【英语时差8,16】假想地球与其他行星发生碰撞

 

Don: I'm worried, Yaël.

 

Yaël: What about?

 

D: Well, this might sound kinda paranoid, but what if the Earth collided with another  planet?

 

Y: You're really worried about that?

 

D: We do a science show, and everyday we're learning about strange things that nobody  knew about before, so yeah, it's crossed my mind.

 

Y: OK. Well, since the planets of our solar system have been in their fixed¹ orbits for  billions of years, it seems unlikely that we'd suddenly collide with Venus or Mars.

 

D: I know, but scientists at UCLA and Tennessee State University noticed a strange ring  of debris² and dust orbiting a star. They thought at first that the star was young---only a few million years old---but then realized that it was billions of years old, like our sun.

 

Y: OK, so?

 

D: So given the star's age and the distance of all that dust and debris from the star, that  stuff should have coalesced³ into planets by now or been blown away into space. So  the theory is that the debris was caused when two planets collided and blew each other to bits.

 

Y: Wow. So if that's true, then it means that it's possible for planets in a stable solar system to somehow get off track and run into each other. Scary thought.

 

D: Yep. Actually, many scientists think that when the earth was about a million years  old, it collided with a body about the size of Mars, and that the resulting debris came  to form our moon.

 

Y: Interesting. So if we're ever struck by another planet, maybe Earth will get another  moon.

 

D: Maybe, but nobody would be around to see it.  

 

1 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

2 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

3 coalesced   

v.联合，合并( coalesce的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The puddles had coalesced into a small stream. 地面上水洼子里的水汇流成了一条小溪。
• The views of party leaders coalesced to form a coherent policy. 党的领导人的各种观点已统一为一致的政策。 来自辞典例句