万物简史 第388期:浩瀚的海洋(7)

 　　In the 1830s, the British naturalist¹ Edward Forbes surveyed ocean beds throughout the Atlantic and Mediterranean² 19世纪30年代，英国博物学家爱德华·福布斯勘察了大西佯和地中海各处的海床，

　　and declared that there was no life at all in the seas below 2,000 feet. 宣布在600米以下的深处根本没有生命。

　　It seemed a reasonable assumption. 这似乎是一种合乎情理的假设。

　　There was no light at that depth, so no plant life, and the pressures of water at such depths were known to be extreme. 在那个深度，没有光，因此就没有植物；而且，据知在那个深度压力极大。

　　So it came as something of a surprise when, in 1860, one of the first transatlantic telegraph cables was hauled up for repairs from more than two miles down, 所以，1860年，当从3公里多深的水下拖起一根首批横穿大西撑的电缆进行维修，

　　and it was found to be thickly encrusted with corals, clams³, and other living detritus⁴. 发现上面结着厚厚的一层珊珊、蛤蜊和其他小生物的时候，大家真的有点吃惊。

　　The first really organized investigation⁵ of the seas didn't come until 1872, 直到1872年，才对海洋进行了第一次真正有组织的调查。

　　when a joint⁶ expedition between the British Museum, the Royal Society, and the British government 不列颠博物馆、皇家学会和英国政府成立了一个联合考察队，

　　set forth⁷ from Portsmouth on a former warship⁸ called HMS Challenger. 乘坐已经退役的战舰“挑战者”号从朴茨茅斯港出发。

　　For three and a half years they sailed the world, sampling waters, netting fish, and hauling a dredge through sediments⁹. 在三年半时间里，他们驶遍了世界，取水样呀，捕鱼呀，捞沉淀物呀。

　　It was evidently dreary¹⁰ work. 这显然是一项很单调的工作。

　　Out of a complement¹¹ of 240 scientists and crew, one in four jumped ship and eight more died or went mad, 在总共240名科学家和船员当中，有四分之一的人开了小差，还有8人死亡或发疯，

　　"driven to distraction¹² by the mind-numbing routine of years of dredging" in the words of the historian Samantha Weinberg. 用历史学家萨曼莎·温伯格的话来说：“长年累月的单调生活使脑子麻木，精神错乱。”

　　But they sailed across almost 70,000 nautical¹³ miles of sea, collected over 4,700 new species of marine¹⁴ organisms, 但是，他们行驶了差不多7000海里，收集了4700多种新的海洋生物，

　　gathered enough information to create a fifty-volume report (which took nineteen years to put together), 获得了足以写出一份长达50卷的报告资料（编辑工作就花了19年），

　　and gave the world the name of a new scientific discipline: oceanography. 为世界科学创建了一门新的学科：海洋学。

1 naturalist   

n.博物学家(尤指直接观察动植物者)

参考例句：

• He was a printer by trade and naturalist by avocation.他从事印刷业，同时是个博物学爱好者。
• The naturalist told us many stories about birds.博物学家给我们讲述了许多有关鸟儿的故事。

2 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

3 clams   

n.蛤；蚌，蛤( clam的名词复数 )v.（在沙滩上）挖蛤( clam的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The restaurant's specialities are fried clams. 这个餐厅的特色菜是炸蚌。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We dug clams in the flats et low tide. 退潮时我们在浅滩挖蛤蜊。 来自辞典例句

4 detritus   

n.碎石

参考例句：

• Detritus usually consists of gravel, sand and clay.岩屑通常是由砂砾，沙和粘土组成的。
• A channel is no sooner cut than it chokes in its own detritus.一个河道刚被切割了不久，很快又被它自己的碎屑物质所充塞。

5 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

6 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

7 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

8 warship   

n.军舰，战舰

参考例句：

• He is serving on a warship in the Pacific.他在太平洋海域的一艘军舰上服役。
• The warship was making towards the pier.军舰正驶向码头。

9 sediments   

沉淀物( sediment的名词复数 )； 沉积物

参考例句：

• When deposited, 70-80% of the volume of muddy sediments may be water. 泥质沉积物沉积后，体积的70-80％是水。
• Oligocene erosion had truncated the sediments draped over the dome. 覆盖于穹丘上的沉积岩为渐新世侵蚀所截削。

10 dreary   

adj.令人沮丧的，沉闷的，单调乏味的

参考例句：

• They live such dreary lives.他们的生活如此乏味。
• She was tired of hearing the same dreary tale of drunkenness and violence.她听够了那些关于酗酒和暴力的乏味故事。

11 complement   

n.补足物，船上的定员；补语；vt.补充，补足

参考例句：

• The two suggestions complement each other.这两条建议相互补充。
• They oppose each other also complement each other.它们相辅相成。

12 distraction   

n.精神涣散，精神不集中，消遣，娱乐

参考例句：

• Total concentration is required with no distractions.要全神贯注，不能有丝毫分神。
• Their national distraction is going to the disco.他们的全民消遣就是去蹦迪。

13 nautical   

adj.海上的，航海的，船员的

参考例句：

• A nautical mile is 1,852 meters.一海里等于1852米。
• It is 206 nautical miles from our present location.距离我们现在的位置有206海里。

14 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。