The Ups and Downs of the

Hubble Space Telescope by Jason Grenier, special correspondent

Advances in technology have allowed us to see far beyond

what is visible to the naked eye and get a good look at what lies

in the darkest reaches of the universe.

When it comes to deep space exploration, the Hubble

Space Telescope represents the jewel in the crown of human

achievement. This amazing tool uses a 2.4 meter mirror and

precision-crafted lenses to see galaxies located more than 13

billion light years away. High-resolution images Hubble

collects with its cameras and other instruments allow scientists to better understand how the universe was

formed and the rate at which it continues to expand.

The Hubble mission hasn’t always gone smoothly. In fact, when it was first carried into low orbit above

the Earth by the space shuttle Discovery in 1990, a critical flaw in Hubble’s mirror was discovered. The

telescope couldn’t focus sharply, and the problem couldn’t be fixed until the first scheduled servicing mission

in 1993. Mechanical parts can be expected to wear out with use and require replacement. The task falls to

specially trained astronauts who perform difficult and dangerous “spacewalks” to reach the telescope and

swap new working parts for old ones. Each servicing mission carries a heavy price tag, and there have been

five so far.

Even recently, Hubble went out of service when three of the six devices that stabilize and aim the

telescope at targets failed. Fortunately, scientists found a solution to bring the telescope back online. NASA

will continue servicing Hubble until its useful life ends in 2021.

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and translation.

This month in history

On November 20, 1945, the Nuremberg

War Crime Trials began, accusing former

Nazi leaders of war crimes against humanity.

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Tuesday, November 20, 2018 vol. 286

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Reading Comprehension

( ) 1. When a problem was discovered with Hubble’s mirror in 1990, what did this mean? 細節

(A) The telescope could not focus sharply.

(B) The telescope could not send any data to scientists.

(C) The telescope could not be stabilized and aimed at targets.

(D) The telescope could not be launched by the space shuttle Discovery.

( ) 2. According to the passage, which of the following statements is true? 整合

(A) The Hubble Space Telescope is more a jewelry decoration than a useful tool in deep space

exploration.

(B) Because of mechanical failures, the Hubble Space Telescope hasn’t provided any good images of

galaxies.

(C) Astronauts performed spacewalks in servicing missions to fix the mechanical failures of the

Hubble Space Telescope.

(D) Servicing missions cost a lot of money, so scientists are considering ending the useful life of the

Hubble Space Telescope in 2021.

( ) 3. Why do you think there have only been five missions to service Hubble in the 28 years the telescope

has been operating? 推論

(A) Servicing missions are very expensive and cost a lot of money.

(B) NASA scientists question the value of the images Hubble collects.

(C) Astronauts are often fearful of performing dangerous “spacewalks.”

(D) The telescope’s operation has been smooth and mostly problem-free.

Vocabulary and Phrases

1. telescope [τΕλ1&σκοπ] n. [C] 望遠鏡

2. the naked eye phr. 肉眼

3. exploration [&Εκσπλ1ρεΣ1ν] n. [C][U] 探勘

4. precision [πρΙσΙΖ1ν] n. [U] 精準；精密

5. galaxy [Γ8λ1κσΙ] n. [C] 星系

6. shuttle [Σ⊥τΛ] n. [C] 太空梭

7. mechanical [µ1κ8νΙκΛ] adj. 機械的

8. wear out phr. 磨損，用壞

9. astronaut [8στρ1&νΟτ] n. [C] 太空人

10. swap [σωΑπ] vt. 替換

11. stabilize [στεβΛ&αΙζ] vt. 使穩定

12. service [σ3ϖΙσ] vt. 檢修

Words for Recognition

1. the jewel in the crown phr. 最珍貴的部分 3. high-resolution [ηαΙ&ρΕζ1λυΣ1ν] adj. 高解析度的

2. light year [λαΙτ&ϕΙρ] n. [C] 光年 4. spacewalk [σπεσ&ωΟκ] n. [C] 太空漫步，艙外活動

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India’s Anti-Plastic “Blue

Squad” Has a Tough Job to Do by Jason Grenier, special correspondent

Like most other countries struggling to deal with a garbage crisis, India is trying to cut down on the

amount of plastic waste it generates. As one measure designed to do this, single-use plastics have been

__1__ in the city of Mumbai, home to 20 million people.

Having a law in place is one thing; convincing people to follow it is another. The burden falls to

government workers, known as the “Blue Squad,” who are responsible for enforcing the ban. This means

visiting markets, food courts, and shopping centers every day to make sure businesses are following the law

by not providing things like disposable shopping bags, drinking straws, and plastic bottles to customers. The

Squad’s name comes from the __2__ of the jackets the inspectors wear while working. On any given day,

there are about a dozen blue-__3__ inspectors performing what is proving to be a difficult, demanding, and

dangerous job.

Shopkeepers are never happy when they’re caught breaking the law, since it means they must pay a

__4__ equal to about 2,100 New Taiwan dollars for a first offence. This represents a large sum of money in

India, especially for small business owners. For businesses caught more than once, the financial penalties are

even higher and owners can be sentenced to jail time. Facing such heavy consequences, angry merchants

often turn to violence to resist being __5__ for violating the ban on plastics. Despite regularly being beaten,

cursed, threatened, and chased, Blue Squad members vow they will continue performing their duty.

Fill in the Blanks

(A) fine (B) cited (C) color (D) banned (E) coated (F) vendor

(1)__________ (2)__________ (3)__________ (4)__________ (5)__________

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Vocabulary and Phrases

1. squad [σκωΑδ] n. [C] (軍警等的)小隊，小組

2. generate [δΖΕν1&ρετ] vt. 產生

3. in place phr. 就緒，安排好，準備妥當

4. one thing…another phr. …是一回事…是另一回事

5. fall to phr. 成為…的責任義務

6. given [ΓΙϖ1ν] adj. 特定的

7. demanding [δΙµ8νδΙ9] adj. 耗費心力的

8. financial [φ1ν8νΣ1λ] adj. 財務的；金融的

9. consequence [κΑνσΙκωΕνσ] n. [C] 結果，後果

Words for Recognition

1. single-use [&σΙ9ΓΛ&ϕυσ] adj. 一次性的，用完即丟的 2. food court phr. (購物中心等的)美食街

Did You Know?

Thanksgiving Day this year falls on November 22nd, the fourth Thursday of November in 2018. The

following is a list of some words and phrases about the holiday:

Thanksgiving (Day) 感恩節

indigenous people 原住民

Native American 美洲原住民，印第安人

Pilgrim 清教徒先民 settler 開拓者

harvest 收穫 prayers 祈禱詞

parade 遊行 floats 花車 balloon 氣球

cheerleaders 啦啦隊 marching band 樂儀隊

American football 美式足球

Thanksgiving feast 感恩節大餐

turkey 火雞(肉) gravy 肉汁

stuffing (火雞等的)填料 dressing 佐料

mashed potatoes 馬鈴薯泥 cranberry sauce 蔓越莓醬

pumpkin pie 南瓜派 pecan pie 胡桃派

(Presidential) turkey pardon 火雞赦免

Black Friday 黑色購物節(感恩節後第一天，聖誕購物潮的開始)

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閱讀測驗解答：1. A 2. C 3. A

文意選填解答：1. D 2. C 3. E 4. A 5. B

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Translation

哈伯太空望遠鏡的波折起伏

科技進步讓我們能看見肉眼可視範圍之外的遠方，並能清楚觀測宇宙最幽深之處。

在深度太空探測上，哈伯太空望遠鏡是人類成就的珍貴結晶。這個神奇的工具利用 2.4 公尺的

鏡面和精心打造的鏡頭，觀測 130 億光年以外的星系。哈伯以相機和其他儀器所收集到的高解析度

圖像，讓科學家得以更加了解宇宙是如何形成的，以及其持續擴展的速度。

哈伯任務並非一直都很順利。事實上，哈伯的鏡面在 1990 年首次由發現號太空梭送到地球上

空的低軌道時就被發現有重大瑕疵。望遠鏡無法精確對焦，而這個問題直到 1993 年進行第一次定

期維修時才獲解決。機械零件用久了會磨損而需要更換，這是可預期的。這項任務由經過特訓的太

空人承擔，他們執行困難且危險的「太空漫步」，走到望遠鏡旁，把舊的零件換成新的。每次維修

任務都所費不貲，目前為止已進行過五次維修任務。

而就在最近，哈伯望遠鏡故障了，因為用來維持穩定並瞄準目標的 6 個設備壞了 3 個。幸運的

是，科學家有找到讓望遠鏡恢復運作的解決方案。美國太空總署會繼續為哈伯望遠鏡維修，直到

2021 年其使用年限結束為止。

印度反塑「藍色突擊隊」工作艱鉅

印度也和其他大多數掙扎應付垃圾危機的國家一樣，努力想減少塑膠廢棄物數量。為達此一目

標，2,000萬人口的孟買市已經開始禁用一次性塑膠製品。

立法是一回事，說服民眾守法則是另一回事。這個重責大任落在被稱為「藍色突擊隊」的公務

員頭上，他們負責執行禁令，而這意味著每天都要巡查市場、美食廣場和購物中心，以確保店家守

法，不提供用過即丟的購物袋、吸管、塑膠瓶之類的東西給顧客。突擊隊的名稱來自檢查員上工時

所穿夾克的顏色。每一天，都有大約十幾名身穿藍夾克的檢查員在執行這個證實是艱困、耗費心力

而且危險的工作。

店主被查獲違法時都很不高興，因為這意味著他們必須繳納罰款。初犯所要繳納的罰款相當於

新臺幣 2,100元，這在印度是很大一筆錢，特別是對小企業主而言。違規不只一次的店家要繳的罰

款更高，而且店主很可能被判入獄坐牢。面對如此嚴重的後果，憤怒的商家常會採取暴力，拒絕因

為違反禁塑令而被開單。儘管經常被毆打、咒罵、威脅和追趕，藍色突擊隊成員誓言將繼續執行職

務。

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