时间:2019-02-13 作者:英语课 分类:英语听力精选进阶版


英语课

Asia is Plunged 1 into Darkness: 亚洲陷入黑暗


Across Asia many people have just witnessed the natural wonder that is a total solar eclipse.


A total solar eclipse occurs when the Sun, Moon and Earth align 2 in such a way that our view of the Sun is totally obscured by the Moon.


This week's total eclipse could be seen in eastern India before slowly moving across Burma, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Japan, and the Pacific Ocean.


Yesterday, when it reached eastern China, people flocked into the streets to witness the astronomical 3 wonder.


As daylight disappeared and the sky quickly darkened, those watching were left far from disappointed. Cities such as Shanghai were plunged into darkness during what is thought to be the longest total eclipse of the 21st century. It lasted 6 minutes and 39 seconds.


Total solar eclipses of such a long duration are very rare events, they happen but once in a lifetime. Shao Zhenyi, an astronomer 4 at the Shanghai Astronomical Observatory 5 in China explained:


"We'll have to wait a few hundred years for another opportunity to observe a solar eclipse that lasts this long, so it's a very special opportunity."


But while millions celebrate this phenomenon, it should be remembered that total eclipses have not always been such treasured events.


Many cultures traditionally believed that a total eclipse was a bad omen 6 or a supernatural event. Some believed that evil gods were eating the Sun. Others believed that the eclipse signified oncoming disasters.


Nowadays it appears that these fears and superstitions 7 are long forgotten. As daylight once again flooded Asian cities such as Shanghai, whoops 8 and cheers could be heard among the gathered crowds.


Reflecting on what had just happened, one Shanghai resident described the eclipse as "eerie 9", whilst another said "It's like magic, the day turns into night in such a short period of time. I have no idea where I am right now. It feels like a different world."


GLOSSARY 词汇表


natural wonder 自然奇观


total solar eclipse 日全食


obscured 遮盖,遮掩


flocked 涌入


astronomical 天文的


far from disappointed 没有觉得失望


plunged into darkness 陷入黑暗


rare 罕见的


but once in a lifetime 一生一次,形容千载难逢的机会


astronomer 天文学家


observatory 天文台


phenomenon 现象,奇迹


bad omen 凶兆


supernatural 超自然的


evil 邪恶的


oncoming 即将来临的


fears and superstitions 恐惧和迷信


(daylight) flooded 日光照亮了


whoops and cheers 起哄和欢呼声


eerie 怪诞的,奇异的



v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 );暴跌;骤降;突降
  • The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
  • She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳,从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。
vt.使成一线,结盟,调节;vi.成一线,结盟
  • Align the ruler and the middle of the paper.使尺子与纸张的中部成一条直线。
  • There are signs that the prime minister is aligning himself with the liberals.有迹象表明首相正在与自由党人结盟。
adj.天文学的,(数字)极大的
  • He was an expert on ancient Chinese astronomical literature.他是研究中国古代天文学文献的专家。
  • Houses in the village are selling for astronomical prices.乡村的房价正在飙升。
n.天文学家
  • A new star attracted the notice of the astronomer.新发现的一颗星引起了那位天文学家的注意。
  • He is reputed to have been a good astronomer.他以一个优秀的天文学者闻名于世。
n.天文台,气象台,瞭望台,观测台
  • Guy's house was close to the observatory.盖伊的房子离天文台很近。
  • Officials from Greenwich Observatory have the clock checked twice a day.格林威治天文台的职员们每天对大钟检查两次。
n.征兆,预兆;vt.预示
  • The superstitious regard it as a bad omen.迷信的人认为那是一种恶兆。
  • Could this at last be a good omen for peace?这是否终于可以视作和平的吉兆了?
迷信,迷信行为( superstition的名词复数 )
  • Old superstitions seem incredible to educated people. 旧的迷信对于受过教育的人来说是不可思议的。
  • Do away with all fetishes and superstitions. 破除一切盲目崇拜和迷信。
int.呼喊声
  • Whoops! Careful, you almost spilt coffee everywhere. 哎哟!小心点,你差点把咖啡洒得到处都是。
  • We were awakened by the whoops of the sick baby. 生病婴儿的喘息声把我们弄醒了。
adj.怪诞的;奇异的;可怕的;胆怯的
  • It's eerie to walk through a dark wood at night.夜晚在漆黑的森林中行走很是恐怖。
  • I walked down the eerie dark path.我走在那条漆黑恐怖的小路上。
学英语单词
all-out effort
ammonia cooler
ampa
appointed member
Arouet
aseptic myocarditis of newborn
assquake
atomweight
bacchanalias
Ban Hai
be roses all the way
Beaujeu
blessed with
Buronzo
canalis carpalis
capsule assembly
Carex wawuensis
cigar-shaped
ciliopagurus strigatus
classification of waste
closing to meeting maneuver
court of common pleas
crossey
crowd-control
cuttlebones
cystosarcoma
degenerative myopia
diatectite
Diebougou
drum magnetic separator
duplex output
eliminate unemployment
empiric(al)
epilating forceps
fermiophobic
fine struction
flash one's eyes at
formate butyl
French Standard
game fishes
genus cairinas
geological structure
HDMI CEC
hearth plate
honours degree
idiolysin
idiopathic detrusor dyssynergia
imperia
inkfish
insatisfactorily
jus pascendi
keyword item
laser printers
man-machine interaction equipment
maximum bit rate
mistion
more replenishing soil moisture reserve
motion planning
motion-pictures
Nal detector
Nervus medianus
non-exclusion
non-linear molecule
nonulcerated
nyy
okwui
open end V-belt
passets
Phichit, Changwat
pick up and delivery service
pinch-faced
polygonometric network
prima donnas
quality bonus
radiation gasdynamics
reexhumation
replacement length
rubber paint
sadhanas
scissor-tailed
seen eye to eye
signal bridge
single-state recycle
slotted screen
snowmobiles
spam act
Spittal of Glenshee
spring of cylinder lubricator plunger
strip-searches
sudden cough
sufflations
supersonic particle sizer
surface of constant pressure
talipes calcaneus
termination and suspersion of contract
theory mapping
unsanctimonious
urnsful
user program status display
webtalk
wtb
xenotime