EZCNN 易英网

Aurora Borealis: Fiction and Facts 惊艳魔幻极光

课文朗读

课文讲解

The night sky suddenly comes alive with glowing green lights. These enchanting lights dance high in the air, and they can be seen for miles around. The effect is called the aurora borealis, or the northern lights, a natural phenomenon that appears around the North Pole. The aurora australis is a similar effect near the South Pole. But what causes the lights to appear?

寂静的夜空突然间被耀眼的绿光给唤醒。这些迷人的光芒在空中飞舞，而在数里之外就可看见。此自然效应叫做北极光(the aurora borealis或the northern lights)，是一种发生于北极周围的自然现象，而南极光则是发生于南极附近的相似效应。然而，是什么原因导致这种现象出现呢？

In Roman legends, Aurora was the name of the dawn goddess, and the northern lights were the sign of her coming. She flew across the sky and opened the gates of heaven for the sun every morning. Aurora’s son was Boreas, the Greek god of the north wind, which is where the name for the northern lights comes from.

欧若拉在罗马传说里称为「黎明女神」，北极光就是她降临的象征。女神欧若拉飞过天穹、打开天堂之门使阳光照耀每日清晨。欧若拉的儿子叫包里亚斯，是希腊神祇中的北风之神；而这就是北极光(the aurora borealis)的名称由来。

There are a number of other legends that explain the aurora. Some say it’s the sun flashing off the armor of the gods; others say it’s spirits dancing above the Earth. Many people believed it to be a sign from God. Are scientists able to throw some light on the northern lights?

另有一些传说也对北极光作了解释：有人说它是太阳光反射自众神的盔甲，也有人说它是精灵们在地球上空跳舞；而有许多人相信这是某种神迹。但科学家对于北极光又有什么见解呢？

单词发音

Vocabulary

enchanting [ɪnˋtʃæntɪŋ] adj. 迷人的，使人着魔的

We gazed at the enchanting fireworks display on the night of the Moon Festival.

effect [ɪˋfɛkt] n. 效果；影响

Scientists are studying the effects of global warming on the environment.

phenomenon [fəˋnɑmə͵nɑn] n. 现象

Typhoons are weather phenomena that usually hit Taiwan several times a year.

dawn [dɔn] n. 黎明

The old men usually wake up at dawn to go hiking in the mountains.

flash [flæʃ] v. 反照，反射

The sunlight flashed brightly off the surface of the lake.

armor [ˋɑrmɚ] n. 盔甲

In the old days, knights wore heavy armor when they went into battle.

More Information

aurora borealis [ɔˋrorə][ˌbɔrɪˈelɪs] 北极光

aurora australis [ɔˋrorə][ɔ'strelɪs] 南极光

goddess [ˋgɑdɪs] n. 女神

spirit [ˋspɪrɪt] n. 精灵

throw light on 阐明, 使理解, 启迪

课文朗读

课文讲解

The journey of the aurora borealis begins at the sun. The sun is so hot that clouds of tiny particles are constantly flying off its surface. This is called the solar wind. Even though the solar wind is traveling very fast, it takes more than two to four days for the wind to reach the Earth.

北极光的旅程从太阳开始。太阳的温度非常炙热，导致带着微粒子的气流经常自太阳表层飞射出来，而这被称为「太阳风」。即便太阳风以疾速前进，但它仍须花二至四天的时间抵达地球。

The Earth is surrounded by a big magnetic field. When the solar wind reaches this field, the tiny particles are directed towards the poles. Upon entering the atmosphere, they crash into other particles in the air. This is what produces the lights. The aurora has several different colors – green, red, and blue. The color depends on whether the solar particles react with oxygen or nitrogen and the altitude at which the reactions occur.

地球被巨大的磁场包围着，当太阳风抵达地球磁场时，这些粒子流就被引导至两极。当太阳风进入大气层，它就与空气中的其他粒子相互碰撞，产生了光芒。极光有数种不同的颜色：绿色、红色与蓝色。其颜色取决于这些来自太阳的粒子与（气层中的）氧气或氮气产生交互作用，以及此效应在哪个海拔高度发生。

Whether you prefer the facts or the fiction, there’s no denying that the aurora borealis is an incredible sight. People flock to places where it can be seen, such as northern Europe, Greenland, and Alaska. It doesn’t always appear, however, so if you see this magnificent display, you can count yourself lucky.

不论你偏好科学事实或虚构解释，无可否认地，北极光是个惊奇的景象。人们聚集到可以看到北极光的地方，例如：北欧、格陵兰岛和阿拉斯加。北极光现象不常发生，所以若你目睹了这壮丽的景象，你可以说是非常幸运。

－by Pat Woods

单词发音

Vocabulary

magnetic [mægˋnɛtɪk] adj. 有磁性的

These toy bricks are magnetic, so you can stick them together to build things.

atmosphere [ˋætməs͵fɪr] n. 大气层

The Earth’s atmosphere is made of several different gases.

crash [kræʃ] v. 碰撞

The RMS Titanic sank after the ship crashed into an iceberg.

fiction [ˋfɪkʃən] n. 虚构，捏造

Katie would rather read fiction than non-fiction because she likes to use her imagination.

flock [flɑk] v. 聚集

Crowds of art-lovers flocked to see the new paintings in the art museum.

magnificent [mægˋnɪfəsənt] adj. 壮丽的，宏伟的

Victoria Falls in southern Africa is a magnificent waterfall. 

More Information

particle [ˋpɑrtɪk!] n. 粒子

oxygen [ˋɑksədʒən] n. 氧

nitrogen [ˋnaɪtrədʒən] n. 氮

altitude [ˋæltə͵tjud] n. 海拔﹐高度

incredible [ɪnˋkrɛdəb!] adj. 难以置信的；惊人的

count oneself lucky 某人算是幸运的了

Aurora Borealis