. 蚕上山了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• In two more days the " little darlings" would spin their cocoons. 再得两天，“宝宝”可以上山。 来自汉英文学 - 春蚕

4 haze   

n.霾，烟雾；懵懂，迷糊；vi.(over)变模糊

参考例句：

• I couldn't see her through the haze of smoke.在烟雾弥漫中，我看不见她。
• He often lives in a haze of whisky.他常常是在威士忌的懵懂醉意中度过的。

5 transit   

n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过

参考例句：

• His luggage was lost in transit.他的行李在运送中丢失。
• The canal can transit a total of 50 ships daily.这条运河每天能通过50条船。

6 analyzing   

v.分析；分析( analyze的现在分词 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析n.分析

参考例句：

• Analyzing the date of some socialist countries presents even greater problem s. 分析某些社会主义国家的统计数据，暴露出的问题甚至更大。 来自辞典例句
• He undoubtedly was not far off the mark in analyzing its predictions. 当然，他对其预测所作的分析倒也八九不离十。 来自辞典例句

7 astronomers   

n.天文学者，天文学家( astronomer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Astronomers can accurately foretell the date,time,and length of future eclipses. 天文学家能精确地预告未来日食月食的日期、时刻和时长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Astronomers used to ask why only Saturn has rings. 天文学家们过去一直感到奇怪，为什么只有土星有光环。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 astounding   

adj.使人震惊的vt.使震惊，使大吃一惊astound的现在分词)

参考例句：

• There was an astounding 20% increase in sales. 销售量惊人地增加了20%。
• The Chairman's remarks were so astounding that the audience listened to him with bated breath. 主席说的话令人吃惊，所以听众都屏息听他说。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

10 galaxy   

n.星系；银河系；一群(杰出或著名的人物)

参考例句：

• The earth is one of the planets in the Galaxy.地球是银河系中的星球之一。
• The company has a galaxy of talent.该公司拥有一批优秀的人才。