EZCNN 易英网

Psychedelic Sky 「极」品！迷幻之光

课文朗读

课文讲解

繁體中文譯本

Tony tells his friend Irene about his plan to embark on a trip to Finland:  汤尼告诉他的朋友艾琳他计划展开一趟芬兰之旅：

I: Finland? But I’m not even sure exactly where that is. Why in heaven’s name are you going there?

芬兰？我甚至不太确定它在哪里呢。你到底去那儿干嘛？

T: It’s in Europe, bordering Norway, Sweden, and Russia, and I’m going there to check out the aurora borealis.

芬兰在欧洲，邻接挪威、瑞典和俄罗斯。我要去那里瞧瞧极光。

I: Oh, the northern lights—those colorful curtains of light in the nighttime sky. But I thought there was a better chance of seeing them around the time of the equinoxes.

喔，北极光啊──那些夜空中的彩色光幕？可是我以为在春分和秋分前后欣赏的机会更好。

T: There is, because weather conditions are just right and the shy is adequately dark. But, in northernmost Finland, blazing displays of color are viewable as many as two hundred nights per annum.

是没错。因为天气条件刚好，而且天空够暗。但是在芬兰最北端，平均每年有多达两百个夜晚看得到鲜明的色彩展现。

I: Jeez! It does sound inviting, but do you have to go so far away? Isn’t there somewhere a little closer where you could see them?

天啊！听起来颇吸引人。但你一定得去那么远的地方吗？没有近一点的地方看得到的吗？

T: Well, aurora sightings are most common at high latitudes, so I could go to Antarctic. But seeing as Finland is a little more accessible, I’m heading there instead.

嗯，极光的景象在高纬度的地方最为普遍，所以去南极也可以。但是，既然去芬兰比较方便一点，我便舍南极就芬兰啦。

I: If high latitudes are the only requirement, couldn’t you also see the aurora in Canada or Alaska?

如果高纬度是唯一必备条件，你不是也可以在加拿大或阿拉斯加看到极光吗？

T: You could, but Finland is also famous for its quality vodka – which is another reason I want to visit!

可以是可以，但芬兰也以它高质量的伏特加闻名──那是另一个让我想赴芬兰一游的理由！

Vocabulary

单词发音

psychedelic [͵saɪkəˋdɛlɪk] adj.〔艺术﹑服装等〕产生迷幻效果的

embark [ɪmˋbɑrk] v. 从事，着手[（+on/in/upon）]

in heaven’s name 到底  an intensifier used with questions

aurora [ɔˋrorə] borealis  北极光

nighttime [ˋnaɪt͵taɪm] adj. 夜间的

equinox [ˋikwə͵nɑks] n. 春分; 秋分; 昼夜平分时（春分或秋分）

northernmost [ˋnɔrðɚn͵most] adj. 最北的，极北的

blazing [ˋblezɪŋ] adj. 辉煌的；鲜明的

viewable [ˋvjuəb!] adj. 看得见的

per annum【拉】每年

jeez [dʒiz] interjection 感叹词【美】哎呀〔用来强烈地表示惊讶﹑气愤等〕

inviting [ɪnˋvaɪtɪŋ] adj. 吸引人的；诱人的

sighting [`saɪtɪŋ] n. (尤指对不寻常或意外事物的)所见，目睹

latitude [ˋlætə͵tjud] n. 纬度

Antarctic [ænˋtɑrktɪk] n. 南极地区

accessible [ækˋsɛsəb!] adj. 可（或易）接近的

vodka [ˋvɑdkə] n. 伏特加酒

Sentence of the Day

He’s feeling light-headed.

他觉得头昏眼花。

light-headed [ˋlaɪtˋhɛdɪd] adj.〔发热或饮酒后〕神志不清的; 脚步不稳的; 眩晕的

课文朗读

课文讲解

Scandinavian folklore offers numerous explanations for the aurora borealis, the amazing celestial light show that is, for the most part, unique to Polar Regions. In Finland, for example, legend tells of an arctic fox sweeping snow into the sky with its tail. The truth, however, is that these eerie illuminations originate from the center of our solar system.

对于北极极光这种大抵上为极地独有、令人叹为观止的天空彩光秀，斯堪地那维亚的民间传说提供了诸多解释。以芬兰为例，传说是北极的狐狸用尾巴将雪扫入天空。然而，这些诡异的光线事实上是来自于我们太阳系的中心。

The sun emits solar wind – plasma, containing electrically charged particles – which travel out into space at fantastic speeds. When the particles meet with the earth’s magnetic field, they accelerate toward the poles, crashing into air molecules as they go.

太阳会发射出太阳风──一种带粒子流，它会以极快的速度奔入太空。这些粒子一遇到地球的磁场，便会加速朝两极而去，并在飞行途中撞击大气分子。

When the highly energized particles collide with atmospheric gases, they cause the gas to glow – rather like in neon lights – with each gas giving off a different color. It is thus that a spectacle of mesmerizing lights is born to dazzle astonished eyes below.

当这些高能量的粒子与大气层的气体发生碰撞，便会造成这些气体发光──与霓虹灯颇为类似──每种气体呈现出不同的颜色。由此，一场迷人的光线奇观诞生了，令地上惊愕的人们眼花撩乱。

Astronomers are now able to predict periods of high aurora activity by following solar events; observers of the night sky can check out the numerous space-weather Web sites for the latest celestial updates. All that would remain would be to wrap up warmly, snuggle into the bough of a fallen tree, and, with a full hip flask, enjoy the cosmic performance.

天文学家现在能藉由追踪太阳的活动来预测极光现象的高峰期；观察夜空的人们可以浏览许多报导太空天气的网站来了解最新的天空动态。而剩下的事情，就是穿得暖暖的、蜷缩进倒地的大树枝中，拿壶满满的酒、享受这场宇宙的演出了。

－by Nick Wheeler

Vocabulary

单词发音

Scandinavian [͵skændəˋnevɪən] adj. 斯堪的纳维亚的; 斯堪的纳维亚人的

folklore [ˋfok͵lor] n. 民间传说，民俗

celestial [sɪˋlɛstʃəl] adj. 天的，天空的

eerie [ˋɪrɪ] adj. 神秘的；怪异的

illumination [ɪ͵ljuməˋneʃən] n. 光亮﹐ 照明

solar wind  太阳风（太阳表面放射的离子组成的离子流）

plasma [ˋplæzəmə] n.【物】电浆；等离子（气）体

fantastic [fænˋtæstɪk] adj. 极大的；难以置信的，惊人的

accelerate [ækˋsɛlə͵ret] v. 加快﹐加速

collide [kəˋlaɪd] v. 碰撞；相撞[(+with)]

glow [glo] v. 发白热光，灼热；发光

neon [ˋni͵ɑn] n. 霓虹灯; 【化】氖

give off  发出〔气味﹑光﹑热﹑声音等〕

spectacle [ˋspɛktək!] n. 景象；奇观，壮观

mesmerize [ˋmɛsmə͵raɪz] v. 使着迷﹐使迷住

astronomer [əˋstrɑnəmɚ] n. 天文学家

wrap up 包裹, 包好, 裹住

snuggle [ˋsnʌg!] v.【非正式】依偎﹐〔舒服地〕蜷缩

bough [baʊ] n. 大树枝

hip flask〔可放在裤子后袋里的〕扁平小酒瓶

flask [flæsk] n. 携带瓶；酒瓶；【英】热水瓶

Sentence of the Day

Have you seen the light, yet?

你搞清楚了没有?

see the light  领悟