2006年VOA标准英语-Asteroid Approaches Earth: Destruction or Delig

By Paul Sisco
Washington, DC
07 July 2006
 
watch Asteroid¹ report

A major asteroid passed by the Earth this week, and another is heading this way.

 
An asteroid visible in the night sky
 
  
Asteroids² are similar to comets and meteors. But they are larger, myriad³ chunks⁴ of rock up to several hundred kilometers in diameter, generally orbiting the sun between Mars and Jupiter.  There are those that approach Earth, as seen in countless⁵ home movies; and others that hit it, often ending up in museums.  Then there are those with really big impacts, seen in films.

We experienced this week what astrophysicist Ben Oppenheimer and others are calling, in cosmic terms, a close encounter. A large asteroid known as 2004-XP14 came within about 435,000 kilometers of Earth, about the distance between the Earth and the moon.

Ben Oppenheimer  
  
The Earth has been hit before.  Astrophysicist Ben Oppenheimer says, if 2004-XP14 had hit Earth, the damage would have been felt and seen. "This rock would probably cause a crater⁶ about 10 to 20 miles in diameter. In 1908 there was a fireball that blew up over Siberia, and in fact, this caused all kinds of controversy⁷ for a long time as to what it really was. In the end it seems it was a fireball, probably a bit smaller than this one, but it wiped out about 700 square kilometers of forest -- burned trees, leveled trees -- in all directions." 

Some geologists⁸ studying impact craters⁹ have suggested asteroids may be linked to the extinction¹⁰ of the dinosaurs¹¹ 65 million years ago.  Another major asteroid heading toward Earth is called Apophis, after the Egyptian god of chaos¹². 

The passing of Apophis will be a closer, says Oppenheimer. "In 2029 Apophis will pass about ten times closer to the Earth in the sky than the 2004 XP."

Estimates differ, but researchers at the U.S. space agency, NASA, say it will safely pass about one million kilometers from Earth. Nevertheless Oppenheimer says, "This will be a spectacular event, we've got to look for it."

Scientists estimate 2004 XP14 will have about 10 more passes by Earth this century. None is expected to pose a threat to the planet

1 asteroid   

n.小行星；海盘车(动物)

参考例句：

• Astronomers have yet to witness an asteroid impact with another planet.天文学家还没有目击过小行星撞击其它行星。
• It's very unlikely that an asteroid will crash into Earth but the danger exists.小行星撞地球的可能性很小，但这样的危险还是存在的。

2 asteroids   

n.小行星( asteroid的名词复数 )；海盘车，海星

参考例句：

• Asteroids,also known as "minor planets",are numerous in the outer space. 小行星，亦称为“小型行星”，在外太空中不计其数。
• Most stars probably have their quota of planets, meteorids, comets, and asteroids. 多数恒星也许还拥有若干行星、流星、彗星和小行星。

3 myriad   

adj.无数的；n.无数，极大数量

参考例句：

• They offered no solution for all our myriad problems.对于我们数不清的问题他们束手无策。
• I had three weeks to make a myriad of arrangements.我花了三个星期做大量准备工作。

4 chunks   

厚厚的一块( chunk的名词复数 )； （某物）相当大的数量或部分

参考例句：

• a tin of pineapple chunks 一罐菠萝块
• Those chunks of meat are rather large—could you chop them up a bIt'smaller? 这些肉块相当大，还能再切小一点吗？

5 countless   

adj.无数的，多得不计其数的

参考例句：

• In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
• I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。

6 crater   

n.火山口，弹坑

参考例句：

• With a telescope you can see the huge crater of Ve-suvius.用望远镜你能看到巨大的维苏威火山口。
• They came to the lip of a dead crater.他们来到了一个死火山口。

7 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

8 geologists   

地质学家，地质学者( geologist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Geologists uncovered the hidden riches. 地质学家发现了地下的宝藏。
• Geologists study the structure of the rocks. 地质学家研究岩石结构。

9 craters   

n.火山口( crater的名词复数 )；弹坑等

参考例句：

• Small meteorites have left impact craters all over the planet's surface. 这个行星的表面布满了小块陨石留下的撞击坑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The battlefield was full of craters made by exploding shells. 战场上布满弹坑。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

10 extinction   

n.熄灭，消亡，消灭，灭绝，绝种

参考例句：

• The plant is now in danger of extinction.这种植物现在有绝种的危险。
• The island's way of life is doomed to extinction.这个岛上的生活方式注定要消失。

11 dinosaurs   

n.恐龙( dinosaur的名词复数 )；守旧落伍的人，过时落后的东西

参考例句：

• The brontosaurus was one of the largest of all dinosaurs. 雷龙是所有恐龙中最大的一种。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Dinosaurs have been extinct for millions of years. 恐龙绝种已有几百万年了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。