VOA慢速英语2018 科学家在海洋中发现疑似陨石碎片

Scientists Find Possible Meteorite 1 Pieces in Ocean

Scientists have found what they believe are pieces of a meteor that fell to Earth earlier this year.

科学家们已经发现他们所猜想的今年早些时候坠落到地球上的陨石碎片。 

The objects were discovered July 2 off the coast of the United States in the Pacific Ocean.They were found near the northwestern state of Washington.

这些碎片于7月2日在美国太平洋沿岸被发现。它们在华盛顿州西北部附近被发现。 

The crew of the Nautilus, a private research ship, recovered the rock particles.

私人科考船鹦鹉螺号（Nautilus）的船员成功回收了这些陨石碎片。 

The Nautilus is operated by the Ocean Exploration Trust.The group says its aim is to examine “areas of the ocean that have never been explored before.”

鹦鹉螺号由海洋探索信托（Ocean Exploration Trust）运营。该团体称，其目的是研究“之前从未探索过的海域”。

The search was launched after U.S. government weather stations observed a large meteorite exploding four months ago.The explosion lit up the sky and sent the rock particles falling to Earth.They landed in the Pacific on March 7, about 25 kilometers off the coast of Washington.

在美国政府气象站观察到4个月前大型的陨石爆炸后，这项搜寻工作便开始了。这次爆炸照亮了天空，陨石碎片落到地球上。这些碎片3月7日落在太平洋上，距离华盛顿州海岸约25公里处。

Marc Fries is with the U.S. space agency, NASA.He says the meteorite fall was the largest recorded over the United States in at least 20 years.

马克·弗里斯（Marc Fries）与美国航天局NASA（美国国家航空航天局）合作。他说这次陨石坠落是美国至少20年记录以来最大的一次陨石坠落。

Fries is part of the latest exploration team searching for meteorites 2.He said in a telephone call he “could not be happier” with the discovery, the Seattle Times reported.“This has been the experience of a lifetime,” he added.

弗里斯加入了最近搜寻陨石的勘探队。据《西雅图时报》报道，他在电话中说，他对这一发现“感到非常高兴”。“这是一生中独特的经历，”他补充道。

The team includes scientists from NASA, the Olympic Coast National Marine 3 Sanctuary 4 and the University of Washington.

该团队包括来自美国国家航空航天局、奥林匹克海岸国家海洋保护区和华盛顿大学的科学家们。 

The scientists examined what they believe were two small meteorite fragments.Further testing is needed before they can confirm that the material came from the explosion in March.

科学家们研究了他们所猜想的是两个小陨石碎片。他们需要进一步的测试才能证实这些碎片来自3月份的爆炸。

The Nautilus is equipped with two remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), called Hercules and Argus.These robotic submarines help researchers find and collect materials from the seafloor.A specially-designed scoop 5 and magnetic tool were also used in the search for meteorite particles.

鹦鹉螺号配有两个遥控水下机器人（ROVs），分别名为海格拉斯（Hercules）和阿格斯（Argus）。这两个机器人潜艇帮助研究人员从海底搜寻并收集材料。一个特别设计的铲子和磁性工具也被用于寻找陨石碎片。

Fries says information about the meteorite’s explosion led scientists to think that the blast was unusually strong.The fact also that the particles landed in the ocean, instead of on land, means larger pieces may have survived and can be studied.

弗里斯说有关陨石爆炸的数据使科学家们认为此次爆炸异常强烈。事实上，这些碎片落在海洋里，而不是在陆地上，这意味着可能还存有更大的碎片，并且可以用于研究。

For this reason, Fries told the Live Science website,scientists decided 6 to launch the “first intentional 7 search for meteorites from the ocean.”Until the latest research, scientists had only accidentally discovered a small number of meteorites from drilling operations.

为此，弗里斯向《生活科学》网说道，科学家们决定发起“首次特意的搜寻海洋中的陨石。”在最新的研究之前，科学家们只在钻井作业中偶然发现过少量的陨石。

“The meteorite fragments are small, melted pieces of rock,” Fries told Live Science.He thinks the objects recovered from the bottom of the sea likely came from the recent explosion for two main reasons.

弗里斯向《生活科学》说道，“这些陨石碎片都是小块的，是融化的岩石碎片，”。他认为从海底回收的这些碎片可能来自最近的爆炸，主要有两个原因。

First, meteorite particles are “basically made of glassy materials that do not tend to last long in seawater,” he told the website.Secondly 8, Fries said, they came from what looked like a hole on the seafloor.“It’s some evidence that they came from something that fell.”

他在网站中说道，首先，这些陨石碎片“基本上由玻璃材料制成，这在海水中无法保存很长时间”。其次，弗里斯说，他们来自海底看起来像一个洞的地方。“这是一些证据，能够证明它们是落下来的。”

The first Nautilus meteorite ocean mission mapped and searched within a one square kilometer area.The exploration team expressed high hopes for future searches.“If successful, this will be the first known recovery of a meteorite from the ocean!,”the group reported on its website.

第一个鹦鹉螺号陨石海洋探索是在一平方公里的海域内进行勘测和搜寻。探索团队对未来的搜寻工作寄予了很高的期望。“如果成功了，这将是首次从海洋中成功回收陨石！”。该团体在其网站上报道，

Words in This Story

meteor – n. rock from outer space that becomes very hot and burns brightly in the sky as it enters Earth's atmosphere

fragment – n. a small piece of something

remotely – adv. from a distance

scoop – n. large, deep spoon for lifting and moving material

intentional – adj. planned or done on purpose

drill – v. make holes in hard materials with a machine