万物简史 第609期:冰河时代(6)

William Hopkins, a Cambridge professor and leading member of the Geological Society, endorsed¹ this view, arguing that the notion that ice could transport boulders² presented "such obvious mechanical absurdities³" as to make it unworthy of the society's attention.

地质学会的领导人、剑桥大学教授威廉·霍普金斯对此持同样的观点。他说，“冰川可以移动岩石的观点从机械力学的角度来看实在荒唐”，根本不值得引起她质学会的注意。

Undaunted, Agassiz traveled tirelessly to promote his theory. In 1840 he read a paper to a meeting of the British Association for the Advancement⁴ of Science in Glasgow at which he was openly criticized by the great Charles Lyell. The following year the Geological Society of Edinburgh passed a resolution conceding that there might be some general merit in the theory but that certainly none of it applied⁵ to Scotland.

阿加西斯并没有气馁，他不知疲倦地多方奔走，四处游说，宣传他的理论。1840年，他在格拉斯哥英国科学促进协会的一次会议上宣读了他的一篇论文，却遭到伟大的查尔斯·莱尔的当众批评。次年，爱丁堡地质学会通过了一项决议，承认阿加西斯的理论中也许有某些合理的成分，但可以肯定的是，它根本不适用于苏格兰地区。

Lyell did eventually come round. His moment of epiphany came when he realized that a moraine, or line of rocks, near his family estate in Scotland, which he had passed hundreds of times, could only be understood if one accepted that a glacier⁶ had dropped them there. But having become converted, Lyell then lost his nerve and backed off from public support of the Ice Age idea. It was a frustrating⁷ time for Agassiz. His marriage was breaking up, Schimper was hotly accusing him of the theft of his ideas, Charpentier wouldn't speak to him, and the greatest living geologist⁸ offered support of only the most tepid⁹ and vacillating kind.

莱尔最终改变了立场。他的顿悟出现在某一天，他突然意识到，在他苏格兰住所附近的一堆冰碛石——由一长串岩石组成，他已经效百次从旁边经过——之所以矗立在那里，惟一说得通的解释就是冰川把它们搬到了那里。但是，即便他内心已有所转变，莱尔没有勇气，不敢公开支持冰川时代理论。对于阿加西斯来说，那是一段极为难熬的时期。他的婚姻破裂了，希姆帕尔强烈谴责他剽窃了自己的研究成果，夏庞蒂埃不同他说话，而莱尔这位在世的最伟大的地质学家尽管支持他的理论，可是用的都是不冷不热、游移不定的语调。

In 1846, Agassiz traveled to America to give a series of lectures and there at last found the esteem¹⁰ he craved¹¹. Harvard gave him a professorship and built him a first-rate museum, the Museum of Comparative Zoology¹².

1846年，阿加西斯到美国作系列演说，并在那儿赢得了他渴望已久的荣誉。哈佛大学聘请他为教授，并且为他建立了一个堪称一流的比较动物学博物馆。

1 endorsed   

vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• The committee endorsed an initiative by the chairman to enter discussion about a possible merger. 委员会通过了主席提出的新方案，开始就可能进行的并购进行讨论。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The government has broadly endorsed a research paper proposing new educational targets for 14-year-olds. 政府基本上支持建议对14 岁少年实行新教育目标的研究报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 boulders   

n.卵石( boulder的名词复数 )；巨砾；（受水或天气侵蚀而成的）巨石；漂砾

参考例句：

• Seals basked on boulders in a flat calm. 海面风平浪静，海豹在巨石上晒太阳。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The river takes a headlong plunge into a maelstrom of rocks and boulders. 河水急流而下，入一个漂砾的漩涡中。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 absurdities   

n.极端无理性( absurdity的名词复数 )；荒谬；谬论；荒谬的行为

参考例句：

• She has a sharp eye for social absurdities, and compassion for the victims of social change. 她独具慧眼，能够看到社会上荒唐的事情，对于社会变革的受害者寄以同情。 来自辞典例句
• The absurdities he uttered at the dinner party landed his wife in an awkward situation. 他在宴会上讲的荒唐话使他太太陷入窘境。 来自辞典例句

4 advancement   

n.前进，促进，提升

参考例句：

• His new contribution to the advancement of physiology was well appreciated.他对生理学发展的新贡献获得高度赞赏。
• The aim of a university should be the advancement of learning.大学的目标应是促进学术。

5 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

6 glacier   

n.冰川，冰河

参考例句：

• The glacier calved a large iceberg.冰河崩解而形成一个大冰山。
• The upper surface of glacier is riven by crevasses.冰川的上表面已裂成冰隙。

7 frustrating   

adj.产生挫折的，使人沮丧的，令人泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的现在分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's frustrating to have to wait so long. 要等这么长时间，真令人懊恼。
• It was a demeaning and ultimately frustrating experience. 那是一次有失颜面并且令人沮丧至极的经历。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 geologist   

n.地质学家

参考例句：

• The geologist found many uncovered fossils in the valley.在那山谷里，地质学家发现了许多裸露的化石。
• He was a geologist,rated by his cronies as the best in the business.他是一位地质学家，被他的老朋友们看做是这门行当中最好的一位。

9 tepid   

adj.微温的，温热的，不太热心的

参考例句：

• She bent her mouth to the tap and drank the tepid water.她把嘴伸到水龙头底下去喝那微温的水。
• Her feet firmly planted on the tepid rough brick of the floor.她一双脚稳固地立在微温而粗糙的砖地上。

10 esteem   

n.尊敬，尊重；vt.尊重，敬重；把…看作

参考例句：

• I did not esteem him to be worthy of trust.我认为他不值得信赖。
• The veteran worker ranks high in public love and esteem.那位老工人深受大伙的爱戴。

11 craved   

渴望，热望( crave的过去式 )； 恳求，请求

参考例句：

• She has always craved excitement. 她总渴望刺激。
• A spicy, sharp-tasting radish was exactly what her stomach craved. 她正馋着想吃一个香甜可口的红萝卜呢。

12 zoology   

n.动物学，生态

参考例句：

• I would like to brush up my zoology.我想重新温习一下动物学。
• The library didn't stock zoology textbooks.这家图书馆没有动物学教科书。