2019年经济学人 治愈混凝土癌症(1)

 

Modern civilisation¹ is built on concrete and steel. Put the two together, though, and you can generate a problem.

现代文明是建立在钢筋混凝土基础上的。然而，将两者结合起来，就会产生一个问题。

Reinforcing concrete with steel rods called rebars is the basis of modern construction.

钢筋混凝土是现代建筑的基础。

But because water gets in through tiny cracks, the rebars rust². This causes them to expand, widening the cracks and weakening the concrete.

但是因为水会从细小的裂缝里渗透进来，所以钢筋会生锈了。这会导致裂缝扩大，混凝土变软。

Hence such structures require constant attention and often have design lives of only 60-100 years.

因此这样的结构需要持续的关注，并且其设计寿命仅有60到100年。

That is pitiful compared with, say, the concrete dome³ of the Pantheon in Rome—which was completed in 125ad and still stands.

这与罗马万神殿的圆顶相比，简直是小巫见大巫，罗马万神殿建成于公元125年，至今仍屹立不倒。

Various ways of delaying or preventing concrete cancer, as this corrosion⁴ is known colloquially⁵, have been tried.

人们已经尝试了各种延迟或预防混凝土癌症（腐蚀的通俗说法）的方法。

These include recipes for concrete that is less permeable to water,

其中包括不透水混凝土的配方，

and rebars made from rust-resistant materials such as stainless⁶ steel or composites.

以及由不锈钢或复合材料等防锈材料制成的钢筋。

Such approaches work, but they can be expensive. This may be about to change.

这种方法确实有效，但成本可能很高。这种情况可能即将改变。

Next year, if all goes well, a pair of footbridges intended to be cancer-proof will open in Geelong, a town 75km south-west of Melbourne, Australia.

明年，如果一切顺利，澳大利亚墨尔本西南75公里处的吉朗镇将建成两座防癌人行桥。

These bridges, which will act as prototypes for more than 150 others planned for the expanding city,

这些桥梁将用作其他150多个城市扩张计划的原型，

will be constructed using a novel approach that combines glass-fibre and carbon-fibre rebars.

且将使用一种结合玻璃纤维和碳纤维钢筋的新方法来建造。

They will, though, cost about the same as equivalent conventional bridges.

不过，它们的造价将与同等的传统桥梁差不多。

The new design is the brainchild of a joint⁷ team of researchers from Deakin, a local university, and Austeng, the firm contracted to build the bridges.

新设计将由来自当地迪肯大学和桥梁承建公司Austeng的联合研究团队共同完成。

This team began with commercially available rebars made from carbon-fibre composite.

这个团队开始使用由碳纤维复合材料制成的商业钢筋。

Although these are as strong as steel ones, they are expensive.

虽然它们和钢的一样坚固，但是它们很贵。

They are, therefore, most often used in specialist structures such as buildings to house MRI hospital scanners,

因此，它们最常被用在一些特殊的建筑物上，比如用来放置核磁共振医院扫描仪的建筑物，

where electromagnetic interference from metal can cause problems.

在那里来自金属的电磁干扰可能会造成问题。

1 civilisation   

n.文明，文化，开化，教化

参考例句：

• Energy and ideas are the twin bases of our civilisation.能源和思想是我们文明的两大基石。
• This opera is one of the cultural totems of Western civilisation.这部歌剧是西方文明的文化标志物之一。

2 rust   

n.锈；v.生锈；(脑子)衰退

参考例句：

• She scraped the rust off the kitchen knife.她擦掉了菜刀上的锈。
• The rain will rust the iron roof.雨水会使铁皮屋顶生锈。

3 dome   

n.圆屋顶，拱顶

参考例句：

• The dome was supported by white marble columns.圆顶由白色大理石柱支撑着。
• They formed the dome with the tree's branches.他们用树枝搭成圆屋顶。

4 corrosion   

n.腐蚀，侵蚀；渐渐毁坏，渐衰

参考例句：

• Corrosion is not covered by the warranty.腐蚀不在保修范围之内。
• Zinc is used to protect other metals from corrosion.锌被用来保护其他金属不受腐蚀。

5 colloquially   

adv.用白话，用通俗语

参考例句：

• For some little time the Jurymen hang about the Sol's Ams colloquially. 那些陪审员在太阳徽酒店里呆着，东拉西扯地谈了一会儿。 来自辞典例句
• This building is colloquially referred to as the barn. 这个建筑，用通俗的话来说就是一个谷仓。 来自互联网

6 stainless   

adj.无瑕疵的，不锈的

参考例句：

• I have a set of stainless knives and forks.我有一套不锈钢刀叉。
• Before the recent political scandal,her reputation had been stainless.在最近的政治丑闻之前，她的名声是无懈可击的。

7 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。