万物简史 第605期:冰河时代(2)

Spring never came and summer never warmed: 1816 became known as the year without summer. Crops everywhere failed to grow. In Ireland a famine and associated typhoid epidemic¹ killed sixty-five thousand people. In New England, the year became popularly known as Eighteen Hundred and Froze to Death. Morning frosts continued until June and almost no planted seed would grow. Short of fodder², livestock³ died or had to be prematurely⁴ slaughtered⁵. In every way it was a dreadful year—almost certainly the worst for farmers in modern times. Yet globally the temperature fell by only about 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit⁶. Earth's natural thermostat⁷, as scientists would learn, is an exceedingly delicate instrument.

春天停止了她的脚步，夏天也不再温暖，1816年成了“没有夏天”的一年。到处庄稼歉收。在爱尔兰，饥荒及斑疹伤寒的肆虐致使65000人死亡。在美国新英格兰地区，那年教人们称为“19世纪冻死年”。霜冻一直持续到6月，种到地里的种子根本不会发芽。由于缺少饲料，牲畜大批死亡，或者被提前宰杀。无论从哪个角度来看，1816年都是可怕的一年——这几乎可以肯定是现代农场主所遭受的一场最为严重的灾难。然而从全球来看，气温仅仅下降了不足1摄氏度。科学家们将从中了解到，地球上大自然的恒温系统是如此的脆弱。

The nineteenth century was already a chilly⁸ time. For two hundred years Europe and North America in particular had experienced a Little Ice Age, as it has become known, which permitted all kinds of wintry events—frost fairs on the Thames, ice-skating races along Dutch canals—that are mostly impossible now. It was a period, in other words, when frigidity⁹ was much on people's minds. So we may perhaps excuse nineteenth-century geologists¹⁰ for being slow to realize that the world they lived in was in fact balmy compared with former epochs, and that much of the land around them had been shaped by crushing glaciers¹¹ and cold that would wreck¹² even a frost fair.

19世纪已经不算是一个很冷的时期。在此前的200年时间里，正如我们现在所知道的，欧洲和北美洲经历厂一个小冰河时代，这使得各种各样的冰上活动成为可能——人们每年都要在泰晤士河上举办冰雪节，或者沿荷兰的运河举办溜冰比赛——所有这些对于现在的人来说已经不太可能。换句话说，那是一个人们对寒冷习以为常的时代。因此，我们也就不难理解，为什么19世纪的地质学家迟迟没有认识到：比起以往任何时代，他们所处的是一个相对温和的世界；他们身边的大片土地是威力无比的冰川和足以使任何冰雪节销声匿迹的寒冷所形成的。

1 epidemic   

n.流行病；盛行；adj.流行性的，流传极广的

参考例句：

• That kind of epidemic disease has long been stamped out.那种传染病早已绝迹。
• The authorities tried to localise the epidemic.当局试图把流行病限制在局部范围。

2 fodder   

n.草料；炮灰

参考例句：

• Grass mowed and cured for use as fodder.割下来晒干用作饲料的草。
• Guaranteed salt intake, no matter which normal fodder.不管是那一种正常的草料，保证盐的摄取。

3 livestock   

n.家畜，牲畜

参考例句：

• Both men and livestock are flourishing.人畜两旺。
• The heavy rains and flooding killed scores of livestock.暴雨和大水淹死了许多牲口。

4 prematurely   

adv.过早地，贸然地

参考例句：

• She was born prematurely with poorly developed lungs. 她早产，肺部未发育健全。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His hair was prematurely white, but his busy eyebrows were still jet-black. 他的头发已经白了，不过两道浓眉还是乌黑乌黑的。 来自辞典例句

5 slaughtered   

v.屠杀，杀戮，屠宰( slaughter的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The invading army slaughtered a lot of people. 侵略军杀了许多人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Hundreds of innocent civilians were cruelly slaughtered. 数百名无辜平民遭残杀。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 Fahrenheit   

n./adj.华氏温度；华氏温度计(的)

参考例句：

• He was asked for the boiling point of water in Fahrenheit.他被问到水的沸点是华氏多少度。
• The thermometer reads 80 degrees Fahrenheit.寒暑表指出华氏80度。

7 thermostat   

n.恒温器

参考例句：

• The thermostat is connected by a link to the carburetor.恒温控制器是由一根连杆与汽化器相连的。
• The temperature is controlled by electronic thermostat with high accuracy.电子恒温器，准确性高。

8 chilly   

adj.凉快的，寒冷的

参考例句：

• I feel chilly without a coat.我由于没有穿大衣而感到凉飕飕的。
• I grew chilly when the fire went out.炉火熄灭后，寒气逼人。

9 frigidity   

n.寒冷；冷淡；索然无味；（尤指妇女的）性感缺失

参考例句：

• Doctor Simpson believes that Suzie's frigidity is due to some hang-up about men. 辛普森大夫认为苏西的性冷淡是由于她对男人有着异常的精神反应。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Frigidity and horror have attacked that crying baby ! 那位哭闹的孩子又冷又害怕。 来自辞典例句

10 geologists   

地质学家，地质学者( geologist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Geologists uncovered the hidden riches. 地质学家发现了地下的宝藏。
• Geologists study the structure of the rocks. 地质学家研究岩石结构。

11 glaciers   

冰河，冰川( glacier的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Glaciers gouged out valleys from the hills. 冰川把丘陵地带冲出一条条山谷。
• It has ice and snow glaciers, rainforests and beautiful mountains. 既有冰川，又有雨林和秀丽的山峰。 来自英语晨读30分（高一）

12 wreck   

n.失事，遇难；沉船；vt.(船等)失事，遇难

参考例句：

• Weather may have been a factor in the wreck.天气可能是造成这次失事的原因之一。
• No one can wreck the friendship between us.没有人能够破坏我们之间的友谊。