时差N小时 北极星何奇之有?

Even if you're not an astronomy buff, chances are you caneasily recognize certain constellations² and stars such as the Big Dipper, Orion's Belt and the North Star.

即使你不是一名天文学发烧友，你也能轻易地辨认出某些星座，比如，北斗七星，猎户座的腰带，还有北极星。

The North Star is the brightest star in the constellation¹ known as the Little Dipper.

北极星是小熊座中最明亮的一颗星。

It is so-called because of the special position it occupies relative to Earth's axis³.

它的名字源于它所处的特殊位置，这个位置与地轴有关。

If you were to stay up all night gazing at the stars, you'd slowly see them revolve⁴ around a point in the sky known as the North Celestial⁵ Pole.

如果你熬夜盯着满天繁星看，会慢慢发现它们都绕着天上的一个点旋转，这个点就是北天极。

You would notice, however, that one star remains⁶ stationary⁷.

这时，你会注意到有一颗星星一动不动，它就是北极星。

This is the North Star, so named forits location almost directly in line with the North Celestial Pole.

北极星因自身位置几乎与北天极重合而得名。

Due to its consistent position in the sky, at one time sailors used the North Star as a navigational tool.

由于北极星在天上的位置永远不变，所以曾经一度，水手们将北极星作为导航工具。

By measuring the angle between the northern horizon and the North Star, a navigator could accurately⁸ determine the ship's latitude⁹.

通过测量北方地平线与北极星之间的角度，导航员能确定船只所处的纬度。

But latitude, or the imaginary lines stretching across the globe parallel to the equator, was notenough to pinpoint¹⁰ a ship's location.

但纬度，或者，想象中与赤道平行环绕地球的那条线，不足以确定船只的位置。

Knowing latitude only allowed navigators to locate themselveson a particular latitude line at a particular distance from the equator.

知道纬度，导航员也只能确定自己在哪条纬线上，距赤道有多远。

It was only with the inventionof a way to accurately measure longitude¹¹ that precise navigation became possible.

只有发明出测量经度的方法，进行准确的导航才会成为可能。

Although the North Star is no longer used by navigators, it remains a heavenly icon¹² of humancuriosity and exploration.

尽管如今导航员已不靠北极星来导航。但它代表着人类永恒的探索与开创精神，将永远在天空中绽放光芒。

1 constellation   

n.星座n.灿烂的一群

参考例句：

• A constellation is a pattern of stars as seen from the earth. 一个星座只是从地球上看到的某些恒星的一种样子。
• The Big Dipper is not by itself a constellation. 北斗七星本身不是一个星座。

2 constellations   

n.星座( constellation的名词复数 )；一群杰出人物；一系列（相关的想法、事物）；一群（相关的人）

参考例句：

• The map of the heavens showed all the northern constellations. 这份天体图标明了北半部所有的星座。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His time was coming, he would move in the constellations of power. 他时来运转，要进入权力中心了。 来自教父部分

3 axis   

n.轴，轴线，中心线；坐标轴，基准线

参考例句：

• The earth's axis is the line between the North and South Poles.地轴是南北极之间的线。
• The axis of a circle is its diameter.圆的轴线是其直径。

4 revolve   

vi.(使)旋转；循环出现

参考例句：

• The planets revolve around the sun.行星绕着太阳运转。
• The wheels began to revolve slowly.车轮开始慢慢转动。

5 celestial   

adj.天体的；天上的

参考例句：

• 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。

6 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

7 stationary   

adj.固定的，静止不动的

参考例句：

• A stationary object is easy to be aimed at.一个静止不动的物体是容易瞄准的。
• Wait until the bus is stationary before you get off.你要等公共汽车停稳了再下车。

8 accurately   

adv.准确地，精确地

参考例句：

• It is hard to hit the ball accurately.准确地击中球很难。
• Now scientists can forecast the weather accurately.现在科学家们能准确地预报天气。

9 latitude   

n.纬度，行动或言论的自由(范围)，(pl.)地区

参考例句：

• The latitude of the island is 20 degrees south.该岛的纬度是南纬20度。
• The two cities are at approximately the same latitude.这两个城市差不多位于同一纬度上。

10 pinpoint   

vt.准确地确定；用针标出…的精确位置

参考例句：

• It is difficult to pinpoint when water problems of the modern age began.很难准确地指出，现代用水的问题是什么时候出现的。
• I could pinpoint his precise location on a map.我能在地图上指明他的准确位置。

11 longitude   

n.经线，经度

参考例句：

• The city is at longitude 21°east.这个城市位于东经21度。
• He noted the latitude and longitude,then made a mark on the admiralty chart.他记下纬度和经度，然后在航海图上做了个标记。

12 icon   

n.偶像，崇拜的对象，画像

参考例句：

• They found an icon in the monastery.他们在修道院中发现了一个圣像。
• Click on this icon to align or justify text.点击这个图标使文本排齐。