英语听力：自然百科 神秘百慕大 bermuda triangle—7

 Some believe that massive underwater landslides¹ or earthquakes can violently release gas from a substance called methane² hydrate trapped beneath the sea bed. As its escaping bubbles rise, they lower the density³ of the surrounding ocean. The ship drops into the hole created by the gas, loads with water and eventually sinks.

 

The density of the water is reduced. The buoyancy force reduces and therefore the ship will lie lower in the water. Potentially, even so low that it will sink.

 

Keep an eye * and on the corner.

 

A team at the University of Michigan tests this theory.

 

If there is a ship out there in bubbles due come up, what's it gonna do to the stability to the ship and will the ship sink?

The marine⁴ engineers prepare their 1 to 50 scale model of the U.S.S Cyclops. It's not everyday that a hydrodynamic lab gets to sink a model, so we'll pretty pump up about this. We normally try to keep the miles on the surface.

 

Tim moves the 'Cyclops' into a 360-foot long water tank for its maiden⁵ voyage.

 

OK. Clear.

 

The team places weights in the model's hull⁶ to replicate⁷ how the 2,000 ton collier would sink in the water. The 'Cyclops' is then placed over a pipe with holes. Compressed air will be force through these holes into the water above, creating a stream of large underwater bubbles. Will the 'Cyclops' survive?

 

Along the sea floor of the Bermuda Triangle lie massive deposited methane hydrate gas. This experiment replicates⁸ what would happen if huge amounts of this gas were violently released. A model of the U.S.S Cyclops is hit by a barrage⁹ of bubbles. If scale to life size, this would be roughly 40 feet wide.

 

What we saw was the bubbles came up below the model. The model almost dropped a little bit because the loss of buoyancy and the water erupted around the side of the model. And that created a situation where the water rushed into the hull.

1 landslides   

山崩( landslide的名词复数 )； （山坡、悬崖等的）崩塌； 滑坡； （竞选中）一方选票占压倒性多数

参考例句：

• Landslides have cut off many villages in remote areas. 滑坡使边远地区的许多村庄与外界隔绝。
• The storm caused landslides and flooding in Savona. 风暴致使萨沃纳发生塌方和洪灾。

2 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。

3 density   

n.密集，密度，浓度

参考例句：

• The population density of that country is 685 per square mile.那个国家的人口密度为每平方英里685人。
• The region has a very high population density.该地区的人口密度很高。

4 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

5 maiden   

n.少女，处女；adj.未婚的，纯洁的，无经验的

参考例句：

• The prince fell in love with a fair young maiden.王子爱上了一位年轻美丽的少女。
• The aircraft makes its maiden flight tomorrow.这架飞机明天首航。

6 hull   

n.船身；(果、实等的)外壳；vt.去(谷物等)壳

参考例句：

• The outer surface of ship's hull is very hard.船体的外表面非常坚硬。
• The boat's hull has been staved in by the tremendous seas.小船壳让巨浪打穿了。

7 replicate   

v.折叠，复制，模写；n.同样的样品；adj.转折的

参考例句：

• The DNA of chromatin must replicate before cell division.染色质DNA在细胞分裂之前必须复制。
• It is also easy to replicate,as the next subsection explains.就像下一个小节详细说明的那样，它还可以被轻易的复制。

8 replicates   

复制( replicate的第三人称单数 )； 重复； 再造； 再生

参考例句：

• The bluetongue virus replicates in the insect. 蓝舌病病毒在这种昆虫体内繁殖。
• The chameleon's skin replicates the pattern of its surroundings. 变色龙的皮肤可随环境的模式而改变颜色。

9 barrage   

n.火力网，弹幕

参考例句：

• The attack jumped off under cover of a barrage.进攻在炮火的掩护下开始了。
• The fierce artillery barrage destroyed the most part of the city in a few minutes.猛烈的炮火几分钟内便毁灭了这座城市的大部分地区。