英语听力：探索发现 2014-07-23 BBC 地平线：陨石的真相-31（在线收听） |
When you consider the Earth’s history stretching over billions of years, it’s clear that meteorite impacts, far from being unexpected, are just a normal part of the life cycle of our planet. But that is not how they seem to us. The Chebarkul meteorite is a reminder of something we could probably rather not think about too often how a sudden, apparently random event could have devastating consequences. But this time we have been lucky. Although it was terrifying for those who witnessed it, this meteor struck without causing any fatalities, and close enough to be captured on multiple cameras. So it’s given us a huge amount of information to help us prepare for the next one. I think perhaps the real lasting legacy of the Russian meteor will be the effect it has had on the popular consciousness and perhaps on politicians. Scientists have been saying for decades now that these things do happen from time to time, that they could be dangerous if they happened over populated area. But now we have actual proof, we have an event we can point to. We know it could’ve been worse than this. So I think if this leads to more vigilance and perhaps the detection of future impacting events, that’ll be a good outcome.
When a bit of an asteroid comes through the atmosphere and lands on the Earth as a meteorite, it reminds us that the solar system is a dynamic place. It’s not finished. It’s still working. It’s still evolving. It’s still changing.
So next time you look up at the night sky, spare a thought for those thousands of rocky lumps whizzing across our path. A few of them have got our name on them, but the thing is by analyzing in detail the data from the meteor. It means that next time, and there will be a next time., we will be much more prepared.
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| 原文地址：http://www.tingroom.com/lesson/yytltsfx/2014/273576.html |