万物简史 第319期:美丽而危险(2)

 　　These are volcanoes so explosive that they burst open in a single mighty¹ rupture², leaving behind a vast subsided³ pit, the caldera (from a Latin word for cauldron). 这种火山的威力如此之大，它们一下子破土而出，留下一个沉降式大坑，即破火山口（源自拉丁语，意思是大锅）。

　　Yellowstone obviously was of this second type, but Christiansen couldn't find the caldera anywhere. 黄石火山显然属于第二种，但克里斯琴森哪里也找不到那个破火山口。

　　By coincidence just at this time NASA decided⁴ to test some new high-altitude cameras by taking photographs of Yellowstone, 恰好在这个时候，美国国家航空和航天局决定拍摄黄石公园的照片，测试一下某些新型的高空照相机。

　　copies of which some thoughtful official passed on to the park authorities on the assumption that they might make a nice blow-up for one of the visitors' centers. 一位考虑周到的官员把其中的有些照片交给了公园当局，认为它们可以挂在某个游客中心。

　　As soon as Christiansen saw the photos he realized why he had failed to spot the caldera: virtually the whole park—2.2 million acres—was caldera. 克里斯琴森一看到这些照片，马上意识到他没有找到破火山口的原因：实际上，整个公园——9000平方公里——就是破火山口。

　　The explosion had left a crater⁵ more than forty miles across—much too huge to be perceived from anywhere at ground level. 火山爆发留下了一个直径将近65公里的大坑——大得从地面上的任何角度都看不明白。

　　At some time in the past Yellowstone must have blown up with a violence far beyond the scale of anything known to humans. 过去某个时刻，黄石公园可能被炸得七零八落，威力之大远远超过了人类已知的任何等级。

　　Yellowstone, it turns out, is a supervolcano. 结果发现，黄石公园是一座超级火山。

　　It sits on top of an enormous hot spot, a reservoir of molten rock that rises from at least 125 miles down in the Earth. 它坐落在一个巨大的热点——一个熔岩储藏所——之上。这个储藏所下达地球至少200公里深处，上至接近地面的地方，形成了一根所谓的超级热柱。

　　The heat from the hot spot is what powers all of Yellowstone's vents⁶, geysers, hot springs, and popping mud pots. 热点的热量为黄石公园里所有的喷气口、间歇泉、温泉和冒泡的泥坑提供了动力。

　　Beneath the surface is a magma chamber⁷ that is about forty-five miles across, 地面以下是个岩浆房，直径约为72公里，

　　roughly the same dimensions as the park—and about eight miles thick at its thickest point. 大致相当于公园的大小，最厚的地方达13公里左右。

1 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

2 rupture   

n.破裂；(关系的)决裂；v.(使)破裂

参考例句：

• I can rupture a rule for a friend.我可以为朋友破一次例。
• The rupture of a blood vessel usually cause the mark of a bruise.血管的突然破裂往往会造成外伤的痕迹。

3 subsided   

v.（土地）下陷（因在地下采矿）( subside的过去式和过去分词 )；减弱；下降至较低或正常水平；一下子坐在椅子等上

参考例句：

• After the heavy rains part of the road subsided. 大雨过后，部分公路塌陷了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• By evening the storm had subsided and all was quiet again. 傍晚， 暴风雨已经过去，四周开始沉寂下来。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 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。

6 vents   

（气体、液体等进出的）孔、口( vent的名词复数 )； （鸟、鱼、爬行动物或小哺乳动物的）肛门； 大衣等的)衩口； 开衩

参考例句：

• He always vents his anger on the dog. 他总是拿狗出气。
• The Dandelion Patch is the least developed of the four active vents. “蒲公英区”在这四个活裂口中是发育最差的一个。

7 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。