纪录片《恐龙灭绝真相》 第13期 小球体层

It was a Eureka moment, absolutely.

这是激动人心的时刻，绝对是。

We danced, we jumped up and down, and said we've got it.

我们跳舞，欢呼雀跃，我们找到它了。

They were excited because these spherules were eight metres below where any had been found before.

他们激动是因为这些小球体所在的位置比之前找到的地方低了8米。

In geology, lower normally means further back in time,

在地质学上，位置低一般意味着年代更为久远，

so for them it suggested an entirely¹ different explanation for the whole rock formation and the extinction² of the dinosaurs³.

所以在他们看来，所有这些岩石的形成原因只能是完全不同的另一种解释，当然还有恐龙灭绝的原因。

It was all to do with time.

这一切都与时间有关。

After the Chicxulub impact, the spherules settled on the sea floor within minutes.

希克苏鲁伯大碰撞后，小球体几分钟内便落到海底。

These were the spherules just discovered by Doctor Keller.

它们就是Keller博士发现的小球体层。

On top of the spherules, there seemed to have been a period of normal sedimentation⁴, eight metres of mud had built up.

小球体层上面似乎有一个正常沉淀的时期，堆积了8米厚的泥沙。

According to Keller and Stinnesbeck, this would have taken two hundred and seventy thousand years.

按照Keller和Stinnesbeck的说法，这得经过27万年的时光。

Next came the limestone⁵ layer, this too could have taken thousands of years to form.

接下来便是石灰岩层，它也需要经过上千年才能形成。

Only then came the sand, washed in to form the sandstone.

然后才轮到沙子，冲积到此形成沙岩。

Then those fine grained layers built up by sedimentation, that could have taken centuries.

接着那些细颗粒层便因为沉积作用而开始形成，这需要经历几个世纪。

Then worms apparently⁶ had months, maybe years in which to colonise some of the layers.

后来蠕虫显然在某些地层中住了几个月，甚至可能是几年。

And only then, at the very top came the Iridium layer, which coincided with the extinction of the dinosaurs.

最后才轮到见证恐龙灭绝的顶部铱元素层。

But by now Keller and Stinnesbeck calculated that three hundred thousand years had passed since the Chicxulub impact.

不过根据Keller和Stinnesbeck的计算，此时距希克苏鲁伯大碰撞已过去了30万年。

1 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。

2 extinction   

n.熄灭，消亡，消灭，灭绝，绝种

参考例句：

• The plant is now in danger of extinction.这种植物现在有绝种的危险。
• The island's way of life is doomed to extinction.这个岛上的生活方式注定要消失。

3 dinosaurs   

n.恐龙( dinosaur的名词复数 )；守旧落伍的人，过时落后的东西

参考例句：

• The brontosaurus was one of the largest of all dinosaurs. 雷龙是所有恐龙中最大的一种。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Dinosaurs have been extinct for millions of years. 恐龙绝种已有几百万年了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 sedimentation   

n.沉淀，沉积

参考例句：

• Sedimentation, the damage of a breach are problems, too. 而且沉积和决口的问题，也是存在的。 来自英语晨读30分（高二）
• Sedimentation and denudation play a role in exceptional cases. 沉积和剥蚀作用的影响只在特殊情况下起作用。

5 limestone   

n.石灰石

参考例句：

• Limestone is often used in building construction.石灰岩常用于建筑。
• Cement is made from limestone.水泥是由石灰石制成的。

6 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。