人类探测器以最近距离“访问”太阳

近日，人类探测器“帕克”到达史上距离太阳最近的位置——距离610万公里。

今天你练听力了吗？

🤔️小作业：

1. Why does the article compare the Earth-Sun distance to an American football field when describing Parker's approach?

A. To highlight the probe's departure from standard NASA measurement systems.

B. To criticize the use of imperial units in space exploration.

C. To illustrate the proportion of Parker's position relative to a well-known length.

D. To confirm that Parker's final trajectory is shorter than originally planned.

无注释原文：

NASA probe makes closest-ever pass by the sun

From: VOA

NASA's pioneering Parker Solar Probe made history Tuesday, flying closer to the sun than any other spacecraft, with its heat shield exposed to scorching temperatures topping 930 degrees Celsius (1,700 degrees Fahrenheit).

Launched in August 2018, the spaceship is on a seven-year mission to deepen scientific understanding of our star and help forecast space-weather events that can affect life on Earth.

Tuesday's historic flyby should have occurred at precisely 11:53 Greenwich Mean Time, although mission scientists will have to wait until Friday for confirmation as they lose contact with the craft for several days due to its proximity to the sun.

"Right now, Parker Solar Probe is flying closer to a star than anything has ever been before," at 6.1 million kilometers (3.8 million miles) away, NASA official Nicky Fox said in a video on social media Tuesday morning.

"It is just a total 'yay, we did it,' moment."

If the distance between Earth and the sun is the equivalent to the length of an American football field, 109.7 meters, the spacecraft should have been about four meters from the end zone at the moment of closest approach — known as perihelion.

"This is one example of NASA's bold missions, doing something that no one else has ever done before to answer long-standing questions about our universe," Parker Solar Probe program scientist Arik Posner said in a statement on Monday.

"We can't wait to receive that first status update from the spacecraft and start receiving the science data in the coming weeks."

So effective is the heat shield that the probe's internal instruments remain near room temperature — around 29 C (85 F) — as it explores the sun's outer atmosphere, called the corona.

Parker will also be moving at a blistering pace of around 690,000 kilometers per hour (430,000 miles per hourph), fast enough to fly from the U.S. capital, Washington, to Japan's Tokyo in under a minute.

"Parker will truly be returning data from uncharted territory," said Nick Pinkine, mission operations manager at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland.

"We're excited to hear back from the spacecraft when it swings back around the sun."

By venturing into these extreme conditions, Parker has been helping scientists tackle some of the sun's biggest mysteries: how solar wind originates, why the corona is hotter than the surface below, and how coronal mass ejections — massive clouds of plasma that hurl through space are formed.

The Christmas Eve flyby is the first of three record-setting close passes, with the next two — on March 22 and June 19, 2025 — both expected to bring the probe back to a similarly close distance from the Sun.

- ◆ -

注：完整题目见本文开头；中文文本为VOA官方译文，仅供参考

含注释全文：

NASA probe makes closest-ever pass by the sun

From: VOA

NASA's pioneering Parker Solar Probe made history Tuesday, flying closer to the sun than any other spacecraft, with its heat shield exposed to scorching temperatures topping 930 degrees Celsius (1,700 degrees Fahrenheit).

美国国家航空航天局（NASA）具有开拓意义的帕克太阳探测器（Parker Solar Probe）星期二（12月24日）创造了历史，它比任何其他航天器都更接近太阳，其隔热罩暴露在超过930摄氏度的高温之下。

probe /prəʊb/ 作动词，表示“盘问；追问；探究”，英文解释为“to try to discover information that other people do not want you to know, by asking questions carefully and not directly”举个🌰：The interviewer probed deep into her private life. 采访者深入地打探她的私生活。

在恏渏 亾類哋夲能文中提到了probe作名词有“探索；探查；查究；调查”的意思，英文解释为“an attempt to discover information by asking a lot of questions”如：an FBI probe into corruption 联邦调查局对腐败的调查；也可以指“（医生或科学家用的）探针”，英文解释为“a long thin metal instrument that doctors and scientists use to examine parts of the body”

📍probe还可以解释为“探测器”，英文解释为：a device that is put inside something to test or record information. 如：a space probe 航天探测器/太空探测器。

🎬电影《像素大战》（Pixels）中的台词提到：That videotape will be placed in a space probe 录影带将放在太空探测器中。

heat shield /ˈhiːt ˌʃiːld/ 表示“（宇宙飞船的）隔热屏，隔热罩”，英文解释为“the part of a spacecraft's structure that prevents it from getting too hot as it returns to earth”

scorching /ˈskɔː.tʃɪŋ/ 表示“灼热的（地）；极热的（地）”，英文解释为“very hot”如：a scorching summer day 炎热的夏日。

Launched in August 2018, the spaceship is on a seven-year mission to deepen scientific understanding of our star and help forecast space-weather events that can affect life on Earth.

这枚航天器在2018年8月发射，目前正在执行为期七年的任务，以加深对这颗最接近地球的恒星的科学了解，并帮助预报可能影响地球上的生命的太空-天气事件。

forecast /ˈfɔː.kɑːst/ 可以作名词，也可作动词，表示“预测；预报”，英文解释为“to say what you expect to happen in the future”举个🌰：Snow has been forecast for tonight. 预报今晚有雪。

📍这个词由“fore-”（前面的）和“cast”（投，抛）组成，表示“向前投掷”的意思，引申为“预测”。近义词：prediction（预言），同根词：forecaster（预报员），常用短语：weather forecast（天气预报）

Tuesday's historic flyby should have occurred at precisely 11:53 Greenwich Mean Time, although mission scientists will have to wait until Friday for confirmation as they lose contact with the craft for several days due to its proximity to the sun.

星期二历史性的飞越发生的确切时间应为格林威治标准时间（GMT）11:53，不过任务中心的科学家们需要等到星期五才能确认，因为由于探测器靠近太阳，他们与其失去了几天的联系。

flyby /ˈflaɪ.baɪ/ 表示“（尤指航天器的）近天体飞行”，英文解释为“a flight, especially in a spacecraft, past a particular point in space”举个🌰：The pictures were taken during the spacecraft's 25-minute flyby of the asteroid. 这些照片是在航天器靠近小行星的25分钟飞行期内拍摄的。

proximity /prɒkˈsɪm.ə.ti/ 表示“接近，邻近；临近”，英文解释为“the state of being near in space or time”举个🌰：The best thing about the location of the house is its proximity to the town centre. 这座房子在地理位置方面最好的一点就是邻近市中心。

📍《经济学人》（The Economist）一篇讲述量子计算的文章中提到：Their proximity to markets makes such judgments easier. 他们靠近市场，因而更容易做出这类判断。

"Right now, Parker Solar Probe is flying closer to a star than anything has ever been before," at 6.1 million kilometers (3.8 million miles) away, NASA official Nicky Fox said in a video on social media Tuesday morning.

NASA官员妮基·福克斯（Nicky Fox）星期二早上在一段社交媒体视频中表示：“现在，帕克太阳探测器距离一颗恒星的距离比以往任何物体都要近”，距离太阳610万公里。

"It is just a total 'yay, we did it,' moment."

“这完全就是一个‘耶，我们做到了’的时刻。”

If the distance between Earth and the sun is the equivalent to the length of an American football field, 109.7 meters, the spacecraft should have been about four meters from the end zone at the moment of closest approach — known as perihelion.

如果把地球和太阳之间的距离比作一个美式橄榄球场的长度，也就是109.7米，那么在最接近太阳的时刻、也就是近日点，航天器应该距离触地得分的端区约四米。

equivalent /ɪˈkwɪv.əl.ənt/ 1）作形容词，表示“（价值、数量、意义、重要性等）相等的，相同的”，英文解释为“equal in value, amount, meaning, importance, etc.”举个🌰：Eight kilometres is roughly equivalent to five miles. 八公里约等于五英里。

2）作名词，表示“相等的东西；等量；对应词”，英文解释为“a thing, amount, word, etc. that is equivalent to sth else”

perihelion /ˌper.ɪˈhiː.li.ən/ 表示“近日点”，英文解释为“the point in an object's orbit (= a curved path in space around a planet or star) around the sun at which the object is closest to the sun”举个🌰：In January the Earth reaches perihelion. 一月份地球到达近日点。

"This is one example of NASA's bold missions, doing something that no one else has ever done before to answer long-standing questions about our universe," Parker Solar Probe program scientist Arik Posner said in a statement on Monday.

帕克太阳探测器项目科学家阿里克·波斯纳（Arik Posner）星期一在一份声明中说：“这是NASA大胆任务的一个例子，它做了一些之前从未有人做过的事情，以解答有关我们宇宙的长期问题。”

"We can't wait to receive that first status update from the spacecraft and start receiving the science data in the coming weeks."

“我们迫不及待地等待收到航天器的第一个状态更新并等待在未来几周内开始接收科学数据。”

So effective is the heat shield that the probe's internal instruments remain near room temperature — around 29 C (85 F) — as it explores the sun's outer atmosphere, called the corona.

隔热罩非常有效，当探测器探索被称为日冕的太阳外层大气时，其内部仪器的温度可以保持在接近室温水平，大约为29摄氏度。

internal /ɪnˈtɜː.nəl/ 表示“体内的；内部的；国内的”，英文解释为“inside the body”举个🌰：He sustained injuries to his arms, legs, and several internal organs. 他的手臂、腿和一些内脏都受了伤。

corona /kəˈrəʊ.nə/ 表示“（指在日食期间的）日冕；月华”，英文解释为“a circle of light that can sometimes be seen around the moon at night, or around the sun during an eclipse (= a time when the moon is positioned exactly between the sun and the earth)”

Parker will also be moving at a blistering pace of around 690,000 kilometers per hour (430,000 miles per hourph), fast enough to fly from the U.S. capital, Washington, to Japan's Tokyo in under a minute.

帕克的飞行速度也将达到闪电般的每小时69万公里，足以在一分钟之内从美国首都华盛顿飞至日本首都东京。

blistering /ˈblɪs.tər.ɪŋ/ 1）表示“极热的”，英文解释为“extremely hot”举个🌰：We went out in the blistering heat. 我们冒着酷暑外出了。

2）表示“极快的”，英文解释为“extremely fast”举个🌰：The runners set off at a blistering pace. 运动员起跑速度极快。

"Parker will truly be returning data from uncharted territory," said Nick Pinkine, mission operations manager at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland.

马里兰州劳雷尔市的约翰霍普金斯应用物理实验室（Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory）的任务运行经理尼克·平克因（Nick Pinkine）说：“帕克将真正从未知领域发回数据。”

uncharted /ʌnˈtʃɑː.tɪd/ 表示“（地方或处境）全新的，未知的，无人涉足的”，英文解释为“An uncharted place or situation is completely new and therefore has never been described before.”举个🌰：Nuclear fusion has taken physicists into uncharted seas/territory/waters (= a new and unknown area). 核聚变将物理学家们带入了全新的未知领域。

territory /ˈter.ɪ.tər.i/ 表示“领土；领域；领地；活动范围”，英文解释为“(an area of) land, or sometimes sea, that is considered as belonging to or connected with a particular country or person”举个🌰：He was shot down in enemy territory. 他在敌方领土上被击落。

📍注：《消失的她》你觉得怎么样？文中也出现了这个词：Chinese mystery drama “Lost in the Stars” was the top-grossing film on the planet over the latest weekend – despite playing only a single territory. 尽管只在一个地区上映，中国悬疑电影《消失的她》（Lost in the Stars）上周末仍成为全球票房收入最高的电影。其中，"playing only a single territory"表示这部电影仅在一个特定的地区或市场上映，而没有在其他地方上映。这是一种特殊的用法，可能在标准的英语语法中看起来有些不寻常，但在电影行业的上下文中是常见的。在这个上下文中，说一部电影"plays a territory"就是说该电影在某个地区被上映或展示。当然，你也可以使用介词，比如说"playing in a single territory"，这样的表达方式也是正确的，意思完全相同。但在电影行业的行话或者新闻报道中，常常会省略介词，因为这样的说法更简洁。

"We're excited to hear back from the spacecraft when it swings back around the sun."

“当航天器绕着太阳旋转回来时，我们很高兴听取它的回复。”

作动词，swing /swɪŋ/ 表示“挥动（拳头或器物）打击”，英文解释为“to move an object or your fist in an attempt to hit something or someone”举个🌰：I swung (the bat) and missed. 我挥动（球棒）击球，但是没有打中。

1）作名词，表示“秋千”，英文解释为“a seat for swinging on, hung from above on ropes or chains”；

2）表示“摆动；挥动；转动；强劲节奏”，英文解释为“a swinging movement or rhythm”举个🌰：He took a wild swing at the ball. 他对准球猛地挥拍一击。

3）表示“改变；改变的程度”，英文解释为“a change from one opinion or situation to another; the amount by which sth changes”举个🌰：Voting showed a 25% swing to him. 投票显示25%的人转而支持他。

4）在体育赛事的背景下，它可以指一系列赛事或比赛阶段。这个用法常见于体育报道和评论中。此处，swing指的是比赛或赛季中一个特定的阶段或时段，尤其是指赛季中连续进行的一系列比赛。例如，North American hard court swing是指北美硬地赛季的一系列赛事。通常用来描述某项运动（尤其是网球）中的一段时间，运动员参加不同的赛事，通常是不同地点的同一类型比赛。

By venturing into these extreme conditions, Parker has been helping scientists tackle some of the sun's biggest mysteries: how solar wind originates, why the corona is hotter than the surface below, and how coronal mass ejections — massive clouds of plasma that hurl through space are formed.

通过进入这些极端条件进行探索，帕克一直在帮助科学家解决一些关于太阳的最大谜团：太阳风如何起源，为何日冕比下面的表面更热，以及日冕物质抛射--也就是向太空喷射的大量等离子云--是如何形成的。

venture /ˈven.tʃər/ 1）作名词，表示“（尤指有风险的）企业，商业，投机活动，经营项目”，英文解释为“a business project or activity, especially one that involves taking risks”举个🌰：A disastrous business venture lost him thousands of dollars. 一个彻底失败的经营项目使他损失严重。

2）作动词，表示“敢于去；冒险去（或做）；冒昧地说”，英文解释为“to risk going somewhere or doing something that might be dangerous or unpleasant, or to risk saying something that might be criticized”举个🌰：As we set off into the forest, we felt as though we were venturing (forth) into the unknown. 当我们动身进入那片森林时，感觉自己似乎正在冒险进入一个未知的世界。

📺美剧《复仇》（Revenge）中的台词提到：This is brave new territory we're venturing into here. 这是我们华丽冒险的新地域。

📺美剧《宋飞正传》（Seinfeld）中的台词提到：You realize you're venturing into uncharted waters? 你意识到你在冒险进入未知水域吗？

originate /əˈrɪdʒ.ən.eɪt/ 表示“起源，发源，发端；产生”，英文解释为“to come from a particular place, time, situation, etc.”举个🌰：Although the technology originated in the UK, it has been developed in the US 尽管这项技术起源于英国，但它在美国得到了发展。

plasma /ˈplæz.mə/ 表示“等离子体（一种几乎没有电荷的气体，发现于太阳和其他星球上）”，英文解释为“a type of gas with almost no electrical charge, found in the sun and other stars”如：solar plasma 太阳等离子体流，另一个含义表示“血浆”，英文解释为“the pale yellow liquid that forms 55% of human blood and contains the blood cells”

hurl /hɜːl/ 1）表示“猛扔；猛投；猛摔”，英文解释为“to throw sth/sb violently in a particular direction”举个🌰：He hurled a brick through the window. 他往窗户里扔了块砖。

2）表示“ 大声说出（辱骂或斥责等）”的意思，英文解释为“to shout insults, etc. at sb”举个🌰：Rival fans hurled abuse at each other. 两帮对立的球迷相互高声辱骂。

3）另外还有“呕吐”的意思（to vomit）。

🎬电影《伴娘》（Bridesmaids）中的台词提到：I'm going to hurl. I feel really sick, Annie! 我要吐了，好难受。

🎬电影《海底总动员2：多莉去哪儿》（Finding Dory）中的台词提到：Hey, dude, if you're gonna hurl, 如果你要吐的话，

The Christmas Eve flyby is the first of three record-setting close passes, with the next two — on March 22 and June 19, 2025 — both expected to bring the probe back to a similarly close distance from the Sun.

这次圣诞平安夜的飞越是三次创纪录的近距离飞越中的第一次，接下来的两次飞越将分别在2025年3月22日和6月19日进行，届时探测器预计将以类似的距离接近太阳。

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