万物简史 第420期:生命的起源(14)

 　　Compston's machine allowed such rocks to be dated with unparalleled precision. 康普斯森的仪器能以无与伦比的精确度测定这些岩石的年代。

　　The prototype SHRIMP¹ was built and machined in the Earth Science department's own workshops, “小虾”的样品在地球科学系自己的车间里制造和定型，

　　and looked like something that had been built from spare parts on a budget, but it worked great. 看上去是为了节省开支而用零件组装起来的，但效果相当不错。

　　On its first formal test, in 1982, it dated the oldest thing ever found—a 4.3-billion-year-old rock from Western Australia. 1982年进行了第一次正式测试，测定了从澳大利亚西部取回来的一块迄今为止发现的最古老的岩石的年代，得出的结果是43亿年。

　　It caused quite a stir at the time, Bennett told me, "to find something so important so quickly with brand-new technology." “用崭新的技术那么快就发现了那么重要的东西，”贝内特对我说，“这在当时引起了一阵轰动。”

　　She took me down the hall to see the current model, SHRIMP II. 她把我领进走廊，去看一眼目前的型号：“小虾2号”。

　　It was a big heavy piece of stainless-steel apparatus², perhaps twelve feet long and five feet high, and as solidly built as a deep-sea probe. 那是一台又大又重的不锈钢仪器，也许有3.5米长，1.5米高，坚固得像个深海探测器。

　　At a console in front of it, keeping an eye on ever-changing strings³ of figures on a screen, was a man named Bob from Canterbury University in New Zealand. 来自新西兰坎特伯雷大学的鲍勃坐在前面的操纵台，目不转睛地望着荧光屏上一串串不停变化的数据。

　　He had been there since 4 A.M., he told me. 他对我说，他从凌晨4点起一直守在那里。

　　SHRIMP II runs twenty-four hours a day; there's that many rocks to date. “小虾2号”一天运转24小时。有那么多的岩石需要确定年代。

　　It was just after 9 A.M. and Bob had the machine till noon. 现在才上午9点，他要值班到中午。

　　Ask a pair of geochemists how something like this works, 要是你问两位地球化学家这工作是怎么进行的，

　　and they will start talking about isotopic⁴ abundances and ionization levels with an enthusiasm that is more endearing than fathomable⁵. 他们会滔滔不绝地谈到丰富的同位素、离子化程度，等等，这些听上去很可爱，但不容易搞明白。

　　The upshot of it, however, was that the machine, by bombarding a sample of rock with streams of charged atoms, 然而，简单来说，他们通过用一串串带电的原子轰击样品，

　　is able to detect subtle differences in the amounts of lead and uranium in the zircon samples, by which means the age of rocks can be accurately⁶ adduced. 就能测定锆石样品中铅和铀的含量的细微差别，从而精确地确定岩石的年代。

1 shrimp   

n.虾，小虾；矮小的人

参考例句：

• When the shrimp farm is built it will block the stream.一旦养虾场建起来，将会截断这条河流。
• When it comes to seafood,I like shrimp the best.说到海鲜，我最喜欢虾。

2 apparatus   

n.装置，器械；器具，设备

参考例句：

• The school's audio apparatus includes films and records.学校的视听设备包括放映机和录音机。
• They had a very refined apparatus.他们有一套非常精良的设备。

3 strings   

n.弦

参考例句：

• He sat on the bed,idly plucking the strings of his guitar.他坐在床上，随意地拨着吉他的弦。
• She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。

4 isotopic   

adj.同位素的，合痕的

参考例句：

• The isotopic signatures of most ancient limestones indicated the same process. 大多数古代石灰岩的同位素特征说明了同样的过程。 来自辞典例句
• Isotopic discrimination is not likely. 同位素甄别是不可能的。 来自辞典例句

5 fathomable   

可测的，看得透的

参考例句：

• All his life, the scholar attempt to render science fathomable to the public. 这位学者一生都试图使科学为大众所理解。
• It is a breakthrough to extract key information from fathomable electrical measurements with appropriate mathematics tool. 寻找合适的数学工具从可测电气量中提取故障信息是重要的突破点。

6 accurately   

adv.准确地，精确地

参考例句：

• It is hard to hit the ball accurately.准确地击中球很难。
• Now scientists can forecast the weather accurately.现在科学家们能准确地预报天气。