VOA慢速英语2016 星期三开始星期二结束的日食

AS IT IS 2016-03-09 Solar Eclipse¹ Starts Wednesday, Ends Tuesday 星期三开始星期二结束的日食

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A solar eclipse will pass over Earth on Wednesday, starting in Southeast Asia March 9, and ending in the western Pacific on Tuesday evening, March 8.

星期三在地球会发生日食，3月9日在南太平洋开始，在星期二晚上西太平洋结束，在3月8日。

No, the Earth is not changing direction.

不，地球没有改变方向。

An eclipse occurs when the moon moves between the sun and the Earth. When it is lined up between the sun and the Earth, it creates a shadow and darkness on Earth.

当月亮在太阳和地球之间移动时，会发生月食。太阳与地球之间的关系，在地球上创造了一个阴影和黑暗。

Before science explained the phenomenon of a solar eclipse, days when the sun went dark were thought to be bad omens³.

在科学解释日食现象之前，日食被认为是恶兆。

The website TimeandDate.com says ancient cultures believed the sun disappearing during the day was a sign that gods were fighting or animals were taking bites out of the sun.

网上说古代文化认为太阳消失在白天是一个迹象，众神战斗或动物正在咬出太阳。

During the March 8 and 9 eclipse, the shadow will cross the International Date Line.

在3月8日和9日的月食，阴影将跨越国际日期线。

The date line runs from the North Pole to the South Pole, along the Pacific Ocean. It is where we measure the end of one day and the beginning of another.

日期线从北极到南极，沿太平洋。这就是我们衡量一天结束的地方，另一个开始的地方。

The eclipse will be visible in countries like Indonesia and Thailand, starting at zero hours (0000) UTC on March 9.

About four hours later, the shadow will reach the U.S. state of Alaska, concluding just before nightfall Tuesday, March 8.

People are already excited about the eclipse on social media sites.

NASA posted a video on Monday, talking about the eclipse, and it has thousands of likes and re-tweets on Twitter.

The website EarthSky.org says many people will see a partial eclipse. But people in Indonesia and on the island of Borneo may see a total eclipse. That is because they are in the path of totality. That is where the sun is completely blocked by the moon.

Larry Koehn posted an animation⁴ on his website (shadowandsubstance.com) showing the path of the eclipse compared to UTC time.

Lots of people also posted notes about how to safely watch the eclipse.

But ABC News has a story about a man who convinced Alaska Airlines to reschedule its flight from Alaska to Hawaii in order to coincide⁵ with the eclipse so passengers could get a good view.

日食将在印度尼西亚和泰国这些国家可见，在3月9日UTC零点开始。大约四小时后，阴影将达到美国阿拉斯加州，在星期二傍晚结束，3月8日。

Joe Rao is an astronomer⁶ from New York, and an eclipse chaser. It will be his 10th eclipse. He says he will bring 200 pairs of special glasses for fellow passengers who want to see the eclipse.

美国宇航局在星期一发布了一段谈论日食的视频，它获得了成千上万的支持和转发。网上说很多人会看到一部分日食。但在印度尼西亚和婆罗洲岛上的人可能会看到一个全日食。那是因为他们在总体路径。这就是太阳完全的地方被月亮挡住。

A group of astronomers⁷ is doing a live webcast from Palu City on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. If you want to watch them, you can find them on YouTube by looking up Slooh.

乔饶是来自纽约的一个天文学家和日食追逐者。这是他的第十次日食。他说他将带200副眼镜，供希望看到日食的同行乘客。

In case you missed this one, do not worry. There will be another total solar eclipse in just over a year, on August 21, 2017. It will be visible in the U.S., starting in Oregon and ending in South Carolina.

如果你错过了这一个，不要担心。在2017年8月21日，还会有另一个完全的日食。在美国，从俄勒冈开始，结束在南卡罗来纳州，这将是可见的。

Words in This Story

solar eclipse – n. an occasion when the sun looks like it is completely or partially⁸ covered with a dark circle because the moon is between the sun and the Earth

path of totality – n. during a solar eclipse, this is a small area where the sun is completely blocked by the moon.

omen² – n. a warning of something bad that will happen in the future

phenomenon – n. something (such as an interesting fact or event) that can be observed and studied and that often is difficult to explain

animation – n. a way of making a movie by using a series of images that are somewhat different from one another and that when seen quickly, one after another, create the appearance of movement

convince – v. to persuade; to cause (someone) to agree to do something

coincide – v. to happen at the same time as something else

1 eclipse   

v.使黯然失色，使相形见绌，日食，月食

参考例句：

• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。
• There will be an eclipse of the moon next month.下个月有月食。

2 omen   

n.征兆，预兆；vt.预示

参考例句：

• The superstitious regard it as a bad omen.迷信的人认为那是一种恶兆。
• Could this at last be a good omen for peace?这是否终于可以视作和平的吉兆了？

3 omens   

n.前兆，预兆( omen的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The omens for the game are still not propitious. 这场比赛仍不被看好。 来自辞典例句
• Such omens betide no good. 这种征兆预示情况不妙。 来自辞典例句

4 animation   

n.活泼，兴奋，卡通片／动画片的制作

参考例句：

• They are full of animation as they talked about their childhood.当他们谈及童年的往事时都非常兴奋。
• The animation of China made a great progress.中国的卡通片制作取得很大发展。

5 coincide   

vi.同时发生，相符，位置重合，重叠

参考例句：

• His tastes and habits coincide with those of his wife.他的爱好跟习惯恰好和他的妻子相同。
• He happened to coincide with you on this point.在这一问题上，他与你不谋而合。

6 astronomer   

n.天文学家

参考例句：

• A new star attracted the notice of the astronomer.新发现的一颗星引起了那位天文学家的注意。
• He is reputed to have been a good astronomer.他以一个优秀的天文学者闻名于世。

7 astronomers   

n.天文学者，天文学家( astronomer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Astronomers can accurately foretell the date,time,and length of future eclipses. 天文学家能精确地预告未来日食月食的日期、时刻和时长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• 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。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 partially   

adv.部分地，从某些方面讲

参考例句：

• The door was partially concealed by the drapes.门有一部分被门帘遮住了。
• The police managed to restore calm and the curfew was partially lifted.警方设法恢复了平静，宵禁部分解除。