万物简史 第247期:大地在移动(1)

 　　12 The Earth Moves

　　第十二章 大地在移动

　　In one of his last professional acts before his death in 1955, Albert Einstein wrote a short but glowing foreword to a book by a geologist¹ named Charles Hapgood entitled Earth's Shifting Crust: A Key to Some Basic Problems of Earth Science. Hapgood's book was a steady demolition² of the idea that continents were in motion. In a tone that all but invited the reader to join him in a tolerant chuckle³, Hapgood observed that a few gullible⁴ souls had noticed "an apparent correspondence in shape between certain continents." It would appear, he went on, "that South America might be fitted together with Africa, and so on... It is even claimed that rock formations on opposite sides of the Atlantic match."

　　1955年，阿尔伯特·爱因斯坦办了生前最后一件专业方面的事──为一本书写了个短小而生动的前言。该书的题目是《移动的地壳：解答地球科学中的一些问题》，作者是一位名叫查尔斯·哈普古德的地质学家。哈普古德在书里坚决驳斥了关于大陆在漂移的观点。他以逗大家与他一起发笑的口气指出，少数容易上当受骗的人认为“有些大陆的形状显然吻合”。他接着说，似乎“南美洲可以和非洲拼在一起，如此等等，有人甚至声称，大西洋两岸的岩石结构完全一致”。

　　大陆漂移说

　　Mr. Hapgood briskly dismissed any such notions, noting that the geologists⁵ K. E. Caster and J. C. Mendes had done extensive fieldwork on both sides of the Atlantic and had established beyond question that no such similarities existed. Goodness knows what outcrops Messrs. Caster and Mendes had looked at, beacuse in fact many of the rock formations on both sides of the Atlanticare the same—not just very similar but the same.

　　哈普古德先生断然摈弃了任何这类观点，并且指出，地质学家K.E.卡斯特和J.C.门德斯已经在大西洋两岸进行了大量实地考察，毫无疑问地确定这些相似之处压根儿就不存在。天知道卡斯特和门德斯两位先生考察了哪些地方，因为大西洋两岸的许多岩石结构确实是一样的──不仅非常类似，而且完全一样。

　　This was not an idea that flew with Mr. Hapgood, or many other geologists of his day. The theory Hapgood alluded⁶ to was one first propounded⁷ in 1908 by an amateur American geologist named Frank Bursley Taylor.

　　无论是哈普古德先生，还是那个年代的许多别的地质学家，这个观点怎么也听不进去。哈普古德提到的理论，最初是由一位名叫弗兰克·伯斯利·泰勒的美国业余地质学家在1908年提出来的。

1 geologist   

n.地质学家

参考例句：

• The geologist found many uncovered fossils in the valley.在那山谷里，地质学家发现了许多裸露的化石。
• He was a geologist,rated by his cronies as the best in the business.他是一位地质学家，被他的老朋友们看做是这门行当中最好的一位。

2 demolition   

n.破坏,毁坏,毁坏之遗迹

参考例句：

• The church has been threatened with demolition for years. 这座教堂多年来一直面临拆毀的威胁。
• The project required the total demolition of the old bridge. 该项目要求将老桥完全拆毁。

3 chuckle   

vi.／n.轻声笑，咯咯笑

参考例句：

• He shook his head with a soft chuckle.他轻轻地笑着摇了摇头。
• I couldn't suppress a soft chuckle at the thought of it.想到这个，我忍不住轻轻地笑起来。

4 gullible   

adj.易受骗的；轻信的

参考例句：

• The swindlers had roped into a number of gullible persons.骗子们已使一些轻信的人上了当。
• The advertisement is aimed at gullible young women worried about their weight.这则广告专门针对担心自己肥胖而易受骗的年轻女士。

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 alluded   

提及，暗指( allude的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• In your remarks you alluded to a certain sinister design. 在你的谈话中，你提到了某个阴谋。
• She also alluded to her rival's past marital troubles. 她还影射了对手过去的婚姻问题。

7 propounded   

v.提出（问题、计划等）供考虑[讨论]，提议( propound的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• the theory of natural selection, first propounded by Charles Darwin 查尔斯∙达尔文首先提出的物竞天择理论
• Indeed it was first propounded by the ubiquitous Thomas Young. 实际上，它是由尽人皆知的杨氏首先提出来的。 来自辞典例句