号称只有“今天”才能成功的#立扫把挑战#风靡网络 不信你试试！

这两天，国外社交媒体上一个名为「Broomchallenge」扫把挑战的活动刷屏了，据说只有“今天”，扫把能够不借助外力直立起来，消息来源是NASA（美国国家航空航天局），网友、明星纷纷亲测有效，今天这一消息也在国内的社交媒体上风靡起来。

然而，事实呢？这个「今天」是指哪一天呢？2月7日就有网友测试成功，也有今天（2月11日）才测试成功。实际上，每一天都可以，只要你找准扫把的重心和平衡点。

What is the broomstick challenge? Trend sweeps social media over fake link to NASA and planetary alignment

NEWSWEEK

The broomstick challenge is the latest challenge to take over Twitter. The basic premise is that brooms and other objects can stand upright through a mysterious trick of gravity, but only on certain days of the year.

扫把

· broom表示“扫帚，扫把”，英文解释为“A broom is a kind of brush with a long handle. You use a broom for sweeping the floor.”

· broomstick表示“长柄扫帚；扫帚柄（传说中巫婆用以飞行）”，英文解释为“a broom with a long handle and small thin sticks at the end, or the handle of a broom . In stories witches (= women with evil magic powers) ride through the air on broomsticks.”

premise

表示“前提；假定”，英文解释为“a statement or an idea that forms the basis for a reasonable line of argument”，如：the basic premise of her argument 她的论证的基本前提，a false premise 错误的前提。

gravity

常用含义表示“（尤指地球的）重力，引力，地心引力”，英文解释为：the force that attracts objects towards one another, especially the force that makes things fall to the ground. 如：the laws of gravity 万有引力定律，物理课上学的g=9.8还是g=10你还记得吗？

上周我们在人体的正常体温是多少？一文中接触到它的另一个含义，表示“严重性”，可以替换seriousness，举个🌰：

I don't think you understand the gravity of the situation.

我认为你没有明白局势的严重性。

同样在「椅子挑战」风靡网络一文中也提到了「重心」的说法：the centre of gravity differs between the sexes...

According to Twitter, the challenge came from NASA, who said that today—February 10, 2020—was the only day a broomstick can stand up on its own because of something to do with gravitational pull.

gravitational pull

引力，gravitational表示“引力的；重力引起的”，英文解释为“connected with or caused by the force of gravity”，如：a gravitational field 引力场，the gravitational pull of the moon 月球的引力。

While a lot less dangerous than previous trends that have gone viral, like the Tide Pod challenge, the scientific reasoning behind it is equally shaky and there is no source from NASA supporting these claims.

Tide Pod challenge

这个说法早在2018年牛津词典公布了2018年度词汇：Toxic时就接触到，指的是

当年国外掀起的一个非常危险的活动「Tide Pods Challenge」（吃洗衣球挑战），要求挑战者把洗衣球放进嘴里并吃掉。

shaky /ˈʃeɪkɪ/

1）表示“摇晃的，发抖的，颤抖的”，英文解释为“moving with quick, short movements from side to side, not in a controlled way”举个🌰：

The child wrote her name in large shaky letters.

那个孩子用歪歪扭扭的大字写下了她自己的名字。

2）表示“心烦的，苦恼的”，等同于upset，举个🌰：

The news left me feeling a little shaky.

这条消息使我有些心烦。

Instead, it stems from a longstanding urban myth, or old wives' tale, claiming that every year on the vernal and autumnal equinox, eggs are able to balance on their ends. The rumor pops up most years, usually around the equinox, in some iteration or another and recently has taken the form of brooms instead of eggs. It has even made an appearance on a 2003 episode of The West Wing.

stem from

表示“源自；由…造成”，英文解释为“to start or develop as the result of something”举个🌰：

Her problems stem from her difficult childhood.

她的问题主要是由艰难的童年生活造成的。

春分/秋分

· equinox” /ˈiːkwɪˌnɒks, ˈɛk-/，表示“昼夜平分日；指春分或秋分”，英文解释为“An equinox is one of the two days in the year when day and night are of equal length.”一般说：the spring/autumn equinox 春分/秋分，也可以说the vernal equinox 春分，the autumnal equinox 秋分。

· vernal /ˈvɜːnəl/表示“春季的”（connected with the season of spring）。

· autumnal /ɔːˈtʌmnəl/表示“秋天的；秋季的”（like or connected with autumn）如：autumnal colours 秋天的色彩。

补充：

夏至

Summer Solstice

冬至

Winter Solstice

完整二十四节气英文译文>>>“二十四节气”入选世界非遗名录

According to Snopes, the act of standing eggs upright on certain special days started in China. The reasoning behind this was that if you could stand the symbol of fertility (an egg) upright on the equinox—when daylight hours are equal to nighttime hours—nature was in balance.

fertility

表示“富饶；丰产；生殖力；能生育性；可繁殖性”，英文解释为“the state of being fertile”，如：a fertility symbol 生殖力的象征，declining fertility rates 下降的生育率，the fertility of the soil/land 土壤的肥沃；土地的丰饶，a god of fertility 丰收之神，fertility treatment (= medical help given to a person to help them have a baby) 不孕症治疗。

However, the spring equinox takes place around March 20 and the autumn equinox takes place around September 22—so Twitter even got the date wrong. That didn't stop people from trying.

Celebrities got involved, with Ally Brook of Fifth Harmony fame, Colleen Ballinger (aka Miranda Sings) and Paula Abdul each having a go.

Some people got creative—playing with height and other objects, including crutches and knives. Others poked fun at the challenge.

go

熟词僻义，作名词表示“尝试”，英文解释为“an attempt to do something”举个🌰：

I've never done this before but I'll give it a go.

我以前从来没有做过，但是我会尝试一下。

"This jar is impossible to open." "Here, let me have a go."

“这个罐子没法打开。”“来，让我试一试。”

I want to have a go at finishing my essay tonight.

我想试试看今晚能不能把论文写完。

poke fun at

表示“取笑，奚落；打趣”，英文解释为“to make someone/something seem stupid by making jokes about them or laughing unkindly”。

As the trend goes to show, it is possible to stand a broomstick upright without it instantly falling over. But if you could stand your broom up yesterday, you will also be able to stand your broom up today or any day of the year.

The urban myth has even gone through scientific testing. Astronomer Frank D. Ghigo studied the phenomenon, showing that it is possible to balance eggs on the equinox. He was also able to balance eggs on days that were not the equinox.

urban myth

表示“都市神话（广为传播、被许多人相信，但并不真实的故事）”，英文解释为“a story or statement that is not true but is often repeated, and believed by many to be true”。

″The upshot is that, as far as I can tell, there isn't too much relationship between astronomical phenomena and balancing eggs," Ghigo told the AP—in 1987. "It is basically a function of the shape of the egg and the surface.″

upshot

表示“（通常指出乎意外的）结果 ”，英文解释为“The upshot of a series of events or discussions is the final result of them, usually a surprising result.”举个🌰：

The upshot is that we have lots of good but not very happy friends.

令人意想不到的结果是，我们有许多优秀但却不快乐的朋友。

And as for claims that NASA encouraged the challenge, there is no evidence that is the case. Instead, it appears the whole trend may have started after someone overheard a video their roommate was watching.

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