万物简史 第337期:孤独的行星(2)

 　　On land, if you rose to the top of a five-hundred-foot eminence—Cologne Cathedral or the Washington Monument, say, 在陆地上，要是你爬到150米的高处——比如科隆大教堂或华盛顿纪念碑，

　　the change in pressure would be so slight as to be indiscernible. 压力变化很小，你感觉不出来。

　　At the same depth underwater, however, your veins¹ would collapse² and your lungs would compress to the approximate dimensions of a Coke can. 而是要在水里，到了同样的深度，你的血管就会瘪掉，肺被压缩到大约可口可乐罐的大小。

　　Amazingly, people do voluntarily dive to such depths, without breathing apparatus³, for the fun of it in a sport known as free diving. 令人吃惊的是，居然有人为了好玩儿愿意下潜到这种深度，而且不戴呼吸器具。这种运动名叫裸潜。

　　Apparently⁴ the experience of having your internal organs rudely deformed⁵ is thought exhilarating 显然，有人觉得，内脏器官严重变形的经历是很刺激的

　　(though not presumably as exhilarating as having them return to their former dimensions upon resurfacing). （虽然回到岸上以后，内脏器官恢复原状的过程很可能就不那么刺激了）。

　　To reach such depths, however, divers⁶ must be dragged down, and quite briskly, by weights. 然而，要达到这样的深度，潜水者非得由重物快速拖下去。

　　Without assistance, the deepest anyone has gone and lived to talk about it afterward⁷ was an Italian named Umberto Pelizzari, 在没有外力帮忙的情况下，你能达到并事后能活着回来谈论这次经历的最深深度是72米——这项业绩是由一个名叫翁贝托·佩利扎里的意大利人完成的。

　　who in 1992 dove to a depth of 236 feet, lingered for a nanosecond, and then shot back to the surface. 他于1992年潜到那个深度，逗留了1毫微秒，然后迅速返回水面。

　　In terrestrial terms, 236 feet is just slightly over the length of one New York City block. 以陆地的标准来看，72米比足球场还短了一大截。

　　So even in our most exuberant⁸ stunts⁹ we can hardly claim to be masters of the abyss. 因此，即使我们做了最出色的惊险表演，也很难声称自己已经成了大海的主人。

　　Other organisms do of course manage to deal with the pressures at depth, though quite how some of them do so is a mystery. 当然，别的生物成功的适应了深处的压力，不过究竟有多少种生物具有这等本事还是个谜。

　　The deepest point in the ocean is the Mariana Trench¹⁰ in the Pacific. 海洋最深的地方是太平洋里的马里亚纳海沟。

　　There, some seven miles down, the pressures rise to over sixteen thousand pounds per square inch.  在那里，要是到了11.3公里左右的深处，每平方厘米的压力会升高到11000牛以上。

1 veins   

n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理

参考例句：

• The blood flows from the capillaries back into the veins. 血从毛细血管流回静脉。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I felt a pleasant glow in all my veins from the wine. 喝过酒后我浑身的血都热烘烘的，感到很舒服。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

3 apparatus   

n.装置，器械；器具，设备

参考例句：

• The school's audio apparatus includes films and records.学校的视听设备包括放映机和录音机。
• They had a very refined apparatus.他们有一套非常精良的设备。

4 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

5 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。

6 divers   

adj.不同的；种种的

参考例句：

• He chose divers of them,who were asked to accompany him.他选择他们当中的几个人，要他们和他作伴。
• Two divers work together while a standby diver remains on the surface.两名潜水员协同工作，同时有一名候补潜水员留在水面上。

7 afterward   

adv.后来；以后

参考例句：

• Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。
• Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。

8 exuberant   

adj.充满活力的；（植物）繁茂的

参考例句：

• Hothouse plants do not possess exuberant vitality.在温室里培养出来的东西，不会有强大的生命力。
• All those mother trees in the garden are exuberant.果园里的那些母树都长得十分茂盛。

9 stunts   

n.惊人的表演( stunt的名词复数 )；（广告中）引人注目的花招；愚蠢行为；危险举动v.阻碍…发育[生长]，抑制，妨碍( stunt的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He did all his own stunts. 所有特技都是他自己演的。
• The plane did a few stunts before landing. 飞机着陆前做了一些特技。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 trench   

n./v.(挖)沟，(挖)战壕

参考例句：

• The soldiers recaptured their trench.兵士夺回了战壕。
• The troops received orders to trench the outpost.部队接到命令在前哨周围筑壕加强防卫。