【英语时差8,16】隐形人同样无法看到你

 At some point in our childhoods it dawns on us how incredibly great it would be to turn invisible. Just imagine all the places you could sneak¹ into! Think of all the things you'd get to see!   Well, nobody knows yet how to make a person invisible. But one thing we do know from physics is that, if you did make yourself invisible, you'd be in for a big disappointment. You wouldn't be able to see anyone else either!

Why is that? Just because you can't see me, how does it follow that I can't see you?

The problem comes in the nature of seeing. Presumably when we say "invisible" we are not talking about someone who can hide so well that she's never spotted². If you're really going to be invisible, you'll have to be transparent³. In other words, light will have to be able to pass right through your body without being deflected⁴ or absorbed. That way, the light coming from the tree behind you will pass through your body unchanged and reach my eye where it forms an image of the tree exactly as it would if you weren't there.

But think about what we just said. The way I see the tree is by having light from it hit my eye. That interaction of light with my retina sends signals to my brain, which combine to form a visual image. See the problem? If you're invisible, light never hits your retina, or anything else. It passes right through. Unfortunately, it's not half as much fun to be invisible if all you can do is stumble around.  

1 sneak   

vt.潜行(隐藏,填石缝)；偷偷摸摸做；n.潜行；adj.暗中进行

参考例句：

• He raised his spear and sneak forward.他提起长矛悄悄地前进。
• I saw him sneak away from us.我看见他悄悄地从我们身边走开。

2 spotted   

adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的

参考例句：

• The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
• Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。

3 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

4 deflected   

偏离的

参考例句：

• The ball deflected off Reid's body into the goal. 球打在里德身上反弹进球门。
• Most of its particles are deflected. 此物质的料子大多是偏斜的。