雅思8test3passage1閱讀原文翻譯

雅思8test3passage1該篇閱讀主要講的是用激光回擊閃電，一共有10個自然段，以下則是原文的翻譯，要了解的小伙伴接著往下看吧。

雅思8test3passage1閱讀原文翻譯

Striking Back at Lightning with Lasers用激光回擊閃電

第1段

Seldom is the weather more dramatic than when thunderstorms strike.Their electrical fury inflicts death or serious injury on around 500 people each year in the United States alone.As the clouds roll in,a leisurely round of golf can become a terrifying dice with death–out in the open,a lone golfer may be a lightning bolt’s most inviting target.And there is damage to property too.Lightning damage costs American power companies more than$100 million a year.

很少有天氣比雷暴襲擊更為劇烈。僅在美國，它們每年就造成500人死亡或重傷。隨著云層翻滾中，一場悠閑的高爾夫可能變成與死亡的可怕賭博-站在開放地帶，一個孤獨的球員可能成為閃電最誘人的目標(biāo)。財產(chǎn)也受到損害。雷電使美國電力公司每年損失超過1億美元。

第2段

But researchers in the United States and Japan are planning to hit back.Already in laboratory trials they have tested strategies for neutralising the power of thunderstorms,and this winter they will brave real storms,equipped with an armoury of lasers that they will be pointing towards the heavens to discharge thunderclouds before lightning can strike.

但是美國和日本的研究人員正計劃進行反擊。他們已經(jīng)在實驗室測試了中和雷暴力量的方案。今年冬天，他們將冒著真正的暴風(fēng)雨，配備激光武器，指向天空以在雷電襲擊之前釋放雷云的電荷。

第3段

The idea of forcing storm clouds to discharge their lightning on command is not new.In the early 1960s,researchers tried firing rockets trailing wires into thunderclouds to set up an easy discharge path for the huge electric charges that these clouds generate.The technique survives to this day at a test site in Florida run by the University of Florida,with support from the Electrical Power Research Institute(EPRI),based in California.EPRI,which is funded by power companies,is looking at ways to protect the United States’power grid from lightning strikes.‘We can cause the lightning to strike where we want it to using rockets,‘says Ralph Bernstein,manager of lightning projects at EPRI.The rocket site is providing precise measurements of lightning voltages and allowing engineers to check how electrical equipment bears up.

強迫暴風(fēng)云按命令釋放閃電的想法并不新鮮。在20世紀(jì)60年代初期，研究人員試圖發(fā)射火箭將電線拖入雷云中，從而為這些云產(chǎn)生的巨大電荷建立一條簡易的放電路徑。在加利福尼亞州電力研究所(EPRI)的支持下，該技術(shù)在佛羅里達大學(xué)經(jīng)營的一個測試點中一直使用到今天。由電力公司資助的EPRI正在研究保護美國電網(wǎng)免受雷擊的方法。EPRI閃電項目經(jīng)理拉爾夫·伯恩斯坦(Ralph Bernstein)說：“我們可以用火箭讓閃電擊中我們想要的位置”?；鸺龍隹梢跃_測量閃電電量，并允許工程師檢查電氣設(shè)備的承受能力。

Bad Behaviour不良行為

第4段

But while rockets are fine for research,they cannot provide the protection from lightning strikes that everyone is looking for.The rockets cost around$1,200 each,can only be fired at a limited frequency and their failure rate is about 40 per cent.And even when they do trigger lightning,things still do not always go according to plan.‘Lightning is not perfectly well behaved,‘says Bernstein.‘Occasionally,it will take a branch and go someplace it wasn’t supposed to go.‘

但是，盡管火箭可以很好地用于研究，但它們并不能提供所有人所尋求的免除雷電襲擊的保護。這些火箭的價格約為每枚1,200美元，只能以有限的頻率發(fā)射，其失敗率約為40%。即使它們確實觸發(fā)了閃電，事情仍然不一定總是按計劃進行。伯恩斯坦說：“閃電行為并不完美。有時，它會沿著一個分支，轉(zhuǎn)到原本不應(yīng)該去的地方”。

第5段

And anyway,who would want to fire streams of rockets in a populated area?‘What goes up must come down,‘points out Jean-Claude Diels of the University of New Mexico.Diels is leading a project,which is backed by EPRI,to try to use lasers to discharge lightning safely–and safety is a basic requirement since no one wants to put themselves or their expensive equipment at risk.With around$500,000 invested so far,a promising system is just emerging from the laboratory.

而且無論如何，誰愿意在人口稠密地區(qū)發(fā)射火箭?新墨西哥大學(xué)的讓-克洛德·戴爾斯指出，“發(fā)射上去的東西一定會下來”。戴爾斯領(lǐng)導(dǎo)了一個由EPRI支持的項目，試圖使用激光安全地釋放閃電-安全是一項基本要求，因為沒有人愿意將自己或昂貴的設(shè)備置于危險之中。到目前為止，已投入約50萬美元，實驗室中剛剛出現(xiàn)了一個有前途的系統(tǒng)。

第6段

The idea began some 20 years ago,when high-powered lasers were revealing their ability to extract electrons out of atoms and create ions.If a laser could generate a line of ionisation in the air all the way up to a storm cloud,this conducting path could be used to guide lightning to Earth,before the electric field becomes strong enough to break down the air in an uncontrollable surge.To stop the laser itself being struck,it would not be pointed straight at the clouds.Instead it would be directed at a mirror,and from there into the sky.The mirror would be protected by placing lightning conductors close by.Ideally,the cloud-zapper(gun)would be cheap enough to be installed around all key power installations,and portable enough to be taken to international sporting events to beam up at brewing storm clouds.

這個想法始于20年前，當(dāng)時高功率激光顯示了它們從原子中提取電子并產(chǎn)生離子的能力。如果激光能在空氣中產(chǎn)生一條直至暴雨云的電離線，這一傳導(dǎo)路徑就可以在電場變得足以分離空氣之前將閃電引導(dǎo)到地面。為了阻止激光本身受到電擊，它不會直指云層。取而代之的是對準(zhǔn)鏡子，然后從那里射向天空。鏡子通過在附近放置避雷針來得到保護。理想的情況是，云吹彈槍(槍支)的價格會足夠便宜，可安裝在所有關(guān)鍵的動力裝置周圍，并具有足夠的便攜性，可被帶到國際體育賽事上，驅(qū)散正在釀造暴風(fēng)雨的烏云。

A stumbling block絆腳石

第7段

However,there is still a big stumbling block.The laser is no nifty portable:it’s a monster that takes up a whole room.Diels is trying to cut down the size and says that a laser around the size of a small table is in the offing.He plans to test this more manageable system on live thunderclouds next summer.

但是，仍然有一個很大的絆腳石。激光不是輕巧的便攜設(shè)備：它是一個占據(jù)整個房間的怪物。戴爾斯正在努力縮小尺寸，并說即將出現(xiàn)像小桌子大小的激光設(shè)備。他計劃明年夏天在實時雷云上測試這個更易于管理的系統(tǒng)。

第8段

Bernstein says that Diels’s system is attracting lots of interest from the power companies.But they have not yet come up with the$5 million that EPRI says will be needed to develop a commercial system,by making the lasers yet smaller and cheaper.‘I cannot say I have money yet,but I’m working on it,‘says Bernstein.He reckons that the forthcoming field tests will be the turning point–and he’s hoping for good news.Bernstein predicts‘a(chǎn)n avalanche of interest and support’if all goes well.He expects to see cloud-zappers eventually costing$50,000 to$100,000 each.

伯恩斯坦說戴爾斯的系統(tǒng)吸引了電力公司的許多興趣。但是他們還沒有提供EPRI所說的開發(fā)商業(yè)系統(tǒng)所需要的500萬美元。這些錢將用于將激光設(shè)備變得更小，更便宜。伯恩斯坦說：“我不能說我沒有錢，但我正在努力?！彼J為即將進行的現(xiàn)場測試將成為轉(zhuǎn)折點-他希望有個好消息。如果一切順利的話，伯恩斯坦預(yù)計會出現(xiàn)“大量的興趣和支持”。他希望看到每個云吹彈槍最終只花費5萬到10萬美元。

第9段

Other scientists could also benefit.With a lightning‘switch’at their fingertips,materials scientists could find out what happens when mighty currents meet matter.Diels also hopes to see the birth of‘interactive meteorology’–not just forecasting the weather but controlling it.‘If we could discharge clouds,we might affect the weather,‘he says.

其他科學(xué)家也可以受益。擁有觸手可及的閃電“開關(guān)”，材料科學(xué)家就能發(fā)現(xiàn)強大的電流遇到物質(zhì)時會發(fā)生什么。戴爾斯還希望看到“交互式氣象學(xué)”的誕生-它不僅可以預(yù)測天氣，還可以控制天氣。他說：“如果我們能夠為云層放電，我們可能也會影響天氣?！?/p>

第10段

And perhaps,says Diels,we’ll be able to confront some other meteorological menaces.‘We think we could prevent hail by inducing lightning,‘he says.Thunder,the shock wave that comes from a lightning flash,is thought to be the trigger for the torrential rain that is typical of storms.A laser thunder factory could shake the moisture out of clouds,perhaps preventing the formation of the giant hailstones that threaten crops.With luck,as the storm clouds gather this winter,laser-toting researchers could,for the first time,strike back.

戴爾斯說，也許，我們將能夠應(yīng)對一些其他氣象威脅。他說，“我們認為可以通過引發(fā)閃電來防止冰雹”。雷聲，雷電產(chǎn)生的沖擊波，被認為是暴風(fēng)雨的觸發(fā)因素。一家激光雷電工廠可以將水分從云層中抖出，也許可以防止形成威脅農(nóng)作物的巨大冰雹。幸運的是，當(dāng)今年冬天烏云密布的時候，攜帶激光的研究人員可以第一次反擊。

>> 雅思 托福 免費測試、量身規(guī)劃、讓英語學(xué)習(xí)不再困難<<