2006 年 12 月 22 日 (No. 67)

 
Politics
【委】查維茲以大幅差距勝選（2006/12/05）
Chavez wins election by wide margin
郝龍斌打告急牌　懇求選民勿期能輕鬆勝選（2006/12/08）
Hau plays crisis card, entreating voters not to assume an easy win
Society
遊覽車衝入台南山谷　二十二人死亡（2006/12/04）
Tour bus plunges into Tainan ravine, killing 22
衛生署表示不會禁止反式脂肪（2006/12/07）
DOH: No ban on use of trans fats
Business
鴻海為美國玩具公司 Ugobe 生產電子恐龍寵物 Pleo（2006/12/06）
Hon Hai to make Pleo electronic dinosaur pet for U.S. toy maker Ugobe
倫敦證券交易所表示 十一月電子交易上升六成二（2006/12/07）
London Stock Exchange says electronic trades rose 62 percent in November
Science & Technology
澳洲治療性複製限制鬆綁（2006/12/07）
Australia lifts ban on therapeutic cloning
臺大醫院發明含高抗氧化劑的水（2006/12/08）
NTUH creates water high in anti-oxidants
Entertainment
跳舞企鵝票房打敗○○七（2006/12/04）
Dancing penguin beats up 007 at the box office
宣傳爆料琳賽•羅涵參加匿名戒酒聚會（2006/12/06）
Lohan attends A.A. meetings, publicist says
Sports
【亞運】台灣在籃球及女子網球輕鬆取勝（2006/12/05）
Asian Games: Taiwan romps to win in baseball and ladies' tennis
【亞運】英勇奮戰為台灣勇奪棒球金牌（2006/12/08）
Heroic effort gains Taiwan baseball gold
 
 
New Evidence Found for Water on Mars
 
 新證據顯示火星上有水
When it comes to finding life on Mars, scientists are going with the flow -- the flow of water, that is.
Astronomers say they have located the first evidence of flowing water on the surface of the red planet.
The presence of water in its liquid form substantially boosts the chance that life exists on Earth's most similar neighbor.
  談到要在火星上找尋生命，科學家們「從善如流」──他們尋找的是水流。天文學家表示，他們已經在這顆紅色行星的表面上首次發現了流水的證據。這顆和地球最相似的鄰近行星，表面上有液態水的存在，大幅提升了生命存在的可能性。
Scientists have long thought that liquid water had existed at one time on the Martian surface.
Water is contained in a frozen state at the planet's icy poles.
Photos of the planet reveal what appear to be dry river and lake beds lacing through several regions.
Now, pictures from NASA's Mars Global Surveyor show evidence of a liquid bursting from a crater wall and flowing around rocks and boulders.
  長久以來，科學家一直認為火星表面曾經有液態水存在。火星上的水存在於冰冷極區的凍原，照片顯示有若干地區看起來有乾枯河流及湖床交錯的痕跡。如今，美國太空總署的火星全球探測者號拍攝的照片顯示出證據，有液體從火山壁噴出，沿著岩石和大石塊流下。
The probe has been orbiting Mars for 10 years while sending back pictures of the surface.
The decade's worth of data shows that, rather than being a static dry desert, changes are taking place.
A flow that did not appear in a 1999 photograph showed up in an image from 2004.
Scientists say the new data could move the possibility of liquid water out of the distant past and into the present.
  這具探測器已經繞行火星軌道十年，期間不斷傳回火星表面的照片。十年來的資料顯示，火星表面不是一片死寂的乾燥沙漠，而是一再有變化發生。有一條在一九九九年照片中不存在的水流，卻在二○○四年的照片裡出現了。科學家表示，這項新資料把火星上存在液態水的可能性從遙遠的過去拉到了現在。
With water comes the possibility of life -- the Holy Grail of Mars exploration.
Even if liquid water does exist on Mars, its presence on the surface would be short-lived.
Because of the thin atmosphere, liquid water would boil and evaporate shortly after bursting to the surface.
Still, the discovery offers hope that life might exist in some form on Mars.
  有水就可能有生命存在──這是火星探測的遠大目標。不過，就算火星上確實有液態水，在表面上流動的時間也不可能太長。由於火星大氣稀薄，液態水噴出行星表面後就會迅速沸騰蒸發。儘管如此，這項發現還是讓人對火星上有生物存在的可能燃起了希望。
astronomer　n. 天文學家
evidence　n. 證據
substantially　adv. 實質上；大大地
boost　v. 增加；提高
The president's speech boosted morale.
總統的演說提高了士氣。
lace　v. 交織；交錯
The area is laced with tunnels.
那個區域有很多隧道交錯。
burst　v. 爆發
A pipe burst in Jane's apartment building.
珍的公寓有一條管線破了。
crater　n. 火山口；環型山
boulder　n. 巨礫；大圓石
probe　n. 探測器
orbit　v. 沿軌道繞行
The satellite orbited the planet.
那個衛星繞著那個星球而行。
static　adj. 靜止的；固定的
The surface of the water was static and unchanged for several hours.
水面維持靜止不變好幾個小時。
Holy Grail　n. 聖杯；（比喻）遠大的目標
exploration　n. 探測；勘查
atmosphere　n. 大氣層
evaporate　v. 蒸發；揮發
The pond evaporated in the summer heat.
那個湖因為夏天的高熱而蒸發了。
go with the flow　隨波逐流；從善如流
flow 當名詞是指「流動；水流」，引申為「時勢潮流」。這個片語原本是比喻「跟從事情的發展」、沒有什麼意見地附和他人，正面和負面的意思都有。文中則是取其雙關的意義，說科學家們要找生物，就從善如流地找水就對了。
When it comes to how she spends her free time, Alice goes with the flow.
談到如何排遣空閒，愛莉絲沒什麼意見。
 
 
True or False:
T
F
1 . If you go with the flow, you resist outside influences.
2 . A boulder is a small stone.
3 . Astronomers study plants.
4 . To boost something is to raise it up.
5 . To plunge is to fall or jump into something.
 

Choose the best word or phrase to complete each sentence.
a. orbits b. atmosphere c. trans fats d. crater e. margin
6.
 Mars has a very thin .
7.
 The Democrats won the election by a wide .
8.
 The Earth the sun.
9.
 The explosion left a .
10.
 Julia is eliminating from her diet.
 

Answer

 1：F 2：F 3：F 4：T 5：T
6：【b】 7：【e】 8：【a 】 9：【d】 10：【c】
 
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