月亮隐藏的神奇力量

The Moon’s Hidden Magic

常速 | 六级（中等） | 450词 | 2min58s

刘立军供稿

Part I. QUESTIONS

Listen to the passage and choose the best answer to each question you hear.

Q1. According to the passage, what natural phenomenon about the Sun and the Moon did Isaac Asimov describe as “the most unlikely coincidence imaginable”?

A. The Sun is 400 times larger in size than the Moon.

B. The Moon is 400 times closer to Earth than the Sun.

C. The Sun and Moon appear the same size from Earth.

D. The Sun and Moon have the same distance from Earth.

Q2. What does the passage say about the origin of the word “lunacy”?

A. It comes from a Greek word meaning night light.

B. It is derived from a Latin word meaning moonstruck.

C. It was invented by scientists in the 18th century.

D. It refers to the calming effect of the Moon.

Q3. According to the passage, how do scientists explain the rise in crime rates around a full moon?

A. They prefer to attribute it to convenient light levels.

B. They believe it is caused by increased fertility rates.

C. They attribute it to the Moon’s pull on the human brain.

D. They consider it a myth with no supporting evidence.

Q4. What can be inferred about the Moon’s influence on human beings from the passage?

A. The Moon has no real effect on human behavior or culture.

B. The Moon only influences the physical tides, not human activities.

C. The Moon affects humans in many ways, though not all are proven.

D. The Moon’s influence is entirely a product of modern imagination.

Q5. What is the main idea of the passage?

A. Scientists have now fully understood the Moon’s mysteries.

B. The Moon has a single fixed meaning across all human cultures.

C. The Moon is mainly responsible for causing human madness.

D. The Moon means different things and reflects human experience.

Part II. TRANSCRIPT

The Moon’s Hidden Magic

It is our constant companion, influencing many aspects of our culture, thought and being – ever-present in design, art, music, science, technology, religion.

But what is the Moon?

It depends who you ask. The ancient Mesopotamians would speak of Nanna, the god of the Moon and creator of all things, while a present-day cosmologist might describe the stabilizing influence of our Earth’s tilt. And most of us picture the Moon as being closer than it actually is. Hm, quite a squeeze for a textbook.

cosmologist n. 宇宙学家

(Q1) Strangely, the Sun is 400 times further away from the Earth than the Moon and is 400 times its size. This means that, viewed from the Earth, they appear to be exactly the same size. Science-fiction writer Isaac Asimov described this natural quirk as “the most unlikely coincidence imaginable”.

quirk n. 怪事；巧合

These correlations didn’t go unnoticed by early stargazing cultures. Notably, 108 is an auspicious number for Hindus who count 108 marma points or sacred places in the body. (Q4-1) Many believe the Moon affects our bodies. We know its push and pull affects the tides, and we are organic creatures made largely of water who evolved in an ecosystem reliant on this celestial neighbor.

auspicious adj. 吉利的；吉祥的

marma point 重要穴位（印度传统医学中的概念）

celestial adj. 天空的；天体的

What about the Moon’s effect on our state of mind?

(Q2) The word lunacy is derived from the Latin word “lunaticus”, meaning “moonstruck”. (Q3+Q4-4) Statistics do show a consistent rise in crime rates around a full moon. Scientists prefer to attribute this to convenient light levels for the plying of nefarious activity. And it’s not only our minds in question. The perceived connection between fertility and the cycles of the Moon goes back a long time. Perhaps that’s just because the lunar and menstrual cycles correlate so closely. In the ancient world, the Moon was generally personified as male, with the shift of female deities and ideas happening more recently, relatively speaking.

lunacy n. 精神失常；愚蠢的行为

ply v. 从事（活动）；忙于做

nefarious adj. 罪恶的；不道德的

menstrual cycle 月经周期

personify v. 拟人化；把……人格化

Then there’s the melancholic reflective Moon. Around the turn of the 18th century, as we adjusted to the brave, new world of science and discovery, artists became increasingly focused on our place in the natural world. Paintings from the likes of Caspar David Friedrich and Joseph Wright of Derby turned to the Moon as a central theme, often with small human figures, their backs to the viewer in quiet reflection. Finally, in July 1969, we successfully landed two men on the Moon, and we discovered what she’d been silently gazing upon for all this time.

melancholic adj. 忧郁的；抑郁的

So what is the Moon? Male, female, a life support system, inducer of madness, a conspiracy, a symbol of peace? What if it’s all these things, embodying all the light and shade of human experience? It seems the Moon is whatever we choose to see: a constant reflection of us.

conspiracy n. 阴谋；密谋

Part III. KEY

Q1. C.【解析】细节题。命题出处为原文第四段：“Strangely, the Sun is 400 times further away from the Earth than the Moon and is 400 times its size. This means that, viewed from the Earth, they appear to be exactly the same size. Science-fiction writer Isaac Asimov described this natural quirk as ‘the most unlikely coincidence imaginable’.” 意为：“奇妙的是，太阳到地球的距离恰好是月球到地球距离的400倍，而太阳的直径也正好约为月球的400倍。这意味着，从地球上看，它们大小完全相同。科幻作家艾萨克·阿西莫夫曾称这一自然巧合是‘可以想象到的最不可思议的巧合’。” 该句明确指出阿西莫夫描述的奇观是从地球上看太阳和月亮大小完全相同，因此正确答案为C。

Q2. B.【解析】细节题。命题出处为原文第七段：“The word lunacy is derived from the Latin word ‘lunaticus’, meaning ‘moonstruck’.” 意为：“lunacy这个词源自拉丁语‘lunaticus’，意思是‘被月亮影响的’。”因此正确答案为B。

Q3. A.【解析】细节题。命题出处为原文第七段：“Statistics do show a consistent rise in crime rates around a full moon. Scientists prefer to attribute this to convenient light levels for the plying of nefarious activity.” 意为：“统计数据确实显示，在满月前后犯罪率持续上升。科学家更愿意将此归因于明亮的月光为不法活动提供了便利条件。” 因此正确答案为A。

Q4. C.【解析】推理题。命题出处为原文第五段：“Many believe the Moon affects our bodies. We know its push and pull affects the tides, and we are organic creatures made largely of water.” 意为：“许多人相信月亮会影响我们的身体。我们知道月亮的引力能引起潮汐涨落，而作为主要由水构成的有机生命体，人类自然也可能受到这种力量的影响。”第七段中，统计数据显示，在满月前后犯罪率持续上升。由此推断，月亮对人类的影响是多方面的，但并非所有影响都得到科学证实，例如满月与犯罪率的因果关系仍存在争议。因此正确答案为C。

Q5. D.【解析】主旨题。文章开篇指出月亮是人类永恒的伴侣，影响着文化、思想、存在等多个方面。月亮没有单一固定的含义，不同时代、不同文化、不同领域的人们赋予它不同的意义，它实际上是人类多元经验和认知的投射。因此正确答案为D。

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