双语有声阅读:Universe may be proven flat 宇宙是平的

Universe may be proven flat 宇宙是平的

The Boomerang experiment balloon inflating¹ just before launch

气球发射升空前在充气

A high-flying balloon which soared over Antarctica may have answered one of cosmology's greatest questions by revealing that the universe may be "flat".

To astronomers², flat means that the usual rules of geometry are observed - light travels in straight lines, not curves. But since Albert Einstein proposed that the universe was "curved", the debate has been open.

Scientific opinion has moved towards a flat universe and the latest data confirm this with greater certainty than ever before.

Another result of the study is the prediction that the universe will eventually stop expanding from the Big Bang, but will not collapse³ into a "Big Crunch⁴".

一只在南极洲升空的高空气球解答了宇宙学的一个最大问题：我们的宇宙是“平的”。

对于天文学家来说，平面的宇宙意味着几何学的一般原理将被遵守，光在直线中运行，而不是曲线。但自从爱因斯坦提出宇宙是弯曲的之后，科学界就展开了大争论。

科学的观点逐渐转向平面宇宙的理论，而最新的数据则越发的证明了这一点。

研究结果也提出了另一项假设，宇宙在大爆炸后最终会停止膨胀，而不会塌陷为一个大黑洞
 

1 inflating   

v.使充气（于轮胎、气球等）( inflate的现在分词 )；（使）膨胀；（使）通货膨胀；物价上涨

参考例句：

• I felt myself inflating slowly with rage, like a tyre. 我感到自己体内的怒气正慢慢膨胀，像一只轮胎那样。 来自互联网
• Many are already overheating, with prices rising and asset bubbles inflating. 随着物价日益上涨、资产泡沫膨胀，很多新兴国家经济已经过热。 来自互联网

2 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》

3 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

4 crunch   

n.关键时刻；艰难局面；v.发出碎裂声

参考例句：

• If it comes to the crunch they'll support us.关键时刻他们是会支持我们的。
• People who crunch nuts at the movies can be very annoying.看电影时嘎吱作声地嚼干果的人会使人十分讨厌。