VOA慢速英语2021 周五一场接近月全食即将登场

A nearly total lunar eclipse¹ is set to happen on Friday and people in many parts of the world will be able to see it.

周五将发生一次接近月全食，世界上很多地方的人们都能够看到它。

It will be the longest partial² lunar eclipse to happen this century, records from the American space agency³ NASA show. NASA says the main part of the eclipse will last 3 hours, 28 minutes and 23 seconds. The longest total lunar eclipse to happen this century was on July 27, 2018. That one lasted about one hour and 43 minutes.

美国宇航局的记录显示，这将是本世纪发生的时间最长的一次月偏食。美国宇航局表示，这次月食的主要过程将持续3小时28分23秒。本世纪时间最长的月全食发生在2018年7月27日。那次月全食持续了大约1小时43分。

Friday's lunar eclipse will be visible⁴ in all of North America, as well as large parts of South America, eastern Australia and northeastern Asia. It will not be visible to people in the Middle East, most of Africa, Eastern Europe and central Asia.

周五的这次月食将在北美全部，南美大部、澳大利亚东部以及亚洲东北部可见。中东、非洲大部、东欧以及中亚的人们将看不到这次月食。

Eclipse watchers in North America and the Pacific will be able to witness the full event in late evening Thursday or in the early morning hours of Friday. The partial lunar eclipse can also be seen in South America and Western Europe early Friday morning.

北美和太平洋地区的月食观测者将能够在周四深夜或周五凌晨目睹此次月食全程。周五早上在南美洲和西欧也能看到此次月偏食。

People in other areas – including New Zealand, Australia, Japan, China and Southeast Asia – will be able to see parts of the eclipse beginning in late afternoon or evening hours on Friday.

包括新西兰、澳大利亚、日本、中国和东南亚在内的其它地区人们将能够在周五傍晚或晚间看到此次月食的部分过程。

A lunar eclipse happens when the sun, Earth and moon line up in such a way that the moon passes into the darkness of Earth's shadow. The eclipse will happen over several different stages.

当太阳、地球和月球以这样的方式排成一线时，月球就会进入地球阴影的黑暗中，月食就发生了。月食将经历几个不同的阶段。

In a total lunar eclipse, the whole moon falls within the darkest part of Earth's shadow. In Friday's partial lunar eclipse, more than 97 percent of the moon will fall within this shadow.

在月全食中，整个月球都落在地球阴影最黑暗的部分。在周五的月偏食中，超过97%的月球将落在这个阴影内。

NASA says the eclipse is expected to reach its peak at 9:03 UTC time. The moon will look darker and appear to turn a reddish-brown color. This happens because the only sunlight reaching the moon passes through Earth's atmosphere.

美国宇航局表示，这次月食预计将在协调世界时9点03分达到顶峰。月亮将会看起来更暗，似乎变成了红棕色。发生这种情况是因为达到月球的唯一太阳光会穿过地球大气层。

After the peak, the full shadow of Earth will begin to slowly move off the moon to the lower right, before completely leaving the full shadow by 10:47 UTC.

在达到顶峰之后，地球的本影将开始缓慢地从月球移到右下方，然后在世界协调时10点47分完全离开本影。

"The more dust or clouds in Earth's atmosphere during the eclipse, the redder the moon will appear," NASA said in a statement. "It's as if all the world's sunrises and sunsets are projected onto the moon."

美国宇航局在声明中表示：“月食期间地球大气中的灰层或云层越多，月球就会显得越红。这就好像是把全球所有日升日落都投影在月球上。”

The upcoming eclipse is happening during a full moon. Ancient cultures around the world gave names to the 12 full moons that happen throughout the year.

即将到来的这次月食发生在满月期间。世界各地的古代文化给一年到头出现的12次满月取了名字。

In North America, traditional names are given to full moons. NASA says many of these names came from Native Americans. Some were first published by the Farmers' Almanac, in the northeastern state of Maine, in the 1930s.

在北美，满月被赋予了传统名称。美国宇航局表示，这些名字中有很多都来自于美国原住民。有些是在上世纪30年代缅因州东北部的农民历中首次发布的。

Traditional names for the November full moon include the Beaver⁵ Moon, the Frost or Frosty Moon and the Snow Moon. Because of the current full moon name, Friday's event has been widely publicized as the Beaver Moon partial lunar eclipse.

11月的满月的传统名称包括海狸月、霜月和雪月。由于当前的满月名称，周五的月食被广泛宣传为海狸月月偏食。

One interpretation⁶ of the Beaver Moon is that mid-autumn was traditionally the time for hunters seeking beaver fur to set their traps before waters froze. NASA notes that another reason for the name could be linked to how active beavers⁷ are during the autumn as they prepare for winter.

对海狸月的一种解释是，这个季节传统上是猎人为了获得海狸毛而在水结冰之前设置陷阱的时间。美国宇航局指出，该名称的另一个原因可能是跟海狸在秋季筹备过冬时的活跃程度有关。

The terms frost, frosty and snow in the other names describe the frosts and early snowfall that usually begin at this time of year in many parts of the U.S.

其它名称中的霜和雪等术语描述了美国很多地区这个时期开始的霜冻和初雪。

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 partial   

adj.部分的；偏爱的；偏心的

参考例句：

• I could give it only partial support.我只能给它部分的支持。
• I'm partial to a drink at bedtime.我临睡前喜欢喝杯酒。

3 agency   

n.经办；代理；代理处

参考例句：

• This disease is spread through the agency of insects.这种疾病是通过昆虫媒介传播的。
• He spoke in the person of Xinhua News Agency.他代表新华社讲话。

4 visible   

adj.看得见的，明显的，显然的；n.可见物

参考例句：

• It is a visible star in the sky.这是一颗在天空中可见的星星。
• The warning lights were clearly visible.警示信号灯清晰可见。

5 beaver   

n.海狸，河狸

参考例句：

• The hat is made of beaver.这顶帽子是海狸毛皮制的。
• A beaver is an animals with big front teeth.海狸是一种长着大门牙的动物。

6 interpretation   

n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理

参考例句：

• His statement admits of one interpretation only.他的话只有一种解释。
• Analysis and interpretation is a very personal thing.分析与说明是个很主观的事情。

7 beavers   

海狸( beaver的名词复数 )； 海狸皮毛； 棕灰色； 拼命工作的人

参考例句：

• In 1928 some porpoises were photographed working like beavers to push ashore a waterlogged mattress. 1928年有人把这些海豚象海狸那样把一床浸泡了水的褥垫推上岸时的情景拍摄了下来。
• Thus do the beavers, thus do the bees, thus do men. 海狸是这样做的，蜜蜂是这样做的，人也是这样做的。