或水。这种压力必须加以控制,我们让泥桨顺着钻杆向下循环,用这种方法来控制压力。我们尽量避免使用陈旧天真的喷井方法,那样会浪费石油和天然气。我们要让石油留在井下,直到我们能用一种有控制的方法把它引上来为止。
Lesson 14
The Butterfly Effect
蝴蝶效应
First listen and then answer the following question。
听录音,然后回答以下问题。
Why do small errors make it impossible to predict the weather system with a high degree of accuracy?
Beyond two or three days; the world's best weather forecasts are speculative; and beyond six or seven they are worthless。
The Butterfly Effect is the reason。 For small pieces of weather and to a global forecaster; small can mean thunderstorms and blizzards any prediction deteriorates rapidly。 Errors and uncertainties multiply; cascading upward through a chain of turbulent features; from dust devils and squalls up to continent…size eddies that only satellites can see。
The modern weather models work with a grid of points of the order of sixty miles apart; and even so; some starting data has to guessed; since ground stations and satellites cannot see everywhere。 But suppose the earth could be covered with sensors spaced one foot apart; rising at one…foot intervals all the way to the top of the atmosphere。 Suppose every sensor gives perfectly accurate readings of temperature; pressure; humidity; and any other quantity a meteorologist would want。 Precisely at noon an infinitely powerful puter takes all the data and calculates what will happen at each point at 12。01; then 1202; then 12。03。。。
The puter will still be unable to predict whether Princeton; New Jersey; will have sun or rain on a day one month away。 At noon the spaces between the sensors will hide fluctuations that the puter will not know about; tiny deviations from the average。 By 12。01; those fluctuations will already have created small errors one foot away。 Soon the errors will have multiplied to the ten…foot scale; and so on up to the size of the globe。
JAMES GLEICK; Chaos
New words and expressions 生词和短语
forecast
n。 预报
speculative
adj。 推测的
blizzard
n。 暴风雪
deteriorate
v。 变坏
multiply
v。 增加
cascade
v。 瀑布似地落下
turbulent
adj。 狂暴的
dust devil
小尘暴,尘旋风
squall
n。 暴风
eddy
n。 旋涡
grid
n。 坐标方格
sensor
n。 传感器
humidity
n。 温度
meteorologist
n。 气象学家
Princeton
n。 普林斯顿(美国城市名)
New Jersey
n。 新泽西(美国州名)
fluctuation
n。 起伏,波动
deviation
n。 偏差
参考译文
世界上最好的两三天以上的天气预报具有很强的猜测性,如果超过六七天,天气预报就没有了任何价值。
原因是蝴蝶效应。对于小片的恶劣天气 对一个全球性的气象预报员来说,“小”可以意味着雷暴雨和暴风雪 任何预测的质量会很快下降。错误和不可靠性上升,接踵而来的是一系列湍流的徵状,从小尘暴和暴风发展到只有卫星上可以看到的席卷整块大陆的旋涡。
现代气象模型以一个坐标图来显示,图中每个点大约是间隔60英里。既使是这样,有些开始时的资料也不得不依靠推测,因为地面工作站和卫星不可能看到地球上的每一个地方。假设地球上可以布满传感器,每个相隔1英尺,并按1英尺的间隔从地面一直排列到大气层的顶端。再假定每个传感器都极极端准确地读出了温度、气压、温度和气象学家需要的任何其他数据。在正午时分,一个功能巨大的计算机搜集了所有的资料,并算出在每一个点上12:01、12:02、12:03时可能出现的情况。
计算机无法推断出1个月以后的某一天,新泽西州的普林斯顿究竟是晴天还是雨天。正午时分,传感器之间的距离会掩盖计算机无法知道的波动、任何偏平均值的变化。到12:01时,那些波动就已经会在1英尺远的地方造成偏差。很快这种偏差会增加到尺10英的范围,如此等等,一直到全球的范围。
Lesson 15
Secrecy in industry
工业中的秘密
First listen and then answer the following question。
听录音,然后回答以下问题。
Why is secrecy particularly important in the chemical industries?
Two factors weigh heavily against the effectiveness of scientific research in industry。 One is the general atmosphere of secrecy in which it is carried out; the other the lack of freedom of the individual research worker。 In so far as any inquiry is a secret one; it naturally limits all those engaged in carrying it out from effective contact with their fellow scientists either in other countries or in universities; or even; often enough; in other departments of the same firm。 The degree of secrecy naturally varies considerably。 Some of the bigger firms are engaged in researches which are of such general and fundamental nature that it is a positive advantage to them not to keep them secret。 Yet a great many processes depending on such research are sought for with plete secrecy until the stage at which patents can be taken out。 Even more processes are never patented at all but kept as secret processes。 This applies particularly to chemical industries; where chance discoveries play a much larger part than they do in physical and mechanical industries。 Sometimes the secrecy goes to such an extent that the whole nature of the research cannot be mentioned。 Many firms; for instance; have great difficulty in obtaining technical or scientific books from libraries because they are unwilling to have names entered as having taken out such and such a book; for fear the agents of other firms should be able to trace the kind of research they are likely to be undertaking。
J。D。 BERNAL The Social Function of Science
New words and expressions
secrecy
n。 秘密
effectiveness
n。 成效,效力
inquiry
n。 调查研究
positive
adj。 确实的
process
n。 过程
patent
n。 专利;
v。 得到专利权
agent
n。 情报人员
参考译文
有两个因素严重地妨碍工业中科学研究的效率:一是科研工作中普遍存在的保密气氛;二是研究人员缺乏个人自由。任何一项研究都涉及到保密,那些从事科研的人员自然受到了限制。他们不能和其他国家、其他大学、甚至往往不能与本公司的其他部门的同行们进行有效的接触。保密程度自然差别很大。某些大公司进行的研究属于一般和基础的研究,因此不保密对他们才有利。然而,依赖这种研究的很多工艺程序是在完全保密的情况下进行的,直到可以取得专利权的阶段为止。更多的工艺过程根本就不会取得专利权,而是作为秘方保存着。在这化学工业方面尤为突出。同物理和机械工业相比,化学工业中偶然发现的机会要多得多。有时,保密竟达到了这样的程度,即连研究工作的整个性质都不准提及。比如,很多公司向图书馆借阅科技书籍时感到困难,因为它们不愿让人家记下它们公司的名字和借阅的某一本书。他们生怕别的公司的情报人员据此摸到他们可能要从事的某项科研项目。
Lesson 16
The modern city
现代城市
First listen and then answer the following question。
听录音,然后回答以下问题。
What is the author's main argument about the modern city?
In the organization of industrial life the influence of the factory upon the physiological and mental state of the workers has been pletely neglected。 Modern industry is based on the conception of the maximum production at lowest cost; in order that an individual or a group of individuals may earn as much money as possible。 It has expanded without any idea of the true nature of the human beings who run the machines; and without giving any consideration to the effects produced on the individuals and on their descendants by the artificial mode of existence imposed by the factory。 The great cities have been built with no regard for us。 The shape and dimensions of the skyscrapers depend entirely on the necessity of obtaining the maximum ine per square foot of ground; and of offering to the tenants offices and apartments that please them。 This caused the construction of gigantic buildings where too large masses of human beings are crowded together。 Civilized men like such a way of living。 While they enjoy the fort and banal luxury of their dwelling; they do not realize that they are deprived of the necessities of life。 The modern city consists of monstrous edifices and of dark; narrow streets full of petrol fumes and toxic gases; torn by the noise of the taxicabs; lorries and buses; and thronged ceaselessly by great crowds。 Obviously; it has not been planned for the good of its inhabitants。
ALEXIS CARREL Man; the Unknown
New words and expressions 生词和短语
physiological
adj。 生理的
maximum
adj。