Life on Mars
火星上是否有生命存在
Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English. I『m Sophie…
大家好，歡迎收聽六分鐘英語。我是蘇菲。
And I『m Neil. Sophie – did you see the beautiful sky last night?
我是尼爾。蘇菲，昨晚看到美麗的夜空了嗎？
No, I went to bed early. Why?
沒有，我睡得早。怎麼了？
I was wondering if there was life out there.
我在想那是否有生命存在。
You mean life on other planets? That『s just science fiction, Neil.
你是指其他星球是否有生命存在？那只是科幻小說，尼爾。
It isn『t! People are fascinated by life on other planets for a good reason.
不是的！很多人相信其他星球有生命存在，這是有原因的。
You believe in little green men?
你相信有小綠人？
Not necessarily… but possibly.
不一定是小綠人，但有可能存在的。
Well, Mars is our closest neighbour in the solar system and the subject of today『s show. And that brings me on to our usual quiz question. How long is a day on Mars?Is it about…a) 5 hours? b) 25 hours? Or c) 45 hours?
火星是太陽系距我們最近的鄰居了，這也是我們今天節目的主題。如往常一樣，回答今天的問題吧。火星上一天有多長？a) 5 小時?b) 25 小時?還是 c) 45 小時?
And I think it must be c) 45 hours. Things are weird on other planets. And Mars is further from the sun than us… Mars may be our closest neighbour, but it『s hardly in our backyard, is it?
我覺得一定是 c) 45 小時。其他星球上的事物都很奇怪。火星與我們地球相比距太陽更遠。火星可能是我們最近的鄰居，但也不會和我們的後花園一樣近，不是嗎？
It is in astronomical terms, Neil – it『s visible to the naked eye – meaning without using instruments – and it’s reachable by spacecraft. Well, we『ll find out later on in the show whether you got the answer right or not. Now can you tell me Neil why people like you get excited about the possibility of life on Mars?
這是一個天文術語，叫做肉眼可見，是指不藉助任何設備就可看見，我們乘坐宇宙飛船可以到達火星。好了，之後我們再看你回答得是否正確。你能告訴我為什麼和你一樣的人們對火星可能存在生命這麼激動嗎？
Well, Mars is similar to the Earth in some important ways which means if life developed on our planet, why not Mars?
在很多重要的方面，火星和地球相似，這意味著如果我們地球存在生命，火星上為什麼不能存在呢？
That『s true. Its temperature is in the right zone – not too hot and not too cold.But actually we could find Mars pretty cold– an average temperature would be around minus 63 degrees Celsius compared to Earth’s 14 degrees Celsius. It『s also very arid – or dry.
這倒沒錯。火星有允許生命存在的溫度，不太熱也不太冷。但是我們還是會覺得火星溫度低，火星平均氣溫達到零下 63 攝氏度，相比之下地球平均溫度為 14 攝氏度。同時火星上太乾燥了。
And it needs to be wet for life to develop, doesn『t it?
生命生長需要溼潤的環境，是嗎?
That『s right. Many scientists think that liquid water is essential for life!But there may have been water on the surface of Mars in the past. And recent research suggests that there may be water underground. Let’s hear some more about this from Professor John Zarnecki, who teaches Space Science at The Open University.
沒錯。許多科學家認為液態水是生命存在必不可少的條件！過去火星表面有可能存在水。最近的研究顯示火星也許存在地下水。我們來聽聽英國開放大學空間科學的教授 John Zarnecki 的看法。
We are now seeing that in fact Mars probably does have water – not liquid water – that there is ice just below the surface and there『s even just recently tantalizing evidence that perhaps water does flow periodically... Now, and also coupled with the factthat here on Earth we’re finding that life in very primitive form exists in the most extreme environments, these are the so called 『extremophiles』 that exist at the bottom of the oceans… So life is much, much tougher.
我們如今觀察到火星上有可能確實存在水，不是液態水，在其表層下存在冰，最近甚至有迷惑性的證據其顯示地下水有周期性的流動。如今我們還在地球上發現了在極端條件下生存著原始生命類型這些生物也叫「極端微生物」，存在於海洋之下。所以這些生命生存的很艱難。
What does tantalizing mean, Sophie?
什麼叫迷惑性呢？
It means something you want that『s almost, but not quite, within reach. So, scientists would love to think water flows on Mars but the evidence isn’t strong enough for this to be certain. The other interesting point the professor makes is that life may exist in the very harsh Martian environment – because primitive life exists in extreme places on Earth.
這是指非常接近，但不是完全確信。所以科學家們想相信火星上有水存在，但證據不是那麼充足。教授提及的另一個有意思的地方是環境艱苦的火星也許會有生命存在，因為在地球的極端環境也有原始生命類型存在。
Extremophiles are organisms – or small creatures – that live in very extreme environmentsand can survive conditions that would kill most other organisms. But on Mars they would be living underground because the radiation – or light and heat – from the Sun would kill any organisms living on the surface of the planet. So why doesn『t the Sun’s radiation kill us then, Sophie?
極端微生物是生活在極端環境下的生物體或微生物，能在大多數生命體無法存活的環境下生存。但是在火星上也許它們要生活在地下，因為太陽輻射，或者說太陽的光和熱會殺死火星表面所有的生物體。那為什麼太陽輻射沒有殺死我們呢？
The Earth has a strong magnetic field created by its hot molten core – or centre– and this protects us from the Sun『s harmful solar winds.
高溫地核的熔融物質為地球創造了一個強烈的磁場，保護我們免受太陽風的傷害。
And what about Mars - why doesn『t it have a magnetic field?
那火星呢？為什麼火星沒有磁場？
It used to – 4 billion years ago. It『s possible that a massive collision with an asteroid might have heated up Mars’s core, disrupting the magnetic fields.
40 億年前是有的。也許是因為火星與其他小行星發生劇烈碰撞導致火星內核溫度升高，擾亂了其磁場。
And if you disrupt a process you stop it from continuing normally. Now, to return to the subject of collisions, Sophie, I have something very interesting to tell you.
擾亂是指打斷某個過程，使之不能正常繼續。現在，回到碰撞這個話題上。我有很有意思的事告訴你。
Yes?
真的嗎？
A meteorite – or a piece of rock from outer space – might『ve crashed into the Earth millions of years ago. That meteorite might have contained Martian life forms. So we might be descended from Martians!
幾百萬年前，來自外太空的石頭，也就是隕石落在了地球上。這塊隕石也許攜帶了火星生命形式。所以我們也許是火星人的後代！
That『s actually an interesting idea, Neil. But let’s listen to Professor John Zarnecki talking about interplanetary life.
這個觀點很有意思。但是我們聽聽 John Zarnecki 教授談論星際內的生命。
If we do find traces of life on Mars we don『t know, do we - whether it evolved independently or was it perhaps seeded from Earth. It is possible that life forms from Earth travelled to Mars and perhaps existed there – or the other way round.
如果我們確實發現了火星生命存在的痕跡，我們無法確定該生命是自己進化而來還是從地球生命繁衍而來。有可能地球上的生命抵達了火星，在那生存下來，也有可能恰恰相反。
So life on Mars may have evolved – or developed – on its own. Or it might have arrived from Earth in a lump of rock…Or the other way round! So Martians might be humans or we might be Martians! One big interplanetary happy family, Sophie!
所以火星上的生命也可能是自己進化而來。也有可能是來自地球的巖石攜帶生命到達火星，從此在火星上繁衍開來。或者是相反的情況。所以火星人有可能是人類，我們有可能是火星人！這簡直是星際間快樂的大家庭啊。
Well Neil, let『s hope you stay happy after you hear the answer to today’s quiz question. I asked: How long is a day on Mars? Is it … a) 5 hours? b) 25 hours? Or c) 45 hours?
讓我們祈禱你聽到今天問題的答案後還能這麼開心。我問你：火星上的一天有多長？a) 5 小時?b) 25 小時?還是 c) 45 小時?
And I said c) 45 hours – they must have a long day over there.
我選的是 c) 45 小時。火星上的一天一定非常長。
And you were … wrong!The correct answer is b) because a day on Mars is slightly longer than here on Earth – it『s 25 hours. Anyway, can we at least hear the words we learned today?
你回答……錯了！正確答案是 b)，火星上的一天只比地球長一點，是 25 小時一天。好了，我們再聽一下今天的單詞吧？
They are:
今天聽到的單詞有：
the naked eye
肉眼
arid
乾燥的
tantalizing
迷惑性的
extremophiles
極端微生物
organisms
生命體
radiation
輻射
core
地核
disrupt
擾亂
meteorite
隕石
evolved
進化
Well, that『s the end of today’s 6 Minute English. Join us again soon!
今天的六分鐘英語就到這裡。我們下次再會！
Bye.
再見。
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