 TIME
WATCH 時代流行網 |
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1)Crop Circles
麥田圈
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The work of 2)aliens or artists?
是外星人還是藝術家的傑作？
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1.
In the late 1980s, farmers in southern England started noticing strange circles in their crop fields. These always appeared at night when no one was watching, and each year the 3)patterns got more 4)complicated. Some 5)speculated that UFOs, or perhaps strange 6)magnetic storms, were producing these circles. They were certainly a 7)genuine 8)mystery, unless, that is, you believe crop circles are simply 9)manmade works of art. |
| 1980 年代晚期，英國南部的農夫開始注意到他們的農田裡出現奇怪的圓圈。這些圓圈總是在夜深人靜時出現、沒有人發覺，而且圖案一年比一年複雜。有人推測這些圓圈是幽浮、或者可能是奇怪的磁暴造成的。這些圓圈絕對稱得上是真正的謎團……除非您相信麥田圈只不過是人造的藝術品罷了。 |
1) crop (n.) 農作物
Rice(稻米) is an important crop in Asia.
2) alien (n.) 外星人
Do you think there are aliens out there?
3) pattern (n.) 花樣，圖案
The pattern of the dress is very nice.
4) complicated (a.) 複雜的
This is a very complicated problem.
5) speculate (v.) 推測，思索
Police speculate that the killer was a foreigner.
6) magnetic (a.) 磁鐵的，磁性的
Suzie has many magnetic decorations(裝飾) on her refrigerator(冰箱).
7) genuine (a.) 真的，非偽造的
My purse(包包) is a genuine LV.
8) mystery (n.) 神秘，謎
It's a mystery who stole(偷) Ted's bicycle.
9) manmade (a.) 人造的，人工的
That manmade lake was created(創造) 50 years ago. |
2.
Actually, that is what most people believe now. In 1991, 10)aging British WWII 11)veterans Doug Bower and Dave Chorley 12)confessed to making most of the crop circles. Using only 13)ropes and boards of wood, they had been producing dozens of 14)circular and 15)geometric 16)impressions in the fields across the English countryside for each of the 17)previous 12 years. They were a bit upset that it had taken people 10 years to really notice. |
| 事實上，現在大部份人都相信是這樣的。1991 年，年邁的英國二次大戰老兵道格•鮑爾和大衛•柯利兩人坦承大部份的麥田圈都是他們做出來的。他們只使用繩索和木板，在 1991 年之前連續有 12 年、每一年都在英國各地鄉村的農田裡做出數十個圓形與幾何圖形的痕跡。他們有點失望大家居然在 10 年後才真正注意到。 |
10) age (v.) 變老，老化
This wine needs to age a little longer before we can drink it.
11) veteran (n.) 老兵，退伍軍人
My grandfather is a veteran of the Second World War.
12) confess (v.) 坦白，供認
The men confessed to killing Mrs. Watson.
13) rope (n.) 繩索
Tie the boat to the tree with the rope.
14) circular (a.) 圓形的
He waved(揮) his arm in a circular motion.
15) geometric (a.) 幾何（學）的，幾何圖案的
Her dress has some nice geometric shapes on it.
16) impression (n.) 痕跡，印痕
The hammer(鎚子) made a deep impression in the wood.
17) previous (a.) 先前的，以前的
My previous girlfriend wasn't very nice. |
3.
News 18)media around the world 19)embraced this biggest crop circle story of them all. The strange circles--already world famous--were simply the work of 20)pranksters. This explained why few crop circles were seen before 1988, and why they were always 21)composed of circles and straight lines. It also explained why the circles usually appeared in Wiltshire 22)County, in the south of England. |
| 全球的新聞媒體爭相報導所有麥田圈故事中這一則最重大的新聞。這些奇怪的圓圈──當時已經世界聞名──只不過是惡作劇的結果。這可以解釋為什麼在 1988 年以前幾乎沒有人看過麥田圈、以及為何它總是以圓圈和直線的構圖出現。同時也可以解釋為何麥田圈通常出現在英國南部的威爾特郡。 |
18) media (n.) 媒體（medium 的複數，可用單數或複數動詞）
The media is always looking for a good story.
19) embrace (v.) 擁抱，接納
Ben embraced the new challenge(挑戰).
20) prankster (n.) 開玩笑的人，惡作劇的人
Jim loves being a prankster.
21) compose (v.) 構成，組成
The team is composed of 22 players.
22) county (n.) 郡
My brother lives in a county near Taipei. |
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4.
But the circles didn't disappear. They got bigger and more beautiful. People started 23)doubting Doug and Dave's 24)claim even as others learned how to make the circles themselves. Crop circle 25)researchers began 26)arguing over which circles were 27)hoaxes and which were "genuine." Some people obviously wanted to believe the circles were paranormal. Says one artist, John Lundberg, a 28)member of the London group Circlemakers: "I've met several people … who are quite happy to believe that I may have created some of them over the years. But suggesting to these same people that every crop circle 29)formation is man-made usually 30)elicits 31)disbelief." |
| 但是這些圓圈並未消失，反而變得更大、更漂亮。人們開始懷疑道格和大衛的說法，雖然別人也學會了如何自己製造麥田圈。研究麥田圈的人開始爭辯哪些麥田圈是假、哪些是「真的」。有些人顯然想相信這些麥田圈屬於超自然現象。約翰．蘭伯格這位藝術家是倫敦團體「麥田圈製造者」的成員，他說：「我見過幾個人……他們都很樂於相信我很可能在過去幾年有製造過一些麥田圈。但是如果對這同一批人暗示說每一個麥田圈都是人造的結果，他們通常都不會相信。」 |
23) doubt (v.) 懷疑
Jane doubted Steve would finish the project(計畫) on time.
24) claim (v.) 宣稱，主張
Amanda claimed her boyfriend hit her.
25) researcher (n.) 研究員
Researchers are trying to find a cure for cancer(癌症).
26) argue (v.) 爭論
Berry and Anne argue all the time.
27) hoax (n.) 騙局，做假
I don't believe it--it's just a hoax.
28) member (n.) 成員，會員
Brian is a member of the swim team.
29) formation (n.) 形成，形態
The formation of caves takes a long time.
30) elicit (v.) 引出，帶出
John's jokes(笑話) elicited laughter from his friends.
31) disbelief (n.) 不信，懷疑
There is a lot of disbelief about what he said. |
5.
Lundberg actually makes money doing crop circles for 32)advertising companies. His 33)website, circlemakers.org, explains how he and his friends make circles. They take their art seriously, 34)sneaking through summer nights, always working in total darkness to 35)avoid 36)detection by "Croppies," who 37)continually watch fields in the hope of 38)observing a genuine circle being formed. |
| 蘭伯格替廣告公司製造麥田圈，還真正賺到錢。他的網站 circlemakers.org 上說明他和他的朋友如何製造麥田圈。他們認真看待這門藝術，在夏夜偷偷摸摸、總是在完全的黑暗中工作以避開「圈迷」的監視，這些圈迷不斷監看麥田，希望能看到真正的麥田圈在他們眼前成形。 |
32) advertising (n.) 廣告
Companies spend lots of money on advertising each year.
33) website (n.) 【電腦】網站
What is the address of your company's website?
34) sneak (v.) 偷偷地走，溜
Karen sneaked past the sleeping dog.
35) avoid (v.) 避免，躲開
I try to avoid food that will make me fat.
36) detection (n.) 發現，偵察
Detection of the problem is only the first step.
37) continually (adv.) 不停地，不斷地
My mother is continually worried about me.
38) observe (v.) 看到，觀察
Many people stood by the window to observe the parade(遊行). |
6.
The Circlemakers 39)aim to please. Many of their creations have been 40)declared genuine by the Croppies, though they won't say which ones. "One of our 41)roles is to 42)encourage belief in the non-human 43)origin of the circles," Lundberg explains. "We are creating beautiful shapes, but also mystery, allowing people to experience the unexplained. That is why we never claim 44)authorship of the circles, because that would break the mystery." And so, the mystery continues…. |
| 麥田製造者希望讓大家開心。他們有許多作品被圈迷宣稱是真的，不過他們不肯說是哪幾件作品。「我們所扮演的角色之一是要鼓勵大家相信麥田圈並不是人造的」，蘭伯格解釋。「我們在創造美麗的形狀，但也是在創造神祕，讓大家能夠體驗一些無法解釋的事情。所以我們從來不說哪些麥田圈是我們做的，因為那會破壞神祕感。」於是，神祕繼續流傳……。 |
39) aim (v.) 瞄準，旨在 [+ to]
Stanley aims to start his own business in two years.
40) declare (v.) 聲明，宣告
Ron declared that he would win the game.
41) role (n.) 角色
The role of parents is to support their children.
42) encourage (v.) 鼓勵，慫恿
Frank encouraged his brother to study harder.
43) origin (n.) 起源，由來
Do you know the origin of the idiom(成語) “It's raining cats and dogs”?
44) authorship (n.) （作品的）來源，作者身分
Steven's authorship of a popular novel made him rich. |
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