万物简史 第283期:砰!(18)

 　　Suddenly we were at the center of things, Anderson told me,  “突然之间，我们来到一大堆东西中间。”安德森想起当年的情景，

　　gleaming at the memory of it, when I met him and Witzke in their offices on a dismal¹, rainy morning in June. 眼睛一亮，对我说。7月一个阴暗的上午，天下着雨，我在他们的办公室里遇上了他和威策克。

　　"It was a wonderful time." “这是个美妙的时刻。”

　　I asked them about Gene² Shoemaker, a man who seems to have been universally revered³. 我向他打听尤金·苏梅克。苏梅克好像是一位深受大家敬重的人物。

　　"He was just a great guy," Witzke replied without hesitation⁴. “他真是个了不起的家伙，”威策克毫不犹豫地答道，

　　"If it hadn't been for him, the whole thing would never have gotten off the ground. “要不是他，整个事情压根儿不会有进展。

　　Even with his support, it took two years to get it up and running. 即使有了他的支持，也花了两年时间才开始运作起来。

　　Drilling's an expensive business—about thirty-five dollars a foot back then, more now, and we needed to go down three thousand feet." 钻孔是一件很花钱的事──当时每钻进1米大约要花115美元，现在花得更多，而我们需要钻到近1000米深。”

　　Sometimes more than that, Anderson added. “有时候还要深。”安德森补充说。

　　Sometimes more than that, Witzke agreed. “有时候还要深，”威策克表示同意，

　　"And at several locations. “在有几个地方。

　　So you're talking a lot of money. 因此，你就需要大量的钱。

　　Certainly more than our budget would allow." 肯定会超过我们的预算。”

　　So a collaboration⁵ was formed between the Iowa Geological Survey and the U.S. Geological Survey. 于是，艾奥瓦地质勘测局和美国地质勘测局决定联手合作。

　　At least we thought it was a collaboration, said Anderson, producing a small pained smile. “至少我们以为是一次合作，”安德森露出一丝苦笑说，

　　It was a real learning curve for us, Witzke went on. “实际上，这对我们来说是交了一次学费，”威策克接着说，

　　"There was actually quite a lot of bad science going on throughout the period, “在整个合作期里出现了大量伪科学，

　　people rushing in with results that didn't always stand up to scrutiny⁶." 有的人匆忙得出结论，那些结论并不总是经得起检验的。”

　　One of those moments came at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union in 1985, 有一次发生在1985年的美国地球物理学联合会年会上，

　　when Glenn Izett and C. L. Pillmore of the U.S. Geological Survey 美国地质勘测局的格伦·艾泽特和C·L·皮尔莫尔，

　　announced that the Manson crater⁷ was of the right age to have been involved with the dinosaurs⁸' extinction⁹. 宣布曼森大坑的年代恰好与恐龙灭绝有关。

　　The declaration attracted a good deal of press attention but was unfortunately premature¹⁰. 这个说法引起了新闻界的高度重视，但不幸的是尚不成熟。

　　A more careful examination of the data revealed that Manson was not only too small, but also nine million years too early. 你只要仔细检查一下那个数据就会发现，曼森大坑不仅很小，还早了900万年。

1 dismal   

adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的

参考例句：

• That is a rather dismal melody.那是一支相当忧郁的歌曲。
• My prospects of returning to a suitable job are dismal.我重新找到一个合适的工作岗位的希望很渺茫。

2 gene   

n.遗传因子，基因

参考例句：

• A single gene may have many effects.单一基因可能具有很多种效应。
• The targeting of gene therapy has been paid close attention.其中基因治疗的靶向性是值得密切关注的问题之一。

3 revered   

v.崇敬，尊崇，敬畏( revere的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• A number of institutions revered and respected in earlier times have become Aunt Sally for the present generation. 一些早年受到尊崇的惯例，现在已经成了这代人嘲弄的对象了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Chinese revered corn as a gift from heaven. 中国人将谷物奉为上天的恩赐。 来自辞典例句

4 hesitation   

n.犹豫，踌躇

参考例句：

• After a long hesitation, he told the truth at last.踌躇了半天，他终于直说了。
• There was a certain hesitation in her manner.她的态度有些犹豫不决。

5 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。

6 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

7 crater   

n.火山口，弹坑

参考例句：

• With a telescope you can see the huge crater of Ve-suvius.用望远镜你能看到巨大的维苏威火山口。
• They came to the lip of a dead crater.他们来到了一个死火山口。

8 dinosaurs   

n.恐龙( dinosaur的名词复数 )；守旧落伍的人，过时落后的东西

参考例句：

• The brontosaurus was one of the largest of all dinosaurs. 雷龙是所有恐龙中最大的一种。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Dinosaurs have been extinct for millions of years. 恐龙绝种已有几百万年了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 extinction   

n.熄灭，消亡，消灭，灭绝，绝种

参考例句：

• The plant is now in danger of extinction.这种植物现在有绝种的危险。
• The island's way of life is doomed to extinction.这个岛上的生活方式注定要消失。

10 premature   

adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的

参考例句：

• It is yet premature to predict the possible outcome of the dialogue.预言这次对话可能有什么结果为时尚早。
• The premature baby is doing well.那个早产的婴儿很健康。