听力文摘：像雾一样的固体物质

Frozen Smoke

固体烟

Male:What's as light as smoke but strong as a brick?

什么东西既可以跟烟一样轻，又可以跟砖块一样重？

Female:I'm gonna take a while guess and say... aerogel?

让我想会儿……气凝胶？

Male:Sorry,yaoyao,the answer is... Wait a second! Did you say aerogel? How did you know?

瑶瑶，不好意思，答案是……等等！你说的是气凝胶吗？你是怎么知道的？

F:Yeap! Did you know that aerogel is the lightest solid on earth?

是的！你知道气凝胶是地球上最轻的固体吗？

M:I was going to tell you that.

我刚刚正要告诉你呢！

F:Another cool thing is that it starts out as a kind of chemical Jello¹. Then the gel is dried in a powerful pressure cooker and emerges as a very lightweight, dry, sponge-like material that looks like frozen smoke.

了不起的是，气凝胶开始是作为一种化学凝胶物的。然后胶体在压力很强的锅里变干，成为了一种重量很轻、很干燥、类似海绵状，看起来像固体烟雾的物体。

M:OK! Did you know that aerogel is ninety-nine-point-eight percent air?

是的！那你知道气凝胶中99.8%都是空气吗？

F:Sure.That was in your notes.And it's incredibly light-one thousand times less dense² than glass. But it's also really strong and an excellent insulator³.

知道啊！你的笔记中有的！气凝胶相当的轻，轻到密度只有玻璃的千分之一。但它也很结实，是几号的绝缘体。

M:Is there anything you don't know about aerogel? For instance,scientists are using it to try to capture dust particles from the tail of a comet. When the particlesslam into an aerogelpanel aboard a space probe, they'll bury themselves inside and leave visible trails. Since aerogel is mostly air, it won't damage the particles.

关于气凝胶，你还有什么不知道的吗？比如说，科学家正在试图用它捕捉彗星经过的微尘。当（微尘）颗粒猛烈撞击到航空探测器上的气凝胶板时，它们将会自然，从而留下可见的痕迹。因为气凝胶差不多等同于空气，并不会破坏（微尘）颗粒。

F:Actually, I know that too.

其实这个我也知道！

1 jello   

n.凝胶物，果冻

参考例句：

• We have ice cream,pie,cake or jello.我们要冰淇淋、馅饼、蛋糕或是果冻。
• She likes jello very much.她很喜欢吃果冻。

2 dense   

a.密集的，稠密的，浓密的；密度大的

参考例句：

• The general ambushed his troops in the dense woods. 将军把部队埋伏在浓密的树林里。
• The path was completely covered by the dense foliage. 小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。

3 insulator   

n.隔离者；绝缘体

参考例句：

• Few substances can equal fur as an insulator.作为绝缘体很少有其他材料能与动物皮毛相媲美。
• A loose mulch acts on the surface as an insulator.疏松的覆盖物在土壤表面起了隔热的作用。