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.