万物简史 第286期:砰!(21)

 　　One fragment, known as Nucleus¹ G, struck with the force of about six million megatons—seventy-five times more than all the nuclear weaponry in existence. 有个名叫“核G”的碎块，其撞击威力高达6亿吨级──相当于现有核武器的总威力的75倍。

　　Nucleus G was only about the size of a small mountain, but it created wounds in the Jovian surface the size of Earth. 核G只有大约一座小山大小，但它在木星表面造成了地球大小的伤口。

　　It was the final blow for critics of the Alvarez theory. 这对批评阿尔瓦雷斯理论的人来说是决定性的打击。

　　Luis Alvarez never knew of the discovery of the Chicxulub crater² or of the Shoemaker-Levy comet, as he died in 1988. 路易斯·阿尔瓦雷斯永远也不知道发现了奇克休留布大坑或苏梅克-列维彗星。他于1988年与世长辞。

　　Shoemaker also died early. 而且，苏梅克也去世得太早。

　　On the third anniversary of the Shoemaker-Levy impact, he and his wife were in the Australian outback, 在木星撞击事件发生3周年之际，他和他的妻子长眠在澳大利亚腹地。

　　where they went every year to search for impact sites. 他每年都要去那里寻找撞击现场。

　　On a dirt track in the Tanami Desert—normally one of the emptiest places on Earth, 在塔塔米沙漠的一条土路上──这里通常是地球上最空旷的地方，

　　they came over a slight rise just as another vehicle was approaching. 他们正翻越一个小丘，恰好对面来了另一辆汽车。

　　Shoemaker was killed instantly, his wife injured. 苏梅克旋即丧命，他的妻子受了伤。

　　Part of his ashes were sent to the Moon aboard the Lunar Prospector³ spacecraft. 他的部分骨灰被“月球探索者”号宇宙飞船送上了月球，

　　The rest were scattered⁴ around Meteor Crater. 其余的撒在陨星坑周围。

　　Anderson and Witzke no longer had the crater that killed the dinosaurs⁵, 安德森和威策克的大坑不再是恐龙灭绝的原因。

　　"but we still had the largest and most perfectly⁶ preserved impact crater in the mainland United States," Anderson said. “但我们仍然拥有美国本土最大、保存最完好的撞击坑。”安德森说。

　　(A little verbal dexterity⁷ is required to keep Manson's superlative status. （为了让曼森大坑保持最高的地位，用词方面需要有点儿灵活性。

　　Other craters⁸ are larger—notably, Chesapeake Bay, which was recognized as an impact site in 1994—but they are either offshore⁹ or deformed¹⁰.)  别的坑还要大──引人注目的是切萨皮克湾，它于1994年被确认是个撞击现场──但它们不是在近海，就是变了形。）

1 nucleus   

n.核，核心，原子核

参考例句：

• These young people formed the nucleus of the club.这些年轻人成了俱乐部的核心。
• These councils would form the nucleus of a future regime.这些委员会将成为一个未来政权的核心。

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 prospector   

n.探矿者

参考例句：

• Although he failed as a prospector, he succeeded as a journalist.他作为采矿者遭遇失败，但作为记者大获成功。
• The prospector staked his claim to the mine he discovered.那个勘探者立桩标出他所发现的矿区地以示归己所有。

4 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

5 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》

6 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

7 dexterity   

n.(手的)灵巧，灵活

参考例句：

• You need manual dexterity to be good at video games.玩好电子游戏手要灵巧。
• I'm your inferior in manual dexterity.论手巧，我不如你。

8 craters   

n.火山口( crater的名词复数 )；弹坑等

参考例句：

• Small meteorites have left impact craters all over the planet's surface. 这个行星的表面布满了小块陨石留下的撞击坑。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The battlefield was full of craters made by exploding shells. 战场上布满弹坑。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

9 offshore   

adj.海面的，吹向海面的；adv.向海面

参考例句：

• A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
• A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。

10 deformed   

adj.畸形的；变形的；丑的，破相了的

参考例句：

• He was born with a deformed right leg.他出生时右腿畸形。
• His body was deformed by leprosy.他的身体因为麻风病变形了。