万物简史 第608期:冰河时代(5)

He lent Agassiz his notes—then came very much to regret it as Agassiz increasingly got the credit for what Schimper felt, with some legitimacy¹, was his theory. Charpentier likewise ended up a bitter enemy of his old friend. Alexander von Humboldt, yet another friend, may have had Agassiz at least partly in mind when he observed that there are three stages in scientific discovery: first, people deny that it is true; then they deny that it is important; finally they credit the wrong person.

他把他的笔记借给了阿加西斯——后来他为此懊悔不已，因为阿加西斯越来越把他的观点据为已有，而希姆帕尔合情合理地觉得那是他的理论。夏庞蒂埃最后也成了他老朋友的死对头。亚历山大·冯·洪堡也是阿加西斯的朋友。他曾经这样论述科学发现的三个阶段：首先，人们拒绝承认它是正确的；然后，人们拒绝承认它的重要性；最后，人们把功劳归于别人。

At all events, Agassiz made the field his own. In his quest to understand the dynamics² of glaciation, he went everywhere—deep into dangerous crevasses³ and up to the summits of the craggiest Alpine⁴ peaks, often apparently⁵ unaware⁶ that he and his team were the first to climb them. Nearly everywhere Agassiz encountered an unyielding reluctance⁷ to accept his theories. Humboldt urged him to return to his area of real expertise⁸, fossil fish, and give up this mad obsession⁹ with ice, but Agassiz was a man possessed¹⁰ by an idea.

话虽如此，阿加西斯还是致力于这一领域。为了了解冰川作用力，他哪里都去——钻进极其危险的裂缝深处，爬上极为陡峭的阿尔卑斯山峰，而且往往好像不知道，他和他的队员所攀登的是人类以前从未登临过的山峰。可是，几乎无论阿加西斯到哪里，人们对于他的理论总是将信将疑。洪堡要求他停止这种对于冰川的近乎狂热的考察，重新回到他所擅长的鱼类化石研究上来，可是阿加西斯是个受一种观点支配的人。

Agassiz's theory found even less support in Britain, where most naturalists¹¹ had never seen a glacier¹² and often couldn't grasp the crushing forces that ice in bulk exerts. "Could scratches and polish just be due to ice?" asked Roderick Murchison in a mocking tone at one meeting, evidently imagining the rocks as covered in a kind of light and glassy rime¹³. To his dying day, he expressed the frankest incredulity at those "ice-mad" geologists¹⁴ who believed that glaciers¹⁵ could account for so much.

在英国，支持阿加西斯理论的人更是少得可怜，因为那里的大多数博物学家从未见过冰川，往往无从理解冰川巨大的作用力。“难道岩石层面刮擦和磨光的痕迹仅仅归因于冰川作用吗？”在一次会议上，罗德里克·莫奇生以一种嘲讽的口吻问道，显然想当然地认为这是因为那些岩石表面覆盖着一种又轻又滑的冰霜。直到他临死的时候，他都对那些把什么都归因于冰川作用的。“冰川狂”地质学家们表示出强烈的不信任感。

1 legitimacy   

n.合法，正当

参考例句：

• The newspaper was directly challenging the government's legitimacy.报纸直接质疑政府的合法性。
• Managing from the top down,we operate with full legitimacy.我们进行由上而下的管理有充分的合法性。

2 dynamics   

n.力学，动力学，动力，原动力；动态

参考例句：

• In order to succeed,you must master complicated knowledge of dynamics.要取得胜利，你必须掌握很复杂的动力学知识。
• Dynamics is a discipline that cannot be mastered without extensive practice.动力学是一门不做大量习题就不能掌握的学科。

3 crevasses   

n.破口，崩溃处，裂缝( crevasse的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Splays are commonly formed by currents from crevasses in levees. 嗽叭形堆积通常由堤防决口的洪流所形成。 来自辞典例句
• The upper surface of glacier is riven by crevasses. 冰川的上表面已裂成冰隙。 来自辞典例句

4 alpine   

adj.高山的；n.高山植物

参考例句：

• Alpine flowers are abundant there.那里有很多高山地带的花。
• Its main attractions are alpine lakes and waterfalls .它以高山湖泊和瀑布群为主要特色。

5 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

6 unaware   

a.不知道的，未意识到的

参考例句：

• They were unaware that war was near. 他们不知道战争即将爆发。
• I was unaware of the man's presence. 我没有察觉到那人在场。

7 reluctance   

n.厌恶，讨厌，勉强，不情愿

参考例句：

• The police released Andrew with reluctance.警方勉强把安德鲁放走了。
• He showed the greatest reluctance to make a reply.他表示很不愿意答复。

8 expertise   

n.专门知识(或技能等)，专长

参考例句：

• We were amazed at his expertise on the ski slopes.他斜坡滑雪的技能使我们赞叹不已。
• You really have the technical expertise in a new breakthrough.让你真正在专业技术上有一个全新的突破。

9 obsession   

n.困扰，无法摆脱的思想(或情感)

参考例句：

• I was suffering from obsession that my career would be ended.那时的我陷入了我的事业有可能就此终止的困扰当中。
• She would try to forget her obsession with Christopher.她会努力忘记对克里斯托弗的迷恋。

10 possessed   

adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的

参考例句：

• He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。
• He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。

11 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

12 glacier   

n.冰川，冰河

参考例句：

• The glacier calved a large iceberg.冰河崩解而形成一个大冰山。
• The upper surface of glacier is riven by crevasses.冰川的上表面已裂成冰隙。

13 rime   

n.白霜；v.使蒙霜

参考例句：

• The field was covered with rime in the early morning.清晨地里覆盖着一层白霜。
• Coleridge contributed the famous Rime of the Ancient Mariner.柯勒律治贡献了著名的《老水手之歌》。

14 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。

15 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）