万物简史 第350期:孤独的行星(15)

 　　Its surface temperature is a roasting 470 degrees centigrade (roughly 900 degrees Fahrenheit), which is hot enough to melt lead, 它的表面温度高达470摄氏度，连铅都会熔化。

　　and the atmospheric¹ pressure at the surface is ninety times that of Earth, or more than any human body could withstand. 金星表面的大气压是地球表面的90倍，任何人都受不了。

　　We lack the technology to make suits or even spaceships that would allow us to visit. 目前我们生产不出隔热服装，也制造不了隔热的宇宙飞船，因此无法前往金星。

　　Our knowledge of Venus's surface is based on distant radar² imagery and some startled squawks from an unmanned Soviet³ probe 我们对金星表面的了解，是基于遥远的雷达图像，以及一艘苏联无人探测器发出的一些噪声。

　　that was dropped hopefully into the clouds in 1972 and functioned for barely an hour before permanently⁴ shutting down. 那个探测器于1972年满怀希望降落在云团里，运转不到一个小时就永远地关闭了。

　　So that's what happens when you move two light minutes closer to the Sun. 所以，你只要向太阳移动2光分，就会发生上述情况。

　　Travel farther out and the problem becomes not heat but cold, as Mars frigidly⁵ attests⁶. 而要是离太阳再远一点，问题不是太热，而是太冷，这一点冰冷的火星可以作证。

　　It, too, was once a much more congenial place, but couldn't retain a usable atmosphere and turned into a frozen waste. 火星一度也是个比较合意的地方，但它没有留住有用的大气层，变成了一个天寒地冻的不毛之地。

　　But just being the right distance from the Sun cannot be the whole story, for otherwise the Moon would be forested and fair, which patently it is not. 但是，仅仅与太阳的距离不适合还不解决全部的问题，否则月球上也会是个长满森林的漂亮地方。但它显然不是。

　　For that you need to have: The right kind of planet. 为此，你非得还要有：合适的行星。

　　I don't imagine even many geophysicists, when asked to count their blessings⁷, would include living on a planet with a molten interior, 我可以想像，如果你请地球物理学家数一数自己的幸遇，连他们许多人也不会把一个内部都是岩浆的行星包括在内。

　　but it's a pretty near certainty that without all that magma swirling⁸ around beneath us we wouldn't be here now. 但是，几乎可以肯定，要是我们的脚底下没有翻腾的岩浆，我们就不会在这里。

1 atmospheric   

adj.大气的，空气的；大气层的；大气所引起的

参考例句：

• Sea surface temperatures and atmospheric circulation are strongly coupled.海洋表面温度与大气环流是密切相关的。
• Clouds return radiant energy to the surface primarily via the atmospheric window.云主要通过大气窗区向地表辐射能量。

2 radar   

n.雷达，无线电探测器

参考例句：

• They are following the flight of an aircraft by radar.他们正在用雷达追踪一架飞机的飞行。
• Enemy ships were detected on the radar.敌舰的影像已显现在雷达上。

3 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

4 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

5 frigidly   

adv.寒冷地；冷漠地；冷淡地；呆板地

参考例句：

6 attests   

v.证明( attest的第三人称单数 )；证实；声称…属实；使宣誓

参考例句：

• The child's good health attests his mother's care. 这孩子健康的身体证实他母亲照料周到。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The boy's good health attests to his mother's care. 这个男孩的良好健康就是他母亲细心照顾的明证。 来自辞典例句

7 blessings   

n.（上帝的）祝福( blessing的名词复数 )；好事；福分；因祸得福

参考例句：

• Afflictions are sometimes blessings in disguise. 塞翁失马，焉知非福。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We don't rely on blessings from Heaven. 我们不靠老天保佑。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 swirling   

v.旋转，打旋( swirl的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Snowflakes were swirling in the air. 天空飘洒着雪花。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• She smiled, swirling the wine in her glass. 她微笑着，旋动着杯子里的葡萄酒。 来自辞典例句