英语听力：自然百科 行星旅行：土星 Saturn—3

 Saturn¹ might be the second largest planet in the solar system, but like gas giant neighbor Jupiter, it’s a triumph of show over substance. 

 

“Saturn, first of all is a big giant gas ball, actually it’s a big giant ball of fluid, and the outer parts of it are gases atmospheres. But as you go deeper it gets hotter and hotter and gets more pressurized and so if you get down deep enough you start getting sort of fluid effects. ” 

 

Saturn is a big boy, but pound for pound, a cosmic lightweight. It’s big enough to swallow 765 Earths, but as the least dense² planet, it would float on water. Like Jupiter, this is a world with nowhere to stand. With no solid surface, it’s hard to measure how long a day is, though the cloud tops go around about every 11 hours. But it’s what’s up above, not down below that will draw the crowds to Saturn.

 

“It’s just hard to imagine anything more beautiful than the ring system. They’re the first thing any kid with a telescope wants to look at.”

 

Spotting these rings from a backyard telescope is a treat. In an instant they can all but disappear when Saturn tilts³ toward the sun.

 

“The overwhelming thing that you as a space tourist would be struck by is how incredibly thin they are.”

 

“They are only no thicker than about one or two stories in a modern day building. Interested in seeing for yourself? Strap in Space Travelers, it’s quite a ride”

 

After seven years and a billion miles of space, the Cassini-Huygens spacecraft faces its greatest challenge on June 30th 2004

 

1 Saturn   

n.农神，土星

参考例句：

• 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。
• These comparisons suggested that Saturn is made of lighter materials.这些比较告诉我们，土星由较轻的物质构成。

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 tilts   

（意欲赢得某物或战胜某人的）企图，尝试( tilt的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• As the kitten touches it, it tilts at the floor. 它随着击碰倾侧，头不动，眼不动，还呆呆地注视着地上。 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译
• The two writers had a number of tilts in print. 这两位作家写过一些文章互相攻击。