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77 流星雨成因探索
Date=8-2-01
Ttle=science report - the Perseid meteor shower
Bline=Mario Ritter
（Start at 59")his is the VOA special English science report.
This month, you can see with your own eyes how material from space falls to earth.
Space material, which is mostly (1)rock, is often (2)captured by earth's (3)gravity and falls to the (4)surface of our planet. These falling space rocks are called (5)meteors. Large numbers of meteors fall during a meteor shower. The Perseid (per-see-id) (6)meteor shower is the most famous of these (7)events.
The Perseid meteor shower happens in early August every year. The largest number of meteors is expected to fall on August twelfth. Scientists measure meteor showers by the average number of meteors that fall in an hour. About ninety-five meteors fall in an hour during the most active day of the Perseid shower.
The Italian scientist Giovanni Schiaparelli named the Perseid meteor shower in eighteen-sixty-six. He called it the Perseid meteor shower because its meteors appear to come from the group of stars called Perseus (per-see-us). Meteor showers are named for the group of stars, or (8)constellation, from which they come.
Mister Schiaparelli discovered that the Perseid meteors had the same (9)orbit as a (10)comet, another kind of space object. A comet is a large body of gas, ice and rock. The Italian (11)astronomer found that the comet swift-tuttle had the same orbit as the Perseid meteors. Mister Schiaparelli's discovery showed that meteor showers come from material left behind by comets.
Traditionally, people believed that meteors were a weather event. Edward Herrick of new haven, Connecticut, was one of the early (12)theorists who suggested that meteors came from space. In eighteen-thirty-eight, mister Herrick published a report claiming to have discovered a meteor shower in August.
But he soon found that people had (13)observed the August meteor showers for (14)centuries. One German tradition calls the Perseid meteors the "tears of (15)saint Lawrence." This was in (16)honor of a (17)religious person who was put to death by the Romans in the third century. The (18)anniversary of the death of saint Lawrence is August tenth.
To see the Perseids all you need to do is to watch the sky. This year, the moon will brighten the sky, making it more difficult to see meteors. But you still should be able to see about one meteor every minute during the early morning hours of August twelfth.
This VOA special English science report was written by Mario Ritter.
(1) rock [ rCk ]n.岩石, 暗礁, 石头, 摇动vt.摇摆, 使动摇vi.摇, 摇动
(2) capture [ 5kAptFE ]n.捕获, 战利品vt.俘获, 捕获, 夺取
(3) gravity [ 5^rAviti ]n.地心引力, 重力
(4) surface [ 5sE:fis ]n.表面, 外表, 水面adj.表面的, 肤浅的
(5) meteor [ 5mi:tjE ]n.流星, 大气现象
(6) meteor shower 流星雨
(7) event [ i5vent ]n.事件, 事变, 结果, 活动, 精力, 竞赛
(8) constellation [ kCnstE5leiFEn ]n.[天]星群, 星座, 灿烂的一群
(9) orbit [ 5C:bit ]n.轨道, 势力范围, 生活常规, 眼眶vt.绕...轨道而行vi.进入轨道, 沿轨道飞行, 盘旋
(10) comet [ 5kCmit ]n.彗星
(11) astronomer [E5strRnEmE(r)]n.天文学家
(12) theorist [ 5WiErist ]n.理论家, 空谈家
(13) observe [ Eb5zE:v ]vt.观察, 观测, 遵守, 评述, 说
(14) century [ 5sentFuri, -tFEri ]n.世纪, 百年, 百个, 板球中的一百分, 百元(钞票)
(15) saint [ seint, sEnt ]n.圣人, 道德崇高的人, 圣徒adj.神圣v.成为圣徒
(16) honor [ 5CnE ]n.尊敬, 敬意, 荣誉, 光荣vt.尊敬, 给以荣誉
(17) religious [ ri5lidVEs ]adj.信奉宗教的, 虔诚的, 宗教上的, 修道的, 严谨的n.僧侣, 尼姑, 修道士
(18) anniversary [ 7Ani5vE:sEri ] n.周年纪念
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