SSS 2011-12-14
时间：2019-01-08 作者：英语课 分类：Scientific American(十二)月
英语课
When it comes to sheer celestial 1 bling, stars might not corner the market on twinkle, because beneath their rocky exteriors 2, some terrestrial planets may be half diamond. So said scientists at the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union.
The researchers were fixing to study how diamonds form here on Earth, under the conditions found in the planet’s lower mantle 3. So they took a tiny sample of iron, carbon, and oxygen, elements abundant in Earth’s interior, and cooked it up at about 3,800 degrees Fahrenheit 4 and 9.5 million pounds of pressure per square inch. What they saw was that iron hooks up with oxygen to produce rust 5, and leaves behind pockets of carbon, which become diamond.
Now, what happens if they look not at Earth but at a planet in a solar system where there’s even more carbon? According to the model, the carbon merges 6 with iron to form a core made of steel, leaving a carbon mantle rich with diamond.
Whether the Milky 7 Way harbors such gems 8 is still an open question. One thing is for sure: they probably wouldn’t harbor life, because diamonds readily transfer heat. So a planet made of diamond would be one cold stone.
The researchers were fixing to study how diamonds form here on Earth, under the conditions found in the planet’s lower mantle 3. So they took a tiny sample of iron, carbon, and oxygen, elements abundant in Earth’s interior, and cooked it up at about 3,800 degrees Fahrenheit 4 and 9.5 million pounds of pressure per square inch. What they saw was that iron hooks up with oxygen to produce rust 5, and leaves behind pockets of carbon, which become diamond.
Now, what happens if they look not at Earth but at a planet in a solar system where there’s even more carbon? According to the model, the carbon merges 6 with iron to form a core made of steel, leaving a carbon mantle rich with diamond.
Whether the Milky 7 Way harbors such gems 8 is still an open question. One thing is for sure: they probably wouldn’t harbor life, because diamonds readily transfer heat. So a planet made of diamond would be one cold stone.
adj.天体的；天上的
- The rosy light yet beamed like a celestial dawn.玫瑰色的红光依然象天上的朝霞一样绚丽。
- Gravity governs the motions of celestial bodies.万有引力控制着天体的运动。
n.外面( exterior的名词复数 )；外貌；户外景色图
- You mustn't judge people by their exteriors. 你不能以貌取人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- Some artists only paint exteriors. 有些艺术家只画户外景色。 来自《简明英汉词典》
n.斗篷，覆罩之物，罩子；v.罩住，覆盖，脸红
- The earth had donned her mantle of brightest green.大地披上了苍翠欲滴的绿色斗篷。
- The mountain was covered with a mantle of snow.山上覆盖着一层雪。
n./adj.华氏温度；华氏温度计(的)
- He was asked for the boiling point of water in Fahrenheit.他被问到水的沸点是华氏多少度。
- The thermometer reads 80 degrees Fahrenheit.寒暑表指出华氏80度。
n.锈；v.生锈；(脑子)衰退
- She scraped the rust off the kitchen knife.她擦掉了菜刀上的锈。
- The rain will rust the iron roof.雨水会使铁皮屋顶生锈。
（使）混合( merge的第三人称单数 )； 相融； 融入； 渐渐消失在某物中
- The 2012 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to Mo Yan"who with hallucinatory realism merges folk tales, history and the contemporary". 2012年诺贝尔文学奖得主为莫言，他“很好地将魔幻现实与民间故事、历史与当代结合在一起”。
- A device that collates, merges, or matches sets of punched cards or other documents. 一种整理、合并或比较一组穿孔卡片或其它文档的设备。
adj.牛奶的，多奶的；乳白色的
- Alexander always has milky coffee at lunchtime.亚历山大总是在午餐时喝掺奶的咖啡。
- I like a hot milky drink at bedtime.我喜欢睡前喝杯热奶饮料。