今天分享的精讀筆記選自外刊經濟學人的2020年展望。一起讀外刊學英語。
The rush to Mars in 2020
奔赴火星
Space missions in 2020 range from the exploration of Mars to the defence of Earth
range (from A to B):包括（從…到…）之間的各類事物例句：She has had a number of different jobs, ranging from chef to swimming instructor. 她做過許多不同的工作，從廚師到遊泳教練。
Off to Mars 01
00:24來自外刊譯言
Mars buffs can expect a thrilling 2020. Taking advantage of the biennial approach between Earth and Mars, the space agencies of America , China, Europe and the United Arab Emirates all plan launches of unmanned Martian rovers. Each mission is fuelled by thirst for knowledge. But each also showcases ambitions of a more worldly sort.
buff: a person who is very interested in a particular subject or activity and knows a lot about it 愛好者；行家裡手;這個詞常用於構成複合詞，比如：an opera buff 歌劇愛好者；a film buff 電影迷；a word buff 英語單詞控；
外刊例句1：The comments came in thick and fast on Douban, a social network popular with film buffsand bookworms. 在電影愛好者和書蟲聚集的社交網站豆瓣上，評論鋪天蓋地。
外刊例句2：As it turns out, they were history buffswho, starting as far back as the 16th century, had the bright idea of collecting historical artifacts and documents, although they sometimes interpreted them in hilariously misguided ways. 事實上，他們就是一群歷史愛好者，最早可追溯到16世紀。他們愛好收集歷史文物和文件，但有時也會滑稽地做出錯誤的解讀。
buff的另一個含義是「a pale yellow-brown colour 米色，淺黃褐色」，詞組in the buff表示「一絲不掛、赤裸」；
thrilling：exciting and enjoyable 驚險的；緊張的；扣人心弦的；令人興奮不已的a thrilling experience/finish 激動人心的經歷╱結局例句1：閱兵方陣威武雄壯，群眾遊行激情飛揚The formations during the military parade were powerful, and the mass pageant thrilling.:
例句2：這是一個怎樣出人意外的消息啊，它比逢年過節還使魯迅興奮。What an unexpected piece of news! To young Lu Xun it was even more thrilling than the New Year holiday or a festival.（《幼年魯迅》，「When Lu Xun Was a Child」）
take advantage of ： (1)to make use of sth well; to make use of an opportunity 利用；利用（機會）；(2) to make use of sb/sth in a way that is unfair or dishonest 欺騙；佔…的便宜biennial /baenil/: happening once every two years 兩年一次的，詞根助記：前綴bi-,表示「二」；詞根enn表示「年」；a biennial convention 兩年召開一次的大會the United Arab Emirates阿聯,阿拉伯聯合大公國unmanned無（需）人操作的；無（需）人控制的；自控的an unmanned spacecraft 無人駕駛宇宙飛船an unmanned Mars mission 無人火星探測rover: 漫遊者；流浪者;指飛行器fuel：使更強烈thirst (for sth):a strong desire for sth 渴望；渴求a thirst for knowledge 如饑似渴的求知慾worldly：塵世的；世俗的；世事的；反義詞：spiritual
參考譯文：火星愛好者應該會有個興奮無比的 2020 年。美國、中國、歐洲和阿拉伯聯合大公國的太空機構，全都打算把握兩年一度、火星接近地球的機會，發射無人火星探測車。這些任務的動力來自對知識的渴求，但也是為了展示各國的雄心壯志。
以上。
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