万物简史 第606期:冰河时代(3)

They knew there was something odd about the past. The European landscape was littered with inexplicable¹ anomalies—the bones of arctic reindeer² in the warm south of France, huge rocks stranded⁴ in improbable places—and they often came up with inventive but not terribly plausible⁵ explanations. One French naturalist⁶ named de Luc, trying to explain how granite⁷ boulders⁹ had come to rest high up on the limestone¹⁰ flanks of the Jura Mountains, suggested that perhaps they had been shot there by compressed air in caverns¹¹, like corks¹² out of a popgun. The term for a displaced boulder⁸ is an erratic¹³, but in the nineteenth century the expression seemed to apply more often to the theories than to the rocks.

他们知道过去发生了某种非同寻常的事情。欧洲大陆到处都可见令他们百思不得其解的反常现象——北极驯鹿的尸骨出现在温暖的法国南部，巨大的岩石矗立在它们不该出现的地方。这往往导致他们提出一些看似大胆，但显然又不怎么站得住脚的推论。一个名为德·吕克的法国博物学家试图解释为什么巨大的花岗岩出现在了侏罗山海拨较高的石灰岩层面，认为也许是洞里的压缩空气把它们掀到了那里，就像橡皮子弹从玩具枪里被弹出一样。这样解释一块被移动了很长距离的大石头是然是站不住脚的，但是在19世纪，人们更在意的是这样的解释本身是否自圆其说，对于它是否与岩石运动的实际情况相符，那倒是还在其次的。

The great British geologist¹⁴ Arthur Hallam has suggested that if James Hutton, the father of geology, had visited Switzerland, he would have seen at once the significance of the carved valleys, the polished striations, the telltale strand³ lines where rocks had been dumped, and the other abundant clues that point to passing ice sheets. Unfortunately, Hutton was not a traveler. But even with nothing better at his disposal than secondhand accounts, Hutton rejected out of hand the idea that huge boulders had been carried three thousand feet up mountainsides by floods—all the water in the world won't make a boulder float, he pointed¹⁵ out—and became one of the first to argue for widespread glaciation. Unfortunately his ideas escaped notice, and for another half century most naturalists¹⁶ continued to insist that the gouges¹⁷ on rocks could be attributed to passing carts or even the scrape of hobnailed boots.

英国伟人的地质学家阿瑟·哈莱姆曾说，如果18世纪地质学之父詹姆斯·赫顿曾亲自到瑞士去考察的话，他一定会立刻明白那里被切割得七零八落的山谷、被磨得平整光滑的条痕、岩石搁浅后堆集丽成的缤线以及随处可见的其他线索的重要意义。所有这一切都表明这里曾有冰盖滑过。令人遗憾的足，赫顿并不是一个旅行家。但是，即便是凭他所掌握的二手资料，他也不假思索地拒绝认为那些巨大的石块是由洪水冲到1000米高的山坡上的——他指出，世界上没有任何水能使岩石漂浮起来——他成了赞成大规模冰川作用的第一人。可惜他的观点没有引起广泛注意；有将近半个世纪的时间，大多数博物学家依然坚持认为，岩石上的痕迹也许不过是过路的大车碾轧出来的，甚至可能是靴子的平头钉刮擦出来的。

1 inexplicable   

adj.无法解释的，难理解的

参考例句：

• It is now inexplicable how that development was misinterpreted.当时对这一事态发展的错误理解究竟是怎么产生的，现在已经无法说清楚了。
• There are many things which are inexplicable by science.有很多事科学还无法解释。

2 reindeer   

n.驯鹿

参考例句：

• The herd of reindeer was being trailed by a pack of wolves.那群驯鹿被一只狼群寻踪追赶上来。
• The life of the Reindeer men was a frontier life.驯鹿时代人的生活是一种边区生活。

3 strand   

vt.使（船）搁浅，使（某人）困于（某地）

参考例句：

• She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ears.她把一缕散发夹到了耳后。
• The climbers had been stranded by a storm.登山者被暴风雨困住了。

4 stranded   

a.搁浅的，进退两难的

参考例句：

• He was stranded in a strange city without money. 他流落在一个陌生的城市里， 身无分文，一筹莫展。
• I was stranded in the strange town without money or friends. 我困在那陌生的城市，既没有钱，又没有朋友。

5 plausible   

adj.似真实的，似乎有理的，似乎可信的

参考例句：

• His story sounded plausible.他说的那番话似乎是真实的。
• Her story sounded perfectly plausible.她的说辞听起来言之有理。

6 naturalist   

n.博物学家(尤指直接观察动植物者)

参考例句：

• He was a printer by trade and naturalist by avocation.他从事印刷业，同时是个博物学爱好者。
• The naturalist told us many stories about birds.博物学家给我们讲述了许多有关鸟儿的故事。

7 granite   

adj.花岗岩，花岗石

参考例句：

• They squared a block of granite.他们把一块花岗岩加工成四方形。
• The granite overlies the older rocks.花岗岩躺在磨损的岩石上面。

8 boulder   

n.巨砾；卵石，圆石

参考例句：

• We all heaved together and removed the boulder.大家一齐用劲，把大石头搬开了。
• He stepped clear of the boulder.他从大石头后面走了出来。

9 boulders   

n.卵石( boulder的名词复数 )；巨砾；（受水或天气侵蚀而成的）巨石；漂砾

参考例句：

• Seals basked on boulders in a flat calm. 海面风平浪静，海豹在巨石上晒太阳。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The river takes a headlong plunge into a maelstrom of rocks and boulders. 河水急流而下，入一个漂砾的漩涡中。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 limestone   

n.石灰石

参考例句：

• Limestone is often used in building construction.石灰岩常用于建筑。
• Cement is made from limestone.水泥是由石灰石制成的。

11 caverns   

大山洞，大洞穴( cavern的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Within were dark caverns; what was inside them, no one could see. 里面是一个黑洞，这里面有什么东西，谁也望不见。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）
• UNDERGROUND Under water grottos, caverns Filled with apes That eat figs. 在水帘洞里，挤满了猿争吃无花果。

12 corks   

n.脐梅衣；软木( cork的名词复数 )；软木塞

参考例句：

• Champagne corks were popping throughout the celebrations. 庆祝会上开香槟酒瓶塞的砰砰声不绝於耳。 来自辞典例句
• Champagne corks popped, and on lace tablecloths seven-course dinners were laid. 桌上铺着带装饰图案的网织的桌布，上面是七道菜的晚餐。 来自飘（部分）

13 erratic   

adj.古怪的，反复无常的，不稳定的

参考例句：

• The old man had always been cranky and erratic.那老头儿性情古怪,反复无常。
• The erratic fluctuation of market prices is in consequence of unstable economy.经济波动致使市场物价忽起忽落。

14 geologist   

n.地质学家

参考例句：

• The geologist found many uncovered fossils in the valley.在那山谷里，地质学家发现了许多裸露的化石。
• He was a geologist,rated by his cronies as the best in the business.他是一位地质学家，被他的老朋友们看做是这门行当中最好的一位。

15 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

16 naturalists   

n.博物学家( naturalist的名词复数 )；（文学艺术的）自然主义者

参考例句：

• Naturalists differ much in determining what characters are of generic value. 自然学者对于不同性状决定生物的属的含义上，各有各的见解。 来自辞典例句
• This fact has led naturalists to believe that the Isthmus was formerly open. 使许多自然学者相信这个地蛱在以前原是开通的。 来自辞典例句

17 gouges   

n.凿( gouge的名词复数 )；乱要价；（在…中）抠出…；挖出…v.凿( gouge的第三人称单数 )；乱要价；（在…中）抠出…；挖出…

参考例句：

• Clegg and Rollins indicate that nonwrinkleresistant cotton fibers often exhibIt'surface gouges and fibrillation. 克莱格和罗林斯指出，未经防皱处理的棉纤维表面，通常有凿槽和微纤化现象发生。 来自辞典例句
• She didn't mind that we banged into the walls and put gouges in the door jambs. 她一点也不介意我们撞坏墙或是把门框碰出小坑来。 来自互联网