Nearly 250 years ago in 1774, scientists predicted that some planets and the Moon would appear in the same part of the sky on a night in May. A Dutch preacher claimed that the rare event would lead to the destruction of the Earth. Naturally, this end-of-the-world prediction caused panic among people. Luckily, a 30-year-old wool comber living in the town of Franeker was there to put everyone at ease.

將近兩百五十年前在 1774 年,科學家預測某些行星和月亮會在五月的某天晚上出現在天空中的同個部分。一名荷蘭牧師宣稱這個罕見事件會導致地球毀滅。理所當然地,這則世界末日的預言在眾人間造成了恐慌。幸運的是,有一位住在弗拉內克鎮的三十歲羊毛精梳工讓大家安心。

生活必備字詞:

amateur n. 業餘人士 & a. 業餘的

predict vt. 預測

prediction n. 預言,預測

panic n. 恐慌

 

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本文節錄自《常春藤生活英語》雜誌,完整內容請見四月號。


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