BBC随身英语:Size matters 宇宙里最小的东西是什么？

The Greek philosopher Democritus suggested that matter was made of minute, round particles that he called 'atoms'. JJ Thomson discovered that atoms could be split further into smaller parts and extracted electrons from these. Experiments since have revealed that the nucleus of an atom is made up of protons and neutrons, which, in turn, are composed of quarks. It's hard to imagine just how small these particles are, but to give you an idea: there are more atoms in each of us than there are stars in the universe.

Each time we discover a smaller unit, this, in turn, is composed of even more minuscule parts. But scientists haven't been able to split quarks or electrons - not even with the help of the Large Hadron Collider, the particle accelerator that is used to study the smallest known particles. Forces in nature get stronger at shorter distances; the smaller they are, the harder it is to separate them.

It's not just size that matters, but also shape. If the Large Hadron Collider ever allows us to study the smallest possible objects, would they be round? Or would they look like microscopic bits of string, as the String theory suggests?

The search for the smallest building blocks challenges our understanding of the very nature of space and time. And that's why the smallest thing in the universe is a pretty big deal.

Quiz 测验 Find words in the article that mean 'small'.

Tiny, minute, minuscule, microscopic.

Who coined the term 'atom'?

The Greek philosopher Democritus invented the concept of small, round particles and called these 'atoms'.

Is the following statement true, false or not given? "We”ll never know what the smallest thing in the universe is."

Not given. The quest for the smallest thing is ongoing.

What is an atom composed of?

An atom is composed of a nucleus, which is made of protons and neutrons, which in turn are made of quarks.

Which phrase in the article means 'the basic units used to build something'?

Building blocks.

Glossary 词汇表 infinitely无限的 tiniest最微小的 minute极微小的 atom原子 electron电子 nucleus（原子）核 proton质子 neutron中子 quark夸克 particle粒子 unit单位 minuscule极小的 microscopic微观的 building blocks基础材料 big deal至关重要的大事, 非同小可