时差N小时 水上漂

It's summertime, and you're on vacation.

时值夏季,你正在享受假期。

You sit beside a quiet pond, fishing, trying to relax, trying to think about nothing at all.

你稳坐在一个安静的池塘旁钓鱼，想放松自己,试图让脑子放空一切。

You watch the leaves stirring, the water rippling¹ in the sunshine, and the water bugs³ standing⁴ on the surface of the water.

你看到树叶随水波荡漾,湖水在阳光下泛起涟漪,还有水虫恣意站在水面上。

How do they--Rats! Now your brain's working again, wondering how those bugs do that.

它们是如何!现在你的大脑再次被拉回工作状态,想知道虫子是如何做到的。

Well relax, it's Moment of Science to the rescue.

好了，放松,又到了科学出马的时候。

Today we'll explain Standing on Water.

今天我们将解释水上漂。

There are two things involved in this trick:

这一所谓的“魔术”涉及两个环节:

one is a property of the water, and the other has to do with the bug²'s feet.

一是水的性质,另一点是这种虫子的脚。

Let's start with the water.

让我们先从水开始。

Water molecules⁵ naturally stick to each other, due to a strong chemical attraction between the individual molecules.

由于单个分子之间的强烈化学吸引力，水分子自然而然的互相紧密连接。

At the pond's surface, the uppermost water molecules experience this attraction as a strong pull toward each other, and downward from the water beneath them.

在池塘表面, 当强大的引力以及水内部的吸引力互相作用最上层的水分子经历这一吸引力。

This creates what's called "surface tension"-a somewhat compressed layer of water molecules right at the pond's surface.

这就产生了所谓的“表面张力”，一种水分子在池塘表面的压缩层。

You can think of this layer as being like a tight film over the surface of the pond.

你可以将这一层想象成池塘水面一种非常紧密的膜。

How does this help the water bug?

这对水虫起到什么作用?

If the surface water stuck to its feet as well as it stuck to the water below, the bug would be pulled under.

如果支撑它脚部表面的水支撑水面以下,虫子就会被拉入水中。

As it turns out, the bug's feet are covered with waxy⁶ hairs that are "hydrophobic"--which means they chemically resist contact with water.

事实证明,脚部覆盖着蜡状毛的这种昆虫是恐水的—这意味着它们会化学抵抗与水接触。

This combination of strong surface tension and water-resistant feet is what lets our bug stand on the water, without even getting wet!

这种结合强大的表面张力及防水的脚部让我们的虫子站在水上,甚至没有淋湿!

On our next program, we'll learn how water bugs move across this surface.

在我们下一期节目中,我们将了解水虫如何跨越这一表面。

Meanwhile, get back to your fishing!

与此同时,继续享受你的钓鱼吧!

1 rippling   

起涟漪的，潺潺流水般声音的

参考例句：

• I could see the dawn breeze rippling the shining water. 我能看见黎明的微风在波光粼粼的水面上吹出道道涟漪。
• The pool rippling was caused by the waving of the reeds. 池塘里的潺潺声是芦苇摇动时引起的。

2 bug   

n.虫子；故障；窃听器；vt.纠缠；装窃听器

参考例句：

• There is a bug in the system.系统出了故障。
• The bird caught a bug on the fly.那鸟在飞行中捉住了一只昆虫。

3 bugs   

adj.疯狂的，发疯的n.窃听器( bug的名词复数 )；病菌；虫子；[计算机]（制作软件程序所产生的意料不到的）错误

参考例句：

• All programs have bugs and need endless refinement. 所有的程序都有漏洞，都需要不断改进。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The sacks of rice were swarming with bugs. 一袋袋的米里长满了虫子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

5 molecules   

分子( molecule的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The structure of molecules can be seen under an electron microscope. 分子的结构可在电子显微镜下观察到。
• Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules. 在反应堆里，大分子裂变为小分子。

6 waxy   

adj.苍白的；光滑的

参考例句：

• Choose small waxy potatoes for the salad.选些个头小、表皮光滑的土豆做色拉。
• The waxy oil keeps ears from getting too dry.这些蜡状耳油可以保持耳朵不会太干燥。