万物简史 第296期:地下的烈火(4)

 　　Voorhies sent samples to colleagues all over the western United States asking if there was anything about it that they recognized. 沃里斯把样品寄给美国西部各地的同事们，问他们是否认得出这是什么东西。

　　Several months later a geologist¹ named Bill Bonnichsen from the Idaho Geological Survey got in touch 几个月以后，爱达荷州地质勘测局的一位名叫比尔·邦尼奇森的地质学家跟他取得联系，

　　and told him that the ash matched a volcanic² deposit from a place called Bruneau-Jarbidge in southwest Idaho. 告诉他这种灰末与一种火山沉积物完全吻合，来自爱达荷州西南部一个名叫布鲁诺-贾比奇的地方。

　　The event that killed the plains animals of Nebraska was a volcanic explosion on a scale previously³ unimagined, 那个使内布拉斯加平原上的动物死于非命的事件是一次火山爆发，其规模以前没有想像过，

　　but big enough to leave an ash layer ten feet deep almost a thousand miles away in eastern Nebraska. 但足以在1600公里以外的内布拉斯加东部地区留下3米厚的一层火山灰。

　　It turned out that under the western United States there was a huge cauldron of magma, a colossal⁴ volcanic hot spot, 结果证明，美国西部的下面有一大片岩浆，一个巨大的火山热点。

　　which erupted cataclysmically every 600,000 years or so. 它每隔60万年左右灾难性地喷发一次。

　　The last such eruption⁵ was just over 600,000 years ago. 最近一次这样的喷发就在60多万年以前。

　　The hot spot is still there. 那个热点仍在那里。

　　These days we call it Yellowstone National Park. 如今，我们称其为黄石国家公园。

　　We know amazingly little about what happens beneath our feet. 我们对自己脚底下在发生的事知道得实在太少。

　　It is fairly remarkable⁶ to think: that 想到这点真令人觉得怪有意思：

　　Ford⁷ has been building cars and baseball has been playing World Series for longer than we have known that the Earth has a core. 福特公司开始生产汽车，棒球世界联赛开始举办，其时间比我们知道地球有个地核还要长。

　　And of course the idea that the continents move about on the surface like lily pads has been common wisdom for much less than a generation. 当然，人们知道大陆在地球表面像浮在水面上的睡莲叶子似的到处移动的事，还远不到一代人的时间。

　　"Strange as it may seem," wrote Richard Feynman, “尽管不可思议，”理查德·费曼写道，

　　"we understand the distribution of matter in the interior of the Sun far better than we understand the interior of the Earth." “我们对太阳内部的物质分布的认识，远比对地球内部的认识要多。”

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 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。

3 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

4 colossal   

adj.异常的，庞大的

参考例句：

• There has been a colossal waste of public money.一直存在巨大的公款浪费。
• Some of the tall buildings in that city are colossal.那座城市里的一些高层建筑很庞大。

5 eruption   

n.火山爆发；（战争等）爆发；（疾病等）发作

参考例句：

• The temple was destroyed in the violent eruption of 1470 BC.庙宇在公元前1470年猛烈的火山爆发中摧毁了。
• The eruption of a volcano is spontaneous.火山的爆发是自发的。

6 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

7 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。