小宥韓諾非の小天地

文章出處：CNN https://edition.cnn.com/2020/01/08/asia/australasian-impact-crater-laos-intl-hnk-scli-scn/index.html

A huge meteorite smashed into Earth nearly 800,000 years ago. We may have finally found the crater.
一個巨大的隕石於將近80萬年前墜落於地球，我們可能終於找到了那個隕石坑
◆meteorite，隕石　◆smashed，墜落 / 砸　◆crater，隕石坑

One of the largest known meteorites to hit Earth struck nearly 800,000 years ago, but the exact spot where it smashed into our planet has been a mystery -- until now.
將近80萬年前，墜落於地球的知名巨大隕石之一，正確的隕石墜落地點一直是個謎，直到現在。
◆known，知名的　◆struck，擊中　◆exact spot，正確地點

The crater may lie beneath lava in a 910 cubic kilometer (218 cu mi) area of the Bolaven plateau volcanic field in the southeast Asian nation of Laos, according a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal.
根據美國國家科學院院刊發表的文章，隕石坑可能位於寮國的布拉萬高原下，910立方公里（218立方米）的岩漿裡。
◆lie，位於　◆beneath，在…下　◆lava，岩漿　◆cubic，立方體　◆Blolaven plateau，布拉萬高原(寮國)　◆volcanic，火山　◆Laos，寮國
◆Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal，美國國家科學院院刊

A meteorite is a an object from space that survives a trip through the atmosphere and falls on the Earth's surface. The meteorite that crashed into Earth over 790,000 years ago was 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) wide, and the impact was so great that debris was flung across Asia, Australia, and Antarctica.
隕石是一個從宇宙旅程中存活，又穿越大氣層而墜落至地表的東西。它有2公里寬，墜落地球超過79萬年了，碎片散落在亞洲、澳洲和南極洲。
◆survives，倖存　◆atmosphere，大氣層　◆surface，表面　◆wide，寬　◆impact，影響　◆debris，碎屑　◆flung，散落　◆Antarctica，南極洲

The first clues leading to the impact site came from small, pebble-like glassy objects called tektites. Scientists believe tektites formed from Earth material that melted upon meteorite impact and were thrown into our atmosphere, before falling back to the ground.
第一個線索引導到一個有影響的地方，有著小型卵石狀的物體叫鈦鐵礦。科學家相信似曜岩類是由地球的物質形成的，當隕石狀質地球時融化後進入大氣層，再落到地面。
◆clues，線索　◆pebble-like，卵石狀　◆glassy，玻璃狀　◆tektites，似曜岩類　◆formed from，由…組成

"Their existence means that the impacting meteorite was so large and its velocity so fast that it was able to melt the rocks that it hit," Professor Kerry Sieh, principal investigator with the Earth Observatory of Singapore and one of the paper's authors, told CNN.
「它們的存在代表撞擊的隕石很大、速度也很快，所以才會在撞擊的時候融化。」教授Kerry Sieh，新加坡地球觀測站首席研究員，論文作者之一，告訴CNN。
◆existence，存在　◆velocity，速度

Tektites between 750,000 to 35.5 million years old have been found across the planet in areas called strewn fields. These strewn fields are found on every continent except Antarctica, according to the Jackson School Museum of Earth History at the University of Texas at Austin.
似曜岩類被發現在散落區約在750,000 至 3550 萬年前。根據德克薩斯大學奧斯汀分校的傑克遜學院地球歷史博物館，散落區被發現在除了南極洲以外的大陸。
◆strewn fields，散佈區　◆coontinent，大陸　◆except，除了

Scientists have largely been able to determine the source crater for tektites, with the exception of one -- the Australasian field. It extends all the way from southern China to south Australia, and is the largest known tektite field, covering about 10% of the earth's surface.
科學家們非常確定似曜岩類的來源火山口，除了一個例外 -- 大洋洲地區。從中國南部延伸到南澳，是知名的隕石散落區，涵蓋了百分之十的地球表面。
◆determine，確定　◆source，資源　◆crater，火山口　◆exception，例外　◆extends，延伸

"There have been many, many attempts to find the impact site and many suggestions, ranging from northern Cambodia, to central Laos, and even southern China, and from eastern Thailand to offshore Vietnam," Sieh said.
「從柬埔寨北部，到寮國中部，到中國南部，從泰國到越南離岸，都經過多次的尋找，也收到許多的建議。」Sieh說。
◆attempts，嘗試　◆central，中央　◆offshore，離岸的

"But our study is the first to put together so many lines of evidence, ranging from the chemical nature of the tektites to their physical characteristics, and from gravity measurements to measurements of the age of lavas that could bury the crater."
「不過我們的研究是第一次把眾多的證據組合在一起，從似曜岩類的化學特性到物理特性，從重力的測量到火山口的年齡測量。」
◆chemical，化學的　◆physical，物理　◆characteristirics，特點　◆gravity，動力　◆measurements，測量

Based on the scientists' calculations, the hidden impact crater that produced the vast Australasian field of strewn tektites is about 13 kilometers (8 miles) wide and 17 kilometers (11 miles) long.
根據科學家的計算，隱藏的撞擊隕石坑產生了廣大的似曜岩類區，寬有13公里(8英里)，長有17公里(11英里)。

But more still has to be done to confirm the theory.
但還需要更多的實證來確認這個理論。
◆confrim，確認　◆theory，理論

Scientists will next need to "drill down a few hundred meters to see if the rocks below the lavas are indeed the rocks you'd expect at an impact site -- that is, lots of evidence for melting and shattering," Sieh said.
科學家將會需要這麼做，「向下鑽幾百公尺，去看看岩漿下的岩石是不是期望的撞擊點的岩石。也就是說，會有大量的融化和破碎的岩石為證據。」Sieh說。

以上不專業翻譯，完全是自己對文章有興趣，所以順便練習英文，如果有不對的地方，歡迎留言告訴我哦！