万物简史 第288期:砰!(23)

 　　As anyone who has used such a pump knows, compressed air grows swiftly hot, 使用过打气筒的人都知道，受到压缩的空气马上会变热，

　　and the temperature below it would rise to some 60,000 Kelvin, or ten times the surface temperature of the Sun. 底下的温度有可能升高到大约6万摄氏度，或10倍于太阳的表面温度。

　　In this instant of its arrival in our atmosphere,  在抵达我们大气层的刹那间，

　　everything in the meteor's path—people, houses, factories, cars—would crinkle and vanish like cellophane in a flame. 陨星所经之处的一切——人、房子、工厂、汽车——都会坍缩，像胶膜那样在烈火中消失。

　　One second after entering the atmosphere, the meteorite¹ would slam into the Earth's surface, 进入大气层一秒钟之后，陨星就会撞击地球表面。

　　where the people of Manson had a moment before been going about their business. 在那里，曼森人一会儿之前还在各忙各的事。

　　The meteorite itself would vaporize instantly, but the blast would blow out a thousand cubic kilometers of rock, earth, and superheated gases. 陨星本身也顿时化成蒸气，发生爆炸。爆炸会炸掉1000立方公里的岩石、泥土和过热的气体。

　　Every living thing within 150 miles that hadn't been killed by the heat of entry would now be killed by the blast. 在方圆250公里之内，凡是在陨星进入大气层的过程中没有被热死的生物，此刻会在爆炸中死于非命。

　　Radiating outward at almost the speed of light would be the initial shock wave, sweeping² everything before it. 第一轮冲击波几乎会以光的速度向外辐射，横扫前面的一切事物。

　　For those outside the zone of immediate³ devastation⁴, the first inkling of catastrophe⁵ would be a flash of blinding light, 对于直接灾区以外的人来说，第一个感觉是一道炫目的闪光，

　　the brightest ever seen by human eyes—followed an instant to a minute or two later by an apocalyptic⁶ sight of unimaginable grandeur⁷: 人的肉眼所见到过的最亮的闪光——紧接着是一幅难以想像的恐怖情景，仿佛世界末日已经来临，持续一刹那到一两分钟：

　　a roiling⁸ wall of darkness reaching high into the heavens, filling an entire field of view and traveling at thousands of miles an hour. 一片翻滚的黑幕以每小时几千公里的速度向前推进，挡住了整个视野，直达九天云霄。

　　Its approach would be eerily⁹ silent since it would be moving far beyond the speed of sound. 它的到来是悄然无声的，因为它移动的速度远远超过了声速。

1 meteorite   

n.陨石；流星

参考例句：

• The meteorite in Jilin Exhibition Hall is believed to be the largest in the world.吉林展览馆的陨石被认为是世界上最大的。
• The famous Murchison meteorite smashed into the Australian ground in 1969.1969年著名的默奇森陨石轰然坠落在澳大利亚。

2 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

3 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

4 devastation   

n.毁坏；荒废；极度震惊或悲伤

参考例句：

• The bomb caused widespread devastation. 炸弹造成大面积破坏。
• There was devastation on every side. 到处都是破坏的创伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 catastrophe   

n.大灾难，大祸

参考例句：

• I owe it to you that I survived the catastrophe.亏得你我才大难不死。
• This is a catastrophe beyond human control.这是一场人类无法控制的灾难。

6 apocalyptic   

adj.预示灾祸的，启示的

参考例句：

• The air is chill and stagnant,the language apocalyptic.空气寒冷而污浊，语言则是《启示录》式的。
• Parts of the ocean there look just absolutely apocalyptic.海洋的很多区域看上去完全像是世界末日。

7 grandeur   

n.伟大，崇高，宏伟，庄严，豪华

参考例句：

• The grandeur of the Great Wall is unmatched.长城的壮观是独一无二的。
• These ruins sufficiently attest the former grandeur of the place.这些遗迹充分证明此处昔日的宏伟。

8 roiling   

v.搅混（液体）( roil的现在分词 )；使烦恼；使不安；使生气

参考例句：

• Now, all that could be seen was the roiling, lead--coloured sea, with its thunderously heaving waves. 狂风挟着暴雨如同弥漫大雾，排挞呼号，在海上恣意奔驶。 来自汉英文学 - 现代散文
• Rather, it is a roiling, seething cauldron of evanescent particles. 相反，它是一个不断翻滚、剧烈沸腾的大锅，内有逐渐消失的粒子。 来自互联网

9 eerily   

adv.引起神秘感或害怕地

参考例句：

• It was nearly mid-night and eerily dark all around her. 夜深了，到处是一片黑黝黝的怪影。 来自汉英文学 - 散文英译
• The vast volcanic slope was eerily reminiscent of a lunar landscape. 开阔的火山坡让人心生怪异地联想起月球的地貌。 来自辞典例句