【英语时差8,16】镜子

Today Yael and Don discuss mirrors.   Y: Mirror mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of them--D: Watcha doing?

Y: I was, um, calibrating¹ the surface smoothness of this mirror.

D: I see.

Y: Did you know that in order for a mirror to work properly it has to be perfectly²   smooth?

D: Why's that?

Y: Well, a mirror is basically something that reflects light, right?

D: Right.

Y: When light hits something, some of the light is reflected, some absorbed, and some  passes through.

D: So for a mirror to produce a clear image it has to reflect as much of the light as possible, and in order to do that it has to be smooth.

Y: Exactly. A warped³ mirror scatters⁴ and diffuses⁵ light, making the image it produces look deformed⁶. But a smooth mirror reflects without distortion.

D: Which is what makes it possible for you to stand in front of the mirror and preen⁷.

Y: I was not preening⁸!

D: Right. But there's nothing wrong with preening, you know. People have been  admiring themselves in mirrors for a long time. Take the Greeks and Romans. They   loved looking atthemselves, although they only had highly polished pieces of bronze,  tin, and silver. Their descendants were even more vain, so in 16th century Venice  mirror makers⁹ discovered thetechnique of backing a piece of glass with a reflecting metal composed of tin and mercury, producing a much clearer reflection. That  technique is still in practice today, although now weuse a thin layer of molten  aluminum or silver sprayed onto the back of a piece of glass in a vacuum to achieve  premium smoothness.

Y: Thanks for the history lesson.

D: You're welcome. And by the way . . .

Y: Yes?

D: You are the fairest of them all.

Y: Oh Don.  

1 calibrating   

v.校准( calibrate的现在分词 )；使标准化；使合标准；测量（枪的）口径

参考例句：

• The value of the threshold strain is determined by calibrating the coating. 阈值应变的数值是靠对涂层进行标定测出来的。 来自辞典例句
• Dewpoint hygrometers provide an absolute measurement of humidity and therefore are essentially self-calibrating. 露点湿度计可提供湿度的绝对量测值，因此它基本上是自动标定的。 来自辞典例句

2 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

3 warped   

adj.反常的；乖戾的；（变）弯曲的；变形的v.弄弯，变歪( warp的过去式和过去分词 )；使（行为等）不合情理，使乖戾，

参考例句：

• a warped sense of humour 畸形的幽默感
• The board has warped. 木板翘了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 scatters   

v.（使）散开， （使）分散，驱散( scatter的第三人称单数 )；撒

参考例句：

• He scatters money about as if he were rich. 他四处挥霍，好像很有钱。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Truth raises against itself the storm that scatters its seeds broadcast. 真理引起了反对它自己的狂风骤雨，那场风雨吹散了真理的广播的种子。 来自辞典例句

5 diffuses   

（使光）模糊，漫射，漫散( diffuse的第三人称单数 )； （使）扩散； （使）弥漫； （使）传播

参考例句：

• A gas in solution diffuses from region of greater to one of less concentration. 溶液中的气体由浓度较高的区域向浓度较低的区域扩散。
• The sun diffuses light and heat. 太阳发出光和热。

6 deformed   

adj.畸形的；变形的；丑的，破相了的

参考例句：

• He was born with a deformed right leg.他出生时右腿畸形。
• His body was deformed by leprosy.他的身体因为麻风病变形了。

7 preen   

v.（人）打扮修饰

参考例句：

• 50% of men under 35 spend at least 20 minutes preening themselves every morning in the bathroom.50%的35岁以下男性每天早上至少花20分钟在盥洗室精心打扮。
• Bill preened his beard.比尔精心修剪了他的胡须。

8 preening   

v.（鸟）用嘴整理（羽毛）( preen的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Will you stop preening yourself in front of the mirror? 你别对着镜子打扮个没完行不行？
• She was fading, while he was still preening himself in his elegance and youth. 她已显老，而他却仍然打扮成翩翩佳公子。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

9 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》