英语听力文摘 English Digest 275、类地行星发现者

　　Terrestrial Planet Finder
瑞士科学家米歇尔·梅耶带领欧洲科学家小组宣布发现了一颗新的可能适宜人类居住的星球，现在，他又制定了更大的目标：寻找地外生命的迹象。该发现小组的成员斯蒂凡·尤迪推测这颗新星表面可能富含液态水，但他指出，他的这种推测是以行星的形成方式为基础，而不是以任何的证据。梅耶认为还会发现许多被科学家认为可能适合人类居住的星球。但短期内，最重要的发现还是这颗与地球相似的低质量行星581c。581c大约是地球质量的5倍。但它仍然是至今太阳系外发现的最小的一颗行星。梅耶认为美国宇航局的“类地行星发现者”号和欧洲航天局的“达尔文”探测卫星将在寻找地外智慧生命上做出重要的贡献。

　　For a planet to support life, the planet must be located within its star’s habitable zone. That is, it must be located at a distance where the temperature would allow water to remain in liquid form.
At present we’ve identified about 250 extrasolar planets, and only two have appeared to be located close to or within this zone. And most of these extrasolar planets are about the size of Jupiter, not Earth. So, is Earth’s size and orbit unique? Unlikely. The problem is that planets the approximate mass and orbit distance of Earth are too difficult to detect using our current space technology.
However, telescopes in the works right now are being designed specifically to overcome the obstacles astronomers¹ face detecting Earth-like planets. One such project is NASA’s Terrestrial Planet Finder, or TPF. TPF’s capabilities² will include blocking out the glare of stars, making visible relatively³ tiny Earth-like planets orbiting them.
TPF will be able to search the habitable zones of stars located up to fifty light years away, analyzing⁴ the composition of planets’ atmospheres. It will look for gasses that signal the possibility of life, gasses such as oxygen, water vapor⁵, methane⁶, and carbon dioxide. And TPF will be capable of taking pictures that are one-hundred times more detailed⁷ than the photographs of the Hubble Space Telescope(哈勃太空望远镜).
Many astronomers are hopeful that these new telescopes will lead to a groundbreaking discovery of life elsewhere in the universe. Regardless of what discoveries they may yield, TPF and other space telescopes in development promise to bring exciting changes to space exploration.

1 astronomers   

n.天文学者，天文学家( astronomer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Astronomers can accurately foretell the date,time,and length of future eclipses. 天文学家能精确地预告未来日食月食的日期、时刻和时长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Astronomers used to ask why only Saturn has rings. 天文学家们过去一直感到奇怪，为什么只有土星有光环。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 capabilities   

n.能力( capability的名词复数 )；可能；容量；[复数]潜在能力

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities. 他有点自大，自视甚高。 来自辞典例句
• Some programmers use tabs to break complex product capabilities into smaller chunks. 一些程序员认为，标签可以将复杂的功能分为每个窗格一组简单的功能。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

3 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

4 analyzing   

v.分析；分析( analyze的现在分词 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析n.分析

参考例句：

• Analyzing the date of some socialist countries presents even greater problem s. 分析某些社会主义国家的统计数据，暴露出的问题甚至更大。 来自辞典例句
• He undoubtedly was not far off the mark in analyzing its predictions. 当然，他对其预测所作的分析倒也八九不离十。 来自辞典例句

5 vapor   

n.蒸汽，雾气

参考例句：

• The cold wind condenses vapor into rain.冷风使水蒸气凝结成雨。
• This new machine sometimes transpires a lot of hot vapor.这部机器有时排出大量的热气。

6 methane   

n.甲烷，沼气

参考例句：

• The blast was caused by pockets of methane gas that ignited.爆炸是由数袋甲烷气体着火引起的。
• Methane may have extraterrestrial significance.甲烷具有星际意义。

7 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。