中石油2016通用英语选读课文51Those Fascinating Northern Lights迷人的北极光.doc

51. Those Fascinating Northern Lights迷人的北极光1.At 10:00 p.m.on March 23,1969,the Bowater Power Water Company in Deer Lake,Newfoundland experienced a disturbance on its system.The frequency converter at Corner Brook tripped off,shutting down half of the big paper mill.There was a radio blackout over most of the Atlantic Provinces.And accompanying these activities was a magnificient display of northern lightsboiling up out of the north and hanging in bundles of long rays like draperies across the sky.Ninety-three million miles away,a rather ugly looking sunspot was making its way across the disc of the sun.1.1969年3月23日晚上10点，保华特水电公司位于纽芬兰鹿湖的设备系统出现了异常；科纳布鲁克的变频器跳闸，使得一半的大造纸厂停产；大西洋沿岸各省的无线电中断。伴随这些异常出现的还有辉煌的北极光从北面喷涌而出，一束束巨大的光束像帷幔一般遮盖了整个天际。9300万英里之外，一个相形见绌的太阳黑子出现在太阳的圆盘上。2.This little drama demonstrated once again the close relationship of the earth with the sun,and the importance of the intervening space.2.这个小小的插曲再次展现了地球和太阳的亲密关系以及介入空间的重要性。3.During the past several years twelve similar disturbances have taken place in this area.A magnetic storm in November,1960,was so severe its effects were felt all over Canada.The C.N.T. people alone suffered $3 million worth of equipment damage.At their height of excitement,sunspots can bring on violent magnetic storms.3.在过去的几年中，类似的异常在同一地区出现了12次。1960年11月的电磁风暴甚至影响了整个加拿大。仅仅设备损失就达300万元。太阳黑子活跃的鼎盛时期就能带来剧烈的电磁风暴。4.What are the northern lights or “aurora borealis”？They have been called “dancing ghosts，”“searchlight of God,”and “the language of mystic signs and portents.”Old school books explain them as sunlight reflected from ice and snow.But the great scientific achievements of the past twenty years have revealed new knowledge about the sun and our earths outer atmosphere.It is now certain that most auroras are associated with explosive disturbances in the suns atmosphere.These disturbances reach a peak every eleven years,and take the forms of flares,prominences and sunspots.They send out great jets of X-rays and charged particles travelling at terrific speeds.When these charged particles reach the earths magnetic field,some of them are deflected toward the magnetic poles.There they crash into atoms and molecules of the upper atmosphere (ionosphere) causing ionization,excitement,and the glow of the aurora.The level of excitement may vary anywhere from fifty to six hundred miles above the earths surface.4.那么，什么是北极光？它们被称为“舞蹈的幽灵”、“上帝的探照灯” 或是“神秘迹象与前兆的语言”。过去的课本解释说它们是冰雪反射太阳光形成的，但过去20年里取得的伟大科学成就揭示了太阳和地球外大气层的新知识。现在我们知道，大部分的极光与太阳大气层的爆炸摄动有关，它们每11年达到活动的顶峰，表现为耀斑、日珥和太阳黑子。它们释放出大量的X射线和带电粒子高速传播；当传播到地球的磁场时，一些带电粒子就会向磁极偏转，与上层大气(电离层)的原子和分子发生碰撞，产生电离作用，引起极光的突发。这种作用发生在距离地球表面50到600英里的空间，其强烈程度各不相同。5.The beautiful colors of the northern lights depend on the altitude at which the collisions occur and on the particles involved.Thus green is emitted by atomic oxygen and blue by nitrogen.Perhaps the rarest colors to be seen are rosy red glows tinged with green. 5.极光的美丽色彩取决于它发生的纬度和粒子的种类。绿色的极光是由氧原子发出的，蓝色的是氮原子发出的。最罕见的是带有绿色的玫瑰红的光晕。6.Actually,much of the excitement of the aurora is missed.It has recently been discovered that human eyes cannot see all of their colors.To compensate for this,any camera fan can take excellent aurora photographs.These often reveal reddish areas and glows not visible to the observer.6.实际上，大部分的极光都没有被人们看到。最近人们才发现，人类的眼睛并不能看到所有的颜色，而摄影迷们却用相机捕捉到了灿烂的极光照片，弥补了这一缺憾，他们发现微红的光不能够被肉眼观察到。7.A romantic nature seems to be an essential part of an explorer.Certainly Arctic and Antarctic explorers have written some of the most imaginative descriptions of the lights.An excerpt from Captain Scotts diary reads:“the eastern sky was massed with swaying auroral light,fold on fold,the arches and curtains of vibrating luminosity rose and spread across the sky.The appeal is to the imagination by the suggestion of something wholly spiritual, something instinct with fluttering ethereal life.”7.浪漫的天性似乎是探险家生命的一部分。到北极圈和南极洲探险的人曾经对极光进行了最具想象力的描写，下面是斯考特船长日记的节选：“东边的天空被摇曳的极光笼罩着，层层叠叠，晃动的玫瑰色光晕如拱门和帷幔一般升起，满布整个天空。这一切激发我们无限的想象，联想起那些纯粹精神的东西，那些充满了颤动的非凡生命力的东西。”8.During a big magnetic storm,one may first see strong rays and curtains,followed by flaming aurora,all climaxing in a spectacular corona at the zenith.8.强烈的电磁风暴首先展现的是耀眼的光束和光幕，紧接着是如火焰般的光环，最后形成瑰丽的日冕达到高潮。9.All of these forms can be easily identified by the interested observer. Contrary to popular belief,auroras happen at all seasons of the year.9.热心的观察者可以轻易地辨别各种不同的极光。与普遍的看法相反的是，极光可能发生在一年的任何一个季节。10.Can you hear the northern lights?Now there is a question still unanswered.If sound waves originate at the seat of auroral displays,it seems hardly possible that they could be heard on earth.Many observers scoff at the idea of lights snapping.But in the Arctic where there is great stillness and the auroras come very low there is some evidence of characteristic noise.Indians,Eskimos and “voyageurs,”who often spend their nights in the open,insist that they hear them “swish” as the great waves sweep out across the sky.10.你能听到极光吗？这个问题至今无人能答。如果极光发出的地方也产生声波的话，似乎在地球上无法听到。许多观测者对于那种极光产生噼啪声的说法嗤之以鼻，但在异常寂静的北极圈，当极光发生低空时，的确有证据证明出现过特殊的声响。印第安人、爱斯基摩人以及加拿大船夫们经常在露天过夜，他们坚持说，当巨大的光波划过天际时，他们的确能听到嗖嗖的声音。11.Mr. Edward Gregory,well-known guide and woodsman,has spent many years in the solitude of Birchy Basin on the Upper Humber River.Well acquainted with the northern lights,he says:“They actually do make a noise at certain times;it is like a race of wind going along by you through the trees.”Roald Amundsen in his book The South Pole takes a romantic view of the whole activity.“It looks as if nature wishes to honor our guests and show herself in her best attire.And it is a gorgeous dress she has chosen.Perfectly calm,clear with a starry sparkle,and not a sound in any direction.But wait;what is that?Like a stream of fire the light shoots across the sky,and a whistling sound follows the movement.Hush!Cant you hear?It shoots forward again,takes the form of a band and glows in rays of red and greenand then away again followed by an intermittent whistling sound.So nature has offered us one of her most mysterious and incomprehensible phenomena,the audible Southern Light.”11.爱德华格里高利先生是一位有名的向导和樵夫，他常年独自一人生活在衡博河上游的波奇盆地，对极光非常熟悉。他说：“有时极光的确能发出声音，就像在树林中一阵疾风从你身边刮过。”罗纳德阿蒙森在南极一书中对极光进行了浪漫的描写。“它就像大自然为了款待我们这些尊贵的客人而展现她最华美的衣裳。精心挑选的华美衣衫如此沉静完美，点缀着闪闪星光，不论在哪个角落都没有一丝声音。但是，敬请等待。那是什么？就像一束火光射向天际，同时伴随着轻哨声。墟！你难道听不见吗？它又射出来了，有的是光带，有的是红绿相间的射线仍然伴随着断断续续的轻哨声。大自然就这样展现出它最神秘、最令人费解的现象：南极光。”12.In the past scientists paid little attention to the arguments for auroral noise.Recent observations,however,suggest that some sounds do occur.Two microphones set up in Alaska about a mile apart picked up pressure waves whenever there were auroras.These waves were too low in pitch to be heard by the human ear.1