摘要：雅思中國網雅思頻道跟大家分享的雅思閱讀素材叫Water on Mars? Life on Mars?。火星曾被認為是人類下一個棲息地，無數科幻小說都在描繪來自火星的生物，但近年來相關討論似乎銷聲匿跡了。如今，關于它的話題好像又一次重出江湖，really？

If liquid is truly forming on the surface because of these salts, it's still extremely volatile(容易揮發的，不穩定的) -- it should evaporate at just 20 degrees Celsius or so. But it could create pockets of the planet where microbes can survive, even today.

And in theory, it could be extracted(提取)and used by astronauts on a Mars mission. Perchlorates could be helpful in their own right, too -- they can be used to make rocket propellant(推進劑).

"If we ever go there, we could probably utilize(使用)this. We wouldn't have to bring tons of water," Ojha said. "This stuff seems like science fiction, but in 100 years or so it could be fact."

Vocabulary

Harbor 港口;擁有

Habitable 適于居住的

Evaporate 蒸發

Posit 假定

Hydrated 水合物的

Volatile 易揮發的;不穩定的

Extract 提取

Propellant 推進劑

Utilize 使用

雅思詞匯大爆炸(7)：

從propellant 說起

Propellant 推進劑

原文重現

Perchlorates could be helpful in their own right, too -- they can be used to make rocket propellant(推進劑).

Perchlorates 本身也很有用，它們可被用作火箭推進劑。

Propellant 由pro(向前)+pel(推)+ant三部分構成，表示“向前推動的人或物”，翻譯為“推進劑”。

Propeller: 推進器;螺旋槳

Compel: com(一起)+pel(推)：大家一起推，表示“強迫”。Compel someone to do…

Expel: 推出去，表示“開除”

Dispel: 推亂，表示“驅散”，“消除(疑慮)”

Repel: 往回推，表示“擊退”，“拒絕”，“使人感到厭惡”

Impel: 往里推，表示“推動，敦促”