万物简史 第618期:冰河时代(15)

Throughout all this the tubeworms and clams¹ and other life forms adhering to deep ocean vents² undoubtedly³ went on as if nothing were amiss, but all other life on Earth probably came as close as it ever has to checking out entirely⁴. It was all a long time ago and at this stage we just don't know.

这一时期，多毛虫、蛤蜊，以及其他附着于深海喷气孔的生命无疑继续存在，仿佛什么事儿也没有。而地球上所有其他生命很可能到了完全灭绝的边缘。这一时期距我们今天十分遥远，而我们目前对它的了解是极其匮乏的。

Compared with a Cryogenian outburst, the ice ages of more recent times seem pretty small scale, but of course they were immensely grand by the standards of anything to be found on Earth today. The Wisconsian ice sheet, which covered much of Europe and North America, was two miles thick in places and marched forward at a rate of about four hundred feet a year. What a thing it must have been to behold⁵. Even at their leading edge, the ice sheets could be nearly half a mile thick. Imagine standing⁶ at the base of a wall of ice two thousand feet high. Behind this edge, over an area measuring in the millions of square miles, would be nothing but more ice, with only a few of the tallest mountain summits poking⁷ through. Whole continents sagged⁸ under the weight of so much ice and even now, twelve thousand years after the glaciers⁹' withdrawal¹⁰, are still rising back into place. The ice sheets didn't just dribble¹¹ out boulders¹² and long lines of gravelly moraines, but dumped entire landmasses—Long Island and Cape¹³ Cod¹⁴ and Nantucket, among others—as they slowly swept along. It's little wonder that geologists¹⁵ before Agassiz had trouble grasping their monumental capacity to rework landscapes.

与覆冰纪大爆发时代相比，最近几次冰川期的规模似乎要小得多，但以今天地球上的任何标准来衡量，它还是极其巨大的。覆盖欧洲和北美洲的威斯康星冰盖在某些地方厚达3公里，并且还以每年120米的速度不断前进。即使在其边缘地段，冰盖也差不多有800米厚。这是—个多么壮观的景象啊！想像一下，你站在一堵那么高的冰墙脚下，墙的后面是几百万平方公里的地方，除了几座刺向青天的冰峰，全都是一望无际的冰盖。整块整块的陆地在巨大的冰盖的压力下沉降，即使在荆”退却12000年后的今天，这些陆地还没有上升到原来的位置。在冰盖缓慢移动的过程中，不仅使巨大的石块和冰碛石堆改变了位置，而且还扔下整块整块的陆地——诸如长岛、科德角、楠塔基特岛等等。阿加西斯以前的地质学家难以，理解冰盖所具有的足以使地球表面发生变化的巨大的威力，这是不足为怪的。

If ice sheets advanced again, we have nothing in our armory¹⁶ that could deflect¹⁷ them. In 1964, at Prince William Sound in Alaska, one of the largest glacial fields in North America was hit by the strongest earthquake ever recorded on the continent. It measured 9.2 on the Richter scale. Along the fault line, the land rose by as much as twenty feet. The quake was so violent, in fact, that it made water slosh out of pools in Texas. And what effect did this unparalleled outburst have on the glaciers of Prince William Sound? None at all. They just soaked it up and kept on moving.

如果冰盖卷土重来，我们没有任何武器可以改变它们的方向。1964年，在阿拉斯加威廉王子湾，北美最大的冰川地区发生该大陆有记录以来最强烈的地震，其强度达里氏9.2级。在发生断层韵地方，地表上升了6米，这次地震是如此的强烈，连德克萨斯州的池塘水都溅到了岸上。但是，这次前所谓有的震动对于威廉王子湾的冰川产生了怎么样的影响呢？根本没有，冰川抵消了地震，继续其前进的步伐。

1 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

2 vents   

（气体、液体等进出的）孔、口( vent的名词复数 )； （鸟、鱼、爬行动物或小哺乳动物的）肛门； 大衣等的)衩口； 开衩

参考例句：

• He always vents his anger on the dog. 他总是拿狗出气。
• The Dandelion Patch is the least developed of the four active vents. “蒲公英区”在这四个活裂口中是发育最差的一个。

3 undoubtedly   

adv.确实地，无疑地

参考例句：

• It is undoubtedly she who has said that.这话明明是她说的。
• He is undoubtedly the pride of China.毫无疑问他是中国的骄傲。

4 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

5 behold   

v.看，注视，看到

参考例句：

• The industry of these little ants is wonderful to behold.这些小蚂蚁辛勤劳动的样子看上去真令人惊叹。
• The sunrise at the seaside was quite a sight to behold.海滨日出真是个奇景。

6 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

7 poking   

n. 刺，戳，袋 vt. 拨开，刺，戳 vi. 戳，刺，捅，搜索，伸出，行动散慢

参考例句：

• He was poking at the rubbish with his stick. 他正用手杖拨动垃圾。
• He spent his weekends poking around dusty old bookshops. 他周末都泡在布满尘埃的旧书店里。

8 sagged   

下垂的

参考例句：

• The black reticule sagged under the weight of shapeless objects. 黑色的拎包由于装了各种形状的东西而中间下陷。
• He sagged wearily back in his chair. 他疲倦地瘫坐到椅子上。

9 glaciers   

冰河，冰川( glacier的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Glaciers gouged out valleys from the hills. 冰川把丘陵地带冲出一条条山谷。
• It has ice and snow glaciers, rainforests and beautiful mountains. 既有冰川，又有雨林和秀丽的山峰。 来自英语晨读30分（高一）

10 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

11 dribble   

v.点滴留下，流口水；n.口水

参考例句：

• Melted wax dribbled down the side of the candle.熔化了的蜡一滴滴从蜡烛边上流下。
• He wiped a dribble of saliva from his chin.他擦掉了下巴上的几滴口水。

12 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》

13 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

14 cod   

n.鳕鱼；v.愚弄；哄骗

参考例句：

• They salt down cod for winter use.他们腌鳕鱼留着冬天吃。
• Cod are found in the North Atlantic and the North Sea.北大西洋和北海有鳕鱼。

15 geologists   

地质学家，地质学者( geologist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Geologists uncovered the hidden riches. 地质学家发现了地下的宝藏。
• Geologists study the structure of the rocks. 地质学家研究岩石结构。

16 armory   

n.纹章，兵工厂，军械库

参考例句：

• Nuclear weapons will play a less prominent part in NATO's armory in the future.核武器将来在北约的军械中会起较次要的作用。
• Every March the Armory Show sets up shop in New York.每年三月，军械博览会都会在纽约设置展场。

17 deflect   

v.(使)偏斜，(使)偏离，(使)转向

参考例句：

• Never let a little problem deflect you.决不要因一点小问题就半途而废。
• They decided to deflect from the original plan.他们决定改变原计划。