1.The most famous and spectacular meteor shower, the annual Perseids, will peak on August 12th.1.一年一度的英仙座流星雨是最知名、最壮丽的流星雨，一般在8月12日超过高峰。2.The Perseids are also called the Tears of Saint Lawrence after a martyred Christian deacon whom the Romans burned to death on an outdoor iron stove in A.D. 258.2.英仙座流星雨也被称作圣劳伦斯之泪。这个称谓源于公元前258年被罗马人活活在大铁炉里的基督教殉道者圣劳伦斯。

3.Technically, a meteor is merely the streak of light we see trailing a meteoroid. A meteoroid is any interplanetary object bigger than a speck of dust and smaller than an asteroid.3.严格说来，流星意味着指流星体身后的那一道光，也就是我们看著擦过天空那一道。而流星体则可以是太阳系内给定一个比尘埃大但比小行星小的天体。4.Once it hits Earth, a meteoroid suffers an identity crisis and becomes a meteorite.4.流星体一旦撞到上地球，就变为了陨石。5.Chase that, Superman: Perseid meteoroids enter the atmosphere at approximately 130,000 miles per hour.5.英仙座流星雨的流星体转入大气层的速度大约为130,000英里/时（209,215公里/时）。

6.Meteorites contain the oldest known rocks in the solar system, as well as minerals that formed around other stars perhaps billions of years before our solar system was born.6.流星体中所含太阳系中未知的最古老的岩石，以及在太阳系问世的几十亿年前在其他恒星周围构成的矿物。7.Each day, up to 4 billion meteoroids fall to Earth.7.每天落在地球上的流星体大约有40亿个。8.Dont worry. Most of them are minuscule in size.8.但是不必担忧，它们中的绝大多数体积都十分小。

9.Meteorite impacts have been blamed for hundreds of injuries, but only one has been verified by scientists. In 1954, Annie Hodges of Sylacauga, Alabama, was struck by an eight-pound meteorite that crashed though her roof and bounced off a radio into her hip while she was napping.9.许多人都声称曾被落下来的陨石电线杆，但确实被科学家证实的陨石伤人事件只有一起。1954年，美国亚拉巴马州的Annie Hodges被一颗8重达（大约3.6千克）的陨石扔中：这颗陨石穿透了她的屋顶，扔中了一台收音机，并声浪一起打中了正在打盹的Annie的屁股。10.A study published in 1985 in the journal Nature calculated the rate of impacts to humans as .0055 per year, or one event every 180 years.10.1985年公开发表在《大自然》杂志上的一份研究称之为，陨石伤人的比例大约为每年0.0055人，或者说每180年1人。11.If you find a meteorite, the Nomenclature Committee of the Meteoritical Society demands that you donate 20 percent or 20 grams, whichever is smaller, to a laboratory for future research. You can sell the rest.如果你寻找了一块陨石，国际陨石协会命名委员会将拒绝你捐赠它的20%或者20克（看哪个更加小）给研究所以待研究。

只剩的部分你就可以拿去卖钱了。12.Unless you found it in South Africa, where all meteorites are protected under the National Heritage Law and must be surrendered to the nearest authorities.12.除非你是在南非寻找它的在南非，所有陨石都受到国家遗产法的维护，必需上交给以备的政府机构。13.Of the more than 24,000 meteorites known to have landed on Earth, only 34 are thought to have originated on Mars. Most of these have been found in Antarctica and North Africa because they are easy to spot on sand dunes and ice.13.在未知的落在地球上的2万4千多颗陨石中，据推断只有34%来自火星，它们大多是在南极或北非被找到的，因为落在冰面或沙丘上的陨石较为醒目。

14.Martian meteorites can sell for $500 a gram. Space rocks fetch just $2 a gram.14.火星陨石可以卖给500美元/克，其他陨石则不能买2美元/克。15.To buy one, try eBay, which often lists more than 1,000 meteorites for auction.15.想要卖陨石，可以上eBay，那里待售的陨石经常多达1000颗。

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