2023考研英語閱讀向地底進(jìn)軍
Going underground
向地底進(jìn)軍
A project to reveal more about all the carbon onEarth
旨在向人們揭示更多地球碳信息的項(xiàng)目
The Deep Carbon Observatory
深碳觀測站
A world still full of secrets
一個(gè)依然充滿秘密的世界
THE carbon cycle is the stuff of school books.
碳循環(huán)是學(xué)校書本上的東西。
It is a familiar tale of photosynthesis, forests, farming and fossils fuels.
這是個(gè)關(guān)于光合作用、森林、耕作以及化石燃料的熟識的故事。
Understanding this cycle is important, both because it sustains life on Earth and because it isbound up with the rate of global warming.
理解這種循環(huán)很重要，不僅因?yàn)樘佳h(huán)維持地球上的生命，而且因?yàn)樗鼘τ谌蜃兣乃俣扔忻芮嘘P(guān)系。
But are the outlines of the carbon cycle really that familiar?
不過關(guān)于碳循環(huán)的概要，我們真的那么熟悉嗎?
At the AAAS meeting in Washington, DC, Robert Hazen of the Carnegie Institution forScience, which is based in the same town, gave a lecture intended to show that this view ofthe carbon cycle only scratches the surface.
在華盛頓的AAAS會議，來自卡內(nèi)基科學(xué)學(xué)院的Robert Hazen發(fā)表演講。該演講旨在展示上述對碳循環(huán)的的看法僅僅觸及表面。
Dr Hazen is one of the moving spirits behind a projectcalled the Deep Carbon Observatory, which will be paid for by the Alfred P.Sloan Foundation.
Hazen博士是被稱作深碳觀測站項(xiàng)目的幕后策劃者，該項(xiàng)目由Alfred P. Sloan基金出資。
Over the course of the next decade it will attempt to understand all the carbon in theEarth, not just the stuff that cycles through the atmosphere, the oceans and living things.
接下來的十年中，該項(xiàng)目將試著去了解地球上所有的碳，而不僅僅是通過大氣、海洋和生物循環(huán)的東西。
As Dr Hazen pointed out, carbon is the fourth-most-abundant element in the universe,after hydrogen, helium and oxygen.
正如Hazen博士指出的那樣，在氫、氦、氧之后，碳是宇宙中第四充足的元素。
In the Earth, though less common than that, it is reckoned to make up between 0.07% and3.2% of the planet.
在地球上，盡管沒有宇宙那么常見，據(jù)估計(jì)有0.07%到3.2%是由碳構(gòu)成的。
But the uncertainty of this range is itself a comment on how little carbon s role in theEarth s overall physics and chemistry is understood. Also uncertain is how muchinterchange there is between the carbon in the Earth s mantle and core, and the morefamiliar stuff in the crust, atmosphere and oceans.
這種范圍不確定本身就解釋了關(guān)于碳在地球總體物理、化學(xué)中的作用，人們了解的是那么的少。在地球的地幔和地核之間、或者地殼中更為我們熟知的大氣和海洋之間有多少碳交換也是不確定的。
Some carbon comes from the mantle to the surface in the form of diamonds.
一些從地幔到地球表面的碳以鉆石的形式存在著。
These crystals, which can form only under the intense pressure of the Earth s deep interior,must have been erupted at unbelievable speed to have survived the journey to the surfaceintact.
這些晶體只有在地球深處的集中壓力下才能形成，必然是以不可思議的速度噴發(fā)，在通往地球表面的過程中完好無損地幸存下來。
At slower speeds they would have turned into graphite, much to the chagrin of brides-to-beeverywhere.
與隨處可見的準(zhǔn)新娘的懊惱一樣，稍微慢一點(diǎn)它們就會變成石墨。
How, exactly, diamond forms is an important question.
鉆石究竟是如何形成的?這是一個(gè)重要的問題。
Diamonds are useful as an industrial material as well as gem stones, and they would havemany more applications if they could be made cheaply.
和寶石一樣，作為工業(yè)原料的鉆石很有用，而且如果他們價(jià)格便宜一些的話會有更多的用處。
And another, even more important industrial material, petroleum, may also come from themantle.
另外一種更重要的工業(yè)原料石油也是來自地幔。
Among petroleum geologists in Western countries, the consensus is that crude oil andnatural gas are formed near the Earth s surface from the fossilised bodies of living organisms.
在西方國家的石油地質(zhì)學(xué)家中，原油和天然氣是在靠近地表處由生物有機(jī)體的硬化部分而來。
Many Russians, though, disagree.
然而許多俄國人不同意這點(diǎn)。
They support the 130-year-old idea of their countryman Dmitri Mendeleev.
他們支持他們同胞門捷列夫有130年歷史的觀點(diǎn)。
He thought the temperatures and pressures of the mantle would convert carbonates andwater into hydrocarbons.
門捷列夫相信，地幔的溫度和壓力會把碳和水轉(zhuǎn)變成碳?xì)浠衔铩?/p>
That has, indeed, been done experimentally in the past.
實(shí)際上，在過去的試驗(yàn)中見證了這點(diǎn)。
And one role of the Deep Carbon Observatory will be to try to do it again in moresophisticated ways.
而深碳觀測站的一個(gè)作用就是用更加復(fù)雜的方式來嘗試重新做這種試驗(yàn)。
If it turns out that fossil fuels are abiogenic, that probably means they are more abundantthan Western geologists think, and may be found in places hitherto thought unpromising.
如果試驗(yàn)證明化石燃料并非由生物體產(chǎn)生，那可能意味著它們比西方地質(zhì)學(xué)家想象的還要多，而且可能會在迄今為止被認(rèn)為沒有希望的地方發(fā)現(xiàn)。
Abiogenic petroleum could also provide food for one of the most intriguing targets of all forthe Deep Carbon Observatory: the bacteria that live in the Earth s depths.
并非由生物體產(chǎn)生的石油也許可以為深碳觀測站最令人感興趣的目標(biāo)提供食物：在地球深處生活的細(xì)菌。
Current estimates suggest that half of all the living matter on Earth lives underground, atdepths of up to 5km.
最近估計(jì)表明，地球上的半數(shù)生物在深達(dá)5千米的地下生活。
Some people think the share may be bigger than that.
一些人認(rèn)為這一比例數(shù)字可能還可以再大一些。
Indeed, there is loose talk of life having originated more than once in the distant past, and ofthere being entire shadow biospheres of organisms completely unrelated to anything on thesurface.
實(shí)際上，關(guān)于在遙遠(yuǎn)的過去生命起源不止一次，以及完全與地表任何東西無關(guān)聯(lián)的少量有機(jī)體生物圈的存在，這都是胡說八道。
Intriguingly, a few diamonds bear signs that their carbon was once part of living organisms.
有趣的是，一些鉆石具有這樣的跡象：它們的碳曾經(jīng)是生物有機(jī)體的部分。
The ratio between the heavy and light isotopes of the element in their crystals is not quiteright for stuff that has come out of the ground.
它們晶體內(nèi)元素的輕重同位素的比例與那些來自地表的東西不完全吻合。
Instead, it matches the ratio found when organic molecules have been through a fewrounds of biochemical processing.
相反，與經(jīng)歷幾輪生物化學(xué)過程的有機(jī)體分子中的比例匹配。
Clearly there is a lot going on deep in the Earth that is completely unknown to science.
顯然，地球深處發(fā)生了許多科學(xué)完全未知的事兒。
With a bit of luck, over the ten years of Dr Hazen s project, the veil of ignorance will belifted a little.
Hazen博士今后10年多的項(xiàng)目研究，加上一些運(yùn)氣，無知的面紗將會揭開一點(diǎn)點(diǎn)。
詞語解釋
1.reveal v.使顯露;展現(xiàn)
He unbuttoned his shirt and revealed a big scar onhis chest.
他解開襯衣，露出胸膛上的一個(gè)大傷疤。
2.photosynthesis n. 光合作用
In apple trees photosynthesis occurs almostexclusively in the leaves.
蘋果樹的光合作用幾乎只發(fā)生在葉內(nèi)。
3.sustain v. 支撐;支援
The branches could hardly sustain the weight of fruit.
樹枝已很難支撐水果的重量。
4.familiar a.對某事物熟悉
You re a new arrival, not too familiar with bern.
你新來乍到，對伯爾尼情況也不太熟悉。
5.scratch v. 抓破;擦傷
The lens is easy to scratch or smudge.
該鏡頭很容易劃傷或弄臟。
Going underground
向地底進(jìn)軍
A project to reveal more about all the carbon onEarth
旨在向人們揭示更多地球碳信息的項(xiàng)目
The Deep Carbon Observatory
深碳觀測站
A world still full of secrets
一個(gè)依然充滿秘密的世界
THE carbon cycle is the stuff of school books.
碳循環(huán)是學(xué)校書本上的東西。
It is a familiar tale of photosynthesis, forests, farming and fossils fuels.
這是個(gè)關(guān)于光合作用、森林、耕作以及化石燃料的熟識的故事。
Understanding this cycle is important, both because it sustains life on Earth and because it isbound up with the rate of global warming.
理解這種循環(huán)很重要，不僅因?yàn)樘佳h(huán)維持地球上的生命，而且因?yàn)樗鼘τ谌蜃兣乃俣扔忻芮嘘P(guān)系。
But are the outlines of the carbon cycle really that familiar?
不過關(guān)于碳循環(huán)的概要，我們真的那么熟悉嗎?
At the AAAS meeting in Washington, DC, Robert Hazen of the Carnegie Institution forScience, which is based in the same town, gave a lecture intended to show that this view ofthe carbon cycle only scratches the surface.
在華盛頓的AAAS會議，來自卡內(nèi)基科學(xué)學(xué)院的Robert Hazen發(fā)表演講。該演講旨在展示上述對碳循環(huán)的的看法僅僅觸及表面。
Dr Hazen is one of the moving spirits behind a projectcalled the Deep Carbon Observatory, which will be paid for by the Alfred P.Sloan Foundation.
Hazen博士是被稱作深碳觀測站項(xiàng)目的幕后策劃者，該項(xiàng)目由Alfred P. Sloan基金出資。
Over the course of the next decade it will attempt to understand all the carbon in theEarth, not just the stuff that cycles through the atmosphere, the oceans and living things.
接下來的十年中，該項(xiàng)目將試著去了解地球上所有的碳，而不僅僅是通過大氣、海洋和生物循環(huán)的東西。
As Dr Hazen pointed out, carbon is the fourth-most-abundant element in the universe,after hydrogen, helium and oxygen.
正如Hazen博士指出的那樣，在氫、氦、氧之后，碳是宇宙中第四充足的元素。
In the Earth, though less common than that, it is reckoned to make up between 0.07% and3.2% of the planet.
在地球上，盡管沒有宇宙那么常見，據(jù)估計(jì)有0.07%到3.2%是由碳構(gòu)成的。
But the uncertainty of this range is itself a comment on how little carbon s role in theEarth s overall physics and chemistry is understood. Also uncertain is how muchinterchange there is between the carbon in the Earth s mantle and core, and the morefamiliar stuff in the crust, atmosphere and oceans.
這種范圍不確定本身就解釋了關(guān)于碳在地球總體物理、化學(xué)中的作用，人們了解的是那么的少。在地球的地幔和地核之間、或者地殼中更為我們熟知的大氣和海洋之間有多少碳交換也是不確定的。
Some carbon comes from the mantle to the surface in the form of diamonds.
一些從地幔到地球表面的碳以鉆石的形式存在著。
These crystals, which can form only under the intense pressure of the Earth s deep interior,must have been erupted at unbelievable speed to have survived the journey to the surfaceintact.
這些晶體只有在地球深處的集中壓力下才能形成，必然是以不可思議的速度噴發(fā)，在通往地球表面的過程中完好無損地幸存下來。
At slower speeds they would have turned into graphite, much to the chagrin of brides-to-beeverywhere.
與隨處可見的準(zhǔn)新娘的懊惱一樣，稍微慢一點(diǎn)它們就會變成石墨。
How, exactly, diamond forms is an important question.
鉆石究竟是如何形成的?這是一個(gè)重要的問題。
Diamonds are useful as an industrial material as well as gem stones, and they would havemany more applications if they could be made cheaply.
和寶石一樣，作為工業(yè)原料的鉆石很有用，而且如果他們價(jià)格便宜一些的話會有更多的用處。
And another, even more important industrial material, petroleum, may also come from themantle.
另外一種更重要的工業(yè)原料石油也是來自地幔。
Among petroleum geologists in Western countries, the consensus is that crude oil andnatural gas are formed near the Earth s surface from the fossilised bodies of living organisms.
在西方國家的石油地質(zhì)學(xué)家中，原油和天然氣是在靠近地表處由生物有機(jī)體的硬化部分而來。
Many Russians, though, disagree.
然而許多俄國人不同意這點(diǎn)。
They support the 130-year-old idea of their countryman Dmitri Mendeleev.
他們支持他們同胞門捷列夫有130年歷史的觀點(diǎn)。
He thought the temperatures and pressures of the mantle would convert carbonates andwater into hydrocarbons.
門捷列夫相信，地幔的溫度和壓力會把碳和水轉(zhuǎn)變成碳?xì)浠衔铩?/p>
That has, indeed, been done experimentally in the past.
實(shí)際上，在過去的試驗(yàn)中見證了這點(diǎn)。
And one role of the Deep Carbon Observatory will be to try to do it again in moresophisticated ways.
而深碳觀測站的一個(gè)作用就是用更加復(fù)雜的方式來嘗試重新做這種試驗(yàn)。
If it turns out that fossil fuels are abiogenic, that probably means they are more abundantthan Western geologists think, and may be found in places hitherto thought unpromising.
如果試驗(yàn)證明化石燃料并非由生物體產(chǎn)生，那可能意味著它們比西方地質(zhì)學(xué)家想象的還要多，而且可能會在迄今為止被認(rèn)為沒有希望的地方發(fā)現(xiàn)。
Abiogenic petroleum could also provide food for one of the most intriguing targets of all forthe Deep Carbon Observatory: the bacteria that live in the Earth s depths.
并非由生物體產(chǎn)生的石油也許可以為深碳觀測站最令人感興趣的目標(biāo)提供食物：在地球深處生活的細(xì)菌。
Current estimates suggest that half of all the living matter on Earth lives underground, atdepths of up to 5km.
最近估計(jì)表明，地球上的半數(shù)生物在深達(dá)5千米的地下生活。
Some people think the share may be bigger than that.
一些人認(rèn)為這一比例數(shù)字可能還可以再大一些。
Indeed, there is loose talk of life having originated more than once in the distant past, and ofthere being entire shadow biospheres of organisms completely unrelated to anything on thesurface.
實(shí)際上，關(guān)于在遙遠(yuǎn)的過去生命起源不止一次，以及完全與地表任何東西無關(guān)聯(lián)的少量有機(jī)體生物圈的存在，這都是胡說八道。
Intriguingly, a few diamonds bear signs that their carbon was once part of living organisms.
有趣的是，一些鉆石具有這樣的跡象：它們的碳曾經(jīng)是生物有機(jī)體的部分。
The ratio between the heavy and light isotopes of the element in their crystals is not quiteright for stuff that has come out of the ground.
它們晶體內(nèi)元素的輕重同位素的比例與那些來自地表的東西不完全吻合。
Instead, it matches the ratio found when organic molecules have been through a fewrounds of biochemical processing.
相反，與經(jīng)歷幾輪生物化學(xué)過程的有機(jī)體分子中的比例匹配。
Clearly there is a lot going on deep in the Earth that is completely unknown to science.
顯然，地球深處發(fā)生了許多科學(xué)完全未知的事兒。
With a bit of luck, over the ten years of Dr Hazen s project, the veil of ignorance will belifted a little.
Hazen博士今后10年多的項(xiàng)目研究，加上一些運(yùn)氣，無知的面紗將會揭開一點(diǎn)點(diǎn)。
詞語解釋
1.reveal v.使顯露;展現(xiàn)
He unbuttoned his shirt and revealed a big scar onhis chest.
他解開襯衣，露出胸膛上的一個(gè)大傷疤。
2.photosynthesis n. 光合作用
In apple trees photosynthesis occurs almostexclusively in the leaves.
蘋果樹的光合作用幾乎只發(fā)生在葉內(nèi)。
3.sustain v. 支撐;支援
The branches could hardly sustain the weight of fruit.
樹枝已很難支撐水果的重量。
4.familiar a.對某事物熟悉
You re a new arrival, not too familiar with bern.
你新來乍到，對伯爾尼情況也不太熟悉。
5.scratch v. 抓破;擦傷
The lens is easy to scratch or smudge.
該鏡頭很容易劃傷或弄臟。
