新概念英语第三册 Lesson55 From the earth Greetings 课堂笔记

Lesson 55 From the earth: Greetings 来自地球的问候 1、Recent developments in astronomy have made it possible to detect planets in our own Milky Way and in other galaxies. This is a major achievement（because, in relative terms, planets are very small and old not emit light原因状语从句）. 天文学方面最新发展使得我们能够在银河系和其他星系发现行星。这是一个重要的成就，因为相对来说，行星很小，而且也不发光。 · astronomy (n.) 天文学 —— astronomer (n.) 天文学家 astronaut (n.) 宇航员 · detect (v.) 侦察，侦测 detective (n.) 侦察员，侦探 detector (n.) 探测器 · galaxy (n.) 星系 —— galaxies (复) · in relative terms 相对而言 relative (n.) 亲戚 (adj.) 相对的 term (n.) 学期，术语 eg. 上海的房价相对便宜。 In relative terms, the price of houses in Shanghai is cheap. = The price of houses in Shanghai is relatively cheap. · emit (v.) 释放，发出，放出 —— 反：absorb 吸收 eg. emit heat/ light / electricity 释放热 / 光 / 电 2、Finding planets is proving hard enough, but finding life on them will prove infinitely more difficult. The first question to answer is （whether a planet can actually support life名词性从句：作主语补足语）. In our own solar system, for example, Venus is far too hot and Mars is far too cold to support life. Only the Earth provides ideal conditions, and even here it has taken more than four billion years for plant and animal life to evolve. 寻找行星证明相当困难，但是要在行星上发现生命会变得无比艰难。第一个需要解答的问题是一颗行星是否有能够维持生命的条件。举例来说，在我们的太阳系里，对于生命来说，金星的温度太高，而火星的温度则太低。只有地球提供理想的条件，而即使在这里，植物和动物的进化也用了40亿年的时间。 · 动名词短语Finding planets和finding life作主语 · finite (adj.) 有限度的，有限制的 eg. 人类的知识是有限的。 Humans knowledge is finite. 地球的有限资源 the earth’s finite resources · infinite (adj.) 无限的，无穷的 eg. 宇宙是无穷的。 The universe is infinite. · infinity (n.) 无穷大，无限的时间和空间 · solar system 太阳系 · for example 举个例子 = for instance · more than 多于，大于 = over（反：less than 少于） · evolve (v.) 进化，演变，逐渐形成 · evolution (n.) 进化，演变 eg. a theory of evolution/relativity 进化论/相对论 3、（Whether a planet can support life depends on the size and brightness of its star主语从句）, that is its ‘sun'. Imagine a star up to twenty times larger, brighter, brighter and hotter than our own sun. A planet would have to be a very long way from it to be capable of supporting life. 一颗行星是否能够维持生命取决于它的恒星——即它的“太阳”——的大小和亮度。设想一下，一颗恒星比我们的太阳还要大，还要亮，还要热20倍，那么一颗行星为了维持生命就要离开的它的恒星非常远。 · depend on 依靠，依赖 = depend upon · up to 多达 · would have to be （虚拟语气：表现在或将来） · to be capable of supporting （动词不定式短语作目的状语） · be capable of doing sth. 有能力做某事 = be able to do sth. eg. 他能够用不到11秒跑100米。 He is capable of running 100 meters in under 11 seconds. · be perfectly capable of doing sth. 完全有能力做某事 eg. 她完全有能力管理这个班级，解决这些问题。 She is perfectly capable of taking charge of this class and solving these problems. 4、Alternatively,（if the star were small非真实条件句：虚拟语气）, the life-supporting planet would have to have a close orbit round it and also provide the perfect conditions for life forms to develop. But how would we find such a planet? At present, there is no telescope in existence（that is capable of detecting the presence of life定语从句）. The development of such a telescope will be one of the great astronomical projects of the twenty-first century. 反之，如果恒星很小，维持生命的行星就要在离恒星很近的轨道上运行，而且要有极好的条件才能使生命得以发展，但是，我们如何才能找到这样一颗行星呢？现在，没有一台现存的望远镜可以发现生命的存在。而开发这样一台望远镜将会是21世纪天文学的一个重要的研究课题。 · alternatively (adv.) 或者，要不 · orbit (n.) 轨道 （天体运行的） · telescope (n.) 望远镜（单筒） 前缀：tele- 远距离的 eg. telephone电话, teleshopping网购，television电视， telecommunication 电信 · binoculars (n.) 望远镜（双筒） · astronomical （adj.） 天文学的 5、It is impossible to look for life on another planet using earth-based telescopes. Our own warm atmosphere and the heat generated by the telescope would make it impossible to detect objects as small as planets. 使用放置在地球上的望远镜是无法观察到其他行星的生命的。地球周围温暖的大气层和望远镜散出的热量使得我们根本不可能找到比行星更小的物体。 · It是虚主语，动词不定式to look for life 是真正的主语 · 非谓语动词using作状语 · 非谓语动词gernerated 作定语，表被动 · generate (v.) 产生 eg. generate heat/electricity 产生热量/电 generate a great deal of profit 产生大量利润 · generation (n.) 一代人 eg. gernation gap 代沟 the old/young generation 老年一代/青年一代 · 动词不定式to detect objects作真正的宾语 6、Even a telescope in orbit round the earth, like the very successful Hubble telescope, would not be suitable （because of the dust particles in our solar system）. A telescope would have to be as far away as the planet Jupiter to look for life in outer space,（because the dust becomes thinner the further we travel towards the outer edges of our own solar system. 原因状语从句） 即使是一台放置在围绕地球的轨道上的望远镜——如非常成功的哈勃望远镜——也因为太阳系中的尘埃微粒而无法胜任。望远镜要放置在木星那样遥远的行星上才有可能在外层空间搜寻生命。因为我们越是接近太阳系的边缘，尘埃就越稀薄。 · particle (n.) 微粒，颗粒 eg. dust particle 尘粒，微尘 PM = Particle Matter eg. 我们可以清晰地看到尘埃颗粒飘浮在日光下。 We can see the dust particles floating in the sunlight clearly. 7、Once we detected a planet, we would have to find a way of blotting out the light from its star, so that we would be able to ‘see' the planet properly and analyze its atmosphere. 一旦我们找到这样一颗行星，我们就要想办法将它的恒星射过来的光线遮暗，这样我们就能彻底“看见”这颗行星，并分析它的大气层。 · Once 一旦 （时间状语从句） = As soon as · blot (n.) （墨水等的）污点或污迹 eg. a page covered in ink blots 染有墨迹的一页 · a blot on one’s reputation 名声上的一个污点 · blot sth. out （用墨点）覆盖或遮住字迹，（雾）等完全遮出（某物） eg. 信里的几个字被遮住。 Several words in the letter were blotted out. eg. 云层把风景遮住了。 Thick clouds blotted out the view. 雾霾把大楼遮住了。 The haze blotted out the building. · so that 为的是，目的是（目的状语从句） = in order that 8、In the first instance, we would be looking for plant life, rather than ‘little green men'. The life forms most likely to develop on a planet would be bacteria. It is bacteria that have generated the oxygen （we breathe on earth定语从句）. For most of the earth's history they have been the only form of life on our planet. As Earth-dwellers, we always cherish the hope（that we will be visited by little green men and that we will be able to communicate with them同位语从句）. 首先我们要寻找植物，而不是那种“小绿人”。行星上最容易生存下来的是细菌。正是细菌生产出我们在地球上呼吸的氧气。在地球上发展的大部分进程中，细菌是地球上唯一的生命形式。作为地球上的居民，我们总存有这样的希望：小绿人来拜访我们，而我们可以和他们交流。 · In the first instance 首先，第一步 · bacteria (n.) 细菌 virus (n.) 病毒 · It is … that… （强调句） · cherish the hope 怀有（某种感情和想法） 9、But this hope is always in the realms of science fiction. If we were able to discover lowly forms of life like bacteria on another planet, it would completely change our view of ourselves. As Daniel Goldin of NASA observed, ‘Finding life elsewhere would change everything. No human endeavor or thought would be unchanged by it. 但是，这种希望总是只在科幻小说中存在。如果我们能够在另一颗行星上找到诸如细菌的那种低等生命，那么这个发现将彻底改变我们对我们自己的看法。正如美国国家航空和宇宙航空局的丹尼尔.戈尔丁指出的“在其他地方发现生命会改变一切。任何人类的努力和想法都会发生变化。” · realm (n.) (1)王国 = kingdom (2)（比喻）领域 eg. 三国历史 the history of three kingdoms 在文学领域/在想象的王国里 in the realm of literature/imagination 精神领域 the spiritual realm · science fiction 科幻小说 detective fiction 侦探小说 · 双重否定： No human endeavor or thought would be unchanged by it. 9 学科网（北京）股份有限公司 $$