英语听力：自然百科 行星旅行：土星 Saturn—18

 Breathing from a so-dubbed scuba¹ unit and now fitted in a cross between a super ski suit and a haz-mat coverall, future Titannauts could explore with confidence. You just need that thermal² protection and oxygen, and then you can play on the surface and take a balloon rider. 

 

It'll be a place for people who want to go to see a true exotic and alien world. Not even a minor³ rip in the suit will be life threatening. 

 

I did a calculation once whether the small amount of carbon monoxide in Titan's atmosphere will kill you before the hydrogen inside ?? did, actually turns out both probably only enough to give you a headache, but the place will probably smell like an oil refinery⁴.

Speaking of refineries⁵, refueling for the return trip could be as simple as pulling up to the nearest lake to fill up your methane⁶ rocket now under test development on earth.

 

And if you reach as far as Titan, why not a site trip to Enceladus as well? On Enceladus, we are many steps ahead where we are in terms of we already know that there are organics, we already know where they are, we already know how to get them, it's time to bring them back to earth and look at them and ask the next level of questions: are they biological?

 

It may not happen for a very long time, but I really think that's a must-do for us in taking the next step. .And to me, the question of whether or not life has got started elsewhere and the solar system is the reason why we do this. You know because we want finally, ultimately we want to come to understand why the earth has been the successful abode⁷ of life that it has become.

 

Moving now into the extended, extended mission, the Cassini team met recently in London to take a start of where they've been and to plan the road ahead. It's the fiftieth time they've met and fitting that they chose the Royal Observatory⁸ in Greenwich to celebrate.

1 scuba   

n.水中呼吸器

参考例句：

• I first got hooked on scuba diving when I was twelve.12岁时我开始迷上了带水中呼吸器潜水。
• While on honeymoon in Bali,she learned to scuba dive.她在巴厘岛度蜜月时学会了带水肺潜水。

2 thermal   

adj.热的，由热造成的；保暖的

参考例句：

• They will build another thermal power station.他们要另外建一座热能发电站。
• Volcanic activity has created thermal springs and boiling mud pools.火山活动产生了温泉和沸腾的泥浆池。

3 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。

4 refinery   

n.精炼厂，提炼厂

参考例句：

• They built a sugar refinery.他们建起了一座榨糖厂。
• The purpose of oil refinery is to refine crude petroleum.炼油厂的主要工作是提炼原油。

5 refineries   

精炼厂( refinery的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The efforts on closedown and suspension of small sugar refineries, small saccharin refineries and small paper mills are also being carried out in steps. 关停小糖厂、小糖精厂、小造纸厂的工作也已逐步展开。
• Hence the sitting of refineries is at a distance from population centres. 所以，炼油厂的厂址总在远离人口集中的地方。

6 methane   

n.甲烷，沼气

参考例句：

• The blast was caused by pockets of methane gas that ignited.爆炸是由数袋甲烷气体着火引起的。
• Methane may have extraterrestrial significance.甲烷具有星际意义。

7 abode   

n.住处，住所

参考例句：

• It was ten months before my father discovered his abode.父亲花了十个月的功夫，才好不容易打听到他的住处。
• Welcome to our humble abode!欢迎光临寒舍！

8 observatory   

n.天文台，气象台，瞭望台，观测台

参考例句：

• Guy's house was close to the observatory.盖伊的房子离天文台很近。
• Officials from Greenwich Observatory have the clock checked twice a day.格林威治天文台的职员们每天对大钟检查两次。