(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
I'm Mary Tillotson. And I'm Bob Doughty with the VOA Special English program PEOPLE IN AMERICA. Today, we tell about Percival Lowell whose work led to the discovery of Pluto. His efforts and imagination helped change the history of astronomy in America.
Percival Lowell came from a New England family with a long history in America. The Lowell family first came to the colony of Massachussetts in sixteen thirty-nine. One of Percival Lowell's ancestors, John Cabot Lowell, manufactured cloth. He became an important American industrialist in the late Eighteenth and early Nineteenth Centuries.
Percival's father, Augustus Lowell, worked in the family cloth business. He settled his family in Boston, Massachusetts. Percival was born there in eighteen fifty-five. He had a younger brother, Abbott Lawrence, and a younger sister, Amy.
Percival Lowell attended American and European private schools as a young man. He studied mathematics at Harvard University. After he finished his studies at Harvard in eighteen seventy-six, he traveled in Europe and the Middle East for a year. Then he worked as a financial officer in the cloth business of his grandfather.
After several years, Percival realized he was not happy as a businessman. So he decided to travel to Japan to study its culture and language. While there, he was asked to go with a special trade group from Korea to establish trade relations with the United States.
In eighteen eighty-three, Mister Lowell traveled to Korea as a diplomat. He reported on a clash there between Korean and Japanese troops. Mister Lowell remained in East Asia for ten years. He returned home when each of his six books about East Asian subjects was published.
Percival Lowell also had an intense interest in astronomy and mathematics. In eighteen ninety-three he left Tokyo for the last time and returned to the United States. He decided to spend more time observing the planet Mars.
He had studied observations by the famous Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli. He found notes that described markings on Mars that Mister Schiaparelli called "canali" Mister Lowell came to believe that intelligent life created the markings on Mars.
In eighteen ninety-four, he built an observatory near Flagstaff, Arizona. He had the world famous telescope maker Alvan Clark and Sons make a telescope for his observatory. He began a program of observing not only Mars, but also Venus and Mercury.
Mister Lowell published his first book about Mars in eighteen ninety-five. In it, he developed a theory that intelligent life had created waterways all over the surface of Mars. His theory was that Martians were trying to bring water to the warm areas near the equator of the planet.
Mister Lowell's theories were based on what were serious scientific studies of that time. Yet his theories about life on Mars may have had more lasting influence on many writers of imaginary stories.
Three years after Mister Lowell's book was published, H.G Wells published his famous book "War of the Worlds." Mister Wells' story told of a Martian invasion of Earth. The Martians that he imagined lived on a dry and wasted planet. This is very similar to Mister Lowell's description of Mars.
Mister Lowell's theories about Mars also influenced Edgar Rice Burroughs. Mister Burroughs is best known for stories about "Tarzan." He also wrote a series of books about an American who traveled to Mars and fell in love with a beautiful princess. The popular series began in nineteen twelve with "The Princess of Mars."
Mister Lowell's book, "Mars and Its Canals," was published in nineteen-oh-six. In that book, he expanded his theory about Martian life. He said he could see changes in the seasons on the surface of Mars. He said the darkening of the Martian surface during some times of the year was caused by the growth of plants. His theory of Martian life became so complex that he made maps of cities and waterways on the planet.
Percival Lowell did not know that his eyes played a part in the markings he saw on Mars. Experts explain that the movement of air in the atmosphere and natural qualities of the human eye caused him to see markings that were not there.
Percival Lowell also studied the effect of gravity on the planet Neptune. Small changes in the movement of Neptune led several astronomers to believe that an undiscovered planet was affecting Neptune's orbit. Mister Lowell called it Planet X. Mister Lowell himself searched for Planet X for two years starting in nineteen-oh-five.
He made the search by comparing two pictures of the same part of the sky. The photographs would be taken several weeks apart. The astronomer would then check both photographs. An object in the solar system could be identified if it appeared to move from its place in the earlier photograph.
However, the first search failed. In fact, he failed to recognize Planet X in a few photographs. He searched again for it several years later. Percival Lowell did not have the chance to discover Planet X. He died suddenly in November, nineteen sixteen.
The search for Planet X did not restart at Lowell Observatory for years. Then in nineteen twenty-five, Guy Lowell, a relative of Percival, gained control of the observatory. He decided to seriously search for Planet X. He wanted to continue the work Percival had started.
In the following years, Percival's brother, Abbott Lawrence, provided money to build a special photographic telescope. The new telescope was completed in early nineteen twenty-nine.
That year, an observatory official, V. M. Slipher, offered a young man a job working with the new telescope. The young man's name was Clyde Tombaugh.
Mister Tombaugh got a job a Lowell Observatory after he sent drawings of his observations of Jupiter and Mars. He quickly learned how best to use the new photographic telescope at the observatory. He carefully planned his research to make the most of his time. On February eighteenth, nineteen thirty, he discovered an unusual object after less than one year of searching. The object moved slowly in the sky like a distant planet. Percival Lowell's Planet X had been found!
On March thirteenth, Clyde Tombaugh and V.M Slipher announced the discovery of a new planet. The date was the seventy-fifth anniversary of Mister Lowell's birth.
Mister Tombaugh continued to record the motion of the new planet for thirteen years. He found more than seven hundred small bodies that orbit the sun, called asteroids. He also discovered a number of star systems called galaxies.
During his life, Percival Lowell did not enjoy the success he hoped to find in astronomy. He died long before the search for Planet X resulted in the discovery of Pluto. And his theories about waterways and complex life on Mars have been disproved. In nineteen sixty-five, NASA's Mariner Four spacecraft showed that no waterways existed on Mars.
Yet, the institution Mister Lowell established in Flagstaff, Arizona, has made many discoveries in addition to that of Pluto. Evidence that the universe is expanding was first discovered at Lowell Observatory by V. M. Slipher. Also, the rings around the planet Uranus were discovered there.
Lowell Observatory now has four telescopes and is continuing to expand. It supports programs that bring astronomy to the public.
Astronomers at Lowell and many other observatories continue to search for life beyond our planet. Their efforts continue Percival Lowell's tradition of scientific investigation.
重点解析
1.come to believe开始相信
He had come to believe that no one could replace him, not even Gamal.
他开始相信，没有人能够取代他，即使是儿子贾迈勒也不行。
2.similar to相似
In this respect or many others, they are similar to doctors or lawyers.
在这方面和许多其它方面，他们与医生和律师很相似。
3.a series of一些列的
To do this they pitted the groups against each other in a series of competitions.
为了达到这个目的，他们让两组人在一系列的竞赛中相互竞争。
4.in fact实际上
Well, in fact I only agree with you to some extent.
唔，实际上，我只是在一定程度上同愈你的观点。
5.search for寻找
You can search for and find reviews online, too.
你也可以在网上搜索查找相关评论。
6.make the most of充分利用
Enjoy the ride. You only have one ride through life so make the most of it and enjoy it.
享受生命的旅行。你仅仅有这一次生命的旅行，所以一定要善加利用以及好好享受。
参考译文
我是玛丽·蒂洛森，我是鲍勃·道蒂，这里是VOA慢速英语栏目《美国人物志》。今天，我们讲述珀西瓦尔·洛厄尔的故事，他的工作导致了冥王星的发现。他的努力和想象力帮助改变了美国天文学的历史。
珀西瓦尔·洛厄尔来自新英格兰的一个家庭，在美国有着悠久的历史。洛厄尔一家于1639年首次来到马萨诸塞殖民地。珀西瓦尔·洛厄尔的祖先之一约翰·卡伯特·洛厄尔以制造布料为生。他成为了18世纪末19世纪初美国著名的实业家。
珀西瓦尔的父亲奥古斯都·洛厄尔从事家族服装生意。他把家安在马萨诸塞州的波士顿。珀西瓦尔于1855年出生在那里。他有一个弟弟，艾伯特·劳伦斯和一个妹妹艾米。
珀西瓦尔·洛厄尔年轻时就读于美国和欧洲的私立学校。他在哈佛大学学习数学。1876年，洛厄尔在哈佛大学完成学业后，去欧洲和中东旅行了一年。后来，他在祖父经营的布业中担任财务官。
几年后，洛厄尔发现他作为一个商人并不快乐。所以他决定去日本学习日本的文化和语言。在日本的时候，人们邀请他加入一个来自韩国的特别贸易组织，来建立和美国的贸易关系。
1883年，洛厄尔先生以一名外交官的身份访问了韩国。在韩国，他报道了韩国和日本军队发生的一次冲突。洛厄尔先生在东亚呆了十年。当他的六本关于东亚主题的书都出版后，他回到了家乡。
珀西瓦尔·洛厄尔对天文学和数学也有浓厚的兴趣。1893年，他最后一次离开东京，返回美国。他决定花更多的时间观察火星。
他曾研究过意大利著名天文学家乔瓦尼·斯基亚帕雷利的观测结果。他发现了描述火星标记的笔记，斯基亚帕雷利先生称之为“卡纳利”。洛厄尔先生开始相信火星上的标记是由智慧生命创造的。
1894年，他在亚利桑那州弗拉格斯塔夫附近建造了一座天文台。他让世界著名的望远镜制造商阿尔文·克拉克和他的儿子们为他的天文台制作了一台望远镜。他开始了一项不仅观察火星，而且还观察金星和水星的计划。
1895年，洛厄尔先生出版了他的关于火星的第一本书。
在这本书里，他提出了一个理论，智慧生命在整个火星的表面创造了水渠。他的理论是火星人试图把水带到火星赤道附近的温暖地区。洛厄尔先生的理论是基于当时严肃的科学研究成果提出的。然而，他关于火星生命的理论可能对许多虚构故事的作者产生了更持久的影响。
洛厄尔先生的书出版三年后，H·G·威尔斯出版了他著名的著作《世界大战》。威尔斯先生讲述了火星入侵地球的故事。他想象出的火星人生活在一个干燥荒芜的星球上。这跟洛厄尔对火星的描述很相似。
洛厄尔关于火星的理论也影响了埃德加·赖斯·巴勒斯。巴勒斯的作品中最著名的是关于“泰山”的故事。他还写了一系列关于一个美国人去火星旅行并爱上了一位美丽的公主的书。这个流行的系列作品始于1912年的《火星公主》。
洛厄尔的书《火星及其运河》于1906年出版。在这本书里，他拓展了其关于火星生命的理论。他说自己能看到在不同季节里火星表面的变化。他说，火星表面在一年中的某些时候变暗是由植物生长造成的。他的关于火星生命的理论变得非常复杂，以至于他制作了关于火星的城市和水渠的地图。
珀西瓦尔·洛厄尔不知道他的眼睛在他在火星上看到的标记中起了作用。专家解释说，大气中的空气运动和人眼的自然特性使他看到了不存在的痕迹。
珀西瓦尔·洛厄尔还研究了重力对海王星的影响。海王星运行的一些小的变化使一些宇航员相信一颗未被发现的行星正在影响海王星的轨道。洛厄尔把它叫做X星球。洛厄尔先生从1905年起用了两年的时间寻找X星球。
他通过比较同一片天空的两张图片来进行搜索。这些照片相隔几周拍摄一次。然后天文学家会检查前后两张照片。如果太阳系中的一个物体离开了之前照片中的位置，那么它就可以被识别出来。
但是，第一次搜寻失败了。实际上，他没能在一些照片中认出X星球。几年后他再次寻找了X星球。珀西瓦尔·洛厄尔没能发现X星球。他于1916年突然去世。
在洛厄尔天文台寻找X星球的计划数年后都没有重启。然后在1925年，珀西瓦尔的一个亲戚盖·洛厄尔获得了该天文台的控制权。他决定认真地去寻找X星球。他想继续珀西瓦尔未完成的事业。
在接下来的几年里，珀西瓦尔的弟弟阿尔伯特·劳伦斯为建立一个特殊的照相望远镜提供了资金。这台新的望远镜于1929年初建成了。
那年，一位天文台的官员V·M·斯莱弗为一名年轻人提供了一个使用这台新的望远镜的工作。这名年轻人的名字叫做克莱德·汤博。
在把自己对木星和火星的观察图寄给了洛厄尔天文台后，汤博先生在洛厄尔天文台找到了一份工作。他很快学会了如何最好地使用天文台的新摄影望远镜。他仔细地规划自己的研究，以最好的使用他的时间。1930年2月18日，在寻找不到一年的时间内，他发现了一个不常见的物体。这个物体在空中缓慢移动，就像一个偏远的星球。珀西瓦尔·洛厄尔的X星球被找到了！
3月13日，克莱德·汤博和V·M·斯莱弗宣布发现了一颗新行星。那天是洛厄尔先生75周年诞辰。
汤博先生继续记录这个新星球的运动达13年之久。他发现了超过700个围绕太阳运行的小天体，它们被称为小行星。他还发现了一些被称为星系的恒星系统。
珀西瓦尔·洛厄尔在他的一生中没有享受到他希望在天文学上取得的成功。早在寻找行星X并最终发现冥王星之前，他就去世了。他关于火星上的水渠和复杂生命的理论已经被推翻。在1965年，美国宇航局的水手4号飞船显示火星上没有水渠。
然而，洛厄尔先生在亚利桑那州弗拉格斯塔夫建立的机构，除了冥王星之外，还发现了许多其他的行星。宇宙正在扩张的的证据最初是由V·M·斯莱弗在洛厄尔天文台发现的。此外，围绕天王星的光环也是在那里发现的。
洛厄尔天文台现在有4个望远镜，并且仍在继续扩大。它支持把天文学带给大众的项目。
洛厄尔天文台和很多其他天文台的天文学家都在继续搜寻这地球之外的生命。他们的努力延续了珀西瓦尔·洛厄尔的科学研究传统。
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