托福听力荟萃 24（在线收听）

Most people think of astronomers as people who spend their time in cold ______ ______through telescopes every night. In fact, a typical astronomer spends most of his or her time analyzing data and may only be at the telescope a few weeks of the year. Some astronomers work on purely ______problems and never use a telescope at all. You might not know how rarely images are viewed directly through telescopes. The most common way to observe the skies is to photograph them. The process is very simple. First, a ______ ______is ______with a ______material. The plate is ______so that the image received by the telescope is recorded on it. Then the image can be developed, enlarged, and published so that many people can study it. Because most astronomical objects are very remote, the light we receive from them is rather ______. But by using a telescope as a camera, long time exposures can be made. In this way, objects can be photographed that are a hundred times too faint to be seen by just looking through a telescope.

【填空答案】

observatory: n.［C］a special building from which scientists watch the moon, stars, weather etc 天文台；观象台；气象台

peer: v. to look very carefully or hard, especially because you are having difficulty in seeing （尤指因看起来费劲而）凝视，盯着看

theoretical: adj. of, relating to, or based on theory 理论的

photographic: adj. connected with photographs, using photographs, or used in producing photographs 摄影的，摄影用的

plate: n. ［C］technicala thin sheet of glass used especially in the past in photography, with chemicals on it that are sensitive to light 【术语】（尤指过去摄影用的）感光片

coat: v. to cover something, especially food, with a thin layer of liquid or another substance 给（某物，尤指食物）涂上（覆盖上）一层…

light-sensitive: adj. sensitive to visible light 光敏的

position: v. to put something in a particular position 把（某物）放在（某个位置），安置

feeble: adj. extremely weak 极其虚弱的，非常无力的

【听力原文】

Most people think of astronomers as people who spend their time in cold observatories peering

through telescopes every night. In fact, a typical astronomer spends most of his or her time

analyzing data and may only be at the telescope a few weeks of the year. Some astronomers work

on purely theoretical problems and never use a telescope at all.

You might not know how rarely images are viewed directly through telescopes. The most common

way to observe the skies is to photograph them. The process is very simple. First, a photographic

plate is coated with a light-sensitive material. The plate is positioned so that the image received by

the telescope is recorded on it. Then the image can be developed, enlarged, and published so that

many people can study it.

Because most astronomical objects are very remote, the light we receive from them is rather feeble.

But by using a telescope as a camera, long time exposures can be made. In this way, objects can be

photographed that are a hundred times too faint to be seen by just looking through a telescope.