宇宙之钥

By the late nineteenth century it looked like

19世纪后期

some of the great mysteries of the universe would be all wrapped up

宇宙的一些重大奥秘似乎都已一一解开

thanks to the groundbreaking discoveries of Newton and Maxwell.

都因牛顿和麦克斯韦的重大发现而解开

But then two American physicists stumbled into a completely unexpected discovery.

但后来有两名美国物理学家 又在无意间有了意外发现

Albert Michelson and Edward Morley were investigating

艾伯特·迈克尔逊和爱德华·莫利研究

the implications of Maxwell's revelation that light is a form of wave

麦克斯韦的发现所代表的含义 也就是光以波的形式行进

traveling at 186,000 miles per second.

速度为每秒30万公里

They figured that just as water waves,a wave of energy traveling in water

他们推想就像水波 是能量在水中行进所产生的波

and sound waves,a wave of energy traveling through air

而声波是能量在空气中行进所产生的波

so light waves must also travel through... Something.

因此光波一定也透过某个东西行进

They called this "something": the luminiferous ether.

他们把这东西称为"光以太"

Michelson and Morley proposed that space

迈克尔逊和莫利提出宇宙

including the space between the sun and the earth.

包含太阳和地球间的宇宙

Was filled with this mysterious ether.

全都充满这种神奇的以太

They believed that sunlight must travel through the ether to reach earth.

他们相信阳光一定是经由以太来 到地球的

Since the earth also move around the sun.

而由于地球同样绕着太阳运转

They must be traveling through this ether,too.

因此地球也一定在以太中运行

If so,this movement would cause what they called an 'ether wind'.

若真如此,这种移动就会造成所谓的"以太风"

to blow over the surface of our planet.

以太风吹过地球的表面

重点讲解

1、universe

宇宙

Einstein's equations showed the Universe to be expanding.

爱因斯坦的方程式表明宇宙正在膨胀。

Early astronomers thought that our planet was the centre of the universe.

早期的天文学家认为我们的星球是宇宙的中心。

经验领域

Good writers suck in what they see of the world, recreating their own universe on the page.

优秀的作家从他们眼中的世界汲取体验，然后在纸上重塑自己的天地。

They marked out the boundaries of our visual universe.

他们标出了我们视觉经验领域的界限。

全天下，宇宙万物中（最）

According to my friends I am the coolest, thinnest, cleverest, funniest journalist in the universe.

我的朋友说我是全天下最酷、最瘦、最聪明、最幽默的记者。

2、implication

可能引发的后果

The Attorney General was aware of the political implications of his decision to prosecute.

司法部长很清楚他决定起诉可能引发的政治后果。

The low level of current investment has serious implications for future economic growth.

当前低迷的投资水平会对未来的经济增长产生严重影响。

暗示;暗指;含意

The implication was obvious: vote for us or it will be very embarrassing for you.

弦外之音很明显：投票给我们,否则你会非常难堪。

The implication that marital infidelity enhances a leader's credibility is preposterous.

婚姻不忠会提升领导人可信度的暗示荒谬之极。