万物简史 第338期:孤独的行星(3)

 　　We have managed once, briefly¹, to send humans to that depth in a sturdy diving vessel², yet it is home to colonies of amphipods, 我们只有一次用坚固的潜水器成功地把人送到了那个深度，而且就一会儿，而那里却是端足目动物的家园。

　　a type of crustacean³ similar to shrimp⁴ but transparent⁵, which survive without any protection at all. 那是一种甲克纲动物，有点像小虾，不过是透明的。它们无须保护就能生存下去。

　　Most oceans are of course much shallower, 当然，大多数海洋比较浅，

　　but even at the average ocean depth of two and a half miles the pressure is equivalent to being squashed beneath a stack of fourteen loaded cement trucks. 但即使在平均深度为4公里的大海里，压力也相当于被压在叠在一起的14辆装满水泥的卡车底下。

　　Nearly everyone, including the authors of some popular books on oceanography, 包括一些海洋学科普作家在内的几乎每个人都认为，

　　assumes that the human body would crumple⁶ under the immense pressures of the deep ocean. 在大海深处的巨大压力下，人体会被压扁。

　　In fact, this appears not to be the case. 实际上，情况似乎并非如此。

　　Because we are made largely of water ourselves, and water is "virtually incompressible," in the words of Frances Ashcroft of Oxford⁷ University, 由于在很大程度上我们本身也是由水组成的，而水——用牛津大学弗朗西斯·阿什克罗夫特的话来说——“实际上是压不扁的”，

　　"the body remains⁸ at the same pressure as the surrounding water, and is not crushed at depth." 因此人体仍会保持与周围水一样的压力，不会被压死。

　　It is the gases inside your body, particularly in the lungs, that cause the problem. 麻烦的倒是体内的气体，尤其是肺内的气体。

　　These do compress, though at what point the compression becomes fatal is not known. 那里的气体确实会被压缩，但压缩到什么程度才会致命，这还不知道。

　　Until quite recently it was thought that anyone diving to one hundred meters or so would die painfully as his or her lungs imploded⁹ or chest wall collapsed¹⁰, 直到最近，人们还认为，只要潜到100米左右的深处，肺脏会内爆，胸壁会破裂，他或她就会痛苦地死去，

　　but the free divers¹¹ have repeatedly proved otherwise. 但裸潜者反复证明，情况恰好相反。

　　It appears, according to Ashcroft, that "humans may be more like whales and dolphins than had been expected." 据阿什克罗夫特说，似乎“人可以比预想的更要向鲸和海豚”。

　　Plenty else can go wrong, however.  然而，许多别的方面可能出问题。

1 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

2 vessel   

n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管

参考例句：

• The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
• You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。

3 crustacean   

n.甲壳动物；adj.甲壳纲的

参考例句：

• Seafood is a valuable lobster crustacean section.名贵海珍品龙虾属甲壳科。
• The illustrious Cuvier did not perceive that a barnacle was a crustacean.大名鼎鼎的居维叶也未看出藤壶是一种甲壳动物。

4 shrimp   

n.虾，小虾；矮小的人

参考例句：

• When the shrimp farm is built it will block the stream.一旦养虾场建起来，将会截断这条河流。
• When it comes to seafood,I like shrimp the best.说到海鲜，我最喜欢虾。

5 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。

6 crumple   

v.把...弄皱，满是皱痕，压碎，崩溃

参考例句：

• Take care not to crumple your dress by packing it carelessly.当心不要因收放粗心压纵你的衣服。
• The wall was likely to crumple up at any time.墙随时可能坍掉。

7 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

8 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

9 imploded   

v.（使）向心聚爆( implode的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The economies of Brazil and Russia imploded in 1998. 巴西与俄罗斯的经济在1998年宣告破裂。 来自互联网
• A startling number of his nominees for senior positions have imploded. 他所提名的高级官员被否决的数目令人震惊。 来自互联网

10 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

11 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。