万物简史 第105期:势不两立的科学(6)

 In the same year—in fact, the same month—that the aristocratic and celebrated¹ Cuvier was propounding² his extinction³ theories in Paris, on the other side of the English Channel a rather more obscure Englishman was having an insight into the value of fossils that would also have lasting⁴ ramifications⁵. William Smith was a young supervisor⁶ of construction on the Somerset Coal Canal. On the evening of January 5, 1796, he was sitting in a coaching inn in Somerset when he jotted⁷ down the notion that would eventually make his reputation.

大名鼎鼎的贵族居维叶在巴黎提出了绝种论。同年——实际上是同月，在英吉利海峡对岸，一个不大知名的英国人在发表对化石价值的见解。他的见解也具有持久的影响。威廉·史密斯是萨默塞特的科尔运河建筑工地上的年轻监督员。1796年1月5日，他坐在萨默塞特一家马车旅店里，记下了那个最终会使他名扬天下的观点。

To interpret rocks, there needs to be some means of correlation⁸, a basis on which you can tell that those carboniferous rocks from Devon are younger than these Cambrian rocks from Wales. Smith's insight was to realize that the answer lay with fossils. At every change in rock strata⁹ certain species of fossils disappeared while others carried on into subsequent levels. By noting which species appeared in which strata, you could work out the relative ages of rocks wherever they appeared.

若要解释岩石，你非得有某种并置对比的东西。在这个基础上，你可以知道德文的那些石炭纪岩石要比威尔士的这些寒武纪岩石年轻。史密斯的见解都基于化石之上。随着岩层的每一变化，有的物种的化石消失了，而有的化石一直延伸到随后的岩层。通过发现哪种物种在哪个岩层出现，你就可以计算出岩石的年龄，无论这些岩石是在哪里。

Drawing on his knowledge as a surveyor, Smith began at once to make a map of Britain's rock strata, which would be published after many trials in 1815 and would become a cornerstone of modern geology. (The story is comprehensively covered in Simon Winchester's popular book The Map That Changed the World .)

凭着他作为测量员所拥有的知识，史密斯马上动手绘制英国的岩层图。经过多次试用以后，这些图于1815年出版，成为近代地质学的奠基石。（西蒙·温切斯特在他深受欢迎的《改变世界的地图》一书里对这件事作了全面的记述。

1 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

2 propounding   

v.提出（问题、计划等）供考虑[讨论]，提议( propound的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He won the prize by propounding the theory. 他因提出该学说而获奖。 来自互联网

3 extinction   

n.熄灭，消亡，消灭，灭绝，绝种

参考例句：

• The plant is now in danger of extinction.这种植物现在有绝种的危险。
• The island's way of life is doomed to extinction.这个岛上的生活方式注定要消失。

4 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

5 ramifications   

n.结果，后果( ramification的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• These changes are bound to have widespread social ramifications. 这些变化注定会造成许多难以预料的社会后果。
• What are the ramifications of our decision to join the union? 我们决定加入工会会引起哪些后果呢？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 supervisor   

n.监督人，管理人，检查员，督学，主管，导师

参考例句：

• Between you and me I think that new supervisor is a twit.我们私下说，我认为新来的主管人是一个傻瓜。
• He said I was too flighty to be a good supervisor.他说我太轻浮不能成为一名好的管理员。

7 jotted   

v.匆忙记下( jot的过去式和过去分词 )；草草记下，匆匆记下

参考例句：

• I jotted down her name. 我匆忙记下了她的名字。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The policeman jotted down my address. 警察匆匆地将我的地址记下。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

8 correlation   

n.相互关系，相关，关连

参考例句：

• The second group of measurements had a high correlation with the first.第二组测量数据与第一组高度相关。
• A high correlation exists in America between education and economic position.教育和经济地位在美国有极密切的关系。

9 strata   

n.地层（复数）；社会阶层

参考例句：

• The older strata gradually disintegrate.较老的岩层渐渐风化。
• They represent all social strata.他们代表各个社会阶层。