万物简史 第268期:砰!(3)

 　　At the library in Manson they are delighted to show you a collection of newspaper articles and a box of core samples from a 1991-92 drilling program, 在曼森图书馆，他们会很高兴给你看一批收藏的报纸文章和一箱子取自1991-1992年钻探工程的岩心样品，

　　indeed, they positively¹ bustle² to produce them—but you have to ask to see them. 更确切地说，他们肯定会连忙把它们取出来，但是，你非得向他们要来看。

　　Nothing permanent is on display, and nowhere in the town is there any historical marker. 没有永久性的东西陈列在外面，镇上也没有修建任何历史标志物。

　　To most people in Manson the biggest thing ever to happen was a tornado³ that rolled up Main Street in 1979, tearing apart the business district. 对大多数曼森人来说，发生过的最大事件是1979年的一场龙卷风。那风席卷主街，把商业区刮得七零八落。

　　One of the advantages of all that surrounding flatness is that you can see danger from a long way off. 周围地势平坦有个好处，危险在老远的地方你就看得见。

　　Virtually the whole town turned out at one end of Main Street and watched for half an hour as the tornado came toward them, 实际上，整个镇上的人都来到主街的一头，有半个小时光景一直望着龙卷风朝他们袭来，

　　hoping it would veer⁴ off, then prudently⁵ scampered⁶ when it did not. 希望它会改变方向。但是没有。接着，他们小心行事，四散逃跑。

　　Four of them, alas⁷, didn't move quite fast enough and were killed. 天哪，有四个人跑得不够快，结果丢了性命。

　　Every June now Manson has a weeklong event called Crater⁸ Days, 如今，每年6月，曼森人都要举行为期1周的“大坑节”。

　　which was dreamed up as a way of helping⁹ people forget that unhappy anniversary. 这项活动是有人为了让大家忘却那个不愉快的周年纪念日而想出来的，

　　It doesn't really have anything to do with the crater. 它其实跟那个大坑毫无关系。

　　Nobody's figured out a way to capitalize on an impact site that isn't visible. 谁也没有想出个办法来利用那个已经看不见的撞击现场。

　　"Very occasionally we get people coming in and asking where they should go to see the crater “偶尔有人过来，问在哪里能看见那个大坑。

　　and we have to tell them that there is nothing to see," says Anna Schlapkohl, the town's friendly librarian. 我们不得不告诉他们，没有什么可看的，”友好的镇图书馆员安娜·施拉普科尔说，

　　"Then they go away kind of disappointed." “他们听了有点失望，就走开了。”

　　However, most people, including most Iowans, have never heard of the Manson crater. 然而，大多数人，包括艾奥瓦人，从来没有听说过曼森大坑。

　　Even for geologists¹⁰ it barely rates a footnote. 连地质学家也觉得它不大值得一提。

　　But for one brief period in the 1980s, Manson was the most geologically exciting place on Earth. 但是，到了20世纪80年代，曼森一时之间成了全球地质界最激动人心的场所。

1 positively   

adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实

参考例句：

• She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。
• The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。

2 bustle   

v.喧扰地忙乱，匆忙，奔忙；n.忙碌；喧闹

参考例句：

• The bustle and din gradually faded to silence as night advanced.随着夜越来越深，喧闹声逐渐沉寂。
• There is a lot of hustle and bustle in the railway station.火车站里非常拥挤。

3 tornado   

n.飓风，龙卷风

参考例句：

• A tornado whirled into the town last week.龙卷风上周袭击了这座城市。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

4 veer   

vt.转向，顺时针转，改变；n.转向

参考例句：

• He is unlikely to veer from his boss's strongly held views.他不可能背离他老板的强硬立场。
• If you fall asleep while driving,you'll probably veer off the road.假如你开车时打瞌睡，可能会驶离道路。

5 prudently   

adv. 谨慎地，慎重地

参考例句：

• He prudently pursued his plan. 他谨慎地实行他那计划。
• They had prudently withdrawn as soon as the van had got fairly under way. 他们在蓬车安全上路后立即谨慎地离去了。

6 scampered   

v.蹦蹦跳跳地跑，惊惶奔跑( scamper的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The cat scampered away. 猫刺棱一下跑了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The rabbIt'scampered off. 兔子迅速跑掉了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

7 alas   

int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等)

参考例句：

• Alas!The window is broken!哎呀！窗子破了！
• Alas,the truth is less romantic.然而，真理很少带有浪漫色彩。

8 crater   

n.火山口，弹坑

参考例句：

• With a telescope you can see the huge crater of Ve-suvius.用望远镜你能看到巨大的维苏威火山口。
• They came to the lip of a dead crater.他们来到了一个死火山口。

9 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

10 geologists   

地质学家，地质学者( geologist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Geologists uncovered the hidden riches. 地质学家发现了地下的宝藏。
• Geologists study the structure of the rocks. 地质学家研究岩石结构。