泽熙美文English Chinese Translation
1. Two teams of astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope have overturned several decades of conjecture and theory by ruling out the possibility that small, dim stars make up most of the mass in the universe.
Until now, small stars known as faint red dwarfs were considered ideal candidates for the socalled “dark matter” that is believed to account for more than 90 percent of the mass of the universe.
All visible celestial objects, such as planets, stars and galaxies, are believed to account for only 10 percent of the mass of the universe. The rest of the “missing mass” is presumably invisible because it does not emit or reflect light, or the light is too feeble to be detected. But dark matter can be indirectly detected due to its gravitational influence on other visible objects.
According to Bacall, professor of natural science at the Institute of Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey and leader of one of the teams, the nature of dark matter, and its abundance, are among the most important questions in modem cosmology today.
The ultimate fate of the universe will be determined by the amount of dark matter present. If there is not enough dark matter to bind the universe together gravitationally, it could continue expanding forever. If there is enough mass to hold the universe together gravitationally, the universe may slow down its expansion, come to a halt and begin to contract and eventually collapse.
正确答案：
两个天文学家小组用哈勃太空望远镜排除了宇宙暗弱的小行星构成宇宙主要质量的可能性，从而推翻了几十年来的推测和理论。
到现在为止，被称为淡红矮星的小星体一直被认为是所谓的“暗物质”的理想物质。天文学家认为，整个宇宙的百分之九十都是由这种暗物质构成的。
天文学家认为，行星、恒星和银河之类的所有可以看得见的天体只是构成了宇宙质量的百分之十左右。其他的“隐形质量”是不可见的，由于它们不自己发光，也不反射光，或者是发出的光太微弱，因而无法被探测到。但是由于暗物质对其他可见天体有引力作用，因此可以间接被检测到。
巴考尔是新泽西州普林斯顿高级研究所的自然科学的教授，也是两组天文学家中其中一组的学科带头人。按照他的说法，关于暗物质的本质和存在丰富性的讨论，是当代天文学上的重要研究课题之一。
宇宙的最终命运将由存在的暗物质的量来决定。如果没有足够的暗物质通过引力作用将宇宙粘合在一起的话，宇宙就会永远不停地膨胀。然而，如果能有足够的质量通过引力作用把宇宙拉合在一起的话，宇宙就有可能减速并停止膨胀，并开始收缩，并最终坍缩。
2. Imagine fishermen walking down to the seashore, ready to carry out their early morning routine of preparing their boats and net. As usual they hope for a good catch of fish. But to their astonishment, a horrible sight meets their still sleepy eyes. Thousands of fish have been washed ashore dead. The cause of this mass destruction? A red tide!
Red tides are a global phenomenon, They have been observed on both the Atlantic and the Pacific coasts of the United States and Canada. They have also occurred in many other places. Though relatively few people are aware of them, red tides are not new.
In the Philippines, a red tide was first seen in the province of Bata an in 1908. Since then, red tides have been seen in many other coastal areas A Philippines red tide expert told us that “besides the fish kills, the Philippines has documented 1,926 eases of dead shellfish poisoning caused by red tides.”
The term “red tide” applies to the discoloration of water that sometimes occurs in certain areas of the ocean or sea. Although the color is often red, it may also be shades of brown or yellow. The World Book Encyclopedia reports that “the discolored areas may range from less than a few square yards to more than 2,600 square kilometers.”
What causes such discoloration? Red tides are generally caused by several species of single-celled organisms. These tiny organisms have hair-like projections which they use to propel them-selves in water. There are about 2,000 varieties of these organisms, 30 of which carry poisonous substances these minute organisms usually stay in warm waters with high content of salt.
A red tide occurs when there is a sudden and rapid bloom of these organisms. The concentration of these organisms may swell to 50,000,000 per quart of water! Although scientists do not fully understand why this happens. It is known that these organisms accumulate when certain conditions simultaneously affect the water. These include abnormal weather, optimum temperatures, an over-supply of nutrients in the water, a generous amount of sunlight, and favorable water currents. When a heavy rainfall occurs, minerals and other nutrients are sometimes washed from the land into coastal water. These nutrients can contribute to the breeding of the organisms. The result? Red tides!
正确答案：
1908年，在菲律宾的巴塔安省首次发现了赤潮。从那以后，在其他许多沿海地区也相继发现了赤潮。菲律宾的一位赤潮专家告诉我们：“除了导致鱼死亡外，菲律宾还有过1926宗因赤潮而使贝类中毒的事例。”
“赤潮”这个术语有时用来表示发生在海或洋的某些区域的水变色。水的颜色通常是红色的，但是也可能是棕色或黄色。《世界书籍百科全书》介绍说，“变色的区域可能在不少于几平方码到2600平方千米之间。”
是什么导致这样的水变色呢?一般来说，赤潮是由好几种单细胞种类生物引发的。这些微生物有像头发一样的突出物质，它们用这些东西在水中向前移动。大约有2000种这样的生物，其中的30种包含有毒的物种。这些微生物通常生活于含盐量高的温带水域。
这些生物突然并且快速繁殖时就会发生赤潮。这些生物的密度可能大量增加到每夸脱水5000万个的标准!尽管科学家没有完全了解发生这种现象的原因，但是他们知道：当某些环境同时影响海水时，这些生物就会积聚。这些环境包括反常的天气、适宜的湿度、海水中营养物的过度供应、充足的阳光以及起促进作用的水流。当出现暴雨时，矿物质和其他营养物有时被从陆地冲向沿海水域。这些营养物可能促进这些微生物的生长。结果是什么呢?赤潮!
3. With 950 million people, India ranks second to China among the most populous countries. But since China launched a family planning program in 1971, India has been closing the gap Indians have reduced their birth rate but not nearly as much as the Chinese have. If current growth rates continue, India’s population will pass China’s around the year 2028 at about 1.7 billion.
Should that happen, it won’t be the fault of the enlightened women of Kerala, a state in southern India. While India as a whole adds almost 20 million people a year, Kerala’s population is virtually stable. The reason is no mystery: nearly two-thirds of Kerala women practice birth control, compared with about 40% in the entire nation.
The difference lies in the emphasis put on health programs, including birth control, by the state authorities, which in 1957 became India’s first elected Communist government. And an educational tradition and matrilineal (母系的) customs in parts of Kerala help girls and boys get equally good schooling.
While one in three Indian women is literate, 90% of those in Kerala can read and write.
Higher literacy rates foster family planning. “Unlike our parents, we know that we can do more for our children if we have fewer of them,” says Laial Cherian, 33, who lives in the village of Kuda-maloor. She has limited herself as three children—one below the national average of four. That kind of restraint (抑制,克制) will keep Kerala from putting added pressure on world food supplies.
正确答案：
印度是世界上仅次于中国，人口最多的国家。拥有9亿5千万人，但是，自从中国1971年实施计划生育政策以来，印度已经与我国渐渐缩小了差距。印度人已经降低了他们的出生率，但是降低的程度还没有赶上我国。如果照目前的出生率持续下去，印度的人口将在大约2028年赶上中国的人口，数量将近大约17亿。
如果这种情况发生的话，它也不将是卡洛拉地区开明女性的过错，卡洛拉是印度南部的一个府。从整体上来说，印度每年差不多增加2000万人，但是卡洛拉的人口实际上是稳定的。原因并不神秘：与全国近40%的比例相比，将近2/3的卡洛拉女性实行计划生育。
这种差距在于卡洛拉地方当局重视健康计划，包括控制生育，该地区1957年成为印度第一个民选的共产党政府。卡洛拉部分地区的教育传统和母系习俗有助于男、女孩平等的接受良好的学校教育。虽然只有1/3的印度女性有文化，但是90%的卡洛拉女性能够读、写。
更高的识字率促进计划生育的发展。“不像我们的父母，我们知道，如果我们生了较多的孩子，我们就要为他们做更多的事情，”33岁的莱拉·凯瑞恩说，她住在库丹马洛的乡村。她限制自己生三个子女——比全国平均数四个子女少一个，这种克制会防止卡洛拉给世界的粮食供给增加挑战。
4. There is virtually no limit to how one can serve community interests, from spending a few hours a week with some charitable organizations to practically fulltime work for a social agency. Just as there are opportunities for voluntary service overseas (VSO) for young people before they take up fulltime employment, so there are opportunities for overseas service for qualified technicians in developing countries. Some people, particularly those who retire early, offer their technical and business skills in countries where there is a special need.
