VOA慢速英语听力：科学家发现早期宇宙类星体的时间较慢 Scientists Find Time Was Slower in Quasars of Early Universe.
A team of scientists has observed time moving slower than usual in quasars of the early universe. This effect is known as "time dilation."
科学家们观察到早期宇宙中类星体中时间比平常慢动。这种效应被称为“时间膨胀”。
Quasars are some of the brightest things in the universe and scientists use them as "clocks" to keep track of time in the past. They are created by extremely large black holes, many times more massive than the sun, often in the center of galaxies. Black holes take in matter by gravitational pull and release radiation. That release is a quasar.
类星体是宇宙中最亮的物体之一，科学家们将其用作“时钟”，以追踪过去的时间。它们由极大的黑洞形成，比太阳大许多倍，通常位于星系的中心。黑洞通过引力吸收物质并释放辐射。这种释放就是类星体。
The scientists studied the brightness of 190 quasars that existed about 1.5 billion years after the universe was created. They compared the brightness of those quasars to some that exist today. They found that some movements that happen over a specific amount of time now were five times slower back then.
科学家们研究了大约在宇宙形成后15亿年存在的190个类星体的亮度。他们将这些类星体的亮度与现存的一些类星体进行了比较。他们发现，现在某些在特定时间内发生的运动在当时慢了五倍。
Famous scientist Albert Einstein proved that time and space have been growing in all directions since the start of the universe.
著名科学家阿尔伯特·爱因斯坦证明自宇宙开始以来，时间和空间一直在向各个方向扩展。
Scientist Geraint Lewis is an expert in astrophysics at the University of Sydney in Australia. He led the study, which appeared in the publication Nature Astronomy. Lewis said the expanding universe is why time flowed slower billions of years ago.
科学家Geraint Lewis是澳大利亚悉尼大学的天体物理学专家。他领导了这项研究，该研究发表在《自然·天文学》杂志上。Lewis表示，膨胀的宇宙是导致数十亿年前时间流动变慢的原因。
However, time did not feel like slow motion. If you were sent back in time, a second would feel like a second. But a second would take five times as long for a person today.
然而，时间并不感觉像慢动作。如果你被送回过去，一秒钟仍然会感觉像一秒钟。但对于现代人来说，一秒钟会变长五倍。
Lewis said: “In modern physics, time is a complicated thing.”
Lewis说：“在现代物理学中，时间是一种复杂的东西。”
Scientists had reported time dilation from 7 billion years ago by studying supernovas, the explosions of huge stars at the end of their life. Over time, the light created by supernovas disappears. Scientists studied explosions from billions of years ago and saw that they happened much slower then compared to now.
科学家通过研究超新星，即在恒星生命末期发生的巨大爆炸，报告了70亿年前的时间膨胀。随着时间的推移，超新星产生的光线逐渐消失。科学家研究了数十亿年前的爆炸，发现它们比现在发生得要慢得多。
We cannot see individual exploding stars from a set distance away, so scientists are not able to study the early universe that well. Quasars are much brighter, so scientists are able to observe the activity from much further away and deeper in the past.
我们无法从一定距离外看到单个爆炸的恒星，因此科学家们无法很好地研究早期宇宙。类星体更亮，因此科学家们能够从更远的地方观察到更久远的过去的活动。
“What is observed over time is the quasar brightness. This fluctuates up and down, the result of lots of complicated physics in the disk of matter spinning around a black hole at almost light speed,” Lewis said.
Lewis表示：“随着时间的推移，观察到的是类星体的亮度。它上下波动，这是围绕黑洞以接近光速旋转的物质盘中许多复杂物理过程的结果。”
I'm Dominic Varela.
我是多米尼克·瓦雷拉。
Words in This Story
galaxy – n. any of the very large groups of stars and associated matter that are found throughout the universe
specific – adj. clearly and exactly presented or stated
astrophysics – n. a branch of astronomy dealing especially with the behavior, physical properties, and dynamic processes of celestial objects and phenomena
complicated – adj. consisting of parts intricately combined
fluctuate – v. to be constantly changing especially up and down
spin – v. to turn or cause to turn round and round quickly
