VOA标准英语2012--Simulated Disasters Provide Earthquake Data

Simulated Disasters Provide Earthquake Data

The Rock Mechanics Laboratory is one of several specialized¹ labs at Lamont-Doherty’s Division of Seismology, Geology and Tectonophysics, now studying the subterranean² dynamics³ of earthquakes.
Research professor Heather Savage⁴ fires up a machine that simulates, in miniature, real earthquake conditions - the rubbing, slipping and sliding of the Earth’s massive plates, generating data for analysis.
“So what we do here in our lab is put two pieces of rock that we’re interested in, say two pieces of granite⁵, and then we put them under stress, and then load them and load them and load them until they want to slide," Savage says. "And then we look at things like how much stress did we have to put on those rocks until they started sliding? And that tells us something about how strong that fault surface is. And that tells us something about how much stress a fault in nature can take before it starts having an earthquake.”
Significant differences
Savage acknowledges there can be significant differences between the highly controlled mini-quakes she generates in her laboratory and those that occur in nature.
“The problem comes in when you start to think of how complex fault zones really are. They are much bumpier⁶ than that, which can completely change your distribution of stress on the whole fault. And as soon as you start to slide things past each other, you start to break some of that roughness up and create little particles. And now your fault is no longer two pieces of rock touching⁷ each other. Now it’s got a layer of what we call ‘gouge’ in between, which is all those busted⁸ up particles of your original two surfaces. Now you’re talking about the strength of a granular material. And that opens up a whole new branch of physics which is also not well understood and that is the behavior of granular material. So there are lots of interesting things that go on in faults and a lot of different sciences that get pulled in.”
Many of those sciences are the focus of the other labs at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory⁹. Geo-chemists, for example, analyze¹⁰ the temperature and molecular¹¹ properties of the Earth’s material. Physicists¹² can help answer questions about how earthquake aftershocks work.
Tremors¹³
For example, when plates shift or bump against each other, why isn’t there one massive shudder¹⁴ followed by complete rest once the tension has been relieved, rather than the series of smaller, potentially dangerous tremors that follow the collision of plates?
One answer lies in the fact that the initial major quake only relieves some of the pent-up energy between two opposing plates. So called “aftershocks” just finish the job, as when a rock slides down a mountain, comes to rest, and is jolted¹⁵ into continuing its downhill course.
Another reason for aftershocks are the “seismic¹⁶ waves” that earthquakes generate, which Savage likens to what happens when you jiggle the end of a loose metal spring.
“If you just tweak that spring, just give it a little push, you can watch a wave travel from where I pushed it and it will end up at you and then a smaller wave will come back at me, and so forth¹⁷, depending on how hard I pushed it.”
Much of the seismological work at Lamont-Doherty is more practical than theoretical. For example, the global network of digital seismic monitoring stations it helps to manage enables scientists and governments around the world to be alerted almost immediately when an earthquake occurs.
Because the digital information travels through cyberspace¹⁸ faster than seismic waves propagate through the earth, people can sometimes be warned before a quake strikes their local areas.
Scientists might never be able to predict the when and where of particular earthquakes. But Lamont Doherty seismologists are also working to develop mathematical earthquake probability models. The models could save lives by giving government leaders and urban planners a more accurate picture of the earthquake risk in any given area.

1 specialized   

adj.专门的，专业化的

参考例句：

• There are many specialized agencies in the United Nations.联合国有许多专门机构。
• These tools are very specialized.这些是专用工具。

2 subterranean   

adj.地下的，地表下的

参考例句：

• London has 9 miles of such subterranean passages.伦敦像这样的地下通道有9英里长。
• We wandered through subterranean passages.我们漫游地下通道。

3 dynamics   

n.力学，动力学，动力，原动力；动态

参考例句：

• In order to succeed,you must master complicated knowledge of dynamics.要取得胜利，你必须掌握很复杂的动力学知识。
• Dynamics is a discipline that cannot be mastered without extensive practice.动力学是一门不做大量习题就不能掌握的学科。

4 savage   

adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人

参考例句：

• The poor man received a savage beating from the thugs.那可怜的人遭到暴徒的痛打。
• He has a savage temper.他脾气粗暴。

5 granite   

adj.花岗岩，花岗石

参考例句：

• They squared a block of granite.他们把一块花岗岩加工成四方形。
• The granite overlies the older rocks.花岗岩躺在磨损的岩石上面。

6 bumpier   

adj.困难重重的( bumpy的比较级 )；崎岖的；（使） 处境艰难；气流不稳的

参考例句：

7 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

8 busted   

adj. 破产了的，失败了的，被降级的，被逮捕的，被抓到的 动词bust的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• You are so busted! 你被当场逮住了！
• It was money troubles that busted up their marriage. 是金钱纠纷使他们的婚姻破裂了。

9 observatory   

n.天文台，气象台，瞭望台，观测台

参考例句：

• Guy's house was close to the observatory.盖伊的房子离天文台很近。
• Officials from Greenwich Observatory have the clock checked twice a day.格林威治天文台的职员们每天对大钟检查两次。

10 analyze   

vt.分析，解析 (=analyse)

参考例句：

• We should analyze the cause and effect of this event.我们应该分析这场事变的因果。
• The teacher tried to analyze the cause of our failure.老师设法分析我们失败的原因。

11 molecular   

adj.分子的；克分子的

参考例句：

• The research will provide direct insight into molecular mechanisms.这项研究将使人能够直接地了解分子的机理。
• For the pressure to become zero, molecular bombardment must cease.当压强趋近于零时，分子的碰撞就停止了。

12 physicists   

物理学家( physicist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• For many particle physicists, however, it was a year of frustration. 对于许多粒子物理学家来说，这是受挫折的一年。 来自英汉非文学 - 科技
• Physicists seek rules or patterns to provide a framework. 物理学家寻求用法则或图式来构成一个框架。

13 tremors   

震颤( tremor的名词复数 )； 战栗； 震颤声； 大地的轻微震动

参考例句：

• The story was so terrible that It'sent tremors down my spine. 这故事太可怕，它使我不寒而栗。
• The story was so terrible that it sent tremors down my spine. 这故事太可怕，它使我不寒而栗。

14 shudder   

v.战粟，震动，剧烈地摇晃；n.战粟，抖动

参考例句：

• The sight of the coffin sent a shudder through him.看到那副棺材，他浑身一阵战栗。
• We all shudder at the thought of the dreadful dirty place.我们一想到那可怕的肮脏地方就浑身战惊。

15 jolted   

（使）摇动， （使）震惊( jolt的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The truck jolted and rattled over the rough ground. 卡车嘎吱嘎吱地在凹凸不平的地面上颠簸而行。
• She was jolted out of her reverie as the door opened. 门一开就把她从幻想中惊醒。

16 seismic   

a.地震的，地震强度的

参考例句：

• Earthquakes produce two types of seismic waves.地震产生两种地震波。
• The latest seismic activity was also felt in northern Kenya.肯尼亚北部也感觉到了最近的地震活动。

17 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

18 cyberspace   

n.虚拟信息空间，网络空间，计算机化世界

参考例句：

• She travels in cyberspace by sending messages to friends around the world.她利用电子空间给世界各地的朋友们发送信件。
• The teens spend more time in cyberspace than in the real world of friends and family.青少年花费在电脑上的时间比他们和真正的朋友及家人在一起的时间要多。