万物简史 第496期:多灾多难的生命进程(16)

 Even after stripping out the more crackpot notions there are still more theories for what caused the extinction¹ events than there have been events. 即使去掉了不大切合实际的观点以后，解释灭绝事件原因的理论依然多子事件本身。

At least two dozen potential culprits have been identified as causes or prime contributors: 至少有20来只可能的黑手被认为是原因或者主要帮手，

global warming, global cooling, changing sea levels, oxygen depletion² of the seas (a condition known as anoxia), epidemics³, 包括全球变暖、全球变冷、海平面变化、海洋氧气大幅度减少（所谓的缺氧）、传染病、

giant leaks of methane⁴ gas from the seafloor, meteor and comet impacts, runaway⁵ hurricanes of a type known as hypercanes, huge volcanic⁶ upwellings, catastrophic solar flares⁸. 海床大量甲烷泄漏、陨石和彗星撞击、一种所谓“超强风”的猛烈飓风、强烈的火山喷发，以及灾难性的太阳耀斑。

This last is a particularly intriguing⁹ possibility. 太阳耀斑是一种尤其令人感兴趣的可能性。

Nobody knows how big solar flares can get because we have only been watching them since the beginning of the space age, 谁也不知道太阳耀斑会变得多大，因为我们只是从空间时代才开始观测太阳耀斑。

but the Sun is a mighty¹⁰ engine and its storms are commensurately enormous. 但是，太阳是一台大马达，它兴起的风暴是极其巨大的。

A typical solar flare⁷ — something we wouldn't even notice on Earth, 一次普通的太阳耀斑——我们在地球上甚至还注意不到，

will release the energy equivalent of a billion hydrogen bombs and fling into space a hundred billion tons or so of murderous high-energy particles. 释放出相当于10亿颗氢弹的能量，向空间抛出l000亿吨危险的高能粒子。

The magnetosphere and atmosphere between them normally swat these back into space or steer¹¹ them safely toward the poles (where they produce the Earth's comely¹² auroras), 磁层和大气通常一块儿把这些掷回空间，或者把它们安全地引向两极（它们在那里产生地球美丽的极光）。

but it is thought that an unusually big blast, say a hundred times the typical flare, could overwhelm our ethereal defenses. 据认为，一次极大的爆发，比如100倍于普通耀斑的耀斑，可以毁坏我们稀薄的防御层。

The light show would be a glorious one, but it would almost certainly kill a very high proportion of all that basked¹³ in its glow. 那道光华是很壮丽的，但几乎肯定会使暴露在光里的很大部分生物丧命。

Moreover, and rather chillingly, according to Bruce Tsurutani of the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, "it would leave no trace in history." 而且，令人寒心的是。据美国国家航空和航天局喷气推进实验室的布鲁斯·楚鲁塔尼说：“它在历史上不会留下痕迹。”

 

1 extinction   

n.熄灭，消亡，消灭，灭绝，绝种

参考例句：

• The plant is now in danger of extinction.这种植物现在有绝种的危险。
• The island's way of life is doomed to extinction.这个岛上的生活方式注定要消失。

2 depletion   

n.耗尽，枯竭

参考例句：

• Increased consumption of water has led to rapid depletion of groundwater reserves.用水量的增加导致了地下水贮备迅速枯竭。
• Farmers should rotate crops every season to prevent depletion of the soil.农夫每季应该要轮耕，以免耗尽土壤。

3 epidemics   

n．流行病

参考例句：

• Reliance upon natural epidemics may be both time-consuming and misleading. 依靠天然的流行既浪费时间，又会引入歧途。
• The antibiotic epidemics usually start stop when the summer rainy season begins. 传染病通常会在夏天的雨季停止传播。

4 methane   

n.甲烷，沼气

参考例句：

• The blast was caused by pockets of methane gas that ignited.爆炸是由数袋甲烷气体着火引起的。
• Methane may have extraterrestrial significance.甲烷具有星际意义。

5 runaway   

n.逃走的人，逃亡，亡命者；adj.逃亡的，逃走的

参考例句：

• The police have not found the runaway to date.警察迄今没抓到逃犯。
• He was praised for bringing up the runaway horse.他勒住了脱缰之马受到了表扬。

6 volcanic   

adj.火山的；象火山的；由火山引起的

参考例句：

• There have been several volcanic eruptions this year.今年火山爆发了好几次。
• Volcanic activity has created thermal springs and boiling mud pools.火山活动产生了温泉和沸腾的泥浆池。

7 flare   

v.闪耀，闪烁；n.潮红；突发

参考例句：

• The match gave a flare.火柴发出闪光。
• You need not flare up merely because I mentioned your work.你大可不必因为我提到你的工作就动怒。

8 flares   

n.喇叭裤v.（使）闪耀( flare的第三人称单数 )；（使）（船舷）外倾；（使）鼻孔张大；（使）（衣裙、酒杯等）呈喇叭形展开

参考例句：

• The side of a ship flares from the keel to the deck. 船舷从龙骨向甲板外倾。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He's got a fiery temper and flares up at the slightest provocation. 他是火爆性子，一点就着。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 intriguing   

adj.有趣的；迷人的v.搞阴谋诡计(intrigue的现在分词)；激起…的好奇心

参考例句：

• These discoveries raise intriguing questions. 这些发现带来了非常有趣的问题。
• It all sounds very intriguing. 这些听起来都很有趣。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

11 steer   

vt.驾驶，为…操舵；引导；vi.驾驶

参考例句：

• If you push the car, I'll steer it.如果你来推车，我就来驾车。
• It's no use trying to steer the boy into a course of action that suits you.想说服这孩子按你的方式行事是徒劳的。

12 comely   

adj.漂亮的，合宜的

参考例句：

• His wife is a comely young woman.他的妻子是一个美丽的少妇。
• A nervous,comely-dressed little girl stepped out.一个紧张不安、衣着漂亮的小姑娘站了出来。

13 basked   

v.晒太阳，取暖( bask的过去式和过去分词 )；对…感到乐趣；因他人的功绩而出名；仰仗…的余泽

参考例句：

• She basked in the reflected glory of her daughter's success. 她尽情地享受她女儿的成功带给她的荣耀。
• She basked in the reflected glory of her daughter's success. 她享受着女儿的成功所带给她的荣耀。 来自《简明英汉词典》