Where Does a Compass Point? 每月一问：罗盘的指针指向何方？
- 详细资料
- 创建于 2004年4月03日
- 最后更新于 2024年5月25日
- 发布于 2011年6月25日
- 作者：Mike Lee
- 点击数：312
课文朗读
课文讲解
Victoria, from New Zealand, and Jackie, her Taiwanese boyfriend, are outdoor enthusiasts browsing in a Taipei camping store: 纽西兰籍的维多莉亚和她的台湾男友杰基都热衷于户外运动，两人在台北一家露营设备用品店里浏览：
V: Hey, where exactly does our compass point when we’re out tramping?
嘿，我们在野外健行的时候，罗盘究竟指向哪个方向？
J: Tramping?! Oh yeah, that’s Kiwi for “hiking.” Let me answer your question with my new wireless Internet hookup.
健行？噢，是哦，原来是纽西兰话的「健行」。我来用最新的无线上网技术来回答妳这题目。
V: You and your new PDA.
你和你新买的PDA。
J: Hey, knowledge is power. Here we are: the Earth’s magnetic field is onion-shaped and acts like a river of magnetic force surrounding the Earth. The field attracts ferrous materials.
嘿，别忘了知识即力量。有了：地球的磁场形状似洋葱，磁场产生的磁力环绕地球，形成河流似的带状扇区。这磁场吸引含铁制品。
V: Ferrous materials? Iron, in other words. So a compass needle – being ferrous and immersed in this river of magnetic force – orients itself towards the magnetic pole of the Earth. But is that really the North Pole?
含铁制品？换句话说，就是铁做的东西啦。所以罗盘的指针──因为是铁做的，而且确实位处在这整个磁场中──就会指向地球磁极。不过它指的磁极必是真正的北极吗？
J: Ah, there’s the rub: it depends on what you mean by “North Pole.” At least two places on Earth can be defined as such.
噢，终于谈到重点啦！这要看妳对「北极」的定义是什么。地球上至少有两处可以叫做北极的地方。
V: So one “North Pole” is where a compass points?
所以其中一处「北极」就是罗盘指针指向之处？
J: Right. This website says that’s the magnetic north, and it covers a small area that moves up to 40 kilometers every year.
是的。网页数据上说有个磁北极，它的小区域范围每年会移动达40公里。
V: And the other “North Pole” must be the axis point of the Earth’s rotation?
而另一个「北极」必定就是地球自转轴的顶点了。
J: Yep. That’s a fixed point called the true north.
正是。它叫做真北极，是个固定点。
V: Cool. The next time we’re tramping. I’ll know why we’re on the straight and narrow.
酷哦。下次我们野外健行时，可晓得我们为何循规蹈矩走正道了。
－by Grady Sales
Vocabulary
单词发音
compass [ˋkʌmpəs] n. 罗盘，指南针
enthusiast [ɪnˋθjuzɪ͵æst] n. 热衷者﹐热心的人
tramping [træmpɪŋ] n.（长途）徒步旅行
Kiwi [ˋkiwɪ] n.【非正式】新西兰人
hookup [ˋhʊk͵ʌp] n. 连接线路
ferrous [ˋfɛrəs] adj. 含铁的﹐铁的
immerse [ɪˋmɝs] v. 使浸没[（+in）]
orient [ˋorɪənt] v. 定……的方位
there’s the rub 这就是问题所在 something that you say when you are explaining what the difficulty is in a particular situation
rub [rʌb] n. 疑难点；要点
axis [ˋæksɪs] n. 轴；轴线
fixed [fɪkst] adj. 固定的
straight and narrow 循规蹈矩者, 正派人 the way of proper conduct and moral integrity
Sentence of the Day
This should take a lode off their minds.
这样他们应该可以毋须再担心罗盘了。(放下心头的重担)
【注】lode 与 load 为同音字老式的罗盘名