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海洋深处的探索从何开始
- Authors
长期以来，海底深处一直被视为与海面之上的世界不同，是奇异生物居住的阴暗非场所。
双语精读
The deep has long been treated as somehow separate from the surface world, a shadowy non-place populated by alien creatures. While this is partly a response to the difficulty of studying it, it also reflects an ingrained tendency.
长期以来，海底深处一直被视为与海面之上的世界不同，是奇异生物居住的阴暗非场所。虽然这在一定程度上是因为研究海底很困难，但也反映了一种根深蒂固的趋势。
As the writer Robert Macfarlane has observed, humans are creatures of the air and light, and we have often regarded the spaces beneath our feet with abhorrence, associating them with death, entombment and the unseen and unnameable.
正如作家罗伯特·麦克法兰所观察到的那样，人类是需要空气和光的生物，我们常常对脚下的空间充满厌恶，把它们与死亡、埋葬、隐形的和无法言说的事物联想起来。
And while what Macfarlane calls the underland might be a place of ritual power as well as a place of burial, the ocean's depths are more frequently equated with loss and forgetting.
虽然麦克法兰所说的地下世界可能是用于埋葬和表现仪式权力的地方，但海洋深处更经常地被等同于失落和遗忘。
Although those versed in traditional wayfinding techniques often understood the ocean in more complex ways, the idea of the deep as an unknowable non-place was also embedded in navigational practices.
虽然那些精通传统寻路技术的人通常以更复杂的方式理解海洋，但深海是一个不可知的非场所的想法同样根植于航海实践中。
For European sailors plying the waters of the Mediterranean sea and the Atlantic and Indian oceans, all that really mattered was knowing where potential obstacles and risks such as reefs and sandbars lay -- a way of thinking that transformed the ocean's depths into a blank irrelevance.
对于经常在地中海、大西洋和印度洋上航行的欧洲水手来说，真正重要的是知道潜在的障碍和风险（比如珊瑚礁和沙洲）在哪里，这种思维方式把海洋深处变成了一个空白的无关紧要的地方。
It was not until the early 19th century that a more detailed scientific understanding of the deep began to take shape.
直到19世纪初，对深海更详细的科学认识才开始形成。
In part, this was a result of the growing reach of the colonial powers: as the commercial and territorial aspirations of Europeans and Americans expanded to encompass the globe, the need for more accurate and more detailed knowledge of the ocean grew as well.
一方面，这是殖民强国势力不断扩张的结果：欧洲人和美国人对商业和领土的渴望扩展到全球，于是就越来越需要对海洋有更准确、更详细的了解。
But it also grew out of the experiences of whalers, whose voyages were now taking them far out into the open waters of the Atlantic and Pacific, and leading to an appreciation of the great depths to which whales would often dive.
不过，这种认识也来自捕鲸人的经验，他们的航行已经把他们远远地带到了大西洋和太平洋的开阔水域，并使他们意识到了鲸鱼经常潜入的深海。
This interest in the deep ocean took on a new urgency in the 1850s, when British and American entrepreneurs began to lay the first submarine telegraph cables across the Atlantic. The technical challenges of these ventures demanded a more detailed understanding of the ocean floor.
19世纪50年代，当英美企业家开始铺设第一条横跨大西洋的海底电报电缆时，这种对深海的兴趣呈现出新的紧迫性。这些商业冒险的技术挑战要求人们对海底有更详细的了解。
But it was not until the Challenger expedition circumnavigated the globe on its pioneering scientific survey of the world's oceans in the 1870s that the true extent of the deep ocean finally started to emerge.
但是，直到19世纪70年代，“挑战者”号探险队环绕地球航行，对世界海洋进行了开创性的科学调查，深海的完整规模才终于开始显现。
In the north-west Pacific, where the Mariana Trench plunges downwards into the planet's crust, HMS Challenger recorded depths in excess of 8,000 metres. Perhaps even more startling to the scientists of the day, though, was Challenger's discovery of tiny shells -- and therefore living things -- more than 7,000 metres down.
在太平洋西北部，马里亚纳海沟向下直插入地球的地壳，英国皇家海军挑战者号记录的深度超过8000米。也许更让当时的科学家们吃惊的是，挑战者号在7000米深的海底发现了小贝壳，也就意味着在海底发现了生命。
词汇预习
frequently [高考]
美[ˈfriːkwəntli] | 英[ˈfriːkwəntli]
adv. 频繁地；经常地
response [高考]
美[rɪˈspɑːns] | 英[rɪˈspɒns]
n. 反应；回答；响应；答复
expedition [高考]
美[ˌekspəˈdɪʃn] | 英[ˌekspəˈdɪʃn]
n. 远征；探险队；迅速
emerge [高考]
美[iˈmɜːrdʒ] | 英[iˈmɜːdʒ]
vi. 浮现；(由某种状态)脱出；(事实)显现出来
extent [高考]
美[ɪkˈstent] | 英[ɪkˈstent]
n. 广度； 宽度； 长度； 大小； 范围； 程度 n. [律][英]扣押； [美]临时所有权令
urgency [高考]
美[ˈɜrdʒənsi] | 英[ˈɜːdʒənsi]
n. 紧急(的事)
potential [高考]
美[pəˈtenʃl] | 英[pəˈtenʃl]
adj. 潜在的；可能的 n. 潜力；潜能 n. 电位；电势
complex [高考]
美[kəmˈpleks , ˈkɑːmpleks] | 英[ˈkɒmpleks]
adj. 复杂的；合成的；复合的 n. 综合体；复合体；[医]综合症状；[心]情结
loss [高考]
美[lɔːs] | 英[lɒs]
n. 遗失；丧失；损失；失败；失落；死亡
commercial [高考]
美[kəˈmɜːrʃl] | 英[kəˈmɜːʃl]
adj. 商业的 n. 商业广告
beneath [高考]
美[bɪˈniːθ] | 英[bɪˈniːθ]
prep. 在 ... 之下；被...覆盖；低于...；不值得 adv. 在下方；在底下
technical [高考]
美[ˈteknɪkl] | 英[ˈteknɪkl]
adj. 技术的；技能的；工艺的；专门技术的
accurate [高考]
美[ˈækjərət] | 英[ˈækjərət]
adj. 准确的；精确的
tendency [高考]
美[ˈtendənsi] | 英[ˈtendənsi]
n. 趋势；倾向；秉性
appreciation [高考]
美[əˌpriːʃiˈeɪʃn] | 英[əˌpriːʃiˈeɪʃn]
n. 欣赏；感激；鉴识；评价；增值
separate from [高考]
美[ˈsɛpəˌret frʌm] | 英[ˈsepəreit frɔm]
分开;区别;脱钩
living [高考]
美[ˈlɪvɪŋ] | 英[ˈlɪvɪŋ]
adj. 活着的；生动的 n. 生活；生计
thinking [高考]
美[ˈθɪŋkɪŋ] | 英[ˈθɪŋkɪŋ]
n. 思考；思想 adj. 好思考的；有理性的
submarine [高考]
美[ˌsʌbməˈriːn] | 英[ˌsʌbməˈriːn]
n. 潜水艇 adj. 海面下的
where [高考]
美[wer] | 英[weə(r)]
adv. 在哪里；在那个地方 conj. 在 ... 地方
would [高考]
美[wʊd , wəd] | 英[wʊd , wəd]
aux. 将；可能；大概；总会；愿意；will的过去式
excess [四级]
美[ɪkˈses , ˈekses] | 英[ɪkˈses , ˈekses]
n. 超过；过量；过剩 adj. 过量的；额外的
crust [四级]
美[krʌst] | 英[krʌst]
n. 外壳；坚硬的外壳；面包皮 vt. 盖以硬皮 vi. 结硬皮
in excess of [四级]
美[ɪn 'ekˌses əv] | 英[ɪn 'ekses əv]
多于， 超出
leading [四级]
美[ˈliːdɪŋ , ˈledɪŋ] | 英[ˈliːdɪŋ , ˈledɪŋ]
adj. 领导的；指导的；主要的；在前的
detailed [四级]
美[dɪˈteld,ˈdiˌteld] | 英[ˈdi:teɪld]
adj. 详细的
ritual [六级]
美[ˈrɪtʃuəl] | 英[ˈrɪtʃuəl]
n. 仪式；典礼；宗教仪式；固定程序 adj. 仪式的；老规矩的；惯常的
shadowy [六级]
美[ˈʃædoʊi] | 英[ˈʃædəʊi]
adj. 阴暗的；朦胧的；鲜为人知的
colonial [六级]
美[kəˈloʊniəl] | 英[kəˈləʊniəl]
adj. 殖民地的 n. 殖民地居民
burial [六级]
美[ˈberiəl] | 英[ˈberiəl]
n. 埋葬；葬礼；坟墓
out of [六级]
美[aʊt ʌv] | 英[aut ɔv]
prep. 离…一段距离；从…里；离开 ...；出于
Mediterranean [专四]
美[ˌmɛdɪtəˈreniən, -ˈrenjən] | 英[ˌmedɪtəˈreɪniən]
adj. 地中海的 n. 地中海
encompass [专八]
美[ɪnˈkʌmpəs] | 英[ɪnˈkʌmpəs]
vt. 围绕；包围；包括；完成
ingrained [专八]
美[ɪnˈɡrend] | 英[ɪnˈgreɪnd]
adj. 根深蒂固的；深嵌入纺织品或纤维的
unknowable [考研]
美[ʌnˈnoʊəbl] | 英[ʌnˈnəʊəbl]
adj. 不可知的
unseen [考研]
美[ʌnˈsin] | 英[ˌʌnˈsi:n]
adj. 未看见的；即席的
non [考研]
美[nɒn] | 英[nɒn]
adv. [拉]非；不是
startling [托福]
美[ˈstɑːrtlɪŋ] | 英[ˈstɑːtlɪŋ]
adj. 惊人的
重点讲解
The deep has long been treated as somehow separate from the surface world, a shadowy non-place populated by alien creatures. While this is partly a response to the difficulty of studying it, it also reflects an ingrained tendency.
长期以来，海底深处一直被视为与海面之上的世界不同，是奇异生物居住的阴暗非场所。虽然这在一定程度上是因为研究海底很困难，但也反映了一种根深蒂固的趋势。
populate v. 居住；构成人口
【例】The island is populated largely by sheep.
这个岛的主要生物是绵羊。
Her novels are populated by amazing characters.
她的小说中有非常精彩的人物。
【近义词】inhabit v. 居住；栖息；存在
【拓展】population n. 人口；群落
ingrained adj. 根深蒂固的
【例】ingrained habit/belief/attitude
根深蒂固的习惯/信念/态度
【近义词】deep-rooted/deep-seated/entrenched/embedded adj. 根深蒂固的
As the writer Robert Macfarlane has observed, humans are creatures of the air and light, and we have often regarded the spaces beneath our feet with abhorrence, associating them with death, entombment and the unseen and unnameable.
正如作家罗伯特·麦克法兰所观察到的那样，人类是需要空气和光的生物，我们常常对脚下的空间充满厌恶，把它们与死亡、埋葬、隐形的和无法言说的事物联想起来。
abhorrence n. 厌恶；憎恶
【例】to have an abhorrence of evil 嫉恶如仇
【拓展】abhor v. 憎恶；厌恶
abhorrent adj. 令人憎恶的
horror n. 震惊；恐惧；厌恶
【近义词】abominate v. 憎恶；厌恶
equate A with B 把A和B等同
【例】to equate happiness with wealth
认为幸福就是拥有财富
【近义词】be equal to 与……等同
be the equivalent of 是……的等价物
And while what Macfarlane calls the underland might be a place of ritual power as well as a place of burial, the ocean's depths are more frequently equated with loss and forgetting.
虽然麦克法兰所说的地下世界可能是用于埋葬和表现仪式权力的地方，但海洋深处更经常地被等同于失落和遗忘。
abhorrence n. 厌恶；憎恶
【例】to have an abhorrence of evil 嫉恶如仇
【拓展】abhor v. 憎恶；厌恶
abhorrent adj. 令人憎恶的
horror n. 震惊；恐惧；厌恶
【近义词】abominate v. 憎恶；厌恶
equate A with B 把A和B等同
【例】to equate happiness with wealth
认为幸福就是拥有财富
【近义词】be equal to 与……等同
be the equivalent of 是……的等价物
Although those versed in traditional wayfinding techniques often understood the ocean in more complex ways, the idea of the deep as an unknowable non-place was also embedded in navigational practices.
虽然那些精通传统寻路技术的人通常以更复杂的方式理解海洋，但深海是一个不可知的非场所的想法同样根植于航海实践中。
be versed in 精通某事
【例】The British boy is versed in Chinese culture.
这个英国男孩很精通中国文化。
【近义词】be expert in/be savvy about sth 对某事精通
ply v. 经常往返；定期行驶
【例】Buses ply regularly to and from these places.
公交车定时往返于这些地方。
【近义词】commute v. 往返通勤
For European sailors plying the waters of the Mediterranean sea and the Atlantic and Indian oceans, all that really mattered was knowing where potential obstacles and risks such as reefs and sandbars lay -- a way of thinking that transformed the ocean's depths into a blank irrelevance.
对于经常在地中海、大西洋和印度洋上航行的欧洲水手来说，真正重要的是知道潜在的障碍和风险（比如珊瑚礁和沙洲）在哪里，这种思维方式把海洋深处变成了一个空白的无关紧要的地方。
be versed in 精通某事
【例】The British boy is versed in Chinese culture.
这个英国男孩很精通中国文化。
【近义词】be expert in/be savvy about sth 对某事精通
ply v. 经常往返；定期行驶
【例】Buses ply regularly to and from these places.
公交车定时往返于这些地方。
【近义词】commute v. 往返通勤
It was not until the early 19th century that a more detailed scientific understanding of the deep began to take shape.
直到19世纪初，对深海更详细的科学认识才开始形成。
take shape 成形；有了模样
【例】My plan for the future gradually took shape.
我对未来的规划逐渐清晰。
【拓展】get sb into shape 使某人身体变得健康/成材/状态更好
encompass v. 包含；包括
【例】he book encompasses a wide range of issues, from feminism to climate change.
这本书全面涵盖了从女权主义到气候变化的各种问题。
【拓展】all-encompassing adj. 包罗万象的
In part, this was a result of the growing reach of the colonial powers: as the commercial and territorial aspirations of Europeans and Americans expanded to encompass the globe, the need for more accurate and more detailed knowledge of the ocean grew as well.
一方面，这是殖民强国势力不断扩张的结果：欧洲人和美国人对商业和领土的渴望扩展到全球，于是就越来越需要对海洋有更准确、更详细的了解。
take shape 成形；有了模样
【例】My plan for the future gradually took shape.
我对未来的规划逐渐清晰。
【拓展】get sb into shape 使某人身体变得健康/成材/状态更好
encompass v. 包含；包括
【例】he book encompasses a wide range of issues, from feminism to climate change.
这本书全面涵盖了从女权主义到气候变化的各种问题。
【拓展】all-encompassing adj. 包罗万象的
But it also grew out of the experiences of whalers, whose voyages were now taking them far out into the open waters of the Atlantic and Pacific, and leading to an appreciation of the great depths to which whales would often dive.
不过，这种认识也来自捕鲸人的经验，他们的航行已经把他们远远地带到了大西洋和太平洋的开阔水域，并使他们意识到了鲸鱼经常潜入的深海。
appreciation n.
1. 感谢；感激
【例】to express my appreciation for their help
对他们提供的帮助表示感激
2. 理解；欣赏
【例】He has no appreciation of your loyalty/advice.
他不赏识你的忠心/他对你提出的建议不领情。
take on 呈现，具有（特征、外观等）
【例】His voice took on a more serious tone.
他说话的语气变得严肃起来。
The apples took on a reddish color.
苹果变得有点红了。
venture n. & v.
1. 作名词：有风险的商业活动
【例】take a venture in oil
冒险做一桩石油生意
2. 作动词：冒险做
【例】to venture into the deep water
冒险走到水深的地方
We will venture into the most difficult part of the course next week.
下周我们开始学习课程中最难的内容。
This interest in the deep ocean took on a new urgency in the 1850s, when British and American entrepreneurs began to lay the first submarine telegraph cables across the Atlantic. The technical challenges of these ventures demanded a more detailed understanding of the ocean floor.
19世纪50年代，当英美企业家开始铺设第一条横跨大西洋的海底电报电缆时，这种对深海的兴趣呈现出新的紧迫性。这些商业冒险的技术挑战要求人们对海底有更详细的了解。
appreciation n.
1. 感谢；感激
【例】to express my appreciation for their help
对他们提供的帮助表示感激
2. 理解；欣赏
【例】He has no appreciation of your loyalty/advice.
他不赏识你的忠心/他对你提出的建议不领情。
take on 呈现，具有（特征、外观等）
【例】His voice took on a more serious tone.
他说话的语气变得严肃起来。
The apples took on a reddish color.
苹果变得有点红了。
venture n. & v.
1. 作名词：有风险的商业活动
【例】take a venture in oil
冒险做一桩石油生意
2. 作动词：冒险做
【例】to venture into the deep water
冒险走到水深的地方
We will venture into the most difficult part of the course next week.
下周我们开始学习课程中最难的内容。
But it was not until the Challenger expedition circumnavigated the globe on its pioneering scientific survey of the world's oceans in the 1870s that the true extent of the deep ocean finally started to emerge.
但是，直到19世纪70年代，“挑战者”号探险队环绕地球航行，对世界海洋进行了开创性的科学调查，深海的完整规模才终于开始显现。
pioneer n. & v.
1. 作名词：开拓者；先驱
【例】She was a pioneer in the field of biotechnology.
她是生物技术领域的先驱。
2. 作动词：开辟；开拓
【例】she pioneered the short haircut for women.
她率先倡导了妇女留短发。
in excess of 超过
【例】The increase will not be in excess of two percent.
增加幅度不会超过百分之二。
Never spend in excess of your income.
花钱切勿超过你的收入。
【拓展】do sth to excess 过度做某事
【例】to drink to excess 酗酒
In the north-west Pacific, where the Mariana Trench plunges downwards into the planet's crust, HMS Challenger recorded depths in excess of 8,000 metres. Perhaps even more startling to the scientists of the day, though, was Challenger's discovery of tiny shells -- and therefore living things -- more than 7,000 metres down.
在太平洋西北部，马里亚纳海沟向下直插入地球的地壳，英国皇家海军挑战者号记录的深度超过8000米。也许更让当时的科学家们吃惊的是，挑战者号在7000米深的海底发现了小贝壳，也就意味着在海底发现了生命。
pioneer n. & v.
1. 作名词：开拓者；先驱
【例】She was a pioneer in the field of biotechnology.
她是生物技术领域的先驱。
2. 作动词：开辟；开拓
【例】she pioneered the short haircut for women.
她率先倡导了妇女留短发。
in excess of 超过
【例】The increase will not be in excess of two percent.
增加幅度不会超过百分之二。
Never spend in excess of your income.
花钱切勿超过你的收入。
【拓展】do sth to excess 过度做某事
【例】to drink to excess 酗酒
课后练习
What is the common perception of the deep ocean?
A. It is seen as a safe shelter for endangered species.
B. It is often associated with death and the unknown.
C. It is viewed as a place of ritual power and reverence.
D. It is regarded as a mysterious hiding place of treasures.
The European sailors viewed the deep ocean as ____.
A. a navigational guide to avoid dangers
B. a place teeming with alien-like creatures
C. an important area to map and understand
D. an insignificant area unworthy of exploration
Which of the following is true about people's understanding of the deep in the 19th century?
A. The attack of whales intensified people’s fear of the deep.
B. The colonial powers prevented the exploration of the deep.
C. The telegraph business demanded great knowledge about the deep.
D. The explorations of the deep failed repeatedly due to a lack of resources.
What significant discovery did the Challenger expedition make?
A. It recorded the first accurate depths of the ocean.
B. It successfully sailed across all of the oceans in the world.
C. It discovered living organisms at depths of the deep ocean.
D. It found that no life could exist at depths greater than 7,000 metres.