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進入中英對照讀新聞》Exploding meteor ’booms’ over Pennsylvania on New Year’s Day元旦爆炸的流星在賓州上空轟然作響
元月三日在西班牙北部上空拍攝到的二〇二二年第一場流星雨。（歐新社）
◎周虹汶
A meteor that caused an earthshaking boom over suburban Pittsburgh on New Year’s Day exploded in the atmosphere with an energy blast equivalent to an estimated 30 tons (27,216 kilograms) of TNT, officials said.
官員指出，元旦在大氣層中爆炸的一顆流星，在匹茲堡郊區上空發出驚天動地的轟隆聲，其爆炸能量估計相當於30噸（2萬7216公斤）的黃色炸藥。
NASA’s Meteor Watch social media site said late Sunday a “ reasonable assumption ” of the speed of the meteor at about 45,000 mph (72,420 kph) would allow a“ ballpark ” estimate of its size as about a yard in diameter with a mass close to half a ton (454 kilograms).
美國航太總署（NASA）的流星觀察社群媒體網站在週日晚間說，「合理的假設」是流星時速約在4萬5000英里（時速7萬2420公里），其大小「大致」估計為直徑一碼，質量接近半噸（454公斤）。
If not for the cloudy weather, NASA said, it would have been easily visible in the daytime sky _ maybe about 100 times the brightness of the full moon.
NASA表示，若非天氣多雲，否則可以在白天的天空中輕易目睹，其亮度可能是滿月的100倍。
A nearby infrasound station registered the blast wave from the meteor as it broke apart, enabling the estimates.
附近的一座超低頻音站紀錄到流星裂解時的爆炸波，從而得以估計。
Residents in South Hills and other areas reported hearing a loud noise and feeling their homes shaking and rattling.
南丘和其他區域的居民回報聽到一聲巨大的噪音，同時感覺他們的住家搖晃作響。
新聞辭典
boom：名詞，低沉的隆隆聲或轟轟聲、好景氣、繁榮。例句：A new video games boom is about to occur.（一場新的電子遊戲熱潮即將出現。）
earthshaking：形容詞，震撼世界的、驚天動地的、極其重大的。例句： Such an earthshaking change must have far - reaching effects.（此種驚天動地的變化一定會有深遠的影響。）
ballpark：名詞，棒球場、大致正確之處。形容詞，指（數字）大致準確的。例句：A figure of 500 is in the right ballpark.（500的數目大致是正確的）
