Unit 3 The Earth’s Mysterious Neighbor
地球的神祕芳鄰
Reading
除了樹林中的風聲以及火把燃燒的劈啪聲之外，深夜裡一片寂靜。村子裡數十名英勇的獵人結隊走過陰暗的森林，緊張地四處張望。他們正在找尋上次月圓之夜殺了五名村人的神秘凶手。遠處有個巨大的影子愈靠愈近。當浮雲飄過一輪滿月時，那巨大的生物雙腳站立而起，轉頭朝向月亮，並開始像狼一樣嚎叫。
上述這一幕「狼人現蹤滿月夜」是狼人故事裡很常見的場景。一些電影或民間傳說中，甚至更生動地描述狼人下巴滴著血，將人類一個個吞噬的畫面。當然，並非所有關於月亮的傳說都像狼人的故事一樣嚇人，但大多數都宣稱月亮會讓人失控而且舉止怪異。根據某些統計數據，月圓之夜會發生較多的兇殺案以及自殺案，甚至連動物攻擊人類的案件都會增加。19 世紀中葉，英國國會宣布：只在月圓之夜失去理智並且舉止怪異的人不應被處以嚴刑。換句話說，月圓之夜的犯罪者不必接受嚴懲，因為是月亮引誘他們犯罪的。有趣的是，這個例子也說明了“lunatic”這個英文字是如何從拉丁文的月亮“luna”演變而來。
事實上，有不少理論解釋為何相較於其它月相期間，月圓之夜較常發生嚴重的事件。普遍的理論之一是在發現電之前，晚上的視線不佳，所以人們大多待在家中，早早上床睡覺。然而，滿月帶來的皎潔月光讓人們可以熬夜從事更多的活動。深夜在外逗留的人愈多，某些事件的發生機率也就愈高。日子一久，滿月發生壞事的故事漸漸累積，人們因而推論出滿月會對人類有負面的影響。
不論那些傳說是真是假，不可否認的是，月球對地球上的生物而言相當重要。月球繞著地球公轉時產生的引力造成地表上的潮汐現象。每次月球對地表施加重力時，同時也為地球上的生命提供能量及食物。舉例來說，螃蟹可以在退潮的時候於潮間帶覓食。此外，多虧有潮汐，動植物才得以孳育於濕地。除了潮汐，科學家發現月球的引力還能讓地球保持穩定。要不是有月球，地球的軸心就會搖晃，而且每年會以不同的角度指向太陽。舉例來說，臺灣可能會因此一年冷得跟北極一樣，下一年又比撒哈拉沙漠還熱。氣候將會大亂，更別說全世界的人類在適應嚴苛的氣候狀況時會面臨巨大的挑戰。
古人因為缺乏對月球的知識而創造出神秘的傳說以及儀式，並依據不同的月相遵循特定的行為模式。如今，隨著科學與科技的快速發展，我們已經能夠取得更精確的資訊，瞭解月球如何在各方面持續地影響人類。相較於我們的祖先，月球對於我們已不再那麼未知，但其仍有許多層面等著我們去探索。或許在下一個十年，我們將對月球，這個地球的神秘芳鄰，有更深入的瞭解。
─By Robert Gouthro
Words for Production
1. mysterious
‧The death of the musician is very mysterious. People still wonder why he committed suicide at the height of his career.
‧這名音樂家的死因離奇，大家都不明白他為何在事業如日中天之際，結束自己的生命。
mystery
‧It is a complete mystery to the navy how the ferry vanished without a trace, since it had just appeared on the radar screen.
‧這艘渡輪明明之前還出現在雷達螢幕上，後來卻杳然無蹤，海軍方面深覺不可思議。
‧In the next episode of the TV series, the mystery that has surrounded the background of the main character will finally be explained.
‧下一集的電視劇就會交代主角的來歷了。
2. gloomy
‧The room is empty and gloomy. Even when it’s sunny outside, only a small stream of light can make it into the room.
‧這間房間又空又暗，就算外面出大太陽，房間裡也只有一點點光而已。
‧Haunted by gloomy thoughts, the old man sat alone, weeping bitterly.
‧那老漢想到了些悲傷的事，自己坐在那邊，哭得很傷心。
gloom
‧In the story, the witch disappears into the gloom of the forest to mix the magic potion (藥水).
‧故事裡的巫婆為了調配魔藥，走進了幽暗的森林裡，不見蹤影。
‧Gloom filled the conference room as the employees learned that their company had been bought by a larger one and that they might all lose their jobs.
‧員工得知公司已被收購的消息時，整間會議室裡都是陰鬱的氛圍，因為大家都擔心到時候會沒工作。
3. vivid
‧The novel contains vivid descriptions of the countryside, allowing its readers to have a clear picture of the life there.
‧這本小說對鄉野的描述極為生動，讀者會有身歷其境的感覺。
4. account
‧Jim tends to give a wildly exaggerated account of what has happened. Don’t take his word for it.
‧Jim老愛誇大其辭，別把他的話當真。
account
‧The appearance of vitamin pills has been accounted a medical advance, for these pills can help improve people’s health.
‧維他命藥丸具有保健的功效，自從問世以來，大家就把它當做醫療方面的一大進展。
5. devour
‧Having eaten nothing all day, Stanley was so hungry that he devoured his fried noodles in only a few bites.
‧Stanley一整天都沒進食，這可把他餓壞了，所以沒三兩下的工夫他就把炒麵吃完了。
6. drip
‧Alex jogged along the sidewalk, and his sweat dripped down to the pavement below.
‧Alex一邊跑步，汗一邊滴在腳下的人行道上。
drip
‧The chemist collected the drips of the strange liquid in his test tube in order to find out what it really was.
‧這名化學家把不明液體裝在試管裡，想要研究看看到底是什麼東西。
7. bizarrely
‧The street performer was bizarrely dressed in order to attract people’s attention.
‧這名街頭藝人為了吸引群眾的目光，穿得怪裡怪氣的。
bizarre
‧Austin’s behavior has been very bizarre recently. I can feel it in my bones that he is hiding something from me.
‧Austin這陣子怪怪的，我打骨子裡覺得他有事瞞著我。
8. statistics
‧Statistics show that there are more and more families with two incomes and only one child in this country.
‧照數據看來，該國夫妻都在工作，小孩只生一個的家庭，越來越多了。
statistical
‧Dr. Harris is analyzing the statistical data in order to find out the result of his experiment.
‧Harris博士正在分析統計資料，要把實驗的結果找出來。
9. penalty
‧In Taiwan, the penalty for drunk driving is a maximum fine of NT$150,000.
‧在臺灣酒駕最多可處新臺幣15萬元的罰款。
10. unatic
‧A lunatic is riding a bike in one of the MRT cars. It’s really dangerous.
‧有一個瘋子在捷運車廂裡騎腳踏車，真是太危險了。
lunatic
‧Betty always has lunatic ideas. She once wanted to spend a night with the lions in the zoo!
‧Betty的想法一直都很瘋狂，她之前還想跟動物園裡的獅子一起睡呢！
11. incident
‧The shooting incident scared many of the residents of the normally peaceful neighborhood.
‧這一帶的治安向來很不錯，這起槍擊事件著實嚇壞了許多居民。
12. accumulate
‧The dirt on the unused sofa had accumulated to such an extent that it was difficult to get rid of it completely.
‧這座沙發還沒有人坐過，但上面都是頑垢，想要去掉可不簡單。
‧By reading a lot of biographies, Daniel has accumulated a great deal of knowledge about many historically important figures.
‧Daniel看了不少傳記，對許多重要的歷史人物熟悉地不得了。
accumulation
‧Mr. Kuo’s accumulation of wealth resulted mainly from his wise investments in the stock market.
‧郭先生投資股市有道，錢賺了不少。
13. inference
‧Edison didn’t decline our offer directly. However, from his body language, we could make an inference that he wasn’t too interested in it.
‧Edison沒有正面回絕我們的提議，但照他的肢體語言來看，他應該不感興趣。
‧Howard often wears black. Thus, by inference, he might be artistic, sensitive, and a little mysterious.
‧Howard常穿黑色的衣服，可見他有藝術家的氣息，生性敏感，還有一點神秘。
infer
‧From these statistics, we can infer that many people would rather read real books than read them online.
‧從這些數據看來，愛看實體書的人還是比愛看電子書的人多。
14. gravity
‧It is said that Isaac Newton discovered gravity after an apple fell from a tree and hit him on top of the head.
‧據說牛頓坐在蘋果樹下時，頭剛好被掉下來的蘋果砸到，因而發現了萬有引力。
‧I don’t think that you appreciate the gravity of the situation. If you did, you wouldn’t just be sitting there and doing nothing.
‧我覺得你不知道這件事有多嚴重，要不然你不會坐以待斃的。
15. gravitational
‧The gravitational pull of the moon makes the tide on the Earth rise and fall.
‧月球的引力使地球上的潮汐漲落。
16. exert
‧The environmental organization exerted pressure on the oil company to meet the government’s new pollution standards.
‧環保團體向這間煉油公司施壓，要它達到政府新規定的污染標準。
17. moreover
‧Studying in this business school is expensive. Moreover, applicants must submit a listing of their job experience and a portfolio (作品集).
‧這間商學院的學費可不便宜，此外，申請入學的人還得呈上自己的工作經歷跟作品集才行。
18. sustain
‧Some scientists believe that Mars is the most likely planet to sustain life, yet some argue that its extreme temperature makes it unsuitable for people to live.
‧有些科學家認為火星可能有生物；有些則主張那裡的溫度太高，根本不適合人居住。
‧Erica is an easy-going person, and she has no trouble sustaining close friendships with other people.
‧Erica這個人很隨和，能夠輕易跟大家打成一片。
19. stable
‧The general wanted to end the war and create a stable government for the people of the country.
‧ 將軍想把戰爭結束，替國民創立穩定的政府。
‧People’s hormones (荷爾蒙) change during puberty (青春期). That’s why teenagers may not be emotionally stable sometimes.
‧青春期的荷爾蒙會改變，因此，青少年有時候情緒才會不穩定。
stability
‧In some families, boys are not favored over girls, and this has helped to bring about population stability.
‧有些家庭沒有重男輕女的觀念，這有助於人口的穩定。
stabilize
‧The doctor managed to stabilize the patient’s condition. An hour later, the patient’s pulse (脈博) rate was back to normal.
‧經醫師治療，病患的病情轉趨穩定，過了一個鐘頭，病患的脈搏也恢復正常了。
20. ritual
‧Inside the temple, the Master was performing the sacred ritual of lighting incense (香).
‧法師在廟裡執行神聖的點香儀式。
‧My father just went through his morning ritual of drinking a cup of black coffee before going to work.
‧我父親剛剛喝了杯黑咖啡才去上班。這是他每天早上都會做的事。
21. accurate
‧Make sure the account number is accurate before you pay the rent by bank transfer.
‧在你把房租匯出去以前，要先確定帳號無誤。
accuracy
‧The boy kicked the ball at the goal with great accuracy, and everyone on the team cheered for him.
‧小男生射門得分，隊上的人都替他歡呼不已。
22. ancestor
‧Our early ancestors made weapons, used fire, and created languages. Clearly, they were very intelligent.
‧人類的祖先會做武器，懂用火，又創造語言，他們真的很有智慧。
Idioms and Phrases
1. lose one’s mind
‧Why are you wearing an overcoat on such a roasting hot day? Have you lost your mind?
‧你為什麼大熱天還要穿大衣？難道你瘋了不成？
2. stay up
‧Bruce stayed up very late to watch the special late-night show, so he wasn’t able to get up as early as he usually does.
‧Bruce熬夜看深夜特別節目，隔天早上睡得比平時還要晚。
3. stay out
‧Patty stayed out late, singing songs with her co-workers at a local KTV. She didn’t get home until past midnight.
‧Patty跟同事去KTV夜唱，過了午夜才回家。
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