英语听力：自然百科 金星和水星旅行指南 Venus and Mercury-1

 Everyone likes a vacation in a warm climate, but how about a trip to two planets that are as hot as hell? 

 

If you are walking on the surface of Mercury, you need one heck of a spacesuit. 

 

Mysterious Mercury appears lifeless and desolate¹, but hidden deep inside is a clue to a different past. 

 

The smallest planet made out of the dense² stuff with the most

 

lunar-like landscape at its surface, and yet, generating magnetic field. 

 

But it's nearby Venus, goddess of love, who will really melt your heart and crush your defenses at the same time. 

So, this is the hell, real hell. 

 

Once the twin of earth, something went wrong here, terribly wrong. 

At some point, Venus had an ocean's worth of water that is now gone. 

 

What turned Venus from paradise to pressure cooker? Could this really be our future? 

 

The ultimate fate of the earth is to look like Venus looks today. 

 

And here, on our own doorstep, there is possibly the greatest survival story of all. 

 

There is a speculation³ that Venus might actually still harbor life even though it is such a hostile place. 

 

There has never been a better time to boldly go where no human has gone before. To follow/ in the footsteps of our robot pioneers and visit/ the planets of the solar system

 

1 desolate   

adj.荒凉的，荒芜的；孤独的，凄凉的；v.使荒芜，使孤寂

参考例句：

• The city was burned into a desolate waste.那座城市被烧成一片废墟。
• We all felt absolutely desolate when she left.她走后，我们都觉得万分孤寂。

2 dense   

a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的

参考例句：

• The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。
• The path was completely covered by the dense foliage. 小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。

3 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。