The coldest known object—Triton已知最冷的天體－海衛一

侯旭剛

主題語境：宇宙探索

篇幅：275詞

建議用時：6分鐘

To learn further about Triton， the coldest known object in the solar system， NASA de?cided to send a probe to explore it.

In a statement posted to its website， the space agency said the mission， known as Tri?dent， will have a“three?pronged”approach. The mission will observe the satellite to under?stand the cause of the plumes （羽流） producing from its surface， further explore the moonsunderground liquid， which was only 40 percent observed by Voyager 2， and“understandhow the surface keeps renewing itself”.

“Triton is strange， but attractive，”said Karl Mitchell， Trident project scientist at theJet Propulsion Laboratory （JPL）， in a statement.“We know the surface has some featuresweve never seen before， which motivates us to want to know‘How does this world work？”

“As we said to NASA in our last study， Triton isnt just a key to solar system science—its a whole key ring： a caught Kuiper Belt object that developed gradually and a potentialocean world with active plumes， an energetic ionosphere （電離層） and a young， unique sur?face，”Mitchell added.

Triton has something different compared with other planetssatellites， includingmoving around the planet in the opposite direction， lying at an extreme tilt （傾斜） and thefact that it is likely to move from the Kuiper Belt. It also has a constantly varying climateand a very strange atmosphere. Its ionosphere is 10 times more active than other moons inthe solar system， and NASA describes it as“especially strange”because ionospheres arecharged by solar particles.

Studying and observing Tritons“odd”behavior， researchers could gain new insightinto objects in the Kuiper Belt， as well as a better understanding of the solar system.

ReadingCheck

1. Whats special about Trident？

A. It has multiple goals.

B. It has renewed itself.

C. It has produced plumes.

D. It has the coldest object.

2. Which of the following may Mitchell agree with？

A. There is an ocean in Triton.

B. A Kuiper Belt object grew as gradually as Triton.

C. There is a unique and energetic feature on Tritons surface.

D. New?found discoveries motivate our exploration in Triton.

3. If the planet travels from west to east， how does Triton travel？

A. From west to east.

B. From east to west.

C. From north to south.

D. From south to north.

4. What does Tritons“odd”behavior refer to according to the text？

A. The solar system.

B. Different resources.

C. Its strange location.

D. Its unique features.

LanguageStudy

Ⅰ. Difficult sentence in the text

We know the surface has some features weve never seen before， which motivates us towant to know“How does this world work？”我們知道（海衛一）表面有很多我們從未見過的特征，這促使我們想要了解“這個世界是如何運轉的”

【點石成金】此句主干為We know；第一個know后面為省略了引導詞that的賓語從句；weve never seen before為省略關系詞的定語從句，修飾some features；which引導的非限制性定語從句，修飾前半句內容；其后的“How does this world work？”作第二個know的賓語。

Ⅱ. Text?centered chunks

the solar system 太陽系

motivate sb to do sth 激勵某人做某事

compare with 與……相比較