【英语时差8,16】烧水什么时候才算开？（下）

Vapor¹ bubbles form over very small pits and scratches in the bottom of the pan. At each pit or scratch, vapor bubbles form and collapse² dozens of times per second, giving the appearance of vibration³. The clicks of hundreds or thousands of vapor bubbles collapsing⁴ every second make the pan roar. But the water is not yet boiling. In order to boil, the water must get hot not only at the bottom, but throughout, so rising vapor bubbles can survive all the way to the surface without collapsing. A vapor bubble reaching the surface bursts in a splash rather than collapsing with a click. So, when a saucepan on the stove is roaring, the water in it is not yet boiling. Vapor bubbles are collapsing in cooler water as they rise toward the surface. When the roaring subsides⁵ and is replaced by a gentle splashing, vapor bubbles are surviving all the way to the surface and the water is boiling.

1 vapor   

n.蒸汽，雾气

参考例句：

• The cold wind condenses vapor into rain.冷风使水蒸气凝结成雨。
• This new machine sometimes transpires a lot of hot vapor.这部机器有时排出大量的热气。

2 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

3 vibration   

n.颤动，振动；摆动

参考例句：

• There is so much vibration on a ship that one cannot write.船上的震动大得使人无法书写。
• The vibration of the window woke me up.窗子的震动把我惊醒了。

4 collapsing   

压扁[平]，毁坏，断裂

参考例句：

• Rescuers used props to stop the roof of the tunnel collapsing. 救援人员用支柱防止隧道顶塌陷。
• The rocks were folded by collapsing into the center of the trough. 岩石由于坍陷进入凹槽的中心而发生褶皱。

5 subsides   

v.（土地）下陷（因在地下采矿）( subside的第三人称单数 )；减弱；下降至较低或正常水平；一下子坐在椅子等上

参考例句：

• Emotion swells and subsides. 情绪忽高忽低。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• His emotion swells and subsides. 他的情绪忽高忽低。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》