科技英语阅读翻译张敏.docx

1、科技英语阅读翻译张敏Unlocking the Climate Puzzle解开气候之谜(1)Life has prospered on this planet for nearly four billion years. In that time, climate had fluctuated drastically, from ice ages lasting tens of thousands of years to epochs of steamy heat. With each change, sundry species have benefited and flourished.

2、Others adapted, faltered, or died. Now, many experts believe, humans are imperiling their own ecological niche with the threat of global warming. The vaporous by-products of civilization, in the form of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (C0), have trapped enough heat in the atmosphere to raise

3、 Earths average surface air temperature a half degree Celsius (one degree Fahrenheit) during this century. If the trend continues, it could alter climate patterns worldwide-thawing glaciers, boosting sea level, scorching plains into deserts, and shifting vegetation zones.（1）生命在这个星球上已经发展了近四十亿年。在这段时间里

4、，气候有大幅波动，从冰河时代到蒸汽时代延续了几千年。每一次改变，各种物种受益和繁荣。其他适应，步履蹒跚，或死亡。现在，许多专家认为，人类正在通过全球变暖危及自己的生态位。在本世纪，文明的气态副产物，以二氧化碳（C0）等温室气体的形式，把足够的热量困在大气中，来提高地球表面平均气温半摄氏度（1华氏度）。如果这种趋势继续下去，它可能会改变世界范围内的气候模式融化冰川，提高海平面，把平原烤成沙漠，以及改变植被区。(2) Or it might not. Global climate depends on combinations of factors interacting in subtle an

5、d complex ways that we do not yet fully understand. It is possible that the warming observed during this century may have resulted from natural variations, even though the increase has been much more rapid than what the planet has witnessed over the past hundred centuries. Moreover, the supercompute

6、r simulations used to project future conditions may not be accurate.（2）或者不可能。全球气候取决于各种因素的组合，这些因素以微妙和复杂的方式相互作用，我们还没有完全了解。这是可能的，在本世纪中观察到的变暖可能是由于自然的变化，即使增加已远远超过这个星球在过去的几百个世纪已经见证过的。此外，用于展现未来条件的超级计算机模拟可能是不准确的。(3) Nonetheless, in 1995, after years of intense study, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate C

7、hange (IPCC), sponsored by the United Nations, concluded tentatively that the balance of evidence suggests that there is a discernible human influence on global climate. The amount of that influence, the group noted, is unknown because of uncertainties in key factors, including the degree to which c

8、louds and the oceans affect the rate of temperature change. It may take a decade or more of additional research to resolve those uncertainties.（3）然而，由联合国发起的政府间气候变化专门委员会，经过数年集中的研究，在1995年，初步得到了“对照所有证据表明，人类对全球气候有明显的影响”这个结论。该委员会同时提到，由于“关键因素的不确定性”，包括云层和海洋对温度变化率的影响程度，人类对全球气候的影响量是未知的。解决这些不确定因素可能需要十年乃至更长时间的

9、额外研究。(4) Meanwhile, much is known. And although the specific consequences of human activity remain ambiguous, our ability to alter the atmosphere is incontestable.（4）同时，大多是已知的。尽管人类活动的具体后果仍不明确，我们改变大气的能力是不可否认的。(5) What causes climate change? Weather is what happens outside your home this morning. Clim

10、ate is what you can expect to happen outside during your 30-year mortgage. Over time small changes can make a big difference. Driven by tremendous flows of heat over the surface of the planet, Earths climate system is influenced by innumerable interacting variables.（5）是什么导致了气候变化？天气是这个早上出现在户外的自然现象。气候

11、是在30年内可以预测的发生在户外的自然现象。随着时间的流逝，微小的变化会造成巨大的影响。由于星球表面上的巨大热流，无数相互作用的变量影响着地球的气候系统。Solar Input(6) Having traveled 93 million miles, solar energy hits the upper atmosphere at about the intensity of three 100-watt bulbs per square yardone-third of which is reflected back into space. The rest of the energy w

12、arms Earth and fuels its weather engine. 太阳能输入（6）已经走了9300万英里，太阳能达到高层大气时，每平方的强度大约是3个100瓦灯泡其中三分之一被反射回太空。其余的能量使地球变暖，并引起天气改变。The Atmosphere(7) A delicate balance of gases gives Earth an average temperature of 15(59). Greenhouse gases一water vapor, C0, methane, nitrous oxide, and others一absorb heat energy

13、, then re-radiate a portion of it back to the surface.大气（7）气体的一种微妙平衡使地球平均温度为15（59）。温室气体一水汽，C0，甲烷，一氧化二氮，和其他气体一吸收热能，然后再辐射一部分返回地面。The Oceans(8) Covering 70 percent of Earths surface, oceans are the chief source of water vapor in the air. Oceans store heat efficiently and transport it thousands of miles

14、. When warm water collects in one place, evaporation and cloud buildup may increase. Marine organisms consume huge amounts of C0.海洋（8）覆盖地球表面的百分之70，海洋是空气中的水蒸气的主要来源。海洋能有效地储存热能和把它运输数千英里。当温水聚集在一个地方，蒸发和云层积累可能会增加。海洋生物消耗大量的C0。The Water Cycle(9) Higher air temperatures can mean increased water evaporation a

15、nd the melting of sea and land ice. Although water vapor is the most potent greenhouse gas,evaporation also leads to cloud formation, which can have a cooling effect.水循环（9）更高的空气温度可以增加水的蒸发和融化海洋和陆地的冰。虽然水蒸气是最有效的温室气体，蒸发也导致云的形成，它可以有一个冷却效果。Clouds(10) The role of clouds is poorly understood, but they are k

16、nown to both cool Earth by reflecting solar energy and warm Earth by trapping heat being radiated up from the surface.云层（10）人类对云层的作用了解很少，但是知道它们会通过反射太阳能使地面温度下降，且通过储存地表散发的热量使地面温度上升。Ice and Snow(11) Bright white expanses of ice and snow reflect sunlight back into space, cooling the planet. Melting sea

17、ice draws heat from the ocean. In the Northern Hemisphere, snow cover has decreased about 10 percent in the past 21 years, but no significant melting of the Antarctic ice sheet has been detected.冰和雪（11）广阔区域的明亮白色的冰和雪把阳光反射回太空，使地球冷却。融化的海冰从海洋中吸取热量。在北半球，雪覆盖在过去的21年中减少了约百分之10，但没有明显的南极冰盖的融化已经被检测到。Land Surfa

18、ce(12) When solar energy penetrates the land surface, it is converted into heat, most of which radiates upward quickly. Still, topography and land use can have major effects on climate. Mountain ranges can block clouds, creating dry shadows downwind. Sloping land allows more water runoff, leaving th

19、e land and air drier. A tropical forest will soak up C0，but once cleared for cattle ranching, the same land becomes a source of methane.（12）当太阳能渗入地表时，会转化为热能，其中大部分会很快上升散发到空气中。地形和土地使用仍然对气候有主要的影响。在下风口，山脉会挡住云层，形成缺乏雨水的“阴影地”。 坡地让更多的水分流失，使得土地和空气更加干燥。热带森林会吸收二氧化碳，但是一旦允许牲畜农场经营，这块土地将会产生大量的甲烷。Human Influences(1

20、3) Adding to the mix of greenhouse gases naturally present in the atmosphere, human activities magnify warming effects. Fuel combustion is the chief cause ofrising C0 concentrations. Ranching, rice farming, and landfills have raised methane levels. Aerosols, such as smoke and sulfates from industry,

21、 reflect sunlight and have temporary, localized cooling effects.人类的影响（13）增加在大气中自然存在的温室气体的混合，人类活动放大变暖的影响。燃料燃烧是C0浓度上升的一个主要原因。牧场，水稻种植，和垃圾填埋场已经提高甲烷的程度。悬浮颗粒，如来自工业的烟尘和硫酸盐，能反射阳光，有暂时的、局部的冷却效果。(14) If C0 emission increases are to blame for global warming, skeptics say, thentemperatures should have risen appr

22、eciably during the postwar economic boom, when fossil fuels were burned in escalating quantity. Jerry Mahlman, director of NOAAs Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory at Princeton, however, has calculated that the surge in coal and oil use quickly increased the amount of sulfates aloft, prompting th

23、e cooling. After 1970 the longer term effect of C0 and methane overwhelmed the short-lived aerosols, accounting for the temperature rise since then.（14）质疑者们说，如果CO2的增加应该对全球变暖负责，那么在战后经济繁荣期间化石燃料被越来越多的燃烧时，温度应该很明显的增加。不管怎样，Jerry Mahlman，美国国家海洋和大气局位于普林斯顿关于地球物理流体动力学实验室的主任，曾计算过煤和油的使用量的激增会迅速增加空气中大量的硫酸盐，并促进它们冷

24、却。 从1970年后， CO2和甲烷覆盖了短期效应的气溶胶从而带来的长期效应，导致了温度的上升。(15) An enhanced greenhouse effect may not necessarily be catastrophic. Indeed, it might be good news for some farmers. High concentrations of C0 can have a fertilizing effect on plants, which is why some commercial greenhouses use an artificial indoor

25、 atmosphere containing C0 at about three times the level outside.Because plants use photosynthesis to turn C0 into living tissue, more vegetation also might mean more C02 scavenged from the atmosphere, perhaps slowing global warming.（15）增强的温室效应可能不一定是灾难性的。事实上，这对一些农民来说可能是好消息。高浓度C0对植物可以有施肥的效果，这就是为什么有些商

26、业温室使用C0浓度约为室外三倍水平的人工室内空气。由于植物利用光合作用将C0转换为细胞组织，更多的植被也可能意味着更多来自于大气的C0被清除，可能减缓全球变暖。(16) Furthermore, higher temperatures might be most welcome where they are most likely to occur. Since 1900, the greatest warming has been observed between 40degrees and 70 degrees north latitude-including Europe, Russia

27、, and the northern half of the U.S.where much of the worlds industrial greenhouse gas emissions originate. Most of the warming has taken place at night-presumably because increased cloud cover shades the land by day and traps outgoing heat at night. The growing season in the northern U.S. has length

28、ened by about a week.（16）此外，高温在最可能发生的地方也许会最受欢迎。从1990年开始，在人们北纬4070之间观察最主要的温室变化。包括欧洲、俄罗斯和美国北部半数地区，这些地区是世界上工业温室气体主要的排放地。大多数的温室变化是发生在晚上的，大概是因为在白天增加的阴云遮住了大地并且晚上高温的散发受到了限制。在美国北部植物的增长期被延长了差不多一周左右。(17) Some scientists argue that hasty measures are pointless: Any appreciablealterations in climate, they say,

29、are likely to be gradual enough that we will be able to adapt. And even if all greenhouse gas emissions stopped tomorrow, the planet almost certainly would continue to warm for several decades because of the gases long atmospheric lifetime.（17）一些科学家认为，草率的措施是毫无意义的：他们说，任何可预见的气候变化，有可能是渐进的，我们将能够适应。即使所有的

30、温室气体在明天都停止排放，地球几乎肯定会继续温暖几十年，因为气体的长的大气寿命。(18) On the other hand, there is evidence that some kinds of events could changeclimate radically in the span of decades. Perhaps the most feared is an abrupt collapse in the huge Atlantic conveyor belt system that brings warm water north from theequator, keep

31、ing Europe several degrees warmer than it would otherwise be.Evaporation of this incoming flow leaves the belt with a higher salt content than the rest of the North Atlantic, which is fed by substantial freshwater runoff fromcontinental watersheds. The belt cools and becomes denser as it approachesG

32、reenland, where it sinks. It then travels far below the surface in a south-moving return flow.（18）从另一方面说，有证据表明一些事件会在数十年的时间内从根本上改变气候。也许人们大多数的担忧是巨大的大西洋“传送带”会发生一种突然的崩溃。这个“传送带”从赤道北部带来了温暖的水，使它比原来的温度高几度。这种流入水的消失会使“传送带”变得比北大西洋其它地区的盐度都高，北大西洋其它的地区存储着大量从陆地流域流入的淡水。 这个“传送带”中的水在接近格陵兰岛时会变得冰冷而且稠密，在那里它下沉了。然后它随着向南流动的回流表层下部远去。(19) But what if human-induced global warming altered the delicate temperature difference between the flows and at the same time caused increased rainfall over the oceans, diluting the salinity of the northward flow? The