That was just about the moment that the universe was born. What the researchers found was at once both amazing and expected: the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Cosmic Background Explorer satellite—Cobe—had discovered landmark evidence that the universe did in fact begin with the primeval explosion that has become known as the Big Bang (the theory that the universe originated in an explosion from a single mass of energy).那大约就是宇宙形成的时候。研究人员的发现既令人惊讶，又在人们的意料之中：美国国家航空航天局的Cobe号宇宙背景探测器已经发现了划时代的证据，表明宇宙确实起源于最早的一次爆炸，人们称之为"大爆炸"（此理论认为宇宙起源于一大块能量的爆炸）。
＃长难句每日一句＃是一道配菜，建议你首先消化课程所讲内容之后，再每天来一个长难句来填满碎片时间。切不可不听，每天只练一个长难句，那就本末倒置了。
长难句的正确打开方式：先尝试自己分析，然后看下面的解析；如有任何问题（学习情感职场）可以直接分解提问
The existence of the giant clouds was virtually required for the Big Bang, first put forward in the 1920s, to maintain its reign as the dominant explanation of the cosmos.1. 句子主干为 The existence of the giant clouds /was virtually required for /the Big Bang;2. first put forward in the 1920s 为the Big Bang 的后置定语；3. to maintain its reign as the dominant explanation of the cosmos 为动词不定式充当目的状语。virtually / ˈvə:tʃuəli / adv. 实际上maintain / meinˈtein / linking verb 维持，保持reign / rein / n. 统治时期，当政期dominant / ˈdɔminənt / adj. 占支配地位的The existence of the giant clouds was virtually required for the Big Bang, first put forward in the 1920s, to maintain its reign as the dominant explanation of the cosmos.译文1：巨大的宇宙云的存在，实际上是20年代首创的大爆炸论得以保持其宇宙起源论的主导地位不可缺少的。
译文2：巨大的宇宙云的存在实际上大爆炸理论不可或缺的，大爆炸理论是20世纪20年代首次提出的，目的是保持其宇宙起源论的主导地位。
【翻译技巧】
如果将所有修饰成分跟主干融合在一起，见译文1；如果将修饰成分单独处理成短句，见译文2；这两种方式均可得分。
According to the theory, the universe burst into being as a submicroscopic, unimaginably dense knot of pure energy that flew outward in all directions, emitting radiation as it went, condensing into particles and then into atoms of gas. Over billions of years, the gas was compressed by gravity into galaxies, stars, plants and eventually, even humans.
