这几天在朋友圈被刷屏的小人

可能你已经注意到了微信启动图“变脸”：从非洲大陆上空视角，变化为了中国上空。这是微信6年来启动页首次发生变化。之前，微信启动页中选用的照片素材是NASA在全世界范围公开的第一张完整的地球照片，名为“蓝色弹珠”，这是人类第一次从太空中看到地球的全貌。画面中所显示的是非洲大陆。

据悉这是为了庆祝“风云四号”取得的巨大突破。微信团队称，此次展示’风云四号’拍摄画面，寓意从’人类起源’到‘华夏文明’的历史发展，希望通过这张照片向亿万微信用户展示华夏大地的河山风貌。

Chinese messaging app WeChat dominates its domestic market, as its would-be foreign competitors are often blocked in China. Today, WeChat has removed what could be considered its most "American" feature: a famous photo of Earth called Blue Marble taken from outer space in 1972 by NASA. For years, the image was prominently displayed on the app's start screen, but WeChat is replacing NASA's photo with one taken by a Chinese satellite. Both images are Photoshopped to have the silhouette[1] of a human standing before the Earth.

中国的聊天软件微信可谓稳占国内市场，其他潜在的外来竞争者则在进军中国市场的过程中屡屡受挫。就在今天，微信换掉了颇具美洲特征的启动页图片。照片素材是NASA（美国宇航局）于1972年在外太空拍摄的一张关于地球的完整照片，名为“蓝色弹珠”。多年来，这张照片一直作为微信的启动页图片，但现如今微信则更换了NASA拍摄的这张地球照，更新成一张由中国气象卫星拍摄的气象云图。两版图片都通过PS技术，最后呈现出一个人影站立在地球前方的画面。

[1]silhouette:

[C,U] a dark image, shadow, or shape that you see against a light background   侧面影像，黑色轮廓

[+ of]

a dark silhouette of domes and minarets 

穹顶和尖塔的黑色轮廓

[+ against]

Soon the bombers would return, black silhouettes against a pale sky. 

轰炸机很快会再来，灰蒙蒙的天空又会出现一个个黑色的轮廓。

in silhouette

The old windmill stood out in silhouette. 

那架古老风车的轮廓映衬出来。

[C,U] a drawing of something or someone, often from the side, showing a black shape against a light background      剪影，侧影

silhouette pictures of snowmen and reindeer 

雪人和驯鹿的剪影画

in silhouette

a picture of Mozart in silhouette 

一张莫扎特的侧面剪影

[C] the particular shape certain clothes give you    〔穿上某种衣服后显出的〕体形，身段

Fitted clothes often give the neatest silhouettes. 

合身的衣服常常能够显出匀称的身段。

silhouetted adj

tall chimney stacks silhouetted against the orange flames 

橙色火焰映衬出的一座座高大烟囱的轮廓

The difference is subtle but political. The NASA photo shows Africa as the center of the sphere, while the Chinese photo shows China. According to Sina.com, WeChat said in a statement that while the African continent is the origin of human civilization, it was also important to show the app's millions of users the significance of Chinese civilization.

两版图片的差别虽然微乎其微，但政治意义却不容小觑。NASA拍的那张图片传达的信息为非洲是地球的中心，而新的界面图片则重在展示华夏文明。据新浪网报道，微信团队在声明中透露，虽然非洲大陆是人类文明的起源，但希望借此次“变脸”的机会，向亿万微信用户展示博大精深的中华文明，这一点也非常重要。

WeChat had used the Blue Marble photo as its start screen since its inception[2] in 2011, but changed it today just as the Chinese satellite Feng Yun-4A was put into official use after months of trial testing. The satellite was launched into space last December. Its name literally means "wind" and "cloud."

自2011年微信推出之后，该软件就一直采用“蓝色弹珠”作为启动页图片。此次正值中国气象卫星“风云四号”A星在数月测试之后正式交付使用。该卫星于去年十二月份成功发射，其字面意思就是英文中的“风”和“云”。

[2]inception: The inception of an institution or activity is the start of it. 开始; 开端

Since its inception the company has produced 53 different aircraft designs.  

该公司自成立以来已经设计出53种不同的飞行器。

[翻译仅供参考，来源：http://t.cn/R0oXgUo]