万物简史 第317期:地下的烈火(25)

 　　Ninety minutes after the blast, ash began to rain down on Yakima, Washington, 爆发90分钟以后，灰烬开始雨滴般地洒落在华盛顿州的亚基马。

　　a community of fifty thousand people about eighty miles away. 那是个有5万人口的社区，离现场大约130公里。

　　As you would expect, the ash turned day to night and got into everything, 正如你可以估计到的那样，灰烬把白天变成了黑夜，钻进了一切物品中，

　　clogging¹ motors, generators², and electrical switching equipment, choking pedestrians³, blocking filtration systems, and generally bringing things to a halt. 塞住了发动机、发电机和电器，堵住了行人的喉咙，阻塞了过滤系统，总之使一切陷于瘫痪。

　　The airport shut down and highways in and out of the city were closed. 机场关闭，进出该市的公路封闭。

　　All this was happening, you will note, just downwind of a volcano that had been rumbling⁴ menacingly for two months. 你会注意到，这一切都只是发生在一座火山的顺风地带，而两个月以内那座火山一直在可怕地隆隆作响。

　　Yet Yakima had no volcano emergency procedures. 然而亚基马没有火山爆发应急程序。

　　The city's emergency broadcast system, which was supposed to swing into action during a crisis, 该市的紧急广播系统本应在危急时刻快速启用，

　　did not go on the air because "the Sunday-morning staff did not know how to operate the equipment." 但是没有出声，因为“星期天上午的工作人员不知道怎么操作这台设备”。

　　For three days, Yakima was paralyzed and cut off from the world, its airport closed, its approach roads impassable. 有3天时间，亚基马处于瘫痪状态，机场关闭，道路不通，和世界失去了联系。

　　Altogether the city received just five-eighths of an inch of ash after the eruption⁵ of Mount St. Helens. 圣海伦斯火山爆发以后，总共只有1.5厘米厚的灰烬落在这个城市。

　　Now bear that in mind, please, as we consider what a Yellowstone blast would do. 现在，请你把那些记在脑子里，因为我们就要讨论黄石火山的一次喷发会是什么后果。

1 clogging   

堵塞，闭合

参考例句：

• This process suffers mainly from clogging the membrane. 这种过程的主要问题是滤膜的堵塞。
• And you know that eyewitness that's been clogging up the airwaves? 你知道那个充斥着电视广播的目击证人？

2 generators   

n.发电机，发生器( generator的名词复数 )；电力公司

参考例句：

• The factory's emergency generators were used during the power cut. 工厂应急发电机在停电期间用上了。
• Power can be fed from wind generators into the electricity grid system. 电力可以从风力发电机流入输电网。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 pedestrians   

n.步行者( pedestrian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Several pedestrians had come to grief on the icy pavement. 几个行人在结冰的人行道上滑倒了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Pedestrians keep to the sidewalk [footpath]! 行人走便道。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 rumbling   

n. 隆隆声, 辘辘声 adj. 隆隆响的 动词rumble的现在分词

参考例句：

• The earthquake began with a deep [low] rumbling sound. 地震开始时发出低沉的隆隆声。
• The crane made rumbling sound. 吊车发出隆隆的响声。

5 eruption   

n.火山爆发；（战争等）爆发；（疾病等）发作

参考例句：

• The temple was destroyed in the violent eruption of 1470 BC.庙宇在公元前1470年猛烈的火山爆发中摧毁了。
• The eruption of a volcano is spontaneous.火山的爆发是自发的。