【英语时差8,16】彗星研究者（上）

Here’s a great story of someone using their noggin to figure out something about nature. For a long time people have been fascinated¹ by comets passing by the earth. But nobody knew how far away they were. Aristotle, for example, figured that comets were in the upper atmosphere, just a few miles high. Other ancient thinkers thought this was probably wrong. But how could they tell? Can you think of a way? Imagine that you don’t have any modern instruments to use. No hubble telescope, no airplanes, no radar³. What might you do? A Danish astronomer⁴ named Tycho Brahe figured this one out. In fifteen seventy-seven everyone was talking about a comet² that was then in the sky. Since a lot of people had seen it, Brahe travelled around gathering⁵ reports.

1 fascinated   

a.被强烈地吸引住，感到着迷的

参考例句：

• China has always fascinated me. 中国一直令我心驰神往。
• The children watched, fascinated, as the picture began to appear. 电影开始以后孩子们入迷地观看着。

2 comet   

n.慧星

参考例句：

• Recently they have discovered a comet.最近他们发现了一颗彗星。
• Halley's Comet is going to come back in 2061.哈雷彗星将于2061年回归。

3 radar   

n.雷达，无线电探测器

参考例句：

• They are following the flight of an aircraft by radar.他们正在用雷达追踪一架飞机的飞行。
• Enemy ships were detected on the radar.敌舰的影像已显现在雷达上。

4 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。

5 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。