万物简史 第383期:浩瀚的海洋(2)

 　　Almost nothing about it can be used to make reliable predictions about the properties of other liquids and vice¹ versa. 它的身上几乎没有哪一点可以用来对别的液体的性质进行可靠的推测，反之亦然。

　　If you knew nothing of water and based your assumptions on the behavior of compounds most chemically akin² to it, 要是你对水一无所知，以化学上跟水近似的化合物，

　　hydrogen selenide or hydrogen sulphide notably—you would expect it to boil at minus 135 degrees Fahrenheit³ and to be a gas at room temperature. 尤其是硒化氢或硫化氢——的表现来进行假设，你就会指望水在零下93摄氏度沸腾，在室温下变成气体。

　　Most liquids when chilled contract by about 10 percent. 大多数液体会冷缩大约10%。

　　Water does too, but only down to a point. 水也是，但只悬冷缩到一定程度。

　　Once it is within whispering distance of freezing, it begins—perversely, beguilingly⁴, extremely improbably—to expand. 快要达到冰点的时候，水就开始——有悖常情地、很有意思地、不可思议地——膨胀。

　　By the time it is solid, it is almost a tenth more voluminous than it was before. 等它变成固体的时候，它的体积差不多比原先大了10%。

　　Because it expands, ice floats on water—"an utterly⁵ bizarre property," according to John Gribbin. 由于水结冰的过程是膨胀的，所以冰块浮在水上——用约翰·格里宾的话来说，

　　If it lacked this splendid waywardness, ice would sink, and lakes and oceans would freeze from the bottom up. 这是“一种极其古怪的特性的性质”，冰块会往下沉，湖泊和海洋会从底部往上结冰。

　　Without surface ice to hold heat in, the water's warmth would radiate away, leaving it even chillier⁶ and creating yet more ice. 要是没有表面的冰层保护内部的热量，水的热量会释放出去，使水变得更凉，形成更多的冰块。

　　Soon even the oceans would freeze and almost certainly stay that way for a very long time, probably forever—hardly the conditions to nurture⁷ life. 过不多久，湖泊和海洋也会结冰，而且几乎肯定，海洋会在很长时间里保持那种状态，很可能是永远——这样的条件几乎不会孕育生命。

　　Thankfully for us, water seems unaware⁸ of the rules of chemistry or laws of physics. 谢天谢地，水似乎不知道化学法则或物理学原理。

　　Everyone knows that water's chemical formula is H2O, which means that it consists of one largish oxygen atom with two smaller hydrogen atoms attached to it. 大家知道，水的化学分子式是H2O，这意味着，水是由一个较大的氧原子和两个较小的、连着氧原子的氢原子组成的。

1 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

2 akin   

adj.同族的，类似的

参考例句：

• She painted flowers and birds pictures akin to those of earlier feminine painters.她画一些同早期女画家类似的花鸟画。
• Listening to his life story is akin to reading a good adventure novel.听他的人生故事犹如阅读一本精彩的冒险小说。

3 Fahrenheit   

n./adj.华氏温度；华氏温度计(的)

参考例句：

• He was asked for the boiling point of water in Fahrenheit.他被问到水的沸点是华氏多少度。
• The thermometer reads 80 degrees Fahrenheit.寒暑表指出华氏80度。

4 beguilingly   

参考例句：

• In effect, he presents us with a beguilingly simple outline of the social evolution. 从效果而言，他给我们描述了关于社会发展进程的一个有趣而简单的大纲。 来自互联网

5 utterly   

adv.完全地，绝对地

参考例句：

• Utterly devoted to the people,he gave his life in saving his patients.他忠于人民，把毕生精力用于挽救患者的生命。
• I was utterly ravished by the way she smiled.她的微笑使我完全陶醉了。

6 chillier   

adj.寒冷的，冷得难受的( chilly的比较级 )

参考例句：

• Something colder and chillier confronted him. 他正面临着某种更加寒冷、更加凄凉的东西。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

7 nurture   

n.养育，照顾，教育；滋养，营养品；vt.养育，给与营养物，教养，扶持

参考例句：

• The tree grows well in his nurture.在他的培育下这棵树长得很好。
• The two sisters had received very different nurture.这俩个姊妹接受过极不同的教育。

8 unaware   

a.不知道的，未意识到的

参考例句：

• They were unaware that war was near. 他们不知道战争即将爆发。
• I was unaware of the man's presence. 我没有察觉到那人在场。