万物简史 第321期:美丽而危险(4)

 　　Such plumes¹ are not all that rare. 这样的热柱并不少见。

　　There are about thirty active ones on the Earth at the moment, and they are responsible for many of the world's best known islands and island chains, 眼下，地球上大约有30处活热柱，世界上许多有名的海岛和群岛都与热柱有关，

　　Iceland, Hawaii, the Azores, Canaries, and Galapagos archipelagos, little Pitcairn in the middle of the South Pacific, and many others, 比如冰岛、夏威夷群岛、亚速尔群岛、加那利群岛和加拉帕戈斯群岛，南太平洋中部小小的皮特凯恩岛，以及许多别的岛。

　　but apart from Yellowstone they are all oceanic. 但除了黄石公园以外，别的都在海洋里。

　　No one has the faintest idea how or why Yellowstone's ended up beneath a continental² plate. 谁也不知道黄石公园最后怎么或为什么会在陆块上面。

　　Only two things are certain: that the crust at Yellowstone is thin and that the world beneath it is hot. 只有两个情况是肯定的：黄石公园所在地壳很薄，下面的世界很热。

　　But whether the crust is thin because of the hot spot or whether the hot spot is there because the crust is thin is a matter of heated (as it were) debate. 但是，到底是不是因为有了热点地壳才薄，还是因为地壳薄才有了热点，这是个争论很激烈（可以这么说）的问题。

　　The continental nature of the crust makes a huge difference to its eruptions⁴. 地壳的大陆性质对热点的爆发有着重要的影响。

　　Where the other supervolcanoes tend to bubble away steadily⁵ and in a comparatively benign⁶ fashion, Yellowstone blows explosively. 别的超级火山往往汩汩细流，比较温和，而黄石火山爆发起来非常猛烈。

　　It doesn't happen often, but when it does you want to stand well back. 这种事情不常发生，但一旦发生，你还是离得远一点为好。

　　Since its first known eruption³ 16.5 million years ago, 据知，它的第一次喷发是在1650万年以前。

　　it has blown up about a hundred times, but the most recent three eruptions are the ones that get written about. 自那以来，它已经喷发了大约100次，但最近的3次是有文字记载的。

　　The last eruption was a thousand times greater than that of Mount St. Helens; 最后一次的强度相当于圣海伦斯火山的1000倍；

　　the one before that was 280 times bigger, and the one before was so big that nobody knows exactly how big it was. 前一次相当于280倍；再前一次的强度大得天知道是多少倍，

　　It was at least twenty-five hundred times greater than St. Helens, but perhaps eight thousand times more monstrous⁷. 至少是圣海伦斯火山的2500倍，但也许是可怕的8000倍。

1 plumes   

羽毛( plume的名词复数 )； 羽毛饰； 羽毛状物； 升上空中的羽状物

参考例句：

• The dancer wore a headdress of pink ostrich plumes. 那位舞蹈演员戴着粉色鸵鸟毛制作的头饰。
• The plumes on her bonnet barely moved as she nodded. 她点点头，那帽子的羽毛在一个劲儿颤动。

2 continental   

adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的

参考例句：

• A continental climate is different from an insular one.大陆性气候不同于岛屿气候。
• The most ancient parts of the continental crust are 4000 million years old.大陆地壳最古老的部分有40亿年历史。

3 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。

4 eruptions   

n.喷发，爆发( eruption的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There have been several volcanic eruptions this year. 今年火山爆发了好几次。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Over 200 people have been killed by volcanic eruptions. 火山喷发已导致200多人丧生。 来自辞典例句

5 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

6 benign   

adj.善良的，慈祥的；良性的，无危险的

参考例句：

• The benign weather brought North America a bumper crop.温和的气候给北美带来大丰收。
• Martha is a benign old lady.玛莎是个仁慈的老妇人。

7 monstrous   

adj.巨大的；恐怖的；可耻的，丢脸的

参考例句：

• The smoke began to whirl and grew into a monstrous column.浓烟开始盘旋上升，形成了一个巨大的烟柱。
• Your behaviour in class is monstrous!你在课堂上的行为真是丢人！