All That Is Hot

◎王 燕

1 An asteroid will hit Earth 一顆小行星將撞擊地球

If all goes according to plan,scientists will hit Earth with part of an asteroid.That is less alarming than it sounds,for the chunk of rock in question weighs at most a few hundred grams.It will arrive in a smallcapsule［太空艙］,complete with parachute,that will drift gently to the ground in the Utah desert.The rock is from an asteroid named Bennu,which was visited in 2018 by an American spacecraft called OSIRIS-REx.The probe will drop its cargo off enroute to another asteroid,Apophis,at which it is due to arrive in 2029.Astronomers take a great interest in asteroids.The solar system was formed around 4.5 billion years ago,when a cloud of dust and gas collapsed under its own gravity into a disc,which in turnagglomerated［凝聚］into the sun and its planets.Asteroids areleftover［剩余的］chunks that never accrued enough mass to become planets.Studying them thus offers a window into the ancient astronomical past.This will not be the first time that bits of asteroids have been brought to Earth.In 2010 Hayabusa,a Japanese spacecraft,visited an asteroid called Itokawa and returned with less than a milligram of it.Its successor,Hayabusa2,was able to procure five grams of rock from an asteroid named Ryugu in 2020.OSIRIS-REx’s dig did not go quite according to plan.Some of the excavated material is thought to have jammed its digger,allowing some of the sample to fall back out.But National Aeronautics and Space Admiristraion(NASA)is confident that the mission has exceeded its minimum target of 60 grams.Compared with previous missions,that will be a bounty.

如果一切按計劃進行，科學家們將用一顆小行星的一部分撞擊地球。這并沒有聽起來那么駭人，因為這塊巖石最多只有幾百克重。它將被裝在一個小太空艙里，連同降落傘一起抵達猶他州沙漠，緩緩飄至地面。這塊巖石來自一顆名為“貝努”的小行星，2018 年，美國OSIRIS-REx 探測器曾造訪過這顆小行星。探測器將在前往另一顆小行星阿波菲斯的途中投放貨物，預計將于2029 年抵達。天文學家對小行星很感興趣。太陽系大約形成于45 億年前，當時一團塵埃和氣體云在自身引力的作用下坍縮成一個圓盤，然后又聚集成太陽及其行星。那些沒有積累到足夠質量成為行星的剩余部分，形成了小行星。因此，研究它們是了解古代天文學歷史的一扇窗。這將不是人類第一次把小行星的碎片帶到地球上。2010 年，日本的“隼鳥”探測器訪問了一顆名為“糸川”的小行星，并在返回時帶回了不到一毫克的樣本。它的后繼者“隼鳥2 號”于2020 年從一顆名為“龍宮”的小行星上獲取了5 克巖石。OSIRIS-REx 的挖掘工作并沒有完全按計劃進行。一些被挖掘出來的材料被認為卡住了挖掘機，使得一些樣本又掉了出來。但美國國家航空航天局相信，這項任務已經超過了60克的最低目標。與之前的任務相比，這次的收獲已經相當豐厚了。

Fill in the blanks:

The chunk of rock will arrive in a small capsule,complete with parachute,that will ____________ gently to the ground in the desert.

2 The prevalence of myopia among Chinese children and teenagers was showing a decline 我國兒童和青少年近視率呈下降趨勢

Theprevalence［流行率］of myopia among Chinese children and teenagers was showing a decline,according to the statistics released by the National Disease Control and Prevention Administration.The statistics showed that the overall myopia rate among Chinese children andadolescents［青少年］was 51.9 percent in 2022,a fall of 0.7 percentage points from 52.6 percent in 2021,and also dropped by 1.7 percentage points from the 53.6 percent of the results of the national myopia survey conducted in 2018.Among the students with myopia,the proportions of mild,moderate,and high myopia were 53.3 percent,37 percent,and 9.7 percent,respectively［分別的；各自的］,with a drop in the proportion of high myopia.The overall myopia rates for primary school,junior high school,and senior high school were 36.7 percent,71.4 percent,and 81.2 percent,respectively.According to the National Disease Control and Prevention Administration,the country will continue to promote myopia prevention and control work,further strengthening the monitoring and assessment of myopia among children and adolescents.Techniques suitable for myopia prevention and control will be promoted.It will also carry out promotion work to popularize science,enabling students,parents and teachers to learn about how to use and protect eyes,and helping the children and teenagers develop healthy eye habits.

根據國家疾病預防控制局發布的統計數據，中國兒童和青少年的近視率呈下降趨勢。數據顯示，2022 年中國兒童和青少年的總體近視率為51.9%，較2021 年的52.6%下降了0.7 個百分點，也比2018 年全國近視調查結果的53.6%下降了1.7 個百分點。在近視學生中，輕度、中度和高度近視的比例分別為53.3%、37%和9.7%，高度近視比例有所下降。小學、初中和高中學生的總體近視率分別為36.7%、71.4%和81.2%。國家疾病預防控制局表示，國家將繼續推進近視防控工作，進一步加強對兒童和青少年近視的監測和評估。國家將推廣適合近視防控的技術，還將開展科普宣傳工作，使學生、家長和教師了解如何正確使用和保護眼睛，幫助兒童和青少年養成良好的用眼習慣。

Fill in the blanks:

It will also carry out promotion work to help the younger generation develop healthy ____________ habits.

3 A new world record 一項新的世界紀錄

Russian Federal Space Agency says cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko has broken the world record for total time spent in space.Kononenko passed the record after spending more than 878 days and 12 hours in orbit aboard the International Space Station(ISS).Kononenko said his repeated space trips represent the realization of a childhood dream to become a cosmonaut.“I fly into space to do what I love,not to set records,” he told Information Telegraphic Agency of Russia-TASS.He added that his continued interest in living and working in orbit “motivates”him to keep flying.Kononenko said he worked out often aboard the ISS to help him deal with the physical effects of weightlessness.He said one of the most difficult things about being a cosmonaut is getting ready for each new space flight.

俄羅斯聯邦航天局表示，宇航員奧列格·科諾年科打破了太空總時間的世界紀錄。科諾年科在國際空間站的軌道上度過了878 天12 小時，打破了這一紀錄。科諾年科說，他的多次太空旅行代表著兒時成為宇航員的夢想的實現。他告訴塔斯社：“我飛上太空是為了做我喜歡的事，而不是為了創造紀錄。”他補充說，他對在軌道上生活和工作的持續興趣“激勵”他繼續飛行。科諾年科說，他經常在國際空間站上鍛煉，以幫助他應對失重帶來的身體影響。他說，作為一名宇航員，最困難的事情之一就是為每次新的太空飛行做好準備。

Fill in the blanks:

Kononenko worked out often aboard the ISS to help him deal with the ____________ effects of weightlessness.