Hunter in the Sky
天空中的猎人 I-01 / 001

Stargazing takes imagination. People who love stargazing see the stars as shinning spots in a dot-to-dot drawing game. They imagine lines that connect groups of stars called constellations. A constellation is a group of stars that looks like a person, an animal, or an object.

The constellation Orion is known as the hunter, after a hero from ancient Greek myths. To find Orion, first find the Big Dipper. The Big Dipper looks like a huge cup with a long handle. After you find the Big Dipper, turn around. There's Orion! He is outlined by four bright stars that form two triangles. The tips of the triangles seem to come together. Where they meet, there are three more bright stars. These form Orion's belt. Some fainter stars appear to hang from the belt. These are Orion's sword.

Different kinds of stars are in the constellation Orion. The star Betelgeuse makes Orion's bright shoulder. Betelgeuse is an Arabic word that means “shoulder of the giant.” The star itself is so huge that it is called a supergiant. Its diameter is 400 times greater than that of our Sun. Betelgeuse is considered as a cool star. It is probably not as hot as our Sun.

Rigel is the star that makes Orion's left foot. Rigel is the Arabic word for foot. Rigel is much brighter than Betelgeuse because it is much hotter. It's more than three times as hot as our Sun. However, Rigel is just a baby in size compared to Betelgeuse.

A large, misty area near Orion's sword is called a nebula. It is a mass of shining gas and dust. The gases whirl together and may form new stars. As the new stars begin to shine, Orion will be brighter than ever.

Words and Phrases

stargaze [ˈsta:ˌɡeɪz] 动 仰望；凝视

imagination [ɪˌmædʒɪˈneɪʃn] 名 想象力；空想，想象

drawing game 绘画游戏

constellation [ˌkɒnstəˈleɪʃn] 名 星座

Orion [əˈraɪən] 名 猎户座

Big Dipper 北斗七星

outline [ˈaʊtlaɪn] 动 画出……的轮廓

triangle [ˈtraɪæŋɡl] 名 三角形

faint [feɪnt] 形 微弱的，黯淡的，模糊的

Betelgeuse [ˈbetəlˌdʒɜ:z] 名 参宿四（猎户座α星，是猎户星座中的一等星）

Arabic [ˈærəbɪk] 形 阿拉伯的，阿拉伯语的；名 阿拉伯语

supergiant [ˈsju:pəˌdʒaɪənt] 形 特大的，超巨型的；名 超巨星

diameter [daɪˈæmɪtə(r)] 名 直径

Rigel [ˈraɪdʒl] 名 参宿七（猎户座β星）

misty [ˈmɪstɪ] 形 多雾的，被雾笼罩的

nebula [ˈnebjələ] 名 星云；星云状的星系

whirl [wɜ:l]动 旋转

Practice

1. When looking at the constellation, people try to imagine________.

A. lines

B. games

C. spots

D. groups

2. Groups of stars are called_________.

A. stargazers

B. ancient myths

C. constellations

D. connections

3. The four bright stars in Orion form________.

A. a big cup

B. two triangles

C. a long handle

D. an animal

4. Betelgeuse makes_________.

A. an Arabic word

B. Orion's shoulder

C. different stars

D. huge size

5. Orion may shine brighter________.

A. when Rigel explodes

B. as new stars shine

C. as dust shines

D. as dust forms

译文

天空中的猎人

仰望星空需要想象力。喜欢仰望星空的人们把星星看作是点对点绘图游戏中闪亮的点。他们想象着有线条将群星相连并称之为星座。星座就是看上去像人、动物或物体的一组星星。

猎户座被称为猎人，源于古希腊神话中的一位英雄。要找到猎户座，首先要找到北斗七星。北斗七星看上去像一个有着长把手的巨大杯子。找到北斗七星后，转过身，就是猎户座！它是由四颗明亮的星星组成的两个三角形勾勒而成。两个三角形的顶端看上去交会在一起，在它们交会的地方，又有三颗明亮的星星，它们组成猎户座的腰带。一些悬挂在腰带上微暗的星星是猎户座的宝剑。

猎户座由不同种类的星星组成。参宿四星是猎户座明亮的肩膀。Betelgeuse在阿拉伯语中，表示“巨人的肩膀”。参宿四星本身非常巨大，所以被称作超巨星，直径是我们太阳的400多倍。参宿四星被视为冷恒星，它的温度可能没有太阳那么高。

参宿七星是猎户座的左脚。Rigel在阿拉伯语中代表着脚。参宿七星看上去比参宿四星更亮，因为它的温度更高，是太阳温度的3倍多。然而就大小而言，参宿七星和参宿四星相比，简直如婴儿一般。

在猎户座宝剑附近的一大片雾状区域被称为星云。它是发光的气体和尘埃的混合物。这些气体旋转在一起，可能还会形成新的星体。当新生成的星星开始闪烁，猎户座会比以往更明亮。

练习

1．在看星座的时候，人们试图想象________。

A．线条

B．游戏

C．斑点

D．团体

2．成群的星星被称为__________。

A．占星师

B．古代神话

C．星座

D．连接点

3．在猎户座里，四颗明亮的星星组成________。

A．一个大杯子

B．两个三角形

C．一个长把手

D．一只动物

4.参宿四星组成_________。

A．阿拉伯词汇

B．猎户座的肩膀

C．不同的星星

D．巨大的面积

5.__________猎户座或许会闪烁得更明亮。

A．当参宿七星爆炸时

B．当新的星星闪烁时

C．当尘埃发光时

D．当尘埃形成时