英語(yǔ)聽(tīng)力文摘 世界是空的？

You’ve Got a Lot of Space between Your Ears

Sure, you think the world is full of solid objects. You think the radio you’re listening to is solid. You think the floor you’re standing on or the chair you’re sitting in is solid. Heck, you probably think that you yourself are a solid object. Wrong.

One of the strangest things modern atomic theory has shown us is that what we commonly (1)take to be the world of solid objects is for the most part empty space. That’s right. Even something as reliable as a table, a brick, a baseball, even your body, is (2)by and large just empty space.

Why is that? It’s because you, the baseball, and everything else is made up of atoms. And atoms themselves are mostly empty space… But wait! What about the protons and neutrons (3)and stuff? Well, they’re in there, but only in the very center. That’s called the nucleus.

An atom’s nucleus is surrounded by a cloud of orbiting electrons. Virtually all the mass of the atom — the stuff and not the fluff — is in the nucleus. And the nucleus is incredibly tiny compared to the overall size of the atom. In fact, it’s about a hundred thousand times smaller. It’s like (4)a speck of dust floating around inside a cathedral. In between the dust speck and the cathedral walls is nothing but space.

So you are made up of things that are mostly empty space, with occasional specks floating in them. Does it make you feel kind of empty, too? Don’t worry. Every other object in the world, from a pebble to (5)Mount Everest, is the same way.

譯文：

世界充滿了固體物質(zhì)，你可能對(duì)此深信不疑。你會(huì)以為，你正在聽(tīng)的收音機(jī)是固體的;你正站在上面的地板是固體的;你正坐在上面的椅子是固體的。嘿，你可能說(shuō)，我自己也是固體呀。可惜，你錯(cuò)了。

現(xiàn)代原子理論帶給我們最大的驚奇是，通常被認(rèn)為是固體的東西其實(shí)大部分都是空隙。確實(shí)是這樣。即使是像桌子，磚頭，棒球，甚至你的身體，這些看起來(lái)實(shí)實(shí)在在的東西，其主要構(gòu)成都是空隙。

為什么這么說(shuō)呢?這是因?yàn)槟阋埠?，棒球也好，其它的任何東西也好，都是由原子構(gòu)成的，而原子本身大部分都是空隙。不過(guò)，等一下!你可能會(huì)問(wèn)，不是還有質(zhì)子、中子嗎?它們又在哪里呢?別著急，它們還是在那里，不過(guò)只在正中間一點(diǎn)點(diǎn)地方。所以它們被稱為原子核。

原子核的周圍環(huán)繞著一團(tuán)按軌道運(yùn)行的電子群。事實(shí)上，粗略地說(shuō)，原子的重量就是原子核的重量，盡管與整個(gè)原子相比，原子核小得不可思議。具體地說(shuō)，原子核比原子小十萬(wàn)倍。形象地說(shuō)，原子核與原子就如同一粒漂浮的微塵與大教堂，而灰塵和教堂的墻壁之間沒(méi)有任何東西----全是空隙。

所以你就是由這樣的東西構(gòu)成的：它們基本上都是空隙，幾顆微塵漂浮其間。這是否讓你感到某種空虛?別擔(dān)心。世上所有一切，從小小的鵝卵石到巍巍喜馬拉雅山，也都是這樣構(gòu)成的。

Notes:

(1)take to be 把 ... 看作是 ..., 把 ... 當(dāng)作是 ...

(2)by and large 大體上，總的來(lái)說(shuō)

By and large the work of the news agency is appreciative.

一般而論這家新聞社的工作是讓人感激的。

(3)and stuff 等等;諸如此類

My Husband will sometimes help me fold and stuff the envelopes.

我的丈夫有時(shí)愿意幫助我折疊和塞信封。

(4)a speck of 一點(diǎn)點(diǎn)

Her hand brushed a speck of lint from her skirt.

她的手撣掉衣裙上的一點(diǎn)棉花絮。

(5)Mount Everest:埃佛勒斯峰:喜馬拉雅山主峰之一，中國(guó)稱珠穆朗瑪峰