经济学人15:探太空难,察深海亦不易

 　　Science and Technolgy.

　　科技。

　　Deep-sea exploration.

　　深海探索。

　　The age of Aquarius 1.

　　"宝瓶"时代1。

　　Inner space is almost as hard to explore as outer space.

　　探太空难，察深海亦不易。

　　JAMES CAMERON knows how to make a splash. Literally¹. On March 25th the director of "The Terminator", "Titanic²" and "Avatar" plunged³ into the Challenger Deep2 of the Mariana Trench⁴, 500km (300 miles) from Guam. When he reached the bottom, he sent a self-congratulatory tweet, and then tootled about for a couple of hours before taking Deepsea Challenger, his lime-green one-man submarine, back up the 11km to the surface.

　　詹姆斯·卡梅隆知道怎么制造轰动。确实是这样。3月25日，这位执导过"终结者"、"泰坦尼克"和"阿凡达"的导演来到了距关岛500千米（300英里）的马里亚纳海沟，一头扎进了挑战者深渊2 。当他到达海底的时候，他发了一条庆祝自己的推特，接着又唠叨了大概两个小时，才上浮11千米将他石灰青色的单人潜艇-深海挑战者号带出海面。

　　This venture certainly scores high in the jaw-dropping department. The only other people to plumb⁶ the Challenger Deep-as its name suggests, the most profound point in the ocean—were Jacques Piccard and Don Walsh, who did so in 1960, in a vessel⁷ called Trieste. The latest dive, however, was not very successful on the scientific front. It brought back no specimens⁸.

　　这次冒险在劲爆度这方面当然是拿下高分。此外只有雅克?皮卡和唐纳德·沃尔什探索过挑战者深渊——正如其名，它是海洋的最深点——他俩于1960年驾驶里雅斯特号深海潜艇下潜至此处。然而，这新近一潜在科学层面却并不那么成功，因为它没有带回任何标本。

　　This was in sharp contrast to a less publicised mission, to the paltry⁹ depth of 2.5km, where the pressure is a mere¹⁰ 250 times that of the atmosphere (the Challenger Deep's pressure is four times that). This was organised by Ifremer, France's oceanographic institute. Its three-man craft, Nautile (named after the submarine in Jules Verne's novel, "20,000 Leagues under the Sea"), not only brought back samples, but brought them back alive.

　　这与一项不太为人所知的行动形成了鲜明对比，后者只下潜到区区2.5千米，承受了250个大气压（挑战者深渊那里的压强四倍于此）。这次行动是由法国海洋开发研究院（Ifremer）组织实施，派出三人潜艇鹦鹉螺号（以儒勒·凡尔纳科幻小说《海底两万里》中的潜艇命名），不仅带回了标本，而且个个活蹦乱跳。

　　That is no mean feat¹¹. Because creatures of the deep ocean have evolved to tolerate so much pressure, their cell membranes¹² tend to liquefy when that pressure is released. To stop this happening Nautile's samples were transported in a special chamber¹³ called PERISCOP. This chamber, designed by Bruce Shillito and Gerard Hamel, of Pierre and Marie Curie University, in Paris, is a tank with a capacity of 2.7 litres which is capable of containing a pressure of more than 200 atmospheres.

　　那可真不简单。因为深海生物已经进化得能够耐受如此高压，一旦压力消失，它们的细胞膜就会溶解。为了不让这种情况发生，鹦鹉螺号上的标本被置于一个叫做"潜望镜"的特殊腔体中进行运输。这个腔体由巴黎居里大学的布鲁斯·希利托和杰拉德·哈默设计，就是一个容量2.7升的水罐，能够承受200个大气压的压强。

　　In 2008 PERISCOP was used to reel in a live fish from a then-record depth of 2.3km. The fish had been living near an underwater hot spring, known as a hydrothermal vent⁵, in the Mid-Atlantic Ridge¹⁴. This time, Nautile's mother ship, L'Atalante, had spent three weeks trawling around a similar vent in the East Pacific Ridge as part of the MESCAL project, a collaboration¹⁵ between a dozen American and European oceanographic research institutions. On March 26th she sailed into Manzanillo, in Mexico, bearing a trove¹⁶ of specimens including a dozen or so Pompeii worms. These polychaetes (relatives of the common ragworm) are the most heat-tolerant animals known. They are able to live at 60°C. Biologists would like to understand how they do it.

　　2008年，"潜望镜"曾被用来从深海打回一条活鱼，2.8千米的深度在当时创了记录。那条鱼生活在中大西洋海脊的一个水下热泉附近，也就是所谓的深海热液喷口。这一次，鹦鹉螺号的母船亚特兰大号在东太平洋海脊一处相似的热泉附近网了三个星期鱼，这也是欧美十几个海洋研究所合作项目"龙舌兰"的一部分。3月26日，亚特兰大号满载着捕鱼所获——包括大约十几只庞贝虫在内的众多标本，驶入了墨西哥的曼萨尼略港。这些多毛类环虫（和普通的沙虫是近亲）是已知最耐热的动物。它们能在60摄氏度的环境中生存。生物学家想要了解它们如何做到这点的。

　　To help them find out L'Atalante has been fitted with a second chamber, BALIST, into which PERISCOP's catch can be transferred. Researchers on board ship were thus able to study the worms alive for several weeks. For the unfortunate worms, however, Manzanillo was the end of the line. They were killed, frozen and transported back to France.

　　为了帮助生物学家找出所以然，亚特兰大号安装了一个附加的腔体"十字弓"，"潜望镜"捕获的生物可以转移进去。这样，载驳船上的研究人员就能够在数周时间中研究活体虫子。但是，对于这些不幸的虫儿来说，曼萨尼略就是它们生命的终点。它们被杀死，冷冻后运回到法国。

　　Future trophies¹⁷ may be luckier. Ifremer's researchers are searching for a way to keep deep-sea animals alive indefinitely, so that their entire life cycles can be studied. This means building high-pressure, onshore fish tanks. On April 7th the Océanopolis, a big aquarium¹⁸ in Brest, will unveil two such chambers¹⁹. Each Abyss Box3 , as the contraptions are known, costs

1 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

2 titanic   

adj.巨人的，庞大的，强大的

参考例句：

• We have been making titanic effort to achieve our purpose.我们一直在作极大的努力，以达到我们的目的。
• The island was created by titanic powers and they are still at work today.台湾岛是由一个至今仍然在运作的巨大力量塑造出来的。

3 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。

4 trench   

n./v.(挖)沟，(挖)战壕

参考例句：

• The soldiers recaptured their trench.兵士夺回了战壕。
• The troops received orders to trench the outpost.部队接到命令在前哨周围筑壕加强防卫。

5 vent   

n.通风口，排放口；开衩；vt.表达，发泄

参考例句：

• He gave vent to his anger by swearing loudly.他高声咒骂以发泄他的愤怒。
• When the vent became plugged,the engine would stop.当通风口被堵塞时，发动机就会停转。

6 plumb   

adv.精确地，完全地；v.了解意义，测水深

参考例句：

• No one could plumb the mystery.没人能看破这秘密。
• It was unprofitable to plumb that sort of thing.这种事弄个水落石出没有什么好处。

7 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

8 specimens   

n.样品( specimen的名词复数 )；范例；（化验的）抽样；某种类型的人

参考例句：

• Astronauts have brought back specimens of rock from the moon. 宇航员从月球带回了岩石标本。
• The traveler brought back some specimens of the rocks from the mountains. 那位旅行者从山上带回了一些岩石标本。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 paltry   

adj.无价值的，微不足道的

参考例句：

• The parents had little interest in paltry domestic concerns.那些家长对家里鸡毛蒜皮的小事没什么兴趣。
• I'm getting angry;and if you don't command that paltry spirit of yours.我要生气了，如果你不能振作你那点元气。

10 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

11 feat   

n.功绩；武艺，技艺；adj.灵巧的，漂亮的，合适的

参考例句：

• Man's first landing on the moon was a feat of great daring.人类首次登月是一个勇敢的壮举。
• He received a medal for his heroic feat.他因其英雄业绩而获得一枚勋章。

12 membranes   

n.（动物或植物体内的）薄膜( membrane的名词复数 )；隔膜；（可起防水、防风等作用的）膜状物

参考例句：

• The waste material is placed in cells with permeable membranes. 废液置于有渗透膜的槽中。 来自辞典例句
• The sarcoplasmic reticulum is a system of intracellular membranes. 肌浆网属于细胞内膜系统。 来自辞典例句

13 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

14 ridge   

n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭

参考例句：

• We clambered up the hillside to the ridge above.我们沿着山坡费力地爬上了山脊。
• The infantry were advancing to attack the ridge.步兵部队正在向前挺进攻打山脊。

15 collaboration   

n.合作，协作；勾结

参考例句：

• The two companies are working in close collaboration each other.这两家公司密切合作。
• He was shot for collaboration with the enemy.他因通敌而被枪毙了。

16 trove   

n.被发现的东西，收藏的东西

参考例句：

• He assembled a rich trove of Chinese porcelain.他收集了一批中国瓷器。
• The gallery is a treasure trove of medieval art.这个画廊是中世纪艺术的宝库。

17 trophies   

n.（为竞赛获胜者颁发的）奖品( trophy的名词复数 )；奖杯；（尤指狩猎或战争中获得的）纪念品；（用于比赛或赛跑名称）奖

参考例句：

• His football trophies were prominently displayed in the kitchen. 他的足球奖杯陈列在厨房里显眼的位置。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The hunter kept the lion's skin and head as trophies. 这猎人保存狮子的皮和头作为纪念品。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

18 aquarium   

n.水族馆，养鱼池，玻璃缸

参考例句：

• The first time I saw seals was in an aquarium.我第一次看见海豹是在水族馆里。
• I'm going to the aquarium with my parents this Sunday.这个星期天，我要和父母一起到水族馆去。

19 chambers   

n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅

参考例句：

• The body will be removed into one of the cold storage chambers. 尸体将被移到一个冷冻间里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mr Chambers's readable book concentrates on the middle passage: the time Ransome spent in Russia. Chambers先生的这本值得一看的书重点在中间：Ransome在俄国的那几年。 来自互联网