万物简史 第301期:地下的烈火(9)

 　　The San Francisco earthquake of 1906, for comparison, measured an estimated 7.8 on the Richter scale and lasted less than thirty seconds. 相比之下，1906年的旧金山地震只有里氏7.8级，持续了不到30秒。

　　Earthquakes are fairly common. 地震是相当普遍的。

　　Every day on average somewhere in the world there are two of magnitude 2.0 or greater—that's enough to give anyone nearby a pretty good jolt¹. 世界上平均每天都要发生两次2.0级或以上的地震——其强度足以使附近的人感到心惊肉跳。

　　Although they tend to cluster in certain places—notably around the rim² of the Pacific—they can occur almost anywhere. 地震往往集中在某些地区——引人注目的是太平洋沿岸地区——但地震几乎可以发生在任何地方。

　　In the United States, only Florida, eastern Texas, and the upper Midwest seem—so far—to be almost entirely³ immune. 在美国——迄今为止——只有佛罗里达州、得克萨斯州东部和中西部北部，好像几乎完全幸免于难。

　　New England has had two quakes of magnitude 6.0 or greater in the last two hundred years. 在过去的200年里，新英格兰有过两次6级以上地震。

　　In April 2002, the region experienced a 5.1 magnitude shaking in a quake near Lake Champlain on the New York-Vermont border, 2002年4月，位于这个地区纽约州-佛蒙特州边境的尚普兰湖附近地区经历了一次5.1级地震，

　　causing extensive local damage and (I can attest) knocking pictures from walls and children from beds as far away as New Hampshire. 给当地造成很大的破坏，连远在新罕布什尔州（我可以作证），墙上的照片也被震落下来，床上的小孩被掀翻在地。

　　The most common types of earthquakes are those where two plates meet, as in California along the San Andreas Fault. 最常见的地震发生在两个板块相接之处，比如沿圣安德烈斯断层的加利福尼亚州。

　　As the plates push against each other, pressures build up until one or the other gives way. 两个板块互相推推搡搡，压力随之增加，最后一方或另一方作出让步。

　　In general, the longer the interval⁴ between quakes, the greater the pent-up pressure and thus the greater the scope for a really big jolt. 总的来说，两次地震的间隔越长，积储的压力就越大，大地震波及的范围就越广。东京特别担心这样的事情发生。

　　This is a particular worry for Tokyo, which Bill McGuire, a hazards specialist at University College London, describes as 伦敦大学院的危险事件专家比尔·麦圭尔把东京描述成一个

　　"the city waiting to die" (not a motto you will find on many tourism leaflets).  “等待死亡的城市”(你会发现，许多旅游传单上没有印上这句名言)。

1 jolt   

v.（使）摇动，（使）震动，（使）颠簸

参考例句：

• We were worried that one tiny jolt could worsen her injuries.我们担心稍微颠簸一下就可能会使她的伤势恶化。
• They were working frantically in the fear that an aftershock would jolt the house again.他们拼命地干着，担心余震可能会使房子再次受到震动。

2 rim   

n.(圆物的)边，轮缘；边界

参考例句：

• The water was even with the rim of the basin.盆里的水与盆边平齐了。
• She looked at him over the rim of her glass.她的目光越过玻璃杯的边沿看着他。

3 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

4 interval   

n.间隔，间距；幕间休息，中场休息

参考例句：

• The interval between the two trees measures 40 feet.这两棵树的间隔是40英尺。
• There was a long interval before he anwsered the telephone.隔了好久他才回了电话。