万物简史 第328期:美丽而危险(11)

 　　Evacuating¹ Yellowstone would never be easy. 撤离黄石公园不会是一件容易的事。

　　The park gets some three million visitors a year, mostly in the three peak months of summer. 公园每年吸引着大约300万名游客，主要是在夏季3个月的高峰期。

　　The park's roads are comparatively few and they are kept intentionally² narrow, partly to slow traffic, 公园里道路较少，故意修得很窄，一方面是为了减慢车辆速度，

　　partly to preserve an air of picturesqueness³, and partly because of topographical constraints⁴. 另一方面是为了保护自然美，再一方面是因为受到地形条件的限制。

　　At the height of summer, it can easily take half a day to cross the park and hours to get anywhere within it. 在盛夏季节，花半天时间就能轻松地穿越公园，花几个小时就能抵达公园的任何地方。

　　"Whenever people see animals, they just stop, wherever they are," Doss says. “人们一看到动物就停下来，无论在哪里，”多斯说，

　　"We get bear jams. We get bison jams. We get wolf jams." “我们这儿有熊群，有野牛群，有狼群。”

　　In the autumn of 2000, representatives from the U.S. Geological Survey and National Park Service, along with some academics, 2000年秋，美国地质局和国家公园管理处的代表以及几名学者开了一次会，

　　met and formed something called the Yellowstone Volcanic⁵ Observatory⁶. 成立了所谓的黄石火山观察所。

　　Four such bodies were in existence already—in Hawaii, California, Alaska, and Washington, 这样的机构全国已经有4个——分别在夏威夷、加利福尼亚、阿拉斯加和华盛顿。

　　but oddly none in the largest volcanic zone in the world. 但说来也怪，在世界上最大的火山区却没有。

　　The YVO is not actually a thing, but more an idea—an agreement to coordinate⁷ efforts at studying and analyzing⁸ the park's diverse geology. 黄石火山观察所与其说是一个机构，不如说是一种打算——一项协议，大家同意协调一致，研究和分析公园里多种多样的地质情况。

　　One of their first tasks, Doss told me, was to draw up an "earthquake and volcano hazards plan"—a plan of action in the event of a crisis. 多斯对我说，它的第一批任务之一是制订一个“地震和火山喷发应急计划”——即，一个危机时刻的行动计划。

　　There isn't one already? I said. “已经有了一个？”我问。

　　No. Afraid not. But there will be soon. “没有。恐怕没有。但很快会有。”

　　Isn't that just a little tardy⁹? “是不是晚了点？”

　　He smiled. "Well, let's just say that it's not any too soon." 他微微一笑：“哎呀，我们这样说吧，不算太晚。”

1 evacuating   

撤离，疏散( evacuate的现在分词 )； 排空（胃肠），排泄（粪便）； （从危险的地方）撤出，搬出，撤空

参考例句：

• The solution is degassed by alternately freezing, evacuating and thawing. 通过交替的冻结、抽空和溶化来使溶液除气。
• Are we evacuating these potential targets? 能够在这些目标地域内进行疏散吗？

2 intentionally   

ad.故意地，有意地

参考例句：

• I didn't say it intentionally. 我是无心说的。
• The local authority ruled that he had made himself intentionally homeless and was therefore not entitled to be rehoused. 当地政府裁定他是有意居无定所，因此没有资格再获得提供住房。

3 picturesqueness   

参考例句：

• The picturesqueness of the engineer's life was always attractive to Presley. 这司机的丰富多彩的生活，始终叫普瑞斯莱醉心。
• Philip liked the daring picturesqueness of the Americans'costume. 菲利浦喜欢美国人装束的那种粗犷的美。

4 constraints   

强制( constraint的名词复数 )； 限制； 约束

参考例句：

• Data and constraints can easily be changed to test theories. 信息库中的数据和限制条件可以轻易地改变以检验假设。 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史
• What are the constraints that each of these imply for any design? 这每种产品的要求和约束对于设计意味着什么？ 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

5 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。

6 observatory   

n.天文台，气象台，瞭望台，观测台

参考例句：

• Guy's house was close to the observatory.盖伊的房子离天文台很近。
• Officials from Greenwich Observatory have the clock checked twice a day.格林威治天文台的职员们每天对大钟检查两次。

7 coordinate   

adj.同等的，协调的；n.同等者；vt.协作，协调

参考例句：

• You must coordinate what you said with what you did.你必须使你的言行一致。
• Maybe we can coordinate the relation of them.或许我们可以调和他们之间的关系。

8 analyzing   

v.分析；分析( analyze的现在分词 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析n.分析

参考例句：

• Analyzing the date of some socialist countries presents even greater problem s. 分析某些社会主义国家的统计数据，暴露出的问题甚至更大。 来自辞典例句
• He undoubtedly was not far off the mark in analyzing its predictions. 当然，他对其预测所作的分析倒也八九不离十。 来自辞典例句

9 tardy   

adj.缓慢的，迟缓的

参考例句：

• It's impolite to make a tardy appearance.晚到是不礼貌的。
• The boss is unsatisfied with the tardy tempo.老板不满于这种缓慢的进度。