时差N小时 呼吸甲烷

Open the window and let some fresh air down.Ok!

打开窗户让新鲜空气进来。好的。

Take a deep breath of oxygen.

啊！深吸一口氧气。

It might not always been there,you know.

你知道的，它不是一直都有的。

What do you mean?

什么意思？

According to climate researcher James Kasting, when the earth first formed there might not have beenany oxygen around.

气候研究员的 James Kasting指出当地球初始形成时，周围并没有氧气。

Before the begining of the life？

在生命开始之前吗？

No,there would have been life, just no oxygen.

不，有生命，只是没有氧气。

For example, take methanogens, the microbes that make methane¹.

比如产烷生物，一种制造甲烷的微生物。

They only thrive² when there's no oxygen around.

它们只在周围没有氧气的时候才能生存。

Is that why they live in airless places like the stomachs of cows?

这就是它们为什么生活在像牛胃那样不通风的地方的原因吗？

Correct!And according to the theory, back when the earth was young and there was no oxygen around, methanogens ruled and the atmosphere was filled with methane.

正确。根据理论，当地球年轻并且没有氧气的时候，产烷生物统治着地球，空气里面充满了甲烷。

So when did Oxygen come on the scene?

那么氧气是什么时候出现的呢？

Not untill about a billion years later.

直到大约十亿年后。

But without methane, oxygen-producing microbes might not haveevolved as quickly as they did.

但是如果没有甲烷，制氧微生物就不会进化的如此之快。

See, methane is a powerful greenhouse⁴ gas, meaning that it could havehelped keep the sun's rays trapped near the earth's surface.

甲烷是一种强有力的温室气体，它可以维持地球表面的太阳光线。

This was important, since billions of yearsago the sun was weaker than it is today.

这是非常重要的。因为几十亿年前太阳的光线比现在弱。

So without the methane-induced greenhouse effect, the earth might have frozen⁵ solid until the sun got hotter.

因此如果没有甲烷制造的温室效应，地球可能会被冻成一个坚硬的固体，直到阳光变强为止。

But when the earth would have become way too hot?

但是地球变得太热了怎么办呢？

Yes. If not for the fact that the methane rich atmosphere also could have helped to reflect enough incoming sunlight to maintain⁶ a delicate⁷ temperature balance.

是的。甲烷丰富的大气同样有助于折射足够多的射入阳光，使温度保持一种微妙的平衡。

So maybe the earth stayed warm, but not too warm, until oxygen-producing microbes evolved³ andfilled the atmosphere with oxygen, which drove away most of the methane.

所以地球保持着温暖，但不至于太温暖。直到制氧生物进化完成，赶走了绝大多数的甲烷，让大气充满氧气。

Right.

是的。

Well!You've just made my breath of fresh air more interesting.

嗯，你让我呼吸新鲜空气变得更有趣了。

1 methane   

n.甲烷，沼气

参考例句：

• The blast was caused by pockets of methane gas that ignited.爆炸是由数袋甲烷气体着火引起的。
• Methane may have extraterrestrial significance.甲烷具有星际意义。

2 thrive   

v.兴旺，繁荣，茁壮成长

参考例句：

• These animals thrive on the leaves of certain trees.这些动物靠吃某些树的叶子长壮。
• This flowering plant will thrive and bloom wherever you plant it.这种花随便你种在哪儿都能活。

3 evolved   

动词evolve的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The idea evolved from a drawing I discovered in the attic. 这种想法是从我在阁楼里发现的一幅画得到启发的。
• Man was evolved from an ancestor that was probably arboreal. 人大概是从住在树上的祖先进化而来的。

4 greenhouse   

n.花房，温室，玻璃暖房

参考例句：

• Behind the green house was a greenhouse.在那所绿房子后面是一个花房。
• The tomatoes were grown in the greenhouse.这些西红柿是在温室栽培的。

5 frozen   

adj.冻结的，冰冻的

参考例句：

• He was frozen to death on a snowing night.在一个风雪的晚上，他被冻死了。
• The weather is cold and the ground is frozen.天寒地冻。

6 maintain   

vt.支撑；赡养，抚养；维持，保有

参考例句：

• He has to maintain a large family on a small salary.他不得不依靠很少的工资养活一家人。
• We must do our best to maintain sales at their usual rate.我们要尽力使销售额保持在平日的水平上。

7 delicate   

adj.巧妙的，敏感的；易损的，娇嫩的

参考例句：

• Be careful with those wine cups — they are very delicate.当心那些酒杯—它们很容易碎。
• The delicate handicraft works will not bear rough handling.精致的手工艺品经不起粗鲁的摆弄。