精美英文欣赏:阿拉斯加输油管

The Alaska Pipeline¹

The Alaska pipeline starts at the frozen edge of the Arctic ocean. It stretches southward across the largest and northernmost state in the United States,ending at a remote ice free seaport² village nearly 800 miles from where it begins. It is massive in size and extremely complicated to operate.The steel pipe crosses windswept plains and endless miles of delicate tundra³ that tops the frozen ground. It weaves through crooked⁴ canyons⁵, climbs sheer mountains, plunges⁶ over rocky crags, makes its way through thick forests, and passes over or under hundreds of rivers and streams. The pipe is 4 feet in diameter, and up to 2 million barrels (or 84 million gallons) of crude oil can be pumped through it daily. Resting on H shaped steel racks called "bents", long sections of the pipeline follow a zigzag⁷ course high above the frozen earth. Other long sections drop out of sight beneath spongy or rocky ground and return to the surface later on.

The pattern of the pipeline's up and down route is determined⁸ by the often harsh demands of the Arctic and subarctic climate, the tortuous⁹ lay of the land, and the varied¹⁰ compositions of soil, rock, or permafrost(permanently frozen ground). A little more than half of the pipeline is elevated above the ground. The remainder is buried anywhere from 3 to 12 feet, depending largely upon the type of terrain¹¹ and the properties of the soil. One of the largest in the world, the pipeline cost approximately ＄8 billion and is by far the biggest and most expensive construction project ever undertaken by private industry. In fact, no single business could raise that much money, so 8 major oil companies formed a consortium in order to share the costs. Each company controlled oil rights to particular shares of land in the oil fields and paid into the pipeline construction fund according to the size of its holdings. Today, despite enormous problems of climate, supply shortages, equipment breakdowns¹², labor¹³ disagreements, treacherous¹⁴ terrain, a certain amount of mismanagement, and even theft, the Alaska pipeline has been completed and is operating.

阿拉斯加输油管

阿拉斯加输油管道以北冰洋的冻冰边缘为起点，向南延伸穿过美国的最北又是最大的州，在离起点 800 英里以外的一个偏僻的不冻海港中止。 它跨幅巨大，而且运作极端复杂。 这个钢质管道穿过强风不断的草原和无边无尽的覆盖于冻土之上的苔原。

它盘垣于弯曲的峡谷之间，攀上陡峭的山峰，从岩石遍布的峭壁俯冲下来，穿越浓密的森林，从上或从下经过成百上千 条的河流与溪水。 管道的直径有四英尺，每天能运送高达 200 百万桶(合 8400 万加仑)的原油。 枕在H 型的铁架上，管道长长的一部分在冰冻地面的上空走着"之"字形。 其它部分消失在松软或坚硬的地面下然后又回到地面上。 管道这种或上或下的路线决定于严酷的极带和副极带气候、复杂的地形和构造各异的土壤、岩石、永久冻土。

一大半管道悬在地面上空，其余部分则埋入3 至 12 英尺的地下。 深浅大部分由地形状况和土壤特征而定。 作为世上最大的管道之一，它花费了将近 80 亿美元，至今仍是私有产业进行的最浩大最昂贵的建筑工程。 实际上，单个公司不可能拿出这么多的资金。 为了分担成本，八大石油公司组成了一个大财团。 每个公司都控制着油田中一定土地上的开采权，并由股份的比例把资金投入到管道建设中。 尽管有气候严寒、供应不足、设备损坏、劳工纠纷、地形复杂等巨大困难，并有一些管理上的不善甚至被盗现象，阿拉斯加管道现已峻工并正在运行。

1 pipeline   

n.管道，管线

参考例句：

• The pipeline supplies Jordan with 15 per cent of its crude oil.该管道供给约旦15%的原油。
• A single pipeline serves all the houses with water.一条单管路给所有的房子供水。

2 seaport   

n.海港，港口，港市

参考例句：

• Ostend is the most important seaport in Belgium.奥斯坦德是比利时最重要的海港。
• A seaport where ships can take on supplies of coal.轮船能够补充煤炭的海港。

3 tundra   

n.苔原，冻土地带

参考例句：

• The arctic tundra is at the top of the world around the North Pole.北极冻原是指北极点周边的地区，是世界最高的地方。
• There is a large amount of methane gas under the Siberian tundra.西伯利亚的冻土地带之下有大量的甲烷气体。

4 crooked   

adj.弯曲的；不诚实的，狡猾的，不正当的

参考例句：

• He crooked a finger to tell us to go over to him.他弯了弯手指，示意我们到他那儿去。
• You have to drive slowly on these crooked country roads.在这些弯弯曲曲的乡间小路上你得慢慢开车。

5 canyons   

n.峡谷( canyon的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This mountain range has many high peaks and deep canyons. 这条山脉有许多高峰和深谷。 来自辞典例句
• Do you use canyons or do we preserve them all? 是使用峡谷呢还是全封闭保存？ 来自互联网

6 plunges   

n.跳进，投入vt.使投入，使插入，使陷入vi.投入，跳进，陷入v.颠簸( plunge的第三人称单数 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• Even before he plunges into his program, he has his audience in his pocket. 他的节目甚至还没有出场，就已控制住了观众。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• 'Monseigneur, he precipitated himself over the hill-side, head first, as a person plunges into the river.' “大人，他头冲下跳下山坡去了，像往河里跳一样。” 来自英汉文学 - 双城记

7 zigzag   

n.曲折，之字形；adj.曲折的，锯齿形的；adv.曲折地，成锯齿形地；vt.使曲折；vi.曲折前行

参考例句：

• The lightning made a zigzag in the sky.闪电在天空划出一道Z字形。
• The path runs zigzag up the hill.小径向山顶蜿蜒盘旋。

8 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

9 tortuous   

adj.弯弯曲曲的，蜿蜒的

参考例句：

• We have travelled a tortuous road.我们走过了曲折的道路。
• They walked through the tortuous streets of the old city.他们步行穿过老城区中心弯弯曲曲的街道。

10 varied   

adj.多样的，多变化的

参考例句：

• The forms of art are many and varied.艺术的形式是多种多样的。
• The hotel has a varied programme of nightly entertainment.宾馆有各种晚间娱乐活动。

11 terrain   

n.地面，地形，地图

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• He knows the terrain of this locality like the back of his hand.他对这一带的地形了如指掌。

12 breakdowns   

n.分解( breakdown的名词复数 )；衰竭；（车辆或机器的）损坏；统计分析

参考例句：

• Her old car was unreliable, so the trip was plagued by breakdowns. 她的旧车老不听使唤，一路上总是出故障。 来自辞典例句
• How do we prevent these continual breakdowns? 我们如何防止这些一再出现的故障？ 来自辞典例句

13 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

14 treacherous   

adj.不可靠的，有暗藏的危险的；adj.背叛的，背信弃义的

参考例句：

• The surface water made the road treacherous for drivers.路面的积水对驾车者构成危险。
• The frozen snow was treacherous to walk on.在冻雪上行走有潜在危险。