万物简史 第284期:砰!(19)

 　　The first Anderson or Witzke learned of this setback¹ to their careers was when they arrived at a conference in South Dakota 这对他们的事业是个挫折。安德森和威策克最初听到这个消息是在他们出席南达科他州的一次会议的时候。

　　and found people coming up to them with sympathetic looks and saying: "We hear you lost your crater²." 他们发现人们以同情的目光朝他们走来，说：“我们听说你们丢了那个大坑。”

　　It was the first they knew that Izett and the other USGS scientists had just announced refined figures, 艾泽特和美国地质勘测局的其他科学家刚刚宣布了经过修改的数字，这对安德森和威策克来说还是新闻，

　　revealing that Manson couldn't after all have been the extinction³ crater. 表明曼森大坑原来不是造成恐龙灭绝的原因。

　　It was pretty stunning⁴, recalls Anderson. “这真令人吃惊，”安德森回忆说，

　　"I mean, we had this thing that was really important and then suddenly we didn't have it anymore. “我的意思是，我们本来有一件着实重要的东西，然后突然之间又失去了。

　　But even worse was the realization⁵ that the people we thought we'd been collaborating⁶ with hadn't bothered to share with us their new findings." 但是，更加糟糕的是，我们意识到，那些我们以为在跟我们合作的人懒得与我们分享他们新的成果。”

　　Why not? He shrugged⁷. "Who knows? “为什么？”他耸了耸肩：“谁知道呢？

　　Anyway, it was a pretty good insight into how unattractive science can get when you're playing at a certain level." 反正我们深刻体会到，科学原来可以这么肮脏，要是你在某个层面上玩弄的话。”

　　The search moved elsewhere. 考察工作转向别处。

　　By chance in 1990 one of the searchers, Alan Hildebrand of the University of Arizona, met a reporter from the Houston Chronicle 1990年，亚利桑那大学一位名叫艾伦·希尔德布兰德的考察员碰巧遇见一名《休斯敦记事报》的记者。

　　who happened to know about a large, unexplained ring formation, 该记者恰好知道有一个原因不明的巨大的圆形结构。

　　120 miles wide and 30 miles deep, under Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula at Chicxulub, near the city of Progreso, about 600 miles due south of New Orleans. 它位于新奥尔良正南大约950公里的地方，离墨西哥普罗格雷索市不远，在尤卡坦半岛的奇克休留布底下，宽达193公里，深有48公里。

　　The formation had been found by Pemex, the Mexican oil company, in 1952, 这个结构是由墨西哥石油公司于1952年发现的，

　　the year, coincidentally, that Gene⁸ Shoemaker first visited Meteor Crater in Arizona, 恰好是尤金·苏梅克首次考察亚利桑那州的陨星坑的那一年，

　　but the company's geologists⁹ had concluded that it was volcanic¹⁰, in line with the thinking of the day. 但该公司的地质学家认为那是火山形成的，与当时的思想完全一致。

1 setback   

n.退步，挫折，挫败

参考例句：

• Since that time there has never been any setback in his career.从那时起他在事业上一直没有遇到周折。
• She views every minor setback as a disaster.她把每个较小的挫折都看成重大灾难。

2 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。

3 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。

4 stunning   

adj.极好的；使人晕倒的

参考例句：

• His plays are distinguished only by their stunning mediocrity.他的戏剧与众不同之处就是平凡得出奇。
• The finished effect was absolutely stunning.完工后的效果非常美。

5 realization   

n.实现；认识到，深刻了解

参考例句：

• We shall gladly lend every effort in our power toward its realization.我们将乐意为它的实现而竭尽全力。
• He came to the realization that he would never make a good teacher.他逐渐认识到自己永远不会成为好老师。

6 collaborating   

合作( collaborate的现在分词 )； 勾结叛国

参考例句：

• Joe is collaborating on the work with a friend. 乔正与一位朋友合作做那件工作。
• He was not only learning from but also collaborating with Joseph Thomson. 他不仅是在跟约瑟福？汤姆逊学习，而且也是在和他合作。

7 shrugged   

vt.耸肩（shrug的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• Sam shrugged and said nothing. 萨姆耸耸肩膀，什么也没说。
• She shrugged, feigning nonchalance. 她耸耸肩，装出一副无所谓的样子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 gene   

n.遗传因子，基因

参考例句：

• A single gene may have many effects.单一基因可能具有很多种效应。
• The targeting of gene therapy has been paid close attention.其中基因治疗的靶向性是值得密切关注的问题之一。

9 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。

10 volcanic   

adj.火山的；象火山的；由火山引起的

参考例句：

• There have been several volcanic eruptions this year.今年火山爆发了好几次。
• Volcanic activity has created thermal springs and boiling mud pools.火山活动产生了温泉和沸腾的泥浆池。