英语听力：探索发现 科学新发现：我们的大气层-25

 One day these manned space missions may reach out even further to distant planets with alien atmospheres, atmospheres that may support their own life forms.

Else where in our universe on distant planets, alien air may support extraterrestrial life. Joel Hagen has spent 20 years imagining how those atmospheres could have affected¹ their inhabitants.

That's where some of the real creative joy comes from, trying to think about everything that has happened here and then take yourself one notch² beyond and imagine what haven't i seen here, and then try to visualize³ that.

One of the possibilities that intrigues⁴ Hagen is life on a gas giant planet.

This is an environment so completely alien to what we are used to, even a planet like Jupitor for instance has no solid surface, just a gradual transition of density⁵ of gas, and i think we might imagine creatures in an atmosphere like that that sort of rely on buoyancy, perhaps being able to generate hydrogen for example somehow within their body.

These creatures would be like hydrogen filled blimps, lighter⁶ than the air, able to float amongst the gas clouds.

The concept that i have here is to have perhaps colonies of microbes in the sort of tentacle⁷ like structures here, and these microbes generate the hydrogen which in turn sort of inflates⁸ the gas bag here, creature like this then can  sort of float freely...

 

1 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

2 notch   

n.(V字形)槽口，缺口，等级

参考例句：

• The peanuts they grow are top-notch.他们种的花生是拔尖的。
• He cut a notch in the stick with a sharp knife.他用利刃在棒上刻了一个凹痕。

3 visualize   

vt.使看得见，使具体化，想象，设想

参考例句：

• I remember meeting the man before but I can't visualize him.我记得以前见过那个人，但他的样子我想不起来了。
• She couldn't visualize flying through space.她无法想像在太空中飞行的景象。

4 intrigues   

n.密谋策划( intrigue的名词复数 )；神秘气氛；引人入胜的复杂情节v.搞阴谋诡计( intrigue的第三人称单数 )；激起…的好奇心

参考例句：

• He was made king as a result of various intrigues. 由于搞了各种各样的阴谋，他当上了国王。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Those who go in for intrigues and conspiracy are doomed to failure. 搞阴谋诡计的人注定要失败。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 density   

n.密集，密度，浓度

参考例句：

• The population density of that country is 685 per square mile.那个国家的人口密度为每平方英里685人。
• The region has a very high population density.该地区的人口密度很高。

6 lighter   

n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级

参考例句：

• The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色，色调明朗了一些。
• The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。

7 tentacle   

n.触角，触须，触手

参考例句：

• Each tentacle is about two millimeters long.每一个触手大约两毫米长。
• It looked like a big eyeball with a long tentacle thing.它看上去像一个有着长触角的巨大眼球。

8 inflates   

v.使充气（于轮胎、气球等）( inflate的第三人称单数 )；（使）膨胀；（使）通货膨胀；物价上涨

参考例句：

• Mass advertising often inflates prices rather than reducing them. 大宗广告常常是抬高物价而不是降低。 来自辞典例句
• The device periodically inflates the cuff and takes a blood pressure reading. 定期气囊打气及进行血压读数。 来自互联网