经济学人05:SKA项目由非洲和澳大拉西亚来合作完成

 　　Science and Technolgy.

　　科技。

　　The Square Kilometre Array.

　　SKA项目。

　　Divide and rule.

　　分工合作。

　　The world's biggest astronomy project is split between Africa and Australasia. That gives South Africa, in particular, a chance to show its scientific mettle¹.

　　世界上最大的天文观测项目由非洲和澳大拉西亚来合作完成。这给了南非一个机会来展示她的的科学精神。

　　THE reputation of physics as the queen of sciences is reflected in the amount of money that governments are willing to spend on it. The Large Hadron Collider, Europe's latest particle smasher, cost around $9 billion and took a decade to build. But, just occasionally, other fields get to play with some big, taxpayer-funded kit² of their own, too.

　　物理学被人们称为自然科学的女王，因此政府愿意为她挥金如土。欧洲最大的粒子加速器——大型强子碰撞型加速器——耗资大约90亿美元，建造历时10年。无独有偶，在自然科学的其他领域，人们也大量投入了纳税人的钱财。

　　On May 25th it was the astronomers³' turn in the limelight. For several years two groups of countries, one consisting of Australia and New Zealand, and the other of several sub-Saharan nations led by South Africa, have been polishing their rival bids to host the Square Kilometre Array, a gargantuan,

1 mettle   

n.勇气，精神

参考例句：

• When the seas are in turmoil,heroes are on their mettle.沧海横流，方显出英雄本色。
• Each and every one of these soldiers has proved his mettle.这些战士个个都是好样的。

2 kit   

n.用具包，成套工具；随身携带物

参考例句：

• The kit consisted of about twenty cosmetic items.整套工具包括大约20种化妆用品。
• The captain wants to inspect your kit.船长想检查你的行装。

3 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》