English 中文网 漫画网 爱新闻iNews 翻译论坛
中国网站品牌栏目(频道)
当前位置: Language Tips> 阅读天地> 新闻选读

NASA批驳2012年世界末日预言
'Mayan 2012 apocalypse theory' not true, NASA says

[ 2009-11-10 15:33]     字号 [] [] []  
免费订阅30天China Daily双语新闻手机报:移动用户编辑短信CD至106580009009

即将上映的好莱坞灾难大片《2012世界末日》将网络上盛传的“2012年12月21日为世界末日”这一所谓的玛雅预言再次拉近人们的视野。因此,美国宇航局9日再次重申,2012年12月21日并不是世界末日,传言中的X星球将与地球相撞也并不属实。科学家们表示,玛雅历法不会在2012年结束,因此玛雅人自己也没有把这一年当作是世界的末日。不过,2012年12月21日的确是玛雅人的一个重要日子。到2012年12月21日,就意味着当前时代的结束,即完成了一个轮回。玛雅人的历法将从“零天”重新开始计算,开始一个新的轮回。

NASA批驳2012年世界末日预言

NASA批驳2012年世界末日预言

The world is not coming to an end on December 21, 2012, NASA insisted on Monday in a rare campaign to dispel rumors fueled by the internet and a new Hollywood movie.

The world is not coming to an end on December 21, 2012, NASA insisted on Monday in a rare campaign to dispel rumors fueled by the internet and a new Hollywood movie.

The latest big screen offering from Sony Pictures, "2012," arrives in theatres on Friday, with a $200 million production about the end of the world supposedly based on theories backed by the Mayan calendar.

The doomsday scenario revolves around claims that the end of time will come as an obscure Planet X - or Nibiru - collides with Earth.

The mysterious planet was supposedly discovered by the Sumerians, according to claims by pseudo-scientists, paranormal activity enthusiasts and internet theorists.

Some websites have accused the US space agency of concealing the truth about the wayward planet's existence, but NASA has denounced such stories as an "internet hoax."

"There is no factual basis for these claims," NASA said in a question-and-answer posting on its website.

If such a collision were real, "astronomers would have been tracking it for at least the past decade, and it would be visible by now to the naked eye," it added. "Obviously, it does not exist."

"Credible scientists worldwide know of no threat associated with 2012," it insisted.

After all, "our planet has been getting along just fine for more than four billion years," added NASA.

Initial theories set the disaster for May 2003, but when nothing happened the date was moved forward to the winter solstice in 2012, to coincide with the end of a cycle of the ancient Mayan calendar.

NASA insisted the Mayan calendar does not in fact end on December 21, 2012, as another period begins immediately afterward. And it said there are no planetary alignments on the horizon for the next few decades.

And even if the planets were to line up as some have forecast, the effect on our planet would be "negligible," NASA said.

Modern Maya in Guatemala and Mexico have also rushed to debunk the "prophesy".

They view the burgeoning end-of-the-world 2012 industry with a mixture of confusion, exasperation and anger at what is perceived as a Western distortion of their traditions and beliefs.

"There is no concept of apocalypse in the Mayan culture," Jesus Gomez, head of the Guatemalan confederation of Mayan priests and spiritual guides, told The Sunday Telegraph.

Cirilo Perez, an adviser to Guatemala's President Alvaro Colom is a prominent ajq'ij - literally a "day counter", a wise man who makes predictions and advice on the most propitious dates to marry, plant or harvest. He decried the commercial exploitation of Mayan culture by outsiders.

"This has all become business but there is no desire to understand," he said. "When foreigners, or even some Guatemalans, see us, they think 'Look at the Maya, how nice, how pretty', but they don't understand us."

相关阅读

研究:35亿年后金星可能撞地球

美国宇航局公布火星表面高清照片

感恩节金星木星月球齐聚夜空

火星首现湖岸线 可能存在生命迹象

(Agencies)

NASA批驳2012年世界末日预言

(英语点津 Helen 编辑)

 
中国日报网英语点津版权说明:凡注明来源为“中国日报网英语点津:XXX(署名)”的原创作品,除与中国日报网签署英语点津内容授权协议的网站外,其他任何网站或单位未经允许不得非法盗链、转载和使用,违者必究。如需使用,请与010-84883631联系;凡本网注明“来源:XXX(非英语点津)”的作品,均转载自其它媒体,目的在于传播更多信息,其他媒体如需转载,请与稿件来源方联系,如产生任何问题与本网无关;本网所发布的歌曲、电影片段,版权归原作者所有,仅供学习与研究,如果侵权,请提供版权证明,以便尽快删除。
 

关注和订阅

人气排行

翻译服务

中国日报网翻译工作室

我们提供:媒体、文化、财经法律等专业领域的中英互译服务
电话:010-84883468
邮件:translate@chinadaily.com.cn