全球最大的天文館

河北 胡金瑩

上海天文館是迄今為止世界上最大的天文館，整個設計中沒有直線或直角，與宇宙的幾何結構和天體運行的軌道相呼應。上海天文館的倒置玻璃穹頂，讓游客有機會看到開闊的夜空，身臨其境地領略星空的奧秘。

題材科學體裁說明文文章詞數354難度★★★建議用時7分鐘

1The world's largest astronomy museum has opened in Shanghai, and its complex shape has been designed to reflect the geometry of the universe.With no straight lines or right angles used throughout, the structure is instead formed from three overlapping arcs (弧形) that mean the orbits of celestial bodies(天體).

2The 420,000-square-foot Shanghai Astronomy Museum, designed by US firm Ennead Architects, houses exhibitions, a planetarium, an observatory and a 78-foot-tall solar telescope.“We really thought that we could use the architecture to bring incredible effects to this whole experience,”said lead designer Thomas J.Wong.

3By straight walls supporting arcing lines, Wong and his team hoped to show that everything in the universe is in constant motion and governed by a series of forces.In Wong's design, the universe's riddle translates into three arcing shapes, which refer to the sun, the moon and stars respectively.Each houses an important visitor attraction or design function.

4Visitors first encounter the skylight, which opens up above the museum's main entrance.It acts as a timepiece,producing a circle of sunlight that travels across the floor throughout the day,indicating the passing time and season.Next comes the planetarium theater, which is enclosed in a sphere and rises from the building's roof like a moonrise.The under part of the massive structure appears to float weightlessly,with room to walk beneath. Lastly, a vast inverted glass dome on the roof's top gives visitors the chance to view the open night sky,which is described as a real encounter with the universe to conclude the simulated experience within.

5“We want people to understand the special nature of the Earth as a place that hosts life,unlike any other place that we know of in the universe,”Wong said.

6With offices in both the US and China, Ennead Architects is also responsible for the famous Rose Center for Earth and Space at the American Museum of Natural History.Wong said there is a connection between the two buildings.The Rose Center is regarded as a cosmic cathedral and it is very appropriate to the experience at the Shanghai Astronomy Museum.

Reading Check

Choose the best answers according to the text

Language Study

Ⅰ.Analyze the difficult sentence in the text

It acts as a timepiece, producing a circle of sunlight that travels across the floor throughout the day,indicating the passing time and season.它相當于一個時鐘，日間，陽光散布在地板上，形成一個圓形光斑，光斑在地板上移動，顯示著時間和季節的流逝。

【點石成金】本句中producing a circle of sunlight...為非謂語動詞作伴隨狀語，it 和produce 之間構成邏輯上的主謂關系；that travels across the floor throughout the day 為that 引導的定語從句，that 在句中作主語，指代先行詞a circle of sunlight；indicating the passing time and season為非謂語動詞作結果狀語。

Ⅱ.Memorize some text-centered chunks

in constant motion 不斷運動

a series of forces 一系列力量

refer to 指的是

act as 充當；擔當

a circle of 一圈

be described as 被描述成

be responsible for 對……負責

be regarded as...被看作……

be appropriate to 適合……