万物简史 第379期:进入对流层(20)

 　　One of the oddities of our solar system is that the Sun burns about 25 percent more brightly now than when the solar system was young. 现在太阳燃烧的旺度，要比太阳系形成之初强了大约25%，这是我们太阳系的怪事之一。

　　This should have resulted in a much warmer Earth. 因此，地球本该比现在热得多。

　　Indeed, as the English geologist¹ Aubrey Manning has put it, 实际上，正如英国地质学家奥布里·曼宁说的：

　　"This colossal² change should have had an absolutely catastrophic effect on the Earth and yet it appears that our world has hardly been affected³." “这个巨大的变化本地地球带来绝对灾难性的后果，然而，我们的世界好像几乎没有受到影响。”

　　So what keeps the world stable and cool? Life does. 那么，是什么使这颗行星保持稳定，保持凉快的呢？是生命。

　　Trillions upon trillions of tiny marine⁴ organisms that most of us have never heard of—foraminiferans and coccoliths and calcareous algae⁵, 那些生物是我们大多数人连听都没有听说过的，什么有孔虫呀，球石呀，钙质藻呀，等等。

　　capture atmospheric⁶ carbon, in the form of carbon dioxide, when it falls as rain and use it (in combination with other things) to make their tiny shells. 当空气里以二氧化碳形式存在的碳随着雨水落下的时候，无数万亿个小小的海洋生物将其捕捉，并利用它（与别的东西一起）来制造自己小小的壳。

　　By locking the carbon up in their shells, they keep it from being reevaporated into the atmosphere, where it would build up dangerously as a greenhouse gas. 它们把碳关在壳里，防止碳通过再次蒸发进人大气，要不然它会危险地形成一种温室气体，

　　Eventually all the tiny foraminiferans and coccoliths and so on die and fall to the bottom of the sea, where they are compressed into limestone⁷. 最后，小小的有孔虫、球在等等都死了，掉到海底。被压缩成了灰岩。

　　It is remarkable⁸, when you behold⁹ an extraordinary natural feature like the White Cliffs of Dover in England, 要是你望一眼像英格兰多佛尔的白垩这样非凡的自然特色，

　　to reflect that it is made up of nothing but tiny deceased marine organisms, 想一想它几乎完全是由死去的小小的海洋生物造成的，这真令人觉得不可思议；

　　but even more remarkable when you realize how much carbon they cumulatively¹⁰ sequester¹¹. 但是，更加令人不可思议的是，你要知道，那些生物日积月累地吸收了多少碳呀。

　　A six-inch cube of Dover chalk will contain well over a thousand liters of compressed carbon dioxide 一块15立方厘米的多佛尔白垩就含有1000多升的压缩二氧化碳。

　　that would otherwise be doing us no good at all. 要不然，这些二氧化碳根本不会对我们有好处。

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 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。

3 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

4 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

5 algae   

n.水藻，海藻

参考例句：

• Most algae live in water.多数藻类生长在水中。
• Algae grow and spread quickly in the lake.湖中水藻滋蔓。

6 atmospheric   

adj.大气的，空气的；大气层的；大气所引起的

参考例句：

• Sea surface temperatures and atmospheric circulation are strongly coupled.海洋表面温度与大气环流是密切相关的。
• Clouds return radiant energy to the surface primarily via the atmospheric window.云主要通过大气窗区向地表辐射能量。

7 limestone   

n.石灰石

参考例句：

• Limestone is often used in building construction.石灰岩常用于建筑。
• Cement is made from limestone.水泥是由石灰石制成的。

8 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。

9 behold   

v.看，注视，看到

参考例句：

• The industry of these little ants is wonderful to behold.这些小蚂蚁辛勤劳动的样子看上去真令人惊叹。
• The sunrise at the seaside was quite a sight to behold.海滨日出真是个奇景。

10 cumulatively   

adv.累积地，渐增地

参考例句：

• Mind has become self-reproducing through man's capacity to transmit experience and its products cumulatively. 通过传递生活经验和积累创造的产品，人类的智慧在不断地进行着自我丰富。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• At first, the drug does no harm, but cumulatively its effects are bad. 这药开始对人没有害处，但连续服用后果就坏了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 sequester   

vt.使退隐，使隔绝

参考例句：

• Everything he owned was sequestered.他的所有财产都被扣押了。
• This jury is expected to be sequestered for at least two months.预计这个陪审团将至少被隔离两个月。