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The Future Looks Bright – Too Bright 太阳吞地球？！

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To ensure your protection against the sun’s rays today, UV-protected umbrellas and SPF 50 sunscreen should be enough to do the job. Billions of years from now, however, we may need ___1___ sunglasses to guard us from the monstrous and massive star that gives us life.

在今天，要保护自己免受太阳射线的毒害，抗UV阳伞及SPF50的防晒乳应该就绰绰有余。但数十亿年后的未来，现在带给我们生命的星球可能变得巨大可怕，届时，只靠太阳眼镜或许根本不足以保护我们。

For decades, physicists and astronomers have been speculating about the chances of the Earth’s ___2___ as the sun approaches its “red giant” phase, which will occur when the sun loses all its hydrogen gas. Once ___3___ hydrogen, the sun will swell beyond the orbit of the Earth and shine 3,000 times as ___4___ as it does today. Many scientists believe that the Earth will be vaporized, ___5___ up by the sun’s expansion. But others ___6___, citing the sun’s loss of mass as evidence. As the sun expands and loses mass, its ___7___ of gravity towards the Earth will also lessen. So, free from the clutch of the sun, the Earth’s orbit will change and move outward, perhaps ___8___ enough to escape the sun’s expansion. The Earth will be in somewhat of a race ___9___ time to see if its orbit expands faster than the sun.

几十年来，物理学家及天文学家不断思索，当太阳失去所有氢气进入红巨星阶段时，地球幸存的机会有多少？一旦失去氢气，太阳将会膨胀到越过地球运行的轨道，并且比现在亮三千倍。很多科学家相信届时地球将会因太阳扩张而被吞噬、蒸发。但另一派科学家则持反对意见，并提出太阳质量减少做为左证。当太阳持续扩大且质量减少，它对地球的引力也会改变，并往外移动，或许距离远到足以躲过太阳扩张带来的威胁。地球会有点像在与时间竞赛，看它的轨道是否比太阳扩张得快。

Thankfully, all this head-scratching can continue for billions of years before the potential ___10___ hits. And who knows, by that time, your family will probably own a lakeside resort on Mars.

幸好这个伤脑筋的难题还会维持个几十亿年，上述的潜在危机才会出现。而且，谁知道呢？说不定到时你的家人在火星上还有栋湖边渡假屋呢。

−by Anita Wong

Vocabulary

单词发音

ensure [ɪnˋʃʊr] v. 确保; 保证

speculate [ˋspɛkjə͵let] v. 思索；沉思；推测[（+on/upon/about）]

expansion [ɪkˋspænʃən] n. 扩展；扩张

lessen [ˋlɛsn] v. 变小，变少

potential [pəˋtɛnʃəl] adj. 潜在的，可能的

More Information

单词发音

UV ultraviolet  紫外的

SPF Sun Protection Factor（防晒膏等的）防晒系数

sunscreen [ˋsʌn͵skrin] n. 防晒霜; 防晒油

monstrous [ˋmɑnstrəs] adj. 可怕的，毛骨悚然的

physicist [ˋfɪzɪsɪst] n. 物理学家

astronomer [əˋstrɑnəmɚ] n. 天文学家

red giant 【天】红巨星

phase [fez] n. 阶段

hydrogen [ˋhaɪdrədʒən] n. 氢

shine [ʃaɪn] v. 发光；照耀

vaporize [ˋvepə͵raɪz] v. 使蒸发

mass [mæs] n.【物】质量

clutch [klʌtʃ] n. 掌握，控制

head-scratching 令人挠头的; 伤脑筋的 puzzled contemplation

resort [rɪˋzɔrt] n. 常去的休闲度假之处；名胜

Answer