万物简史 第89期:敲石头的人们(14)
英语课
Meanwhile, geology had a great deal of sorting out to do, and not all of it went smoothly 1. From the outset geologists 2 tried to categorize rocks by the periods in which they were laid down, but there were often bitter disagreements about where to put the dividing lines—none more so than a long-running debate that became known as the Great Devonian Controversy 3. The issue arose when the Reverend Adam Sedgwick of Cambridge claimed for the Cambrian period a layer of rock that Roderick Murchison believed belonged rightly to the Silurian. The dispute raged for years and grew extremely heated. "De la Beche is a dirty dog," Murchison wrote to a friend in a typical outburst.
与此同时，地质学有大量的分类工作要做，这项工作不是什么都一帆风顺的。从一开始，地质学家就想把岩石按其形成的时期来进行分类，但在怎么划分时期的问题上经常发生激烈的争论——而且是一场旷日持久的争论，后来被称之为“泥盆纪大争论”。剑桥大学的亚当·塞奇威克断言有一层岩石是寒武纪的，而罗德里克·默奇森认为它完全属于志留纪，争论于是就发生了。争论持续了好多年，而且越来越激烈。“巴谢是个下流痞子。”默奇森在给一位朋友的信中气呼呼地说。
Some sense of the strength of feeling can be gained by glancing through the chapter titles of Martin J. S. Rudwick's excellent and somber 4 account of the issue, The Great Devonian Controversy. These begin innocuously enough with headings such as "Arenas 5 of Gentlemanly Debate" and "Unraveling the Greywacke," but then proceed on to "The Greywacke Defended and Attacked," "Reproofs 6 and Recriminations," "The Spread of Ugly Rumors," "Weaver 7 Recants His Heresy," "Putting a Provincial 8 in His Place," and (in case there was any doubt that this was war) "Murchison Opens the Rhineland Campaign." The fight was finally settled in 1879 with the simple expedient 9 of coming up with a new period, the Ordovician, to be inserted between the two.
在《泥盆纪大争论》一书里，马丁·J.S.鲁迪克极好而又有些沮丧地描述了这场争论。只要瞥一眼该书各章的标题，就可以知道一点上述感情的强烈程度。开头几章的标题的语气倒还温和，比如《绅士们的辩论舞台》和《破译杂砂岩之谜》，但接着就是《捍卫杂砂岩与攻击杂砂岩》、《指摘与反驳》、《散布恶毒的谣言》、《韦弗撤回邪说》、《杀杀乡下人的气焰》（惟恐你还怀疑这不是一场战争）、《默奇森发起莱茵兰战役》等等。争论于1879年得以解决，办法很简单，在寒武纪和志留纪中间加一个时期：奥陶纪。
adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地
- The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
- Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。
地质学家，地质学者( geologist的名词复数 )
- 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。
n.争论，辩论，争吵
- That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
- We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。
adj.昏暗的，阴天的，阴森的，忧郁的
- He had a somber expression on his face.他面容忧郁。
- His coat was a somber brown.他的衣服是暗棕色的。
表演场地( arena的名词复数 )； 竞技场； 活动或斗争的场所或场面； 圆形运动场
- Demolition derbies are large-scale automobile rodeos that take place in big arenas. 撞车比赛指的是在很大的竞技场上举行的大型汽车驾驶技术表演。
- Are there areas of privacy in the most public of arenas? 在绝大部分公开的场合中存在需要保护隐私的领域吗？
n.织布工；编织者
- She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
- The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。
adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人
- City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
- Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。
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