万物简史 第387期:浩瀚的海洋(6)

 　　Nearly 90 percent of the planet's ice is in Antarctica, and most of the rest is in Greenland. 地球上将近90%的冰在南极洲；剩下的主要在格陵兰。

　　Go to the South Pole and you will be standing¹ on nearly two miles of ice, at the North Pole just fifteen feet of it. 要是你去南极，你会站在3公里多厚的冰上，而在北极只有4.6米厚。

　　Antarctica alone has six million cubic miles of ice—enough to raise the oceans by a height of two hundred feet if it all melted. 仅南极洲就有2500万立方公里的冰——要是全部融化的话，足以使海洋升高60米。

　　But if all the water in the atmosphere fell as rain, evenly everywhere, the oceans would deepen by only an inch. 但是，即使大气层里所有的水都变成雨落下来，均匀地落在各地，海样只会加深2厘米。

　　Sea level, incidentally, is an almost entirely² notional concept. Seas are not level at all. 顺便说一句，海平面几乎完全是个理论概念。海根本不是平的。

　　Tides, winds, the Coriolis force, and other effects alter water levels considerably³ from one ocean to another and within oceans as well. 由于潮水、海风、科里奥利以及别的作用，各个海洋的水位差异甚大，即使同一海里的水位也不尽一样。

　　The Pacific is about a foot and a half higher along its western edge—a consequence of the centrifugal force created by the Earth's spin. 太平洋的西部边缘高出大约45厘米——这是地球自转产生的离心力造成的结果。

　　Just as when you pull on a tub of water the water tends to flow toward the other end, as if reluctant to come with you, 要是你拉动一盆水，水会朝另一端流动，好像不愿意跟你去似的。

　　so the eastward⁴ spin of Earth piles water up against the ocean's western margins⁵. 由于同样的道理，地球自西向东的自转会使海水涌向海洋的西缘。

　　Considering the age-old importance of the seas to us, 大海自古以来就对我们十分重要。

　　it is striking how long it took the world to take a scientific interest in them. 因此，科学界在很长的时间里没有对大海产生兴趣，这是很引人注目的。

　　Until well into the nineteenth century most of what was known about the oceans was based on what washed ashore⁶ or came up in fishing nets, 直到进入19世纪，我们对海洋的认识仍然源于冲上海滩的东西或者渔网里打捞到的东西。

　　and nearly all that was written was based more on anecdote⁷ and supposition than on physical evidence. 几乎所有的文字材料都是以趣闻轶事和假说，而不是以实际的证据为基础的。

1 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

2 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

3 considerably   

adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上

参考例句：

• The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
• The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。

4 eastward   

adv.向东；adj.向东的；n.东方，东部

参考例句：

• The river here tends eastward.这条河从这里向东流。
• The crowd is heading eastward,believing that they can find gold there.人群正在向东移去，他们认为在那里可以找到黄金。

5 margins   

边( margin的名词复数 )； 利润； 页边空白； 差数

参考例句：

• They have always had to make do with relatively small profit margins. 他们不得不经常设法应付较少的利润额。
• To create more space between the navigation items, add left and right margins to the links. 在每个项目间留更多的空隙，加左或者右的margins来定义链接。

6 ashore   

adv.在(向)岸上，上岸

参考例句：

• The children got ashore before the tide came in.涨潮前，孩子们就上岸了。
• He laid hold of the rope and pulled the boat ashore.他抓住绳子拉船靠岸。

7 anecdote   

n.轶事，趣闻，短故事

参考例句：

• He departed from the text to tell an anecdote.他偏离课文讲起了一则轶事。
• It had never been more than a family anecdote.那不过是个家庭趣谈罢了。