英語聽力：自然百科 百年難遇的日食奇觀

The longest total solar eclipse of the 21st century put most of Asia, from India to China, into darkness on Wednesday, as millions gathered to watch this once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon.

The eclipse began at about midnight Greenwich Mean Time and was first seen in eastern India. Big clouds over India obscured the sun when the eclipse began at dawn, but the clouds parted in several cities just minutes before the total eclipse took place at close to 1 a.m. GMT.

Large crowds gathered on the banks of the Ganges River(恒河) in India to offer prayers during the eclipse.

"It’s very powerful to have a night in the middle of the day. One thing interesting was when you looked up there was a star, a bright star in the sky. So it was as dark as night, you can see the stars in the sky.”

India abounds(充滿) in superstitions and fables based on Hindu mythology, one of which says the eclipse is caused when a dragon demon swallows the sun. However, thousands of Hindus also took a dip in keeping the ancient belief that bathing in the river at the Indian city of Varanasi(瓦拉納西), especially on special occasions, cleanses one’s sins. Eclipse watchers in Delhi were offered a unique opportunity to view the total solar eclipse from an Eclipse Flight.

"We saw the sun from above. We were looking down at the sun. As the moon moved to cover the sun, its shadow was casting darkness on the earth. When it completely covered the sun, there was total darkness. The atmosphere changed, it was like an impending(即將來臨的) storm. The clouds also turned black, so for a few minutes, the spectacle was incredible.”

The flight offered the most unobstructed view of the various stages of the total solar eclipse.

“It’s really nice, I saw the whole thing, I saw bit by bit it was like someone biting an apple... a small orange."

In China, observers watched the skies darkened overhead for five and a half minutes. Heavy clouds in the area blocked the full eclipse from view, but watchers were able to see some of the solar phenomenon.”

“Such heavy fog and thick clouds, too. I told myself, oh no, we can’t see the eclipse today, I didn’t expect the sun to peep out(露出來) like that, smiling at me. However, it came out only after the peak of the eclipse had passed. Still, we were fortunate to have witnessed at least a part of it.”

Wednesday’s eclipse is the longest such eclipse since July 11th, 1991, when a total solar eclipselasting nearly seven minutes, was visible from Hawaii to South America.

Astronomers are hoping Wednesday’s unique event will help unlock clues about the sun.

The solar event was an opportunity for a prolonged view of the sun’s corona(日冕), a white ring that extends more than one million km from its surface.

Scientists predict that there will not be a longer total solar eclipse than Wednesday’s total solar eclipse until the year 2132.