万物简史 第613期:冰河时代(10)

Happily this was precisely¹ the sort of repetitive toil² that suited Milankovitch's temperament³. For the next twenty years, even while on vacation, he worked ceaselessly with pencil and slide rule computing⁴ the tables of his cycles—work that now could be completed in a day or two with a computer. The calculations all had to be made in his spare time, but in 1914 Milankovitch suddenly got a great deal of that when World War I broke out and he was arrested owing to his position as a reservist in the Serbian army. He spent most of the next four years under loose house arrest in Budapest, required only to report to the police once a week. The rest of his time was spent working in the library of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. He was possibly the happiest prisoner of war in history.

令人高兴的是，这样一项繁复庞杂的工作恰好适合于米兰柯维契的脾性。在接下来的20年时间里，即使在度假的时候，凭借铅笔和计算尺，米兰柯维契从不间断地计算着他的周期表——这样一项工作现在用一台计算机一两天内就可以完成。计算都得在业余时间里进行，可是到了1914年，米兰柯维契突然有了许多空余的时间。第一次世界大战爆发了，他因为是塞尔维亚部队的后备役军人而被捕。在随后4年的大部分时间里他被软禁在布达佩斯，管理不严，只需每周向警察报到一次，其余时间都在匈牙利科学院的图书馆里辛勤工作。他也许是历史上最快乐的一名战俘。

The eventual⁵ outcome of his diligent⁶ scribblings was the 1930 book Mathematical Climatology and the Astronomical⁷ Theory of Climatic Changes. Milankovitch was right that there was a relationship between ice ages and planetary wobble, though like most people he assumed that it was a gradual increase in harsh winters that led to these long spells of coldness. It was a Russian-German meteorologist, Wladimir Koppen—father-in-law of our tectonic friend Alfred Wegener—who saw that the process was more subtle, and rather more unnerving, than that.

辛勤劳作的结晶是发表于1930年的著作：《数学气候学与气候变化的天文学原理》。米兰柯维契没错，冰川期和地球的摄动确实有关。虽然同大多数人一样，他认为严寒冬天逐渐加剧导致了漫长的寒冷时期。是俄罗斯裔德国气象学家克利切科·柯本——构造地质学家阿尔弗雷德·魏格纳的岳父——发现这个过程要比那更复杂，更可怕。

1 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

2 toil   

vi.辛劳工作，艰难地行动；n.苦工，难事

参考例句：

• The wealth comes from the toil of the masses.财富来自大众的辛勤劳动。
• Every single grain is the result of toil.每一粒粮食都来之不易。

3 temperament   

n.气质，性格，性情

参考例句：

• The analysis of what kind of temperament you possess is vital.分析一下你有什么样的气质是十分重要的。
• Success often depends on temperament.成功常常取决于一个人的性格。

4 computing   

n.计算

参考例句：

• to work in computing 从事信息处理
• Back in the dark ages of computing, in about 1980, they started a software company. 早在计算机尚未普及的时代（约1980年），他们就创办了软件公司。

5 eventual   

adj.最后的，结局的，最终的

参考例句：

• Several schools face eventual closure.几所学校面临最终关闭。
• Both parties expressed optimism about an eventual solution.双方对问题的最终解决都表示乐观。

6 diligent   

adj.勤勉的，勤奋的

参考例句：

• He is the more diligent of the two boys.他是这两个男孩中较用功的一个。
• She is diligent and keeps herself busy all the time.她真勤快，一会儿也不闲着。

7 astronomical   

adj.天文学的，（数字）极大的

参考例句：

• He was an expert on ancient Chinese astronomical literature.他是研究中国古代天文学文献的专家。
• Houses in the village are selling for astronomical prices.乡村的房价正在飙升。