近日，科学家发现宇宙中“神秘信号”的消息刷屏，起因是1月9日发表在《自然》（Nature）期刊的两篇论文，其中一篇论文说该团队探测到13个“快速射电暴（fast radio bursts，FRB）”，第二篇论文则重点介绍了其中一个代号为 FRB 180814.J0422+73 的重复快速射电暴，这就是引发热议的“神秘信号”。
快速射电暴是指宇宙中突然出现的无线电波短暂且猛烈释放的现象，持续时间通常只有几毫秒，却能释放出巨大能量。由于快速射电暴难以预知，因此直到2007年才发现了第一个快速射电暴。截至今天，人类记录了60多个案例，通常出现一次便再无踪迹。
实际上，对于快速射电暴来说，真正令天文学家头疼的，不是这种现象解释不了，而是理论太多，观测数据却太少。获得更多的观测数据，这正是天文学家求之不得的事情。换句话说，可复现的快速射电暴，有可能成为一个突破口，帮助天文学家一举破解此类神秘现象的真正成因。此前人类仅发现过一个重复快速射电暴。这次“神秘信号”之所以引发关注，因为它具有重复的特征，研究人员探测到6次重复信号，并且似乎源于同一位置。
本篇课程首发于2019年1月13日，选自 The New York Times
Broadcasting from Deep Space, a Mysterious Series of Radio Signals
broadcast /ˈbrɔːdkɑːst, ˈbrɒːdkæst/: vi. 播送；播放
deep/outer space: 外太空；(地月系统以外的) 外层空间
mysterious /mɪˈstɪəriəs/: adj. 神秘的；难以理解/解释的
a series of: 一系列的；一连串的
① Something is happening out there, and astronomers sure wish they knew what it was.
out there: 在那里；在外面
astronomer /əˈstrɒnəmər, əˈstrɑːnəmər/: n. 天文学家
wish to do sth. / that 希望 (做) 某事
② For the last several years, they have been teased and baffled by mysterious bursts of radio waves from the distant universe: pops of low-frequency radiation, emitting more energy than the sun does in a day, that occur randomly and disappear immediately.
tease /tiːz/: vt./vi. 捉弄，揶揄；开玩笑
baffle /ˈbæfəl/: vt. 使困惑
burst /bɜːst, bɜːrst/: n. 迅速爆发；突然出现 vi. 爆发；突发
low-frequency: adj. 低频的
radiation /ˌreɪdiˈeɪʃən/: n. 放射线；辐射
emit /iˈmɪt/: vt. 释放；排放
occur randomly and disappear immediately: 来无影去无踪
occur [ ə'kɝ ] v. 发生
randomly /ˈrændəmli/: adv. 随机地；任意地
③ Nobody knows when these "fast radio bursts," or F.R.B.s, will occur, or where exactly in the cosmos they are occurring.
fast radio bursts / F.R.B.s: 快速射电暴
the cosmos /ˈkɒzmɒs, ˈkɑːzmoʊs/: 宇宙
④ So it was big news a year ago when scientists found a repeating radio burster and tracked it to a dwarf galaxy 3 billion light-years from Earth.
dwarf galaxy: 矮星系
⑤ Now a group of astronomers have announced the discovery of a second radio repeater.
⑥ The repeating bursts appeared last summer almost as soon as the team turned on and began tuning up a new telescope in British Columbia.
tune up: 调试
⑦ The astronomers estimated that the new repeater is about 1.5 billion light-years away, roughly half the distance to the other repeater.
estimate [ 'ɛstə,met ] v. 估计 / 判断 n. 估计 / 估算 / 估价
roughly /ˈrʌfli/: adv. 粗略地；大约
⑧ The existence of a second repeater suggests that there are many more to be found, said Ingrid Stairs, an astrophysicist at the University of British Columbia.
existence [ ɪɡ'zɪstəns ] n. 生存 / 生活 / 存在
light sail: 光帆
hypothesis /haɪˈpɒθəsɪs, haɪˈpɑːθəsɪs/: n. 假设
astrophysicist /ˌæstrəʊˈfɪzɪsɪst/: n. 天体物理学家
▍词汇拓展
- broadcast: vi. 播送；播放
CNN also broadcasts in Europe.
美国有线新闻网络也在欧洲进行广播。 - out there: 在那里；在外面
· down here: 在这里
What's wrong out there / down here?
外面/这里怎么了？ - wish to do sth. / that 希望 (做) 某事
I wish to go away for the weekend.
我周末想出去玩儿。
wish + 虚拟语气
I wish I could do that.
我希望我能那样做。 (当时没那么做)
I wish it weren't true.
我希望这不是真的。 (其实是真的) - tease: vt./vi. 捉弄，揶揄；开玩笑
· to laugh at sb. and make jokes about them, either in a friendly way or in order to annoy or embarrass them
Don't get upset—I was only teasing.
别不高兴，我是在逗你玩呢。
I used to get teased about my name.
以前我总是因为名字被别人取笑。 - baffle: vt. 使困惑
· completely confuse
I'm baffled as to why she hasn't called.
我想不明白，她为什么到现在还没打过来。 - burst: n. 迅速爆发；突然出现 vi. 爆发；突发
burst into tears/laughter 突然哭/笑起来 - radiation: n. 放射线；辐射
high levels of radiation 高强度辐射
radiation sickness 辐射病 - tune up: 调试
Can you tune up the engines for me?
你能帮我调一下发动机吗？ - roughly: adv. 粗略地；大约
Sales are up by roughly 10%.
销售额上升了大约10%。
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