雅思课外读物--Water on Mars? Life on Mars?

摘要：雅思中国网雅思频道跟大家分享的雅思阅读素材叫Water on Mars? Life on Mars?。火星曾被认为是人类下一个栖息地，无数科幻小说都在描绘来自火星的生物，但近年来相关讨论似乎销声匿迹了。如今，关于它的话题好像又一次重出江湖，really？

If liquid is truly forming on the surface because of these salts, it's still extremely volatile(容易挥发的，不稳定的) -- it should evaporate at just 20 degrees Celsius or so. But it could create pockets of the planet where microbes can survive, even today.

And in theory, it could be extracted(提取)and used by astronauts on a Mars mission. Perchlorates could be helpful in their own right, too -- they can be used to make rocket propellant(推进剂).

"If we ever go there, we could probably utilize(使用)this. We wouldn't have to bring tons of water," Ojha said. "This stuff seems like science fiction, but in 100 years or so it could be fact."

Vocabulary

Harbor 港口;拥有

Habitable 适于居住的

Evaporate 蒸发

Posit 假定

Hydrated 水合物的

Volatile 易挥发的;不稳定的

Extract 提取

Propellant 推进剂

Utilize 使用

雅思词汇大爆炸(7)：

从propellant 说起

Propellant 推进剂

原文重现

Perchlorates could be helpful in their own right, too -- they can be used to make rocket propellant(推进剂).

Perchlorates 本身也很有用，它们可被用作火箭推进剂。

Propellant 由pro(向前)+pel(推)+ant三部分构成，表示“向前推动的人或物”，翻译为“推进剂”。

Propeller: 推进器;螺旋桨

Compel: com(一起)+pel(推)：大家一起推，表示“强迫”。Compel someone to do…

Expel: 推出去，表示“开除”

Dispel: 推乱，表示“驱散”，“消除(疑虑)”

Repel: 往回推，表示“击退”，“拒绝”，“使人感到厌恶”

Impel: 往里推，表示“推动，敦促”