夏说英语新闻晨读 第458期:哈勃望远镜找不到北

 本期内容：

NASA believes it has fixed¹ a malfunction² with the Hubble telescope which threatened to limit the orbiting observatory³'s performance. Earlier this month, one of Hubble's gyros - needed to point the spacecraft - failed, forcing controllers to place the telescope in "safe mode" - where it operates with essential functions only. This was required because a backup gyro also malfunctioned⁴ when switched on. But after a series of tests, the backup appears to be working normally.

malfunctionvi. 功能失常
orbit: vi. 绕轨道运行
observatory: n. 观察站；天文台
gyro: n. 陀螺仪；回转仪
gyroscope: n. 陀螺仪；回转仪
point: vt. 指明方向
spacecraft: n. 宇宙飞船
aircraft: n. 飞机；飞行器
place: vt. 安置
backup: n. 备用；替补
switch on: 开启

1 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

2 malfunction   

vi.发生功能故障，发生故障，显示机能失常

参考例句：

• There must have been a computer malfunction.一定是出了电脑故障。
• Results have been delayed owing to a malfunction in the computer.由于电脑发生故障，计算结果推迟了。

3 observatory   

n.天文台，气象台，瞭望台，观测台

参考例句：

• Guy's house was close to the observatory.盖伊的房子离天文台很近。
• Officials from Greenwich Observatory have the clock checked twice a day.格林威治天文台的职员们每天对大钟检查两次。

4 malfunctioned   

发生故障(malfunction的过去式与过去分词)

参考例句：

• Is there any way the dye pack malfunctioned back at the bank? 什么能使爆色板在银行内就失效？ 来自电影对白
• The malfunctioned roller of his mouse is under repair. 他鼠标的滚轴失灵了，正在修呢。 来自互联网