流星，隕石英文怎麽說？
＊閱讀全文請點擊此連結
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-17248959
＊新聞標題
Meteor witnessed across Britain
＊標題解說
‧ meteor：流星（名詞）也叫 shooting star, falling star, 但是
meteor 實際上是隕石，肉眼看不到石頭，所以感覺是看到滑過天空的流星
http://oald8.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/dictionary/meteor
a piece of rock from outer space that makes a bright line across the night sky as it burns up while falling through the earth's atmosphere（大氣層）a meteor shower （流星雨）
一旦meteor 降落到地球表面，不管是落地或落海，
就叫meteorite（隕星）【註1】
‧ witness：目睹（動詞）在此witnessed應該讀成過去分詞-被動式
A meteor was witnessed across Britain（標題省略冠詞和 Be 動詞）
‧ across Britain：英國各地
‧ Britain：英國（名詞）注意不是 England，
因爲英國是the island containing England, Scotland and Wales。
所以說 England 只是英國的一部份
＊內文解析
█ 各地警方指出他們已經收到一些電話報告可能當時看到的就是流星。
Police forces say they have received a number of calls reporting what is believed to have been a meteor.
► 簡化來看：
X say they have received a number of calls reporting Y.
X接到報告某事的電話（reporting 是分詞說明 calls 電話）
‧ Police forces 不要理解成警方部隊，看字典的時候注意找到比較合適的解説：因爲報告警方有關流星的消息，爲何會跟部隊forces有關？
所以要再找別的解釋
http://oald8.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/dictionary/forces#force_1
the force [singular] (British English) the police force
He joined the force twenty years ago.
英國用法，force, 可以理解成 police force, 警方，這裡用了 police forces 因爲英國各地多処警方接到電話
‧ What is believed to have been A：被認爲存在的是A。
‧ What is believed to have been a meteor.
用 have been a meteor,（過去完成 be 動詞 – 是）
因爲當時看到是過去時間。
█ 氣象局推文：「大家好，如果有人在夜空中看到東西，我們相信那是一塊隕石。」
The Met Office tweeted: "Hi All, for anyone seeing something in the night sky, we believe it was a meteorite."
‧ The Met Office 英國的氣象觀測站 www.metoffice.gov.uk
‧ Met：是Meteorological 的簡稱
meteorological：氣象的（形容詞）
‧ meteorite：隕星（名詞）
‧ tweet：在社群網站 twitter 發表短信（動詞）tweeted 過去式
█ 數百人推文他們所看到的景象並且在Northumberland郡的Kielder天文台把它形容為一個「巨大的火球」從北到南劃過全郡。
Hundreds of people tweeted about what they had seen and the Kielder Observatory, in Northumberland, described it as a "huge fireball" travelling from north to south over the county.
► 簡化來看：People tweeted about X and the Kielder Observatory described it as Y
X=what they had seen
Y=a huge fireball travelling …. (travelling 為現在分詞說明fireball)
‧ observatory：天文觀測台（名詞）
fireball: http://oald8.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/dictionary/fireball
a bright ball of fire, especially one at the centre of an explosion
（尤其是爆炸時中間呈現出的火光）
█ 天文台台長，Gary Fildes,當時跟大約40個人在一起 ，當他們意外發現看到流星的時候，說「我們得到的是一個令人難以置信的景象，太驚人了。
Gary Fildes, observatory director, who was with a group of about 40 people when they spotted the meteor, said: "We got an incredible view. It was phenomenal.
► 簡化來看： Gary Fildes，X，said this.
逗號隔開的文字X在說明有關此人的細節，who子句說明看到流星的時候，有其他約40人跟他在一起
‧ spot：不容易看到而意外發現看到（動詞）spotted (過去式）
http://oald8.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/dictionary/spot_2
to see or notice a person or thing, especially suddenly or when it is not
easy to do so
‧ an incredible view：難以置信的景象 We got an incredible view.
用 got（get的過去式）收到的景象
‧ phenomenal：嘆爲觀止（形容詞）
It was phenomenal. 當時看到用過去式「was」
█ 「他們絕對是抓狂了。我得到的問題是它是什麽，它要結束地球生命嗎？
當時真是興奮到不行。」
"They went absolutely mental. I was getting questions about what it is and is it going to end life on Earth? It was massively exciting."
‧ mental：發狂（形容詞）英國俚語用法
http://oald8.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/dictionary/mental
3 [not usually before noun] (British English, slang)crazy
Watch him. He's mental.
My dad will go mental (= be very angry) when he finds out.
‧ went mental：go mental 的過去式
They went absolutely mental. 在此可以理解成，他們絕對是抓狂了
‧ massively：非常巨大地（副詞）
＊字彙整理
天有異象，衆人驚呼，這則新聞給了我們機會看到目睹流星的興奮，英文如何表達：
‧ 流星：meteor（名詞）
‧ 隕星：meteorite（名詞）
‧ 天文臺：observatory（名詞）
‧ 氣象臺：The Met Office
‧ 氣象的：Meteorological（形容詞）
‧ 警方：the force = the police force（英國用法）
‧ 嘆爲觀止的：phenomenal（形容詞）
‧ 抓狂：go mental（英國俚語）
‧ 非常興奮：massively exciting
‧ 難以置信的景象：an incredible view（常見用法）
‧ 不容易看到而意外發現看到：spot（動詞）They spotted the meteor.
【註1】BBC 新聞中解釋meteor 和 meteorite
Meteors are particles from space that burn up as they plummet through Earth's atmosphere, sometimes emitting light, creating a "fireball" effect.
plummet：快速掉落（動詞）to fall suddenly and quickly from a high level or position
注意這一段用現在式述説一般現象
Meteorites are larger, more durable objects that survive heating in the atmosphere and land on Earth. It is not known if that happened on Saturday.
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