双语对照 - 圣诞老人来啦：美国雷达追踪了他的行踪

原文
Santa Claus is coming to town: US radar tracks his progress
Santa Claus is coming to town: US radar tracks his progress
North American defence organisation follows sleigh across the globe using satellites and the infrared signal from Rudolph the reindeer's nose
James Meikleguardian.co.uk,    Friday 24 December 2010 13.20 GMT
The Norad tracker detects Santa and his team of reindeers by satellite technology. Photograph: Rex FeaturesFather Christmas has taken off from the north pole and is on his busy way to see you, according to a US and Canadian defence organisation that is tracking his sleigh's progress across the globe.
The North American Aerospace Defence Command (Norad) is following his once-yearly 24-hour delivery using radar, satellites, "Santa cams" and fighter jets. Timing his arrivals for when children are asleep, the red-suited present-giver generally heads first for the South Pacific before starting his first calls, moving on to New Zealand, Australia and moving westwards round the globe.
The monitoring service by Colorado-based Norad – main job defending the US and Canada from nuclear missile attack – depends partly on the infrared signal from the glowing nose of Rudolph, the most famous of Santa's reindeer. It has become an internet favourite with children following through social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter.
"Keep in mind, Santa's route can be affected by weather, so it's really unpredictable," a Norad spokesman said. "Norad co-ordinates with Santa's elf launch staff to confirm his launch time, but from that point on, Santa calls the shots. We just track him.
"Norad tracks Santa, but only Santa knows his route, which means we cannot predict where and when he will arrive at your house," he said. "We do, however, know from history that it appears he arrives only when children are asleep. In most countries, it seems Santa arrives between 9pm and midnight on 24 December. If children are still awake when Santa arrives, he moves on to other houses. He returns later … but only when the children are asleep."
Norad intelligence reports indicate Father Christmas does not experience time the way we do. "His trip seems to take 24 hours to us, but to Santa it might last days, weeks or even months. Santa would not want to rush the important job of delivering presents to children and spreading joy to everyone, so the only logical conclusion is that Santa somehow functions within his own time-space continuum.
"Based on flight profile data gathered from over 50 years of radar and satellite tracking, Norad concludes that Santa probably stands about 5ft 7in (1.7 metres) tall and weighs approximately 260lb (118kg). Based on fighter-aircraft photos, we know he has a generous girth, rosy cheeks from sleigh-riding in cold weather, and a flowing white beard." Norad cannot explain, however, how he gets down chimneys.
The tradition of tracking Santa's sleigh started in 1955 when a misprinted phone number in an advertisement for the retailer Sears Roebuck meant calls for Father Christmas were directed to the hotline for the commander in chief of Norad's predecessor. After receiving calls from excited children wanting to speak with Father Christmas, the commander decided to start the service.
The system knows when Father Christmas has taken off through its 47-installation radar system, then uses its satellites 22,300 miles above the Earth's surface to locate the heat from Rudolph's nose.
In 1998, when the tracking system became available on the internet, Norad added a global system of digital cameras taking pictures and videos of his journey. As Father Christmas approaches north America, Canadian and US jets intercept and welcome the hurtling sleigh.
At just after noon the Norad Twitter feed @noradsanta put out a tweet saying, "#Santa just flew through Honiara, capital of the Solomon Islands. We could use some time on the beach … it's chilly @noradnorthcom!". A few minutes later it added, "He is going to Gizo, Solomon Islands!"
Father Christmas was not available for comment, but a spokes-elf at his north pole headquarters said: "Santa left on time today and is looking forward to his annual round of present-giving. He has presents ready for delivery for every child who has been good this year. Merry Christmas!"
译文
圣诞老人来啦：美国雷达追踪了他的行踪
圣诞老人来啦：美国雷达追踪了他的行踪
北美防御组织使用卫星探测领头驯鹿鲁道夫鼻子散发的红外线信号，以此在全球范围内对圣诞老人的雪橇进行追踪。
作者James Meikle    guardian.co.uk,     星期五 2010.12.24 13：20

北美防空司令部的追踪者运用卫星技术来探测圣诞老人和他的驯鹿
圣诞老人已经从北极出发，正在来给你发礼物的路上，美国和加拿大防御组织正在全球范围内追踪他的雪橇。
北美防空司令部（Norad）正在运用雷达、卫星，“Santa Cam”系统和战斗机来追踪圣诞老人一年一度的24小时礼物大放送。计算他到达熟睡中孩子身边的时间，这个一身红装的礼物分发人一般在他造访第一个地点前首先飞向南太平洋，然后前往新西兰，澳大利亚，之后继续向西环绕全球。
由在科罗拉多的北美防空司令部提供的提供追踪服务-北美防空司令部的主要任务是保护美国和加拿大免于核导弹的袭击-主要是根据圣诞老人最有名的那头驯鹿鲁道夫那发热的鼻子所散发的红外线信号。这项追踪服务在Facebook和Twitter这类的社交网站上已经成为孩子们争相关注的互联网最爱。
“需要注意的是，圣诞老人的路线会被天气所影响，所以提前预测实在是不太可能的，”一位北美防空司令部发言人说道。“北美防空司令部和保障圣诞老人出发的精灵小组深度合作，以此确定他的出发时间，但是从那一刻开始，圣诞老人说了算，我们只能追踪他。”
来自北美防空司令部的情报显示，圣诞老人经历时间的方式和我们不一样。对我们来说，他的旅程只有24小时，但是对圣诞老人来说可能持续长达数天，数周，甚至数月。圣诞老人并不急着把这个向孩子分发礼物和向所有人传播欢乐的重大工作很快做完，所以唯一符合逻辑的结论就是：圣诞老人在他自己的时空连续体中履职尽责。
根据过去50年来由雷达和卫星提供的飞行追踪数据，北美防空司令部推测圣诞老人可能身高1米7，体重118千克。根据战斗机带回的照片，我们得知圣诞老人大腹便便，由于在冷天里驾驶雪橇，他的面颊被冻得红红的，胡子一片雪白。然而北美防空司令部无法解释他是如何爬下烟囱的。
北美防空司令部的这个工作开始于1955年。当时，美国的一个零售商在报纸上刊登广告，特别设立了专线，让孩子们可以给圣诞老人打电话。可惜由于印刷错误，电话被印成了北美防空司令部的前身北美防空联合司令部（CONAD）的。当年的平安夜，很多孩子拨打这个圣诞老人热线。值班的Shoup上校不想让孩子们失望，于是下令用雷达检测圣诞老人的行踪。
通过运用北美防空司令部安装的47部雷达系统，我们可以得知圣诞老人的出发时间，然后利用距离地面35888公里的卫星来定位鲁道夫鼻子上发出的热量。
在1998年，当这个圣诞老人追踪系统可以通过互联网使用后，北美防空司令部增设了一系列高速数码相机，可以拍摄圣诞老人带着他的驯鹿环游世界的图像和视频。当圣诞老人快要到达北美时，加拿大和美国的战斗机将会前去护航，并欢迎圣诞老人的雪橇。
圣诞老人没有对此事发表评论，然而在他北极总部的发言精灵说：“圣诞老人准时出发，前去进行一年一度的礼物分发，过去一年中每个乖乖的好孩子都能得到礼物。最后，祝大家圣诞快乐！”
 
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