美国发现一颗富含黄金小行星

据报道，NASA在小行星带发现编号16号灵神星（16 Psyche），直径约280公里，主要成分为铁、镍及少量黄金、铂金等贵金属。

媒体称，其价值约10,000,000,000,000,000,000美元，按照地球上约80.62亿人口，若将其平均分配，每人可分得约12亿美元。

今天你练听力了吗？

🤔️小作业：

1. According to the article, if the asteroid's value were distributed evenly among the current global population, approximately how much would each person receive?

A. $8.062 billion     B. $1.2 billion

C. $10 quintillion   D. $12 million

无注释原文：

Asteroid worth $10,000,000,000,000,000,000 that NASA is capturing could have a devastating impact

From: UNILAD

An asteroid worth a whopping $10,000,000,000,000,000,000 that NASA is in the process of capturing could have shocking unintended consequences.

In 2023, the space agency announced that it was going to set off for the valuable asteroid, named 16 Psyche.

Thought to contain precious metals, including gold, iron and nickel, NASA is really keen to get its hands on the asteroid.

"Teams of engineers and technicians are working almost around the clock to ensure the orbiter is ready to journey 2.5 billion miles to a metal-rich asteroid that may tell us more about planetary cores and how planets form," the space agency said in a statement released in July 2023.

The mission officially began in October 2023 as the spacecraft was launched from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

Traveling at a speed of approximately 84,000mph through space, it's expected to reach the valuable asteroid in August 2029.

While 16 Psyche may have been known about for a long time, experts are continuing to learn new things about the valuable asteroid all the time.

Newsweek reports that the projected value of the asteroid is 100,000 times the value of the world's $100 trillion global domestic product due to the amount of gold, platinum and cobalt in it. That's theoretically enough to make everyone on the planet a billionaire. Yikes.

Many have flocked to the comments section to express concerns that such an event could lead to gold becoming worthless, which in turn, would lead to a lot of people losing money.

One person said: "It wouldn't make anyone billionaires but it will turn a lot billionaires to 0. Gold will lose its entire value."

While a second added: "The price of gold would drop to a fraction of a penny an ounce, and nobody would become a billionaire from it. Simple supply and demand."

NASA estimates that this oddly shaped asteroid, which has a surface area of about 64,000 square miles (165,800 square kilometres), is made up of 30 to 60 percent metal.

It could also contain the exposed nickel-iron core of an early planet which is one of the building blocks of our solar system.

And if the asteroid's materials really are worth $10 quintillion dollars, and that wealth was divided between every single living person, everyone would become very rich indeed.

There are some 8.062 billion humans alive, so dividing $10 quintillion dollars by our population would give us each a total of around $1.2 billion each.

I mean, it really is life changing stuff - so let's see what happens in the coming years, eh?

- ◆ -

注：完整题目见本文开头；中文文本为机器翻译并非一一对应，仅供参考

含注释全文：

Asteroid worth $10,000,000,000,000,000,000 that NASA is capturing could have a devastating impact

From: UNILAD

An asteroid worth a whopping $10,000,000,000,000,000,000 that NASA is in the process of capturing could have shocking unintended consequences.

美国国家航空航天局（NASA）正试图捕获一颗价值高达10,000,000,000,000,000,000美元的小行星，但这项行动或将引发一系列令人意想不到的影响。

asteroid /ˈæstəˌrɔɪd/ asteroid表示“小行星”，英文解释为“one of the many small planets that move around the Sun, especially between Mars and Jupiter”

区分：

📍asterisk /ˈæs.tɚ.ɪsk/ 表示“星号*”，英文解释为：a mark like a star (*), used especially to show something interesting or important.

whopping /ˈwɒpɪŋ/ 表示“庞大的，巨大的”，英文解释为“If you describe an amount as whopping, you are emphasizing that it is large.”如：a whopping fee 一笔巨额费用，举个🌰：She won a whopping 99.5 percent yes vote. 她赢得了99.5%的高票支持。

unintended /ˌʌn.ɪnˈten.dɪd/ 表示“无意的，无心的；没有计划的”，英文解释为“not intended”举个🌰：The group argues that the proposed methods will have unintended consequences. 该团体认为所提方法将会带来意想不到的后果。

In 2023, the space agency announced that it was going to set off for the valuable asteroid, named 16 Psyche.

2023年，NASA宣布即将启程，前往这颗名为16 Psyche的珍贵小行星。

Thought to contain precious metals, including gold, iron and nickel, NASA is really keen to get its hands on the asteroid.

据悉，这颗小行星富含黄金、铁、镍等贵金属，NASA对此志在必得。

nickel /ˈnɪk.əl/ 表示“镍”，英文解释为“a chemical element that is a silver-white metal”如：a nickel alloy 镍合金。

"Teams of engineers and technicians are working almost around the clock to ensure the orbiter is ready to journey 2.5 billion miles to a metal-rich asteroid that may tell us more about planetary cores and how planets form," the space agency said in a statement released in July 2023.

2023年7月，NASA在声明中称：“工程师和技术团队几乎不分昼夜地工作，以确保轨道探测器能够启程，飞行25亿英里前往这颗富含金属的小行星，以便揭示更多关于行星内核及其形成的奥秘。”

orbiter /ˈɔː.bɪ.tər/ 表示“轨道飞船”，英文解释为“a spacecraft that orbits a planet or other celestial body (= a moon, star, etc.)”举个🌰：A radar sounder on the Mars orbiter will let scientists probe beneath the surface. 火星轨道飞船上的一台雷达测深仪可以让科学家更好地探测火星的地表以下部分。

The mission officially began in October 2023 as the spacecraft was launched from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida.

2023年10月，该任务正式开始，飞船从位于佛州卡纳维拉尔角的NASA肯尼迪航天中心发射升空。

Traveling at a speed of approximately 84,000mph through space, it's expected to reach the valuable asteroid in August 2029.

飞船以约8.4万英里每小时的速度在太空中飞行，预计将在2029年8月抵达这颗价值巨大的小行星。

While 16 Psyche may have been known about for a long time, experts are continuing to learn new things about the valuable asteroid all the time.

尽管16 Psyche早已为人所知，专家们仍在不断探索有关这颗珍贵小行星的新发现。

Newsweek reports that the projected value of the asteroid is 100,000 times the value of the world's $100 trillion global domestic product due to the amount of gold, platinum and cobalt in it. That's theoretically enough to make everyone on the planet a billionaire. Yikes.

《新闻周刊》（Newsweek）报道称，这颗小行星的估值是全球GDP总量（约100万亿美元）的10万倍，原因是其含有大量黄金、铂金和钴。这从理论上讲足以让地球上的每个人都成为亿万富翁。真是让人瞠目结舌。

platinum /ˈplæt.nəm/ 表示“铂，白金”，英文解释为“a chemical element that is an extremely valuable silver-coloured metal, used in jewellery and in industry”如：a platinum wedding ring 白金结婚戒指。

cobalt /ˈkəʊ.bɒlt/ 表示“钴”，英文解释为“a chemical element that is a hard silver-white metal, used in metal mixtures and for making materials blue”

theoretically /θɪəˈret.ɪ.kəl.i/ 表示“理论上”，英文解释为“in a way that obeys some rules but is not likely”举个🌰：It is theoretically possible. 它在理论上是可能的。

yikes /jaɪks/ 表示“（表示惊讶、担忧等）呀”，英文解释为“used to show that you are worried, surprised, or shocked”举个🌰：I start my new job tomorrow. Yikes! 我明天就要开始我的新工作了。呀！

Many have flocked to the comments section to express concerns that such an event could lead to gold becoming worthless, which in turn, would lead to a lot of people losing money.

大量网友在评论区表达了担忧：如果真的发生这种事，黄金可能会失去价值，许多投资者恐将血本无归。

flock /flɒk/ to 表示“成群结队地去，蜂拥而至”，英文解释为“if people flock to a place, they go there in large numbers because something interesting or exciting is happening there”举个🌰：People have been flocking to the exhibition. 看展览的人络绎不绝。

One person said: "It wouldn't make anyone billionaires but it will turn a lot billionaires to 0. Gold will lose its entire value."

有网友表示：“这不会让任何人成为亿万富翁，反而会让很多亿万富翁一夜归零。黄金将彻底失去价值。”

While a second added: "The price of gold would drop to a fraction of a penny an ounce, and nobody would become a billionaire from it. Simple supply and demand."

还有人补充：“黄金的价格将暴跌至每盎司不足一美分，谁也发不了财。这是供需关系决定的。”

fraction /ˈfræk.ʃən/ 表示“少量”，英文解释为“A fraction of something is a tiny amount or proportion of it.”举个🌰：She hesitated for a fraction of a second before responding. 她犹豫了一下才回应。

📍At a fraction of sth意味着以某物的极低价格或者比其他事物小得多的尺寸、数量等。换句话说，就是以远低于原价的价格，或者比其他事物占用更少的资源或空间。（for a much lower price than something else, or in a much smaller size, amount, etc. than something else）

NASA estimates that this oddly shaped asteroid, which has a surface area of about 64,000 square miles (165,800 square kilometres), is made up of 30 to 60 percent metal.

NASA估算，这颗形状奇特的小行星，表面积约为64,000平方英里（165,800平方公里），其中30%到60%为金属构成。

oddly /ˈɒd.li/ 表示“奇怪地，古怪地；异常地；出人意料地”，英文解释为“in a strange or surprising way”举个🌰：Didn't you think she was behaving very oddly at the party yesterday? 你难道不觉得她昨天在聚会上表现得很古怪吗？

It could also contain the exposed nickel-iron core of an early planet which is one of the building blocks of our solar system.

这颗小行星还可能拥有一个早期行星裸露的镍铁内核，而这正是太阳系形成的关键构成之一。

building block /ˈbɪl.dɪŋ ˌblɒk/ 表示“积木”，英文解释为“a piece of wood or plastic used by children to build things with”

building blocks 表示“基础；构成要素”，英文解释为“the basic things that are put together to make something exist”举个🌰：Science and the arts are the building blocks of a good education. 科学和艺术是良好教育的基本要素。

📍写作句型积累：xxx set up the building blocks for/of ... 奠定了...的基础。如：The first grade sets up the building blocks for all future learning, with introductions to reading, writing, and math. 一年级对阅读、写作和数学进行了介绍，为所有未来的学习奠定了基础。

And if the asteroid's materials really are worth $10 quintillion dollars, and that wealth was divided between every single living person, everyone would become very rich indeed.

倘若这颗小行星的资源真值10,000,000,000,000,000,000美元，并被平均分配给地球上的每个人，那每个人都将变得相当富裕。

There are some 8.062 billion humans alive, so dividing $10 quintillion dollars by our population would give us each a total of around $1.2 billion each.

目前地球上大约有80.62亿人，若将10,000,000,000,000,000,000美元平均分配，每人可分得约12亿美元。

英语基数词，在不同国家和地区代表的数值存在差异。在美式英语和法语中，它表示10的18次方（即1后跟18个零），而在英式英语和德语中则代表10的30次方（即1后跟30个零）。

I mean, it really is life changing stuff - so let's see what happens in the coming years, eh?

也就是说，这事足以改变每个人的人生——未来几年会发生什么，拭目以待吧？

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