经济学人精读The Economist [44下]
选自 January 06 2018 Science and Technology 板块
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#Eva昨天说#
马航370于2014年3月8日从吉隆坡出发，机上共载239人，并在印度洋坠毁。马航370的消失成为了当代民航最大的谜团之一，接下来的搜寻也成为了航空史上最大规模的一次。在过去的三年中，Fugro组织排查了12万平方公里的海底，但是一无所获。新的搜寻计划由Ocean Infinity执行，Ocean Infinity与马来西亚政府计划约定“没找到，不收费”。虽然合同尚未签署，但是Ocean Infinity为了利用1月2月印度洋的好天气，已经开始搜索任务，将以比Fugro更快的速度搜寻，并且搜寻范围向北延伸。
#Eva今天接着说#
Seabed Constructor是当今地球上最先进的民事调查船，除了寻找飞机残骸外，最终的目的是寻找飞机飞行记录器，这样才能知道飞机上到底发生了什么。但是，如果Ocean Infinity什么都没有找到的话，那很可能马航370的失事就将成为一个永远的谜团。
#以上，个人总结和理解，欢迎批评指正，欢迎留言讨论
#有输出才有进步
An ocean of interest
Fugro’s search used but a single autonomous submarine, and this was unable to dive below 4,000 metres, meaning it was not always close to the seabed[Fugro的搜寻只用了一艘自主潜艇，并且没有能力潜到4千米一下，这意味着她总是无法接近海底]. The HUGINs carried by Seabed Constructor can, however, goas deep as 6,000 metres[然而，Seabed Constructor配备的HUGINs可以潜到6千米深的海底]. That permits them to reach most of the sea floor comfortably[这是她们能够很自如地达到绝大多数海底]. And the fact that there are eight of them means different areas can be searched in parallel, and that some submarines will always be at sea[并且有8艘这样的自主潜艇意味着不同的地方可以并行搜索，一些潜艇会一直在海里].
The HUGINs will be launched by the stinger, which extends out over the ship’s stern[船尾][HUGINs将由能够越过船尾一直延伸到船外的起重机发射下海]. Once underwater, the robot craft will communicate with the ship using an acoustic modem[一旦下海，这艘遥控船将于母舰通过声频调制解调器联络]. The ship’s own modem, which will receive these signals, is fixed to the end of a long pole that extends down through her hull[船体]into the water[母舰的调制解调器，固定在一根长杆的末端，从船体一直延伸到水下，将会收到这些信号].
Each HUGIN comes with a 300kg lithium-polymer battery pack, good for a tour of duty lasting up to 60 hours[每艘HUGIN都配有一个300公斤的锂离子聚合电池包，可以支持持续60消失的搜寻任务]. A downward-pointing sonar[声纳]will map the contours[轮廓]of the seabed beneath the craft, but most of the searching will be done by side-mounted sonars scanning the bed on either side of the craft[一个指向下方的声纳将会画出潜艇下方海底的轮廓，但是，绝大多数的搜寻工作是有安装在潜艇两侧的声纳勘勘查海底完成的]. These send out pings and measure the intensity with which they arereflected[它们发出砰的声音，并测量声音反射回来的密度]. Sand reflects less sound than metal does, meaning metal objects such as aircraft debris are easy to distinguish[沙子比金属反射更少的声音，意味着像飞机残骸这样的金属物更容易被分辨出来]. And if something apparently metallic is detected, its nature can be confirmed using an on-board magnetometer[磁力计][如果，有些似乎是金属的物体被检测到，它的性质可以用潜艇上的磁力计加以确认].
The HUGINs’ search patterns are set by people, but the craft will actually navigate with little reference to their mother ship[HUGIN的搜寻模式是由人们设置好的，但是事实上潜艇在导航时对母舰的参考并不多]. Every so often[偶尔], the ship will send out a corrective ping to keep them on course[偶尔，母舰会发出砰的声音纠正潜艇保持航线]. Mostly, however, they will employ dead reckoning[航位推测法], based on data fromaccelerometers[加速计], to steer themselves autonomously[然而，大多数情况下潜艇会依据加速计的数据利用航位推测法来自主掌握航向]. They are also capable of picking their way without assistance over sheer underwater cliffs and mountains, and past crevices[裂缝] and gullies[冲沟], using on-board cameras and machine-vision software[潜艇也能够在不需要帮助下，利用艇上的照相机和机器视觉软件，甄别陡峭的海底峭壁和山峰，越过海底裂缝和沟壑].
After its tour of duty, a HUGIN will be lifted back on-board ship and the data it has collected (up to two terabytes, recorded on a waterproof hard drive) downloaded into the ship’s data centre and turned into human-readable maps, a process that takes six hours[在出游任务结束后，HUGIN
将会被吊起回到母舰上，它搜集的数据（多达2T，记录在防水硬盘中）会被下载到母舰的数据中心，转换成人们可以阅读的地图，这一过程要话费6个小时]. The HUGIN’s battery will be replaced with a fully charged one, any necessary repairs made, and the craft then sent back out into the ocean[HUGIN的电池将会由一个充满电的电池替换，进行必要的修复，之后会被送回到海里].
A team of geologists and hydrographers[水道学家] will then poreover[仔细研读]the maps, looking for signs of the missing plane[一个地质学家和水道学家团队将仔细研读这张地图，寻找失踪飞机的线索]. Surprisingly, for such a high-tech operation, this stage of the search will be entirely manual[出乎意外的是，对于这样一个高科技的操作，寻找的阶段确实完全人工的]. Every block of sea floor that the HUGINs map will be examined by three sets of human eyes[HUGINs描绘出的海底的每一块区域都将被三双人眼检查]. Together, this survey team will come up with a list of possible targets, ranked from “E” to “A” (“nothing” to“that’s it”), to present to their bosses[总共算下来，调查团队将会列出一个可能目标的列表，从E排到A（从“什么都没有”到“就是这个”），交给老板]. If the data look good, aHUGIN will be sent down for a second, closer look, cameras at the ready[如果数据看起来很有可能，HUGIN将会再一次下水，准备好相机更进一步寻找].
What happens next, if Ocean Infinity does locate what is left of the missing aircraft, is unclear[如果Ocean Infinity找到了其余飞机残骸的地点，接下来会发生什么还不清楚]. Friends and relatives of those aboard it will doubtless derive relief from[从…中得到]knowing where the flight ended up[那些在飞机上的人的朋友和亲属，毫不疑问，将在得知飞机最终失事地点后得到慰藉]. But merely finding the wreckage will not explain what happened onboard the plane[但是，仅仅找到残骸并不能解释飞机上发生了什么]. That will require the discovery of the aircraft’s flight recorder[那将要求找到飞机的飞行记录器].
That object is therefore Ocean Infinity’sultimate target[因此，这一目标是Ocean Infinity的最终目的]. If it is found on this mission, Mr Broussard says the firm plans to bring it to the surface and then deliver it for analysis to the Australian authorities, who have the technical competence to assess it[如果在这次任务重找到了飞行记录器，B先生说，公司计划将它公布出来，交给有技术能力评估的澳大利耶当局分析]. A follow-up trip to examine the wreckage, and even bring it to the surface, would require further authorisation from the Malaysian government[接下来检查残骸，甚至公布这些残骸，将进一步需要马来西亚政府的授权].
Seabed Constructor is the most advanced civilian survey vessel on the planet today[Seabed Constructor是当今地球上最先进的民事调查船]. If its array of technology cannot find MH370, then it is likely that nothing will, and that the mystery of MH370 will remain unsolved[如果她的一系列科技无法找到马航370，那很有可能就没有可以找到的技术了，马航370的谜团也将无法解开]. Either way, though, the advance of technology may mean that it is the last such mystery[但是，任何一个先进的技术都可能意味着这将是最后一个类似的谜团]. As the oceans are watched with ever closer scrutiny[仔细审查], from space and the depths, it is increasingly difficult for anything to get lost in the first place[随着海洋被从未有过的更仔细审查，从太空到海底，任何事物在一开始就消失会越来越难].
Jan 09 | 701 words
【第三遍】词汇总结VOCABULARY TAKEAWAY
【every so often】
sometimes but not often
间或，偶尔，有时
Every so often I treat myself to a meal in anexpensiverestaurant.
偶尔我也到高档餐厅犒劳自己一下。
【pick over sth】
to look carefully at a group of things,choosingtheonesyouwantor getting rid of the ones you do not want
挑拣；甄选，精选
All the clothes at the sale had beenthoroughlypickedover and there was nothing nice left.
所有削价销售的衣服都被别人仔细挑过了，没剩下什么好的了。
【poreover sth】
to look at and study something, usually abookordocument, carefully
仔细阅读，研读（通常指书或文件）
She spendshereveningsporing over textbooks.
她每天晚上都在研读教科书。
He pored over thelettersearchingforcluesabout the writer.
他仔细阅读那封信，寻找能确定写信人的蛛丝马迹。
【derive】
to get something from something else
从…中得到，从…中获得
The institute derives allitsmoneyfromforeigninvestments.
该机构的资金均来自于国外投资。
She derives great pleasure/satisfaction from playing the violin.
拉小提琴能让她获得极大的乐趣／满足。
【scrutiny】
the careful and detailed examination of something in order to get information about it
细看，仔细审查
The government's record will be subjected to/come under (close)scrutiny in the weeks before the election.
政府的所作所为将在选举前的几个星期接受审查。
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我是Eva
一个认真学英语的美少女