经济学人230:深海探索 宝瓶时代

 　　Science and technology

　　科学技术

　　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

　　Have you seen Cameron's latest?

　　卡梅隆的新作你看了吗？

　　JAMES CAMERON knows how to make a splash.

　　詹姆斯·卡梅隆知道怎么制造轰动。

　　Literally¹.

　　确实是这样。

　　On March 25th the director of The Terminator, Titanic² and Avatar plunged⁴ into the Challenger Deep2 of the Mariana Trench⁵, 500km from Guam.

　　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500千米的马里亚纳海沟，一头扎进了挑战者深渊。

　　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.

　　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.

　　这次冒险在劲爆度这方面当然是拿下高分。

　　The only other people to plumb⁷ 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 vessel⁸ called Trieste.

　　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。

　　The latest dive, however, was not very successful on the scientific front.

　　然而，这新近一潜在科学层面却并不那么成功，

　　It brought back no specimens⁹.

　　因为它没有带回任何标本。

　　This was in sharp contrast to a less publicised mission, to the paltry¹⁰ depth of 2.5km, where the pressure is a mere¹¹ 250 times that of the atmosphere.

　　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。

　　This was organised by Ifremer, France's oceanographic institute.

　　这次行动是由法国海洋开发研究院组织实施，

　　Its three-man craft, Nautile, not only brought back samples, but brought them back alive.

　　派出三人潜艇鹦鹉螺号，不仅带回了标本，而且个个活蹦乱跳。

　　That is no mean feat¹². Because creatures of the deep ocean have evolved to tolerate so much pressure, their cell membranes¹³ tend to liquefy when that pressure is released.

　　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。

　　To stop this happening Nautile's samples were transported in a special chamber¹⁴ called PERISCOP.

　　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。

　　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.

　　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.

　　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。

　　The fish had been living near an underwater hot spring, known as a hydrothermal vent⁶, in the Mid-Atlantic Ridge¹⁵.

　　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。

　　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 collaboration¹⁶ between a dozen American and European oceanographic research institutions.

　　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。

　　On March 26th she sailed into Manzanillo, in Mexico, bearing a trove¹⁷ of specimens including a dozen or so Pompeii worms.

　　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。

　　These polychaetes are the most heat-tolerant animals known.

　　这些多毛类环虫是已知最耐热的动物。

　　They are able to live at 60C. Biologists would like to understand how they do it.

　　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.

　　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。

　　Researchers on board ship were thus able to study the worms alive for several weeks.

　　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。

　　For the unfortunate worms, however, Manzanillo was the end of the line.

　　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。

　　They were killed, frozen and transported back to France.

　　它们被杀死，冷冻后运回到法国。

　　Future trophies¹⁸ may be luckier.

　　以后的战利品也许不会这么倒霉。

　　Ifremer's researchers are searching for a way to keep deep-sea animals alive indefinitely, so that their entire life cycles can be studied.

　　法国海洋开发研究院的研究人员们正在寻求一种能使深海动物无限期存活的方法，如果成功，动物的整个生命周期都可以加以研究。

　　This means building high-pressure, onshore fish tanks.

　　这意味着需要建造若干陆基的、能耐高压的养鱼水罐。

　　On April 7th the Océanopolis, a big aquarium¹⁹ in Brest, will unveil two such chambers²⁰.

　　4月7日，在法国布雷斯特的大型水族馆-海洋之都，两个这样的腔体就将揭幕。

　　Each Abyss Box3 , as the contraptions are known, costs 100,000 and contains 16 litres of seawater held at 180 atmospheres.

　　这些精巧的设计被叫做箱中深渊3，每个耗资10万欧元，能以180个大气压容纳16升海水。

　　Crucially, each has a window: a glass visor 15cm across and 8cm thick.

　　最为重要的是，每个箱子都有一个15厘米宽、8厘米厚的玻璃盔甲观察窗。

　　At the moment, one of the boxes is inhabited by 43 deep-sea shrimps²¹.

　　此时此刻，一个箱子里面住了43只深海虾，另一个里面是3只螃蟹。

　　The other houses three crabs²². Both come from Atlantic vents²³ located around 1.8km below the surface.

　　这些住客都是来自大约1.8千米深处的大西洋海底泉口。

　　It will be the first time members of the public who are not James Cameron have had a chance to behold²⁴ such creatures alive.

　　对于詹姆斯·卡梅隆之外的公众而言，将首次有机会目睹这些生物的活体。

　　1.exploration n.探测，勘探，探险；搜索

　　It breaks down in the face of relativistic exploration.

　　就在相对论的探索前站不住了。

　　2.splash v.使溅起

　　Should I back splash?

　　我应该用水泼你?

　　3.plunge³ v.用力插入；使陷入

　　Yet I had lived through a plunge off a cliff.

　　但是我跳下悬崖却活了下来。

　　4.submarine n.潜艇；海底生物

　　First british submarine telegraph cable laid in hong kong.

　　第一根英国颠海底电报电缆在香港铺设。

　　5.profound a.深厚的；意义深远的

　　The most profound technologies are those that disappear.

　　那些隐形的技术是最深刻的。

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 plunge   

v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲

参考例句：

• Test pool's water temperature before you plunge in.在你跳入之前你应该测试水温。
• That would plunge them in the broil of the two countries.那将会使他们陷入这两国的争斗之中。

4 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。

5 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。

6 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。

7 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。

8 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。

9 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》

10 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。

11 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。

12 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。

13 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

14 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。

15 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。

16 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。

17 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。

18 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》

19 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。

20 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

21 shrimps   

n.虾，小虾( shrimp的名词复数 )；矮小的人

参考例句：

• Shrimps are a popular type of seafood. 小虾是比较普遍的一种海味。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I'm going to have shrimps for my tea. 傍晚的便餐我要吃点虾。 来自辞典例句

22 crabs   

n.蟹( crab的名词复数 )；阴虱寄生病；蟹肉v.捕蟹( crab的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• As we walked along the seashore we saw lots of tiny crabs. 我们在海岸上散步时看到很多小蟹。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The fish and crabs scavenge for decaying tissue. 鱼和蟹搜寻腐烂的组织为食。 来自《简明英汉词典》

23 vents   

（气体、液体等进出的）孔、口( vent的名词复数 )； （鸟、鱼、爬行动物或小哺乳动物的）肛门； 大衣等的)衩口； 开衩

参考例句：

• He always vents his anger on the dog. 他总是拿狗出气。
• The Dandelion Patch is the least developed of the four active vents. “蒲公英区”在这四个活裂口中是发育最差的一个。

24 behold   

v.看，注视，看到

参考例句：

• The industry of these little ants is wonderful to behold.这些小蚂蚁辛勤劳动的样子看上去真令人惊叹。
• The sunrise at the seaside was quite a sight to behold.海滨日出真是个奇景。