2021年经济学人 隧道杀手,让你无处遁形(1)

Underground warfare¹

地道战

Tunnel vision

隧道视觉

A new system of sensors³ can detect troglodytic⁴ enemy activity

一种新的传感器系统可以探测到穴道敌人的活动

From the collapsing⁵ of city walls during medieval sieges, to the laying of giant mines filled with explosives under enemy trenches⁶ during the first world war,

从中世纪围攻期间城墙的倒塌，到第一次世界大战期间在敌人战壕下埋设装满炸药的巨型地雷，

to the supply networks of the Ho Chi Minh trail during the war in Vietnam, to the Tora Bora cave complex,

到越南战争期间胡志明步道的供应网络，再到托拉博拉洞穴综合体，

used first by the Mujahideen to oppose the Soviet⁷ invasion of Afghanistan and then by the Taliban to oppose the American invasion, tunnel-digging in times of conflict has a long history.

首先被圣战者用来反对苏联入侵阿富汗，然后被塔利班用来反对美国入侵，在冲突时期挖掘隧道有着悠久的历史。

These days, secret tunnels are used to move weapons and people between Gaza and Egypt, and by Kurdish militia⁸ operating on the frontier between Syria and Turkey.

如今，加沙和埃及之间以及叙利亚和土耳其边境的库尔德民兵利用秘密隧道运送武器和人员。

But the same principle applies. What happens underground is hard for the enemy to observe. Digging for victory is therefore often a good idea.

但同样的原则也适用。地下发生的事情敌人很难观察到。因此，为胜利而努力往往是一个好主意。

That, though, may be about to change. Real-time Subsurface Event Assessment⁹ and Detection (Resead), a project being undertaken at Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico,

不过，这种情况可能即将改变。实时地下事件评估和检测(Resead)是新墨西哥州桑迪亚国家实验室正在进行的一个项目，

uses novel sensors to make accurate maps of what is happening underground. This will, no doubt, have many civilian¹⁰ applications.

该项目使用新型传感器对地下正在发生的事情做出精确的地图。毫无疑问，这将有许多民用用途。

But Sandia is principally a weapons lab, and it is military matters that are uppermost in the mind of the project's leader, Chet Weiss.

但桑迪亚实验室主要是一个武器实验室，而军事问题是该项目的领导者切特·韦斯最关心的问题。

Resead grew out of work that was looking at ways of monitoring earth tremors¹¹ by means of sensor² networks.

Resead的工作是研究通过传感器网络监测地震的方法。

The researchers involved found that the analytical¹² techniques they had developed to handle data so collected were fast enough to process those data more or less in real time.

参与研究的研究人员发现他们为处理收集到的数据而开发的分析技术足够快，能够或多或少地实时处理这些数据。

This would mean they could detect movement underground in a way that would be militarily useful.

这意味着他们将能够以一种军事上有用的方式来探测地下活动。

The versions of these networked sensors used in Resead are embedded¹³ in the collars connecting sections of borehole casings, and communicate with the surface via wires. This makes them easy to deploy¹⁴ and use.

这些网络传感器被嵌入到井眼套管连接部分的接箍中，并通过电缆与地面通信。这使得它们易于部署和使用。

The sensors themselves are a mixture of accelerometers, which pick up vibrations¹⁵, current detectors¹⁶, which measure the electrical-resistance of rocks and soil, and subsurface radar¹⁷.

传感器本身是由加速度计、电流探测器和地下雷达组成的混合体。加速度计用来探测震动，电流探测器用来测量岩石和土壤的电阻。

1 warfare   

n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突

参考例句：

• He addressed the audience on the subject of atomic warfare.他向听众演讲有关原子战争的问题。
• Their struggle consists mainly in peasant guerrilla warfare.他们的斗争主要是农民游击战。

2 sensor   

n.传感器，探测设备，感觉器（官）

参考例句：

• The temperature sensor is enclosed in a protective well.温度传感器密封在保护套管中。
• He plugged the sensor into a outlet.他把传感器插进电源插座。

3 sensors   

n.传感器，灵敏元件( sensor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were more than 2000 sensors here. 这里装有两千多个灵敏元件。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Significant changes have been noted where sensors were exposed to trichloride. 当传感器暴露在三氯化物中时，有很大变化。 来自辞典例句

4 troglodytic   

[昆] 全土栖的

参考例句：

5 collapsing   

压扁[平]，毁坏，断裂

参考例句：

• Rescuers used props to stop the roof of the tunnel collapsing. 救援人员用支柱防止隧道顶塌陷。
• The rocks were folded by collapsing into the center of the trough. 岩石由于坍陷进入凹槽的中心而发生褶皱。

6 trenches   

深沟，地沟( trench的名词复数 )； 战壕

参考例句：

• life in the trenches 第一次世界大战期间的战壕生活
• The troops stormed the enemy's trenches and fanned out across the fields. 部队猛攻敌人的战壕，并在田野上呈扇形散开。

7 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

8 militia   

n.民兵，民兵组织

参考例句：

• First came the PLA men,then the people's militia.人民解放军走在前面，其次是民兵。
• There's a building guarded by the local militia at the corner of the street.街道拐角处有一幢由当地民兵团守卫的大楼。

9 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

10 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

11 tremors   

震颤( tremor的名词复数 )； 战栗； 震颤声； 大地的轻微震动

参考例句：

• The story was so terrible that It'sent tremors down my spine. 这故事太可怕，它使我不寒而栗。
• The story was so terrible that it sent tremors down my spine. 这故事太可怕，它使我不寒而栗。

12 analytical   

adj.分析的；用分析法的

参考例句：

• I have an analytical approach to every survey.对每项调查我都采用分析方法。
• As a result,analytical data obtained by analysts were often in disagreement.结果各个分析家所得的分析数据常常不一致。

13 embedded   

a.扎牢的

参考例句：

• an operation to remove glass that was embedded in his leg 取出扎入他腿部玻璃的手术
• He has embedded his name in the minds of millions of people. 他的名字铭刻在数百万人民心中。

14 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

15 vibrations   

n.摆动( vibration的名词复数 )；震动；感受；（偏离平衡位置的）一次性往复振动

参考例句：

• We could feel the vibrations from the trucks passing outside. 我们可以感到外面卡车经过时的颤动。
• I am drawn to that girl; I get good vibrations from her. 我被那女孩吸引住了，她使我产生良好的感觉。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 detectors   

探测器( detector的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The report advocated that all buildings be fitted with smoke detectors. 报告主张所有的建筑物都应安装烟火探测器。
• This is heady wine for experimenters using these neutrino detectors. 对于使用中微子探测器的实验工作者，这是令人兴奋的美酒。 来自英汉非文学 - 科技

17 radar   

n.雷达，无线电探测器

参考例句：

• They are following the flight of an aircraft by radar.他们正在用雷达追踪一架飞机的飞行。
• Enemy ships were detected on the radar.敌舰的影像已显现在雷达上。