万物简史 第380期:进入对流层(21)

 　　Altogether there is about twenty thousand times as much carbon locked away in the Earth's rocks as in the atmosphere. 总的来说，被关在地球岩石里的碳，大约相当于大气里的2000倍。

　　Eventually much of that limestone¹ will end up feeding volcanoes, and the carbon will return to the atmosphere and fall to the Earth in rain, 那些灰岩中的很大一部分最终会成为火山的原料，破将回到大气层，以雨的形式落在地球上。

　　which is why the whole is called the long-term carbon cycle. 因此，整个过程被称之为长时碳循环。

　　The process takes a very long time—about half a million years for a typical carbon atom, 该过程要花很长的时间才完成——对一个普通的碳原子来说，大约要花50万年，

　　but in the absence of any other disturbance² it works remarkably³ well at keeping the climate stable. 在没有别的因素干扰的情况下，这对保持气候稳定很起作用。

　　Unfortunately, human beings have a careless predilection⁴ for disrupting this cycle 不幸的是，人类却随意打乱这个循环，

　　by putting lots of extra carbon into the atmosphere whether the foraminiferans are ready for it or not. 把大量额外的碳排放到大气里，不顾有孔虫是否有了准备。

　　Since 1850, it has been estimated, we have lofted⁵ about a hundred billion tons of extra carbon into the air, 据估计，自1850年以来，我们已经额外向空气里排放了大约1000亿吨碳，

　　a total that increases by about seven billion tons each year. 这个数字又以每年大约70亿吨的速度增加。

　　Overall, that's not actually all that much. 总的来说，那实际上不算很多。

　　Nature—mostly through the belchings of volcanoes and the decay of plants—sends about 200 billion tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year, 大自然——主要通过火山喷发和树木腐烂——大约每年向大气里投放2000亿吨二氧化碳，

　　nearly thirty times as much as we do with our cars and factories. 差不多是我们的汽车和工厂排放量的30倍。

　　But you have only to look at the haze⁶ that hangs over our cities to see what a difference our contribution makes. 但是，你只要看一眼我们雾蒙蒙的城市或者科罗拉多大峡谷，有时候甚至是多佛尔的白垩，你就会明白，我们的参与造成了多大的差别。

　　We know from samples of very old ice that the "natural" level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, 我们从非常古老的冰样得知，大气里二氧化碳的“自然”浓度，

　　that is, before we started inflating⁷ it with industrial activity—is about 280 parts per million. 也就是说，在我们的工业活动开始雪上加霜之前的浓度——大约是百万分之二百八十。

1 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。

2 disturbance   

n.动乱，骚动；打扰，干扰；(身心)失调

参考例句：

• He is suffering an emotional disturbance.他的情绪受到了困扰。
• You can work in here without any disturbance.在这儿你可不受任何干扰地工作。

3 remarkably   

ad.不同寻常地，相当地

参考例句：

• I thought she was remarkably restrained in the circumstances. 我认为她在那种情况下非常克制。
• He made a remarkably swift recovery. 他康复得相当快。

4 predilection   

n.偏好

参考例句：

• He has a predilection for rich food.他偏好油腻的食物。
• Charles has always had a predilection for red-haired women.查尔斯对红头发女人一直有偏爱。

5 lofted   

击、踢、掷高弧球( loft的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was lofted to a new job. 他升迁到新职位。
• They measured and lofted the remainder of the crop. 他们把剩下的庄稼过了秤并贮藏在阁楼顶层。

6 haze   

n.霾，烟雾；懵懂，迷糊；vi.(over)变模糊

参考例句：

• I couldn't see her through the haze of smoke.在烟雾弥漫中，我看不见她。
• He often lives in a haze of whisky.他常常是在威士忌的懵懂醉意中度过的。

7 inflating   

v.使充气（于轮胎、气球等）( inflate的现在分词 )；（使）膨胀；（使）通货膨胀；物价上涨

参考例句：

• I felt myself inflating slowly with rage, like a tyre. 我感到自己体内的怒气正慢慢膨胀，像一只轮胎那样。 来自互联网
• Many are already overheating, with prices rising and asset bubbles inflating. 随着物价日益上涨、资产泡沫膨胀，很多新兴国家经济已经过热。 来自互联网