英语听力文摘 English Digest 507、山脉不再上升

 　　Why Mountains Stop Growing

 

　　山脉为什么停止上升了

 

　　If you live up in the mountains, understanding the continually shifting landscape can mean survival.

 

　　Mountains are continually shifting? Because of the erosion? Not just erosion.

 

　　Erosion wears mountains down, but active mountain ranges are also continuously rising. And here’s the interesting thing: despite this, once mountains reach a certain height, they achieve a state of equilibrium¹. So they rise but do not get any taller? Weird².

 

　　You see, mountain ranges form in places where tectonic plates meet–those are the thick sheets of rigid³ rock that cover the earth’s surface. When one tectonic plate slides beneath the other, the parts of it that are scraped off pile up in buckling⁴ folds to form mountains.

 

　　Of course, we’re talking geological time here, which is measured in tens of thousands of years. So one question geologists⁵ are investigating is which forces counteract⁶ the shifting and colliding of the tectonic plates and enable still- active mountain ranges to level off at a certain height.

 

　　And that's where erosion comes yet. Yes, but erosion is caused by many factors, like weather and rivers carving⁷ into the mountains. Also, as mountains get higher, they get steeper, and the greater the slope, the more sediment⁸ ends up sliding down into the oceans instead of accumulating on the mountains themselves.

 

　　So the big question is what role each of these factors plays in maintaining the height of mountain ranges. And that’s where the debate comes in– and it’s a tough one.

 

　　如果你居住在山上，了解持续不断移动的风景就意味着生存。山脉是不断移动的吗？因为侵蚀？不仅仅是因为侵蚀。

 

　　侵蚀磨损山体使之高度下降。但是活跃的山脉也同样不断在上升。这有个有趣的现象：尽管山脉会不断上升，但上升到一定高度后，它们就达到一种平衡状态。所以它们上升但高度不会继续增加？真不可思议。

 

　　你看。山脉是在地壳板块交接的地方形成的，地壳板块是覆盖地球的坚硬岩石厚片。当某地壳板块俯冲到另一板块下面时，被摩擦掉的那部分岩石就以褶皱的形式堆积起来形成山脉。

 

　　当然，我们现在谈论的是地史时期，是以数万年测量的。因此地质学家一直研究的一个问题就是哪些力量中和了板块的移动和碰撞，并使得仍活跃的山脉在某一特定高度呈平衡状态。

 

　　那就是侵蚀出现的原因了。是的，但是侵蚀是由多种原因引起的，比如天气和侵蚀山脉的河流。同样，山脉变高时，他们也变陡峭了，坡度越大，就会有越多的沉积物滑向海洋，而不是堆积在山脉上。

 

　　所以最大的问题就是这些因素在保持山脉高度时各自扮演着什么角色。而且那就是争论的源头——是个难题。

1 equilibrium   

n.平衡，均衡，相称，均势，平静

参考例句：

• Change in the world around us disturbs our inner equilibrium.我们周围世界的变化扰乱了我们内心的平静。
• This is best expressed in the form of an equilibrium constant.这最好用平衡常数的形式来表示。

2 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。

3 rigid   

adj.严格的，死板的；刚硬的，僵硬的

参考例句：

• She became as rigid as adamant.她变得如顽石般的固执。
• The examination was so rigid that nearly all aspirants were ruled out.考试很严，几乎所有的考生都被淘汰了。

4 buckling   

扣住

参考例句：

• A door slammed in the house and a man came out buckling his belt. 房子里的一扇门砰地关上，一个男子边扣腰带边走了出来。
• The periodic buckling leaves the fibre in a waved conformation. 周期性的弯折在纤维中造成波形构成。

5 geologists   

地质学家，地质学者( geologist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Geologists uncovered the hidden riches. 地质学家发现了地下的宝藏。
• Geologists study the structure of the rocks. 地质学家研究岩石结构。

6 counteract   

vt.对…起反作用，对抗，抵消

参考例句：

• The doctor gave him some medicine to counteract the effect of the poison.医生给他些药解毒。
• Our work calls for mutual support.We shouldn't counteract each other's efforts.工作要互相支持，不要互相拆台。

7 carving   

n.雕刻品，雕花

参考例句：

• All the furniture in the room had much carving.房间里所有的家具上都有许多雕刻。
• He acquired the craft of wood carving in his native town.他在老家学会了木雕手艺。

8 sediment   

n.沉淀，沉渣，沉积(物)

参考例句：

• The sediment settled and the water was clear.杂质沉淀后，水变清了。
• Sediment begins to choke the channel's opening.沉积物开始淤塞河道口。