http://www.appledaily.com.tw/appledaily/article/international/20140104/35555891/SkiesFullofBeauty

Skies Full of Beauty

美麗的天空

The Northern Lights come in rays, ripples, and waves and illuminate the sky with an eerie glow. They are caused by particles from the Earth's atmosphere colliding with those from the sun. The colors vary depending on which particles collide. Oxygen particles cover the sky in green, whereas nitrogen particles produce a blue or purple color.

The Northern Lights are best seen during the winter in places with little light pollution. This includes northern Canada, Alaska, Greenland, Iceland, and the Scandinavian countries. From what scientists can understand, the Northern Lights have an 11-year cycle, and 2013 is one of the peak years. If you are interested in experiencing the Northern Lights, take a vacation north this winter.

中譯

北極光以光束、漣漪和波浪的形式呈現，以神秘的光輝照亮天空。極光是由地球大氣層的粒子和太陽粒子相撞而產生的現象。極光的色彩變化取決於何種粒子相撞。氧粒子相撞會以綠色覆蓋天空，然而氮粒子相撞則產生藍色或紫色。

北極光最適合在冬天很少有光害的地方觀賞。加拿大北方、阿拉斯加、格陵蘭、冰島和斯堪的納維亞國家都包括在內。據科學家所知，北極光每十一年為一個週期，而 2013 年為尖峰年份其中之一。如果你有興趣體驗北極光，今年冬天到北國度個假吧。

生活必備字詞：

1. illuminate [ɪˋlumə͵net]　　vt. 照射﹐照亮﹐照明

illuminate - illuminated - illuminated - illuminating

The room was illuminated by the glow of the fire.（房間被爐火照得通明。）

2. eerie [ˋɪrɪ]　　a. 令人毛骨悚然的; 神祕的; 怪異的

an eerie glow（神秘的光輝）

3. collide [kəˋlaɪd]　　vi. [(+ with)] 碰撞; 相撞; 衝突﹐抵觸

collide - collided - collided - colliding

Two supertankers collided in the rough sea .  
（兩艘超級油輪在波濤洶湧的海面上相撞）

Donna swerved to avoid colliding with a taxi.  
（唐娜猛然轉變方向﹐以免和一輛計程車相撞。）

The President has again collided with Congress over his budget plans.  
（總統在預算計劃上又一次與國會發生衝突。）

4. whereas [hwɛrˋæz]　　conj. (連接詞) (公文用語, 常用在句首)鑑於; 反之, 卻

Whereas the following incidents have occurred . . .  
（鑑於下列事件業已發生．．．）

Some people like fatty meat , whereas others hate it.  
（有些人喜歡肥肉, 而有些人卻不喜歡。）

5. pollution [pəˋluʃən]　　 n.[U] 污染; 污染物; 污染地區

We have freed the lake from pollution.
（我們已經清除了該湖的污染。）

She was horrified by all the pollution on the beach.  
（她對海灘上的污染感到震驚。）