万物简史 第357期:孤独的行星(22)

 　　Oxygen itself is not combustible¹; it merely facilitates the combus tion of other things. （氧本身是不可燃的，它只是帮助别的东西燃烧。

　　This is just as well, for if oxygen were corn bustible, each time you lit a match all the air around you would bur into flame. 这倒还不错，要说氧是可燃的话，你每次划一根火柴周围的空气就会一下子燃烧起来。

　　Hydrogen gas, on the other hand, is extremely corn bustible, as the dirigible Hindenburg demonstrated on May 6, 1973 in Lakehurst, New Jersey², 另一方面，氢气的可燃性极强，“欣登堡”号飞艇事故就说明了这一点。1937年5月6日，在新泽西州的莱克赫斯特，

　　when its hydrogen fuel burst explosive) into flame, killing³ thirty-six people.) 使该飞艇升空的氢突然爆炸，燃起熊熊大火，造成36人死亡。）

　　Odder still in combination are sodium⁴, one of the most unstable⁵ of all elements, and chlorine, one of the most toxic⁶. 更奇特的是钠和氯的化合物。钠是最不稳定的元素之一，氯是最毒的元素之一。

　　Drop a small lump of pure sodium into ordinary water and it will explode with enough force to kill. 要是把一小块纯钠放进水里，它会爆炸，具有置人死地的威力。

　　Chlorine is even more notoriously hazardous⁷. 毒性很大的氯是非常危险的。

　　Though useful in small concentrations for killing microorganisms (it's chlorine you smell in bleach), in larger volumes it is lethal⁸. 虽然低浓度的氯可以用来杀死微生物（你在漂白粉里闻到的就是氯的气味），但量大了就可以致命。

　　Chlorine was the element of choice for many of the poison gases of the First World War. 第一次世界大战期间，许多毒气就含有氯的成分。

　　And, as many a sore-eyed swimmer will attest⁹, even in exceedingly dilute¹⁰ form the human body doesn't appreciate it. 许多患眼痛的游泳运动员可以作证，即使在浓度极低的情况下，人体也不大喜欢氯。

　　Yet put these two nasty elements together and what do you get? 然而，要是你把这两种讨厌的元素放在一起，你会得到什么来着？

　　Sodium chloride—common table salt. 氯化钠——普通的食盐。

　　By and large, if an element doesn't naturally find its way into our systems—if it isn't soluble¹¹ in water, say—we tend to be intolerant of it. 总的来说，要是一种元素不是自然地进入我们的系统——比如说，如果它不能溶解于水——我们往往就不会接受它。

　　Lead poisons us because we were never exposed to it until we began to fashion it into food vessels¹² and pipes for plumbing¹³. 铅之所以会使我们中毒，是因为我们向来不接触铅，直到我们开始把它用于盛食品的器皿以及水管。

　　(Not incidentally, lead's symbol is Pb, for the Latin plumbum, the source word for our modern plumbing.) （铅的符号是Pb，代表拉丁语Plumbum，现代“管道”（plumbing）这个名词就源自该词，这不是偶然的。）

1 combustible   

a. 易燃的,可燃的; n. 易燃物,可燃物

参考例句：

• Don't smoke near combustible materials. 别在易燃的材料附近吸烟。
• We mustn't take combustible goods aboard. 我们不可带易燃品上车。

2 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

3 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

4 sodium   

n.（化）钠

参考例句：

• Out over the town the sodium lights were lit.在外面，全城的钠光灯都亮了。
• Common salt is a compound of sodium and chlorine.食盐是钠和氯的复合物。

5 unstable   

adj.不稳定的，易变的

参考例句：

• This bookcase is too unstable to hold so many books.这书橱很不结实，装不了这么多书。
• The patient's condition was unstable.那患者的病情不稳定。

6 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

7 hazardous   

adj.(有)危险的，冒险的；碰运气的

参考例句：

• These conditions are very hazardous for shipping.这些情况对航海非常不利。
• Everybody said that it was a hazardous investment.大家都说那是一次危险的投资。

8 lethal   

adj.致死的；毁灭性的

参考例句：

• A hammer can be a lethal weapon.铁锤可以是致命的武器。
• She took a lethal amount of poison and died.她服了致命剂量的毒药死了。

9 attest   

vt.证明，证实；表明

参考例句：

• I can attest to the absolute truth of his statement. 我可以证实他的话是千真万确的。
• These ruins sufficiently attest the former grandeur of the place. 这些遗迹充分证明此处昔日的宏伟。

10 dilute   

vt.稀释，冲淡；adj.稀释的，冲淡的

参考例句：

• The water will dilute the wine.水能使酒变淡。
• Zinc displaces the hydrogen of dilute acids.锌置换了稀酸中的氢。

11 soluble   

adj.可溶的；可以解决的

参考例句：

• These tablets are soluble in water.这些药片可在水中溶解。
• Camphor is soluble in alcohol.樟脑在酒精中可以溶化。

12 vessels   

n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人

参考例句：

• The river is navigable by vessels of up to 90 tons. 90 吨以下的船只可以从这条河通过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• All modern vessels of any size are fitted with radar installations. 所有现代化船只都有雷达装置。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

13 plumbing   

n.水管装置；水暖工的工作；管道工程v.用铅锤测量（plumb的现在分词）；探究

参考例句：

• She spent her life plumbing the mysteries of the human psyche. 她毕生探索人类心灵的奥秘。
• They're going to have to put in new plumbing. 他们将需要安装新的水管。 来自《简明英汉词典》