Transient lunar phenomena 月球瞬變現象

托福 TPO 072 考題符合托福 iBT 整合寫作的標準格式：在閱讀內容部分，作者提出三種可能用以解釋月球瞬變現象的原因。而在講課內容部分，則對此三項原因一一提出反駁。

在閱讀內容方面出現一些專業術語，但是都不難理解，因為文章都有附上補充說明。而在講課內容中，均沿用閱讀段落的術語，並沒有出現新的專業詞彙，所以不會有聽力部分遭到突襲的憂慮。

整篇難度屬於中等程度。只要能夠掌握整合寫作的聽力技巧、寫作格式、並通曉評分原則，應該能夠拿到至少 25 分。

本份考題英文原文與對應之中文翻譯整理如下。練習作答解題時若有對語意不清楚之處，請仔細查閱對照，以提升閱讀與聽力的理解能力。

Reading 閱讀內容

1.  

   Transient lunar phenomena (TLP) are relatively brief flashes of light that appear to come from the surface of the Moon. Such flashes of light have been observed for centuries by both amateur and professional astronomers, and several theories have been put forward to explain them.

   點此看中文翻譯

   月球瞬變現象（TLP）是相對短暫的閃光，似乎來自月球表面。幾個世紀以來，業餘和專業天文學家一直在觀察這種閃光，並且提出了幾種理論來解釋它們。

2.  

   One theory is that TLP are not genuine lunar phenomena, but only random observational errors caused by defects in the telescopes some observers use. Optical instruments such as telescopes or microscopes are complex pieces of machinery; even small flaws in their design can create artificial optical impressions like flashes or other distortions in the visual field. To an observer, a flash of light caused by an instrument error may sometimes look like a real phenomenon taking place in nature.

   點此看中文翻譯

   一種理論認為，TLP 並不是真正的月球現象，而只是一些觀察者使用的望遠鏡的缺陷造成的隨機觀測誤差。望遠鏡或顯微鏡等光學儀器是複雜的機械；即使是其設計中的小缺陷也會產生人為的光學印象，如閃光或視野中的其他扭曲現象。對於觀察者來說，由儀器錯誤引起的閃光有時可能看起來像自然界中發生的真實現象。

3.  

   A second theory is that meteors striking the Moon cause TLP. Because the Moon has no atmosphere, meteors often reach the lunar surface. In fact, meteors strike the Moon every day. According to the meteor theory, when meteors strike the lunar surface, they explode, creating enough heat energy to appear as a flash of light to observers on Earth. When people observe TLP, they are actually observing flashes of light generated by meteor impacts.

   點此看中文翻譯

   第二個理論是流星撞擊月球導致 TLP。因為月球沒有大氣層，流星經常到達月球表面。事實上，流星每天都會撞擊月球。根據流星理論，當流星撞擊月球表面時，它們會發生爆炸，產生足夠的熱能，以閃光的形式出現在地球上的觀察者面前。當人們觀察 TLP 時，他們實際上是在觀察由流星撞擊產生的閃光。

4.  

   A third theory is that TLP are the result of lunar rocks emitting their own light by a process called thermoluminescence. It is known that the Moon does in fact contain certain rocks that are capable of generating light in this way when they are heated by the Sun. This is strong empirical support that TLP are caused by thermoluminescence.

   點此看中文翻譯

   第三種理論是，TLP 是月球岩石通過一種叫做熱釋光的過程發出自己的光的結果。眾所周知，月球確實含有某些岩石，當它們被太陽加熱時能夠以這種方式產生光。這是強有力的經驗支持，證明 TLP 是由熱釋光引起的。

Lecture 講課內容

提供講課內容的中文翻譯有兩個目的。首先是幫助聽力有困難的同學能夠快速且精確地了解原文的意思。而更重要的原因是，提供給練習英語口語表達的讀者訓練的素材。

由於每個人的知識範疇各不相同，因此碰到超出自己專長的領域，常常會啞口無言，無話可說。這對練習英語表達是一項非常難以克服的障礙。所以參考托福整合寫作英語原稿，既可以讓自我練習英語聽力或會話時有貼切適當的素材，同時也能學些道地的表達方式，實是一舉數得。

使用上，可以在聽完一、兩次原始音檔之後，試著一邊看中文譯稿，一邊流利、正確地用英語說出文中的內容。多次練習之後，未來自然能夠在碰到同樣主題時與人侃侃而談。

1.  

   Now, listen to part of a lecture on the topic you just read about.

   Unfortunately, none of the theories presented in the reading selection really explain TLP.

   點此看中文翻譯

   現在請聆聽關於你剛剛讀到的主題的部分講座。

   遺憾的是，閱讀選文中提出的理論都不能真正解釋 TLP。

2.  

   First, if TLP observations were caused by random flaws in telescope design, then the reports of the TLP would be pretty random as well. Observers with flawed telescopes would probably report TLP happening at many random places on the moon surface, but that's not what observers have been reported. Most observers report TLP from two very specific locations on the moon surface. Since TLP are so closely associated with specific places on moon, they probably reflect real events happening on the moon, not flaws in telescopes.

   點此看中文翻譯

   首先，如果 TL P 觀測是由望遠鏡設計中的隨機缺陷造成的，那麼關於 TLP 的報告也會相當隨機。擁有有缺陷的望遠鏡的觀察者可能會報告 TLP 發生在月球表面許多隨機的地方，但這並不是觀察者所報告的情況。大多數觀察者報告說 TLP 來自月球表面兩個非常特定的位置。由於 TLP 與月球上的特定地點密切相關，它們可能反映了月球上發生的真實事件，而不是望遠鏡的缺陷。

3.  

   Second, about the meteor. The flashes of light that meteor impacts produce usually last just one second, but the average duration of a TLP is 20 minutes. It is true that meteor showers in which many meteors are grouped together can occur on the Moon, so this could cause light flashes of a longer duration. But the vast majority of TLP are not reported during meteor showers. So, while it is possible that a few TLP are caused by meteor impacts, the great majority of TLP certainly have other causes.

   點此看中文翻譯

   第二，關於流星。流星撞擊產生的閃光通常只持續一秒鐘，但 TLP 的平均持續時間是 20 分鐘。在月球上確實會出現許多流星群聚在一起的流星雨，所以這可能會導致持續時間較長的閃光。但是絕大多數的 TLP 都不是在流星雨期間報告的。因此，儘管少數 TLP 可能是由流星撞擊造成的，但絕大多數的 TLP 肯定有其他原因。

4.  

   Third, could thermoluminescence cause TLP? Certain rocks on the moon do emit their own light. But this light is weaker than the glare of the moon's surface that we usually see when we observe the moon. As you know, we see the moon at night because its surface reflects light from the sun. Now, this reflected light is fairly bright and it is certainly much brighter than thermoluminescence of the moon's rocks. So we would not be able to see the thermoluminescence against this very bright background. It would be like trying to see the light from the candle in front of a powerful spotlight. So thermoluminescence cannot be the source of the observed TLP flashes.

   點此看中文翻譯

   第三，熱釋光會不會導致 TLP？月球上的某些岩石確實會發出自己的光。但是這種光比我們在觀察月球時通常看到的月球表面的強光要弱。如你所知，我們在晚上看到月亮是因為它的表面反射了來自太陽的光。現在，這種反射光是相當明亮的，它肯定比月球岩石的熱釋光要亮得多。因此，在這種非常明亮的背景下，我們將無法看到熱釋光。這就像在一個強大的聚光燈前試圖看到蠟燭的光一樣。所以熱釋光不可能是觀察到的 TLP 閃光的來源。