VOA慢速英语2015 泰国曼谷天降火球并爆炸

AS IT IS 2015-09-09 Meteor Explodes in Skies Over Thailand 泰国曼谷天降火球并爆炸

A meteor exploded over the sky in Thailand in a bright streak¹ of gold.

Meteors are also known as "falling stars." This meteor crashed through the Earth's atmosphere in the daytime. It was recorded on many video cameras that drivers keep on the dashboards of their cars.

"It is a normal occurrence, but the meteor this morning was especially big and very bright," explained Voravit Tanvuttibundit, an adviser² to the National Astronomical³ Research Institute of Thailand, to AFP on Monday.

He said he witnessed the meteor around 8:40 a.m. local time, or 0140 UTC.

A meteor weighing 10,000 tons exploded above the Ural Mountains in October 2013. It was recorded on many dashcams in Russia. It left meteor debris⁴ -- rocks from space -- over a wide area. More than 1,000 people were injured.

Words in This Story

streak -- n. a long thin line, in this case, across the sky

dashboards -- n. the panel or shelf inside the windshielf of a car or plane

astronomical -- adj. related to the stars and planets

Ural Mountains -- n. mountain range that runs through Russia

dashcams -- n. video cameras that are fixed⁵ to the dashboard of a car

debris -- n. fragments or pieces that are scattered

1 streak   

n.条理，斑纹，倾向，少许，痕迹；v.加条纹，变成条纹，奔驰，快速移动

参考例句：

• The Indians used to streak their faces with paint.印第安人过去常用颜料在脸上涂条纹。
• Why did you streak the tree?你为什么在树上刻条纹？

2 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

3 astronomical   

adj.天文学的，（数字）极大的

参考例句：

• He was an expert on ancient Chinese astronomical literature.他是研究中国古代天文学文献的专家。
• Houses in the village are selling for astronomical prices.乡村的房价正在飙升。

4 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

5 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。