万物简史 第290期:砰!(25)

 　　As one commentator¹ has put it, fleeing would mean "selecting a slow death over a quick one. 有一位评论家说，逃跑意味着“在慢死和快死之中选择慢死。

　　The death toll² would be very little affected³ by any plausible⁴ relocation effort, 无论你怎么改变位置，死亡的人数不会受到多大影响，

　　since Earth's ability to support life would be universally diminished." 因为地球支持生命的能力将会普遍降低”。

　　The amount of soot⁵ and floating ash from the impact and following fires would blot⁶ out the sun, 撞击产生的浓烟和飞灰以及随之发生的大火，

　　certainly for months, possibly for years, disrupting growing cycles. 肯定会遮天蔽日达数月之久，有可能是数年之久，打乱了生长周期。

　　In 2001 researchers at the California Institute of Technology analyzed⁷ helium isotopes⁸ from sediments⁹ left from the later KT impact 2001年，加州理工学院的研究人员分析一次KT撞击留下的沉积物里的铱同位素后，

　　and concluded that it affected Earth's climate for about ten thousand years. 得出结论说，它对地球气候的影响达1万年左右。

　　This was actually used as evidence to support the notion that the extinction¹⁰ of dinosaurs¹¹ was swift and emphatic—and so it was in geological terms. 这完全可被用做证据，证明恐龙的灭绝是快速的，彻底的——从地质学看来，情况就是如此。

　　We can only guess how well, or whether, humanity would cope with such an event. 人类在多大程度上或是否能够应付这样的事件，我们只能猜猜罢了。

　　And in all likelihood, remember, this would come without warning, out of a clear sky. 记住，这样的事件很可能像是晴天霹雳，令人猝不及防。

　　But let's assume we did see the object coming. 不过，我们来假设一下，我们看到了那个物体在飞过来。

　　What would we do? 我们会怎么办？

　　Everyone assumes we would send up a nuclear warhead and blast it to smithereens. 人人都认为，我们可以发射一枚核弹头，把它炸成碎片。

　　The idea has some problems, however. 然而，那种办法有几个问题。

　　First, as John S. Lewis notes, our missiles are not designed for space work. 首先，正如约翰·S·刘易斯所说，我们的导弹不适于在宇宙里作业。

　　They haven't the oomph to escape Earth's gravity  它们没有本事摆脱地球的引力；

　　and, even if they did, there are no mechanisms¹² to guide them across tens of millions of miles of space.  即使摆脱了地球的引力，我们也没有这个装置来操纵它们，让它们在太空里飞行数千万公里。

1 commentator   

n.注释者，解说者；实况广播评论员

参考例句：

• He is a good commentator because he can get across the game.他能简单地解说这场比赛，是个好的解说者。
• The commentator made a big mistake during the live broadcast.在直播节目中评论员犯了个大错误。

2 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

3 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

4 plausible   

adj.似真实的，似乎有理的，似乎可信的

参考例句：

• His story sounded plausible.他说的那番话似乎是真实的。
• Her story sounded perfectly plausible.她的说辞听起来言之有理。

5 soot   

n.煤烟，烟尘；vt.熏以煤烟

参考例句：

• Soot is the product of the imperfect combustion of fuel.煤烟是燃料不完全燃烧的产物。
• The chimney was choked with soot.烟囱被煤灰堵塞了。

6 blot   

vt.弄脏（用吸墨纸）吸干；n.污点，污渍

参考例句：

• That new factory is a blot on the landscape.那新建的工厂破坏了此地的景色。
• The crime he committed is a blot on his record.他犯的罪是他的履历中的一个污点。

7 analyzed   

v.分析( analyze的过去式和过去分词 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析

参考例句：

• The doctors analyzed the blood sample for anemia. 医生们分析了贫血的血样。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The young man did not analyze the process of his captivation and enrapturement, for love to him was a mystery and could not be analyzed. 这年轻人没有分析自己蛊惑著迷的过程，因为对他来说，爱是个不可分析的迷。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 isotopes   

n.同位素；同位素( isotope的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the many isotopes of carbon 碳的诸多同位素
• Tritium is one of the mildest radioactive isotopes. 氚是最和缓的放射性同位素之一。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 sediments   

沉淀物( sediment的名词复数 )； 沉积物

参考例句：

• When deposited, 70-80% of the volume of muddy sediments may be water. 泥质沉积物沉积后，体积的70-80％是水。
• Oligocene erosion had truncated the sediments draped over the dome. 覆盖于穹丘上的沉积岩为渐新世侵蚀所截削。

10 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。

11 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》

12 mechanisms   

n.机械( mechanism的名词复数 )；机械装置；[生物学] 机制；机械作用

参考例句：

• The research will provide direct insight into molecular mechanisms. 这项研究将使人能够直接地了解分子的机理。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He explained how the two mechanisms worked. 他解释这两台机械装置是如何工作的。 来自《简明英汉词典》