首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
Mauna Kea in Hawaii: Astronomy on the World’s Highest Island Mountain Four thousand years ago, a volcano exploded in a far a
Mauna Kea in Hawaii: Astronomy on the World’s Highest Island Mountain Four thousand years ago, a volcano exploded in a far a
admin
2010-08-04
39
问题
Mauna Kea in Hawaii: Astronomy on the World’s Highest Island Mountain
Four thousand years ago, a volcano exploded in a far away area of the Pacific Ocean. Today, the Mauna Kea volcano is inactive. It is on the Big Island in the state of Hawaii. It is the highest mountain on any island in the world. It is also the highest mountain in the Pacific Ocean. And it is one of the best places in the world to study the heavens. This is because the air is clear, dry and generally free from pollution. Astronomers from around the world come to the Manna Kea observatory to explore the universe.
Go Up to the Mountaintop
Astronomers must compete for observation time on Mauna Kea. But visitors are welcome any time. They must either walk up more than four thousand kilometers to the top of the mountain. Or they can join a guided vehicle tour that leaves from the Mauna Kea Visitors Center, about two-thirds of the way up the mountain. Erik West is our guide for the trip up the mountain.
Mr. West says visitors who want to drive up the mountain must have a special kind of four wheel-drive vehicle. He also explains some health and safety issues because of the height of the mountain. Being at such a high elevation can affect people’s health.
Visitors must not have any heart or breathing problems. They must not have dived deep underwater in the past twenty-four hours. And visitors must be over the age of sixteen.
Now we are ready to drive our vehicles up the mountain. One behind the other, the cars follow a steep road during the forty-five minute drive. They drive over lava rock created by the volcano when it was active.
Tour Around the Astronomy
When we reach the top of the mountain, we get out of our vehicles. We see a group of domed observatories that look like a garden of giant mushrooms. The air up here is cool. Mr. West warns that the air can make people sick because it has forty percent less oxygen than at sea level. He says it has different effects on people. Some people feel light-headed, dizzy or sick to their stomachs. If any people get so sick that they need oxygen, they must leave and go back down the mountain.
The first large telescope was built on Manna Kea in nineteen seventy. Now there are thirteen groups of observatories. One of them is called SMA, or Submillimeter Array. It includes eight different telescopes that operate together. Eleven countries and several universities are involved with the telescopes. Tile biggest telescopes are the ten-meter Keck telescopes. Mr. West says telescopes keep getting bigger because astronomers want to be able to collect as much light as possible.
How the Astronomy Works
The Keck One and Keck Two are world’s largest optical and infrared 红外线) telescopes. Their mirrors are divided into thirty-six hexagonal(六边形) parts. They work together as one piece of reflective glass. During the day, Keck One is a sleeping giant of steel devices closed inside a protective covering. The dome covering weighs about seven hundred tons. It is about thirty meters to the top of the dome. The whole minor structure is about twenty-four meters tall.
The real action begins at sundown. The dome opens and starts rotating to where the astronomers need it. The mirror rotates to the place where they will be observing. Throughout the night, the mirror moves to follow an object as it crosses the sky. But the astronomers are not near the telescopes. They are in the control room keeping warm.
Over the years, astronomers have made many important discoveries here. They have discovered new moons around Jupiter (木星). They have taken pictures that help measure the expansion of the universe. They have observed hundreds of small objects orbiting the Sun past the orbit of the planet Neptune(海王星).
Mr. Rolf Kudritzki, the director of the University of Hawaii’s Institute for Astronomy that operates the Mauna Kea Observatory, says astronomers also look for signs of life in the universe beyond our solar system. He noted that Mauna Kea telescopes recently discovered some of the planets orbiting distant stars.
Space telescopes, such as the Hubble (哈勃太空望远镜), are different from land-based telescopes. The Hubble works outside the earth’s atmosphere to capture finely detailed views of the universe. But the small size of space telescopes limits their light-collecting power. Mr. Kudritzki says land-based observatories can often provide more details about objects in the universe. These include the distance, size, mass and the chemicals that make up an object in space.
He says that land-based observatories, like those on Manna Kea, are in some ways better than space telescopes. These observatories provide astronomers with less costly observing time and many different kinds of tools for observing objects in space. He says the Manna Kea observatories will continue to be a valuable addition to earth-orbiting telescopes for many years to come.
A Mountain of Gods
Manna Kea is important to astronomers who study the universe. But for Native Hawaiians, the mountain is a religious place. Manna Kea is home to their most important gods. And it is the burial place of their ancestors. The Hawaiian tradition says Manna Kea is the mountain of the gods. Tradition says Wakea, the sky father, and Papa, his wife, gave birth to the Hawaiian Islands on Manna Kea.
The Office of Manna Kea Management was started in 2000. It helps the University of Hawaii supervise the mountain as a science center and cultural center. Bill Stormont is director of the office. He says it seeks to balance tile interests of astronomers, native Hawaiians and environmentalists. He says that it is important that the native Hawaiians have a voice in the future development of Manna Kea.
Ms. Piseiotta is among a group of Native Hawaiian activists who have taken legal action to halt a plan to build four to six small telescopes on the mountain. The American space agency, NASA, sup ports the project.
It says it will do little harm to the environment. Ms. Pisciotta does not dismiss the value of astronomy. She is a former telescope operator herself. But she wants greater control over protecting her culture and traditions in the future.
She says she supports the idea that astronomy is necessary to search for life in the universe. But she also believes that good science would want to protect traditions that are thousands of years old.
Rolf Kudritzki says science and culture can exist together on Manna Kea. He says both sides must be willing to discuss the issues. Ms. Pisciotta hopes that she has a voice in deciding a future that protects the past.
The director of the Manna Kea Astronomy believes that, on the holy mountain, there is the possibility for the co-existence of ______.
选项
答案
science and culture
解析
在A Mountain of Gods小标题下的最后两段讲述的重点就是如何在进行科学研究和保留传统之间取得平衡的问题,最后一段第一句就讲到Roll Kudritzki说科学和文化是可以共存的。而在文章的第三小节中介绍过Boll Kudritzki是莫纳开亚天文站的站长,而且在最后一节的第一段就说过莫纳开亚山是当地夏威夷人心目中的圣山,因此本题提问莫纳开亚天文站的站长认为在这座圣山上什么是有可能共存的,答案就是 science and culture。
转载请注明原文地址:https://jikaoti.com/ti/4StFFFFM
0
大学英语四级
相关试题推荐
Forthispart,youareallowed30minutestowritealettertothepresidentoftheschooltomakesuggestionsabouthowtouse
A、Hedidbetterthanexpected.B、Hefailedhistest.C、Healwaysgetsexcellentgrades.D、Hefoundhisnotes.A
A、Thewomanshouldgetanotherjob.B、Thewomanshouldbemorepatient.C、Thewomancongratulatedthewrongperson.D、Thewoman
A、Asciencefictioncartoon.B、Ascientificprogram.C、Amovieonpersonalitydisorders.D、AdramasetinNewYorkCity.B
HowtoDealwithDifficultPeopleInNewYorkoneday,abusinesswomangotintoataxi.Becauseitwasrushhourandshewas
Asociety’seconomic【B1】______anditsculture,ortraditionsandwayoflife,also【B2】______theclothingthatitspeoplewear.I
A、Temperatureisthetotalamountofheatinathingatacertaintime.B、Temperatureistheintensityofheatinathingatac
A、Nearthehospital.B、Overathousandmilesawayfromwhereshewasfound.C、Neartheroadwhereshewasfound.D、Inaforeign
A、One.B、Three.C、Seven.D、Eleven.C数字判断题。本题关键词是seven。女士对男士说“这是你要的七本书。”男士回答“这本我没要。”没要是指书拿错了,并非是指数量上有误。另外注意seven和eleven的读音区别,故选C。
A、Theearmightgetstolenifparkedonthestreet.B、Youmighthaveanaccidentsoonerorlater.C、Carswilleasilybreakdown
随机试题
下列体现了证券法的程序性的是
28岁,女,G1P0,初产妇,5分钟前经阴道自然分娩-3200g男婴,处理好脐带后准备协助娩出胎盘。通过观察,以下哪项不是胎盘剥离征象
关于人民法院审理犯罪嫌疑人、被告人逃匿、死亡案件违法所得的没收案件,下列说法不正确的是:()
国有和国有资产占控股地位或者主导地位的大、中型企业必须设置总会计师。根据《总会计师条例》的规定,总会计师由()人员担任。
2015年6月,刘璋向顾谐借款50万元用来炒股,借期1个月,结果恰遇股市动荡,刘璋到期不能还款。经查明,刘璋为某普通合伙企业的合伙人,持有44%的合伙份额。根据合伙企业法律制度的规定,下列表述中,正确的有()。
导游员张某的()行为可被暂扣导游证3~6个月。
从社会文化角度看,城市的出现需要具备以下两个基本条件:(1)______;(2)______。
根据以下资料,回答下列问题。经过50多年的发展,我国台湾地区资本市场建立起由“证券交易所集中市场一上柜市场一兴柜市场”构成的完善成熟的多层次资本市场体系。近年由于金融海啸、欧债危机等因素影响,台湾多层次资本市场总体成交值从2010至2012年连续
若有以下程序#includevoidfun(inta[],intn){intt,i,j;for(i=1;i<n;i+=2)for(j=i+2;j<n;j+=2)if(a[i]>a[j]){t=a[i];a[i]=a[j];a[j]=t;}}
Asimplifiedlanguagederivedfromtwoormorelanguagesiscalledapidgin.Itisacontactlanguagedevelopedandusedbypeop
最新回复
(
0
)