英语听力：自然百科 金星和水星旅行指南 Venus and Mercury-7

 Like Mercury, the earth takes a beating from the sun's violent temper. Flares¹, sun storms and other solar hissy fits can cause electronic mayhem for the satellites that roam above our heads.

Fortunately, the earth is protected from this radiation by a magnetic shield, a kind of force field generated by our molten iron core.

 

Planetary magnetic fields shield planets, their surfaces and their atmospheres, from charged particles that are always coming off the sun.

 

The auroras that light up our polar skies are evidence of our protective shield\ at work. Without it, life would not exist here. Visit Mercury, and you will be visiting the only other planet in the inner solar system with a magnetic field. But its very existence defies explanation.

 

Now the mystery there is that in order to have a magnetic field, you need to have an interior to the planet that is at least partially² molten. Mercury, one of the smallest planets, would have been expected to be really frozen all the way through. And yet, we have a relatively³ strong, very well defined magnetic field that appears to have a source that's located deep in the planet.

 

Whatever mechanism⁴ is driving Mercury's magnetic field, it's too weak to protect it from the full force of the sun. The solar wind buffets⁵ Mercury's thin atmosphere. And in the process, it puts on a light show.

1 flares   

n.喇叭裤v.（使）闪耀( flare的第三人称单数 )；（使）（船舷）外倾；（使）鼻孔张大；（使）（衣裙、酒杯等）呈喇叭形展开

参考例句：

• The side of a ship flares from the keel to the deck. 船舷从龙骨向甲板外倾。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He's got a fiery temper and flares up at the slightest provocation. 他是火爆性子，一点就着。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。

3 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

4 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

5 buffets   

（火车站的）饮食柜台( buffet的名词复数 )； （火车的）餐车； 自助餐

参考例句：

• All life's buffets should be met with dignity and good sense. 所有人生之打击都应以尊严和理智对付之。
• In addition to buffets, American families enjoy picnics and barbeques. 除自助餐外，美国家庭还喜欢野餐和户外烧烤餐。