万物简史 第293期:地下的烈火(1)

 　　14 The Fire Below 第十四章 地下的烈火

　　In the summer of 1971, a young geologist¹ named Mike Voorhies was scouting² around on some grassy³ farmland in eastern Nebraska, 1971年夏，一位名叫迈克·沃里斯的年轻地质学家在内布拉斯加州东部一片草木丛生的农田里考察，

　　not far from the little town of Orchard⁴, where he had grown up. 就在离果园小镇不远的地方。

　　Passing through a steep-sided gully, he spotted⁵ a curious glint in the brush above and clambered up to have a look. 他是在那里长大的。在经过一处陡峭的隘口的时候，他发现上面的树丛里射出一道古怪的闪光，就爬上去看个明白。

　　What he had seen was the perfectly⁶ preserved skull⁷ of a young rhinoceros⁸, which had been washed out by recent heavy rains. 他发现原来是一块保存完好的小犀牛头骨。它是被最近下的大雨冲到外面的。

　　A few yards beyond, it turned out, was one of the most extraordinary fossil beds ever discovered in North America, 原来，几米以外有个北美有史以来发现的最不寻常的化石床：

　　a dried-up water hole that had served as a mass grave for scores of animals—rhinoceroses, zebra-like horses, saber-toothed deer, camels, turtles. 一个已经干涸的水洞，它成为几十头动物的集体坟墓——其中有犀牛，斑马似的野马，长着剑齿的鹿、骆驼、乌龟。

　　All had died from some mysterious cataclysm⁹ just under twelve million years ago in the time known to geology as the Miocene. 它们都在不到1200万年之前死于一次神秘的大灾难。那个时代在地质学上被称之为中新世。

　　In those days Nebraska stood on a vast, hot plain very like the Serengeti of Africa today. 当时，内布拉斯加位于一片广阔而又炎热的平原，就如今天非洲的塞伦盖蒂平原。

　　The animals had been found buried under volcanic¹⁰ ash up to ten feet deep. 动物被发现埋在深达3米的火山灰底下。

　　The puzzle of it was that there were not, and never had been, any volcanoes in Nebraska. 令人费解的是，内布拉斯加当时没有过也从来没有过火山。

　　Today, the site of Voorhies's discovery is called Ashfall Fossil Beds State Park, 今天，沃里斯的发现现场被称之为州立阿什福尔化石床公园。

　　and it has a stylish¹¹ new visitors' center and museum, with thoughtful displays on the geology of Nebraska and the history of the fossil beds. 这里新盖了一个漂亮的游客中心和博物馆，里面很有创见地陈列着内布拉斯加的地质发现和化石床历史。

　　The center incorporates a lab with a glass wall through which visitors can watch paleontologists cleaning bones. 中心有个实验室，游客通过玻璃墙看得见古生物学家们在清理骨头。

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 scouting   

守候活动，童子军的活动

参考例句：

• I have people scouting the hills already. 我已经让人搜过那些山了。
• Perhaps also from the Gospel it passed into the tradition of scouting. 也许又从《福音书》传入守望的传统。 来自演讲部分

3 grassy   

adj.盖满草的；长满草的

参考例句：

• They sat and had their lunch on a grassy hillside.他们坐在长满草的山坡上吃午饭。
• Cattle move freely across the grassy plain.牛群自由自在地走过草原。

4 orchard   

n.果园，果园里的全部果树，(美俚)棒球场

参考例句：

• My orchard is bearing well this year.今年我的果园果实累累。
• Each bamboo house was surrounded by a thriving orchard.每座竹楼周围都是茂密的果园。

5 spotted   

adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的

参考例句：

• The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
• Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。

6 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

7 skull   

n.头骨；颅骨

参考例句：

• The skull bones fuse between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five.头骨在15至25岁之间长合。
• He fell out of the window and cracked his skull.他从窗子摔了出去，跌裂了颅骨。

8 rhinoceros   

n.犀牛

参考例句：

• The rhinoceros has one horn on its nose.犀牛鼻子上有一个角。
• The body of the rhinoceros likes a cattle and the head likes a triangle.犀牛的形体像牛，头呈三角形。

9 cataclysm   

n.洪水，剧变，大灾难

参考例句：

• The extinct volcano's eruption would mean a cataclysm for the city.死火山又重新喷发，对这座城市来说意味着大难临头。
• The cataclysm flooded the entire valley.洪水淹没了整个山谷。

10 volcanic   

adj.火山的；象火山的；由火山引起的

参考例句：

• There have been several volcanic eruptions this year.今年火山爆发了好几次。
• Volcanic activity has created thermal springs and boiling mud pools.火山活动产生了温泉和沸腾的泥浆池。

11 stylish   

adj.流行的，时髦的；漂亮的，气派的

参考例句：

• He's a stylish dresser.他是个穿着很有格调的人。
• What stylish women are wearing in Paris will be worn by women all over the world.巴黎女性时装往往会引导世界时装潮流。