氣質姐與可愛可

　　Scientists already have a wealth of information about the universe. They believe a powerful explosion1 created the universe nearly 14 billion years ago. They know that nothing moves faster than the speed of light, which is around 300,000 kilometers per second. They have also discovered that our Milky Way galaxy2 is just one of hundreds of billions of others in the entire universe. However, all of this knowledge barely scratches the surface.

　　Space is extremely vast, and scientists are out to explore every corner of it. They are looking into how the vacuum3 of space and its near zero pressure can kill a person within seconds. Once this is understood, there might be a possibility of people surviving in outer space4. In the meantime, experts are also hunting for treasure in space. Asteroids5 have been found to contain more precious metals6 than Earth. In addition, planets like Neptune may have huge quantities of diamonds and possibly even water. This month, the science and engineering7 behind space exploration8 is presented on National Geographic Channel. Catch "Known Universe 3" to discover what is new.
 

1. vast　a. 廣闊的；（量）很大的
   The government plans on putting vast amounts of money into the country's education system.
   該國政府計畫投入大量資金在其教育體系中。
    
   
2. precious　a. 珍貴的
   Sandra's precious necklace caught everyone's eye at the party.
   珊卓身上那條珍貴的項鍊在派對上吸引了眾人的目光。
    
   
3. quantity　n. 量，數量
   It is quality not quantity that really matters.
   真正重要的是品質，而不是數量。
    
   
4. present　vt. 呈現，展現
   Tom used a chart to present the figures more clearly.
   湯姆用圖表來更清楚地呈現那些數據。

1. explosion　n. 爆炸
    
   
2. galaxy　n. 星系
    
   
3. vacuum　n. 真空
    
   
4. outer space　n. 外太空
    
   
5. asteroid　n. 小行星
    
   
6. precious metal　n. 貴金屬
    
   
7. engineering　n. 工程學
    
   
8. exploration　n. 探測；探險
    

1. a wealth of...　　豐富的……
   Taiwan has a wealth of natural beauty, which attracts many travelers.
   台灣豐富的自然美景能夠吸引眾多觀光客。
    
   
2. scratch the surface　　僅觸及事物表面
   With only one week in New York City, they merely scratched the surface of all it has to offer.
   他們僅在紐約市停留一個星期，因此很難瞭解這座城市的全貌。
    
   
3. be out to + 原形動詞　　試圖∕力圖（做）……
   The mayor is out to lower the city's unemployment rate.
   那位市長正力圖降低該市的失業率。
    
   
4. in the meantime　　在此期間
   Julie is preparing dinner. In the meantime, her son is watching TV in the living room.
   茱莉在準備晚餐。在此同時，她的兒子正在客廳看電視。
   
    

　　科學家已經掌握了大量有關宇宙的資訊。他們認為宇宙誕生於一場將近一百四十億年前發生的大爆炸。他們也知道沒有任何事物能移動得比每秒約三十萬公里的光速還要快。科學家還發現，我們的銀河系只是全宇宙數千億星系中的其中一個而已。然而，以上的所有知識都只有搔到皮毛。
　　太空廣闊無垠，因此科學家正致力於探索它的每一個角落。他們正在研究太空裡的真空狀態以及近乎無壓力的環境是如何在短短數秒內置人於死。一旦知道箇中原因，人類在外太空生存就不無可能。同一時間，專家們也在太空中尋寶。他們發現小行星所蘊含的貴金屬比地球還多。此外，像海王星這類的行星也可能蘊藏著大量的鑽石甚或是水份。本月份，國家地理頻道將要呈現太空探測背後所涉及的科學與工程學。敬請收看《浩瀚宇宙３》來發現新知識。

引用自：長春藤英語  http://www.ivy.com.tw/