考博英語外刊閱讀：China's meteorite hunters

China's meteorite hunters

by Nanlin Fang

China's vast plains and mountainous regions are popular hunting grounds for the nation's meteorite enthusiasts(發(fā)燒友). Some of the world's biggest iron meteorites have been found there, including in Altay, in the far-western Xinjiang region.

vast /adj. 巨大的

plain / n. 平原

mountainous / adj. 多山的(由mountain加后綴-ous變成形容詞)

hunting ground 能找到某種東西的地方

nation / n.

meteorite /  n. 隕石

Part of the appeal is the sense of adventure. Accessing remote areas requires serious equipment and planning – and with it comes the thrill of possibly finding something that pushes forward science's understanding of the solar system.

appeal / n. 吸引力

adventure / n. 冒險

access / v. 到達(dá)、進入

remote /adj. 邊遠(yuǎn)的、偏遠(yuǎn)的

equipment / n. 裝備、器材

thrill /n. 興奮、激動

solar /adj. 太陽的(the solar system就是太陽系)

For many meteor hunters, however, the motivation is much more basic: Money. After a fireball was seen soaring across the sky near a small village in Menghai county, Yunnan, in 2018, meteorite hunters raced to the region, armed with their metal detectors and hopes of striking it rich. Days after the fireball sighting, alleged meteorites were being advertised online for as much as 50,000 RMB a gram.

meteor /  n. 流星(落地以后就是隕石)

hunter / n. 獵人(由hunt加上表示人的后綴-er)

motivation /  n. 動機

soar /v. 高飛

county /  n. 縣

arm /v. 裝備

detector / n. 探測器(由detect加上表示人或物的后綴-or)

strike it rich 一夜暴富

sighting /n. 看見、目睹

alleged /adj. 聲稱的

RMB 人民幣

Xu Weibiao, a meteorite expert from the Purple Mountain Observatory in Nanjing, says meteorites can sell for even more than that – above $10,000 per gram. "The rareness of the meteorite decides its market value," Xu says. "Except those people who really know meteorite and its importance, most buyers are ordinary people and their meteorites are fake."

Purple Mountain Observatory 紫金山天文臺

rareness /  n. 稀缺性、稀有程度(由rare加后綴-ness變成名詞)

fake /adj. 假的、偽造的

Zhang Bo, 37, is a meteorite hunter from Shanghai. His obsession with meteorites started in 2009. He was on vacation biking around the resort island of Hainan when he spotted a ball of fire grazing(輕輕劃過) the night sky. At the time, he was working at his family's jewelry business. But soon his fascination for meteorites took over.

obsession / n. 著迷、癡迷

resort / n. 度假勝地

spot /v. 看到

jewelry /  n. 珠寶、首飾

fascination / n. 入迷(由fascinate加后綴-ion變成名詞)

take over 接手(這里指占據(jù)他的時間和精力)

Zhang started studying. First on the internet and in libraries, then by knocking on the door of the Purple Mountain Observatory. He met Xu there and the two become friends, exchanging messages and information about meteorites.

exchange /  v. 交換

Zhang says he made his most significant discovery in the summer of 2016. Having heard about the large meteorites found in Altay, he packed his SUV with metal detectors, shovels, a tent and enough supplies to sustain him for two weeks in one of the world's most remote regions. It's a 7.5-hour drive from the nearest city.

significant / adj. 重要的

discovery / n. 發(fā)現(xiàn)

SUV 運動型多用途汽車

shovel / n. 鐵鍬、鐵鏟

supplies /n. 日用品

sustain /v. 使活下來

During his trip to Altay, Zhang meticulously(細(xì)致地) recorded the coordinates of many known meteorites. He says his findings showed that errors had been made in official records. Using his information, scientists were able to establish that the meteor field in Altay runs along an arc of 425 kilometers from China to Mongolia, making it the world's largest meteorite field.

record /v. 記錄、記下來

coordinate / n. 坐標(biāo)

known /adj. 已知的

error /  n. 錯誤

official /adj. 的

record / n. 記錄、一條信息(注意它做名詞和做動詞時發(fā)音不同)

establish / v. 查實、證實

arc /n. 弧形

Mongolia /n. 蒙古國

Zhang won't reveal any personal details about his clients, but he says they pay anywhere between $100,000 to $1 million for rare rocks. He says he doesn't hunt meteorites for money, but to make a contribution to science and education. So far, his travels have taken him to some of the world's most inhospitable(不適合居住的) areas in Russia, France, USA, Australia and the Sahara Desert. He says he'll go wherever meteors take him.

reveal / v. 透露

client / n. 客戶

contribution / n. 貢獻(由contribute加后綴-ion變成名詞)

the Sahara  Desert 撒哈拉沙漠

英文原文節(jié)選自CNN