Science Biosphere 2

美音、自然拼读、分级阅读与词汇复习

Table of Contents Introduction.

导言表。

4 B2’s History.

4 B2历史.

6 The Rainforest.

6"雨林报".

10 The Ocean.

10 (英语). The Ocean.

11 The Lung.

11"龙".

12 Research Now.

12 研究现在。

13 A Lot to Learn.

13 乐透学习.

15 Glossary.

15 词汇。

16 Introduction Hi, I’m Birdie.

导言 嗨,我是博蒂。

I’m ten, and I’m from Tucson, Arizona.

我十岁,

Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to travel to another planet.

有时 我在想去另一个星球会是什么感觉。

Not just what it would be like when I got there, but how life would be during the trip.

不只是当我到达那里时会是什么样子, 旅途中的生活会怎样.

Would I have enough food to eat and air to breathe?

我会有足够的食物吃 空气呼吸?

Would I get along with the other people on the spaceship?

我能和宇宙飞船上的其他人相处吗?

One group of scientists lived as people might on a giant spaceship.

一群科学家像人一样生活在一艘巨大的宇宙飞船上。

On September 26, 1991, they entered a place called Biosphere 2 (B2) and didn’t leave for two years—that’s 730 days!

1991年9月26日,他们进入一个叫"生物圈2"(B2)的地方,两年没有离开,也就是730天!

Biosphere 2 That’s me (Birdie), standing outside the tropical rainforest, which contains nearly one hundred different species of plants.

生物圈 2个 那是我(Birdie),站在热带雨林外,其中含有近一百种不同的植物。

Planet Earth is known as Biosphere 1.

行星地球被称作"生物圈一".

B2, which was designed to work like Earth, is three acres wide and in a big glass building—sort of like a gigantic greenhouse, deep in the Arizona desert.

B2的设计像地球一样, 它宽三英亩, 在一个巨大的玻璃建筑里, 类似一个巨大的温室, 在亚利桑那沙漠深处。

One hundred thousand people visit B2 every year, and about ten thousand of them are students.

每年有10万人访问B2,其中约有一万人是学生.

Recently, B2’s Deputy Director John Adams gave my mom and me a special behind- the-scenes tour.

最近,B2的副局长约翰 亚当斯给了我妈妈和我一个特殊的幕后巡演。

B2’s History On our walk to the dome, John explained B2’s history.

B2的历史 John解释B2的历史。

After men landed on the Moon in the 1960s, people wondered how much farther humans could venture into space.

人类在20世纪60年代登上月球后 人们想知道人类能冒险进入太空多远

Even if astronauts had enough fuel to reach a distant planet, sooner or later they’ d run out of food and oxygen.

即使宇航员有足够的燃料可以到达遥远的星球,他们早晚会耗尽食物和氧气。

unless they could make more along the way.

除非他们能在路上赚得更多

Could they?

可以吗?

That question inspired the designers of B2.

这个问题启发了B2的设计者.

Construction began in 1987 and finished in 1991.

1987年开工建设,1991年竣工.

B2 lacked a lot of things we Earthlings take for granted.

B2缺少很多东西 我们地球人认为理所当然。

With only three acres, the designers had to pick and choose what to include.

仅用地三亩,设计者必须选取并选择包含的内容.

Among other things, they chose a rainforest, an ocean, a desert, and a farm.

他们选择了雨林、海洋、沙漠和农场

They chose animals, including goats, pigs, chickens, and bush babies.

他们选择了动物,包括山羊,猪,鸡和灌木丛婴儿.

Last but not least, they chose four men and four women.

最后但并非最不重要的是,他们选择了四名男子和四名妇女。

John, Mom, and I make our way toward the Lung, which once kept air pressure normal in B2.

约翰,妈妈,我和龙号的航向 龙号曾使B2的气压正常

Hey, wait up!

嘿,等等! 等会儿!

John explains to me the many structures that make up B2.

约翰向我解释了构成B2的众多结构.

Those eight people had to raise their own food.

那八个人不得不自己养活自己的食物.

“It was a huge job getting everything from the ground and to the table,” John said, “and not all the farming succeeded.

John说,“从地上到桌子上,这是一份巨大的工作,但并非所有农业都成功。

As a result, the people didn’t have enough calories and lost a lot of weight.”

民众的热量不足, “

Living inside B2 was tough for other reasons, too.

由于其他原因,在B2内部生活也很艰难。

Earth does all sorts of work for us—John calls these natural services.

地球为我们做各种各样的工作... 约翰称这些自然服务.

It’s work we depend on to stay alive, yet most of us take that work for granted.

但多数人认为这项工作是理所当然的。

We’re often unaware of it until we need it done.

我们常常不知道,

Imagine if we had to pollinate all of Earth’s plants ourselves instead of relying on the wind and billions of insects—what a job that would be!

想象一下如果我们自己去给地球所有植物授粉,

Inside B2, they couldn’t take those jobs for granted.

在B2内部,

Consider air.

考虑一下空气

B2 is one of the world’s most tightly sealed structures, leaking less than ten percent of its air each year.

B2是世界上最严密的密封结构之一,每年漏出不到10%的空气。

In 1991, the plants inside B2 were supposed to generate enough oxygen to match the air outside B2.

1991年,B2内部的工厂本应产生足够的氧气来配合B2外的空气.

Instead, the oxygen level kept dropping.

相反,氧气水平持续下降。

The scientists inside started feeling exhausted.

里面的科学家们开始感到疲惫.

It was getting hard to move or even to remember their own names.

搬家甚至记起自己的名字 越来越难了

Instead of doing experiments, they were just trying to survive.

而不是做实验, 他们只是想生存。

Finally, oxygen was piped in from a big truck.

最后,氧气被从一辆大卡车吸入。

That solved the air problem, but by then the residents were arguing.

这解决了空气问题, 但到那时居民正在争论。

Although under stress, they stuck to the original plan and stayed inside for two years.

虽然在压力下,他们坚持了原来的计划,并在里面呆了两年.

The closed ecosystem didn’t work flawlessly as the scientists had hoped, but they gathered important data and learned lessons about how to do things better in the future.

封闭的生态系统并没有像科学家所希望的那样完美无缺,但他们收集了重要数据并吸取了未来如何做得更好的经验教训。

Two of the original scientists prepare dinner in B2’s kitchen.

两位原始科学家在B2的厨房准备晚餐.

All the food they ate was produced inside B2.

他们吃的所有食物都是在B2内部生产的.

The original eight scientists that entered B2 in 1991 were ready to try a new way of survival.

最初在1991年进入B2的8名科学家准备尝试一种新的生存方式.

Once that experiment was complete, the scientists knew that B2 was still a great opportunity for some kind of research—but what?

一旦实验完成,科学家们就知道B2仍然是进行某种研究的好机会——但是什么?

In 2007, the University of Arizona began conducting research inside Biosphere 2.

2007年,亚利桑那大学开始在2号生物圈内进行研究.

The focus of the science there shifted from outer space to Earth.

那里的科学重点从外层空间转移到了地球。

“We’re going to go all over the world in just a few short steps,” John said.

约翰说,“我们将以短短的几步走遍全世界。

“ Are you ready for the rainforest?”

“...... 你准备好去雨林了吗? “

The Rainforest Was I ever!

我曾经是雨林!

We moved past trees so tall that they brushed the 91-foot (28 m) ceiling.

我们把树移到这么高的地方 他们刷了91英尺(28米)高的天花板

The long, stringy brown roots of tropical vines hung down everywhere, looking like spaghetti.

长而细的褐色的热带藤根 到处都挂起 看起来像意大利面

“This isn’t a real rainforest,” John said.

”约翰说,

“It’s a lab where scientists can control many factors we can’t control in the outside world.”

科学家可以控制许多因素, “

To demonstrate, he made one quick phone call.

为了证明,他打了个电话

“I can play weatherman inside B2,” he said.

他说:“我可以在B2中扮演气象员。”

Within minutes, it was raining.

几分钟后,雨下起来

Here the scientists take soil samples and measure the rain and root growth.

科学家们在这里采集了土壤样本,并测量了雨和根生长.

Soon, they will take all the rain out of the system and give the rainforest a three-month drought.

很快,它们就会从系统里取出所有的雨水,给雨林三个月的干旱.

Scientists predict that dry spells like this could happen as Earth warms.

科学家预测,这种干燥的咒语可能会随着地球的温暖而发生.

Creating one at B2 could help them know what to expect.

在B2上创建一个可以帮助他们知道预期会是什么.

In fact, much of the science at B2 today concerns changes to Earth’s climate.

事实上,B2今天的许多科学都涉及地球气候的变化。

However, as we walked out of the warm rain and headed toward the next biome, I wasn’t thinking about climate change or global warming.

然而,当我们走出温暖的雨并走向下一个生物群落时,我并没有想到气候变化或全球变暖。

I wanted to see the ocean!

我想见见大海!

B2 by the Numbers • 7.

B2根据数字 ^ 7.

2 million cubic feet (203,881 m3) under sealed glass; 6,500 windows • 91 feet (27.

200万立方英尺 (203,881平米) 在密封玻璃下; 6,500个窗户 • 91英尺 (27.

7 m) tall at its highest point • Sealed from the earth below by a 500-ton (453.

7米)高起于其最高点相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相相接相接相接相接相接相接相接相相接相

6 metric ton) welded stainless steel liner • Thousands of miles of wiring, pipes, and ductwork In the rainforest, research is still being done today.

• 焊接不锈钢衬车 数千英里的接线、管道和管道 在雨林中,今天仍在进行研究.

The Ocean We entered the ocean biome from a platform that looked down into 676,000 gallons (2.

海洋 我们从一个俯瞰676,000加仑(2加仑)的平台进入了海洋生物群落.

56 million L) of salt water.

5600万升)的盐水.

The water was warm—nearly 80 degrees Fahrenheit (27°C), and although B2’s living creatures today are mainly plants, we saw colorful fish swimming there.

水温接近80华氏度(27°C),

Then we walked up a corridor and onto the beach.

然后我们走上了走廊 走到了海滩上

Gentle waves—made by a machine, not by wind—lapped the shore, and I spotted little crabs.

轻快的波浪——由机器所制造,不是由风所制造的——在岸上,我发现了小螃蟹.

I even got to hold one.

我甚至得拿一个

We left the beach and, at the back of the ocean biome, peeked in on a small mangrove swamp growing in the salt water.

我们离开了海滩, 在海洋后方的生物群落中, 偷窥了在盐水中生长的小红树林沼泽。

The air was humid until we passed through another door; then suddenly the air felt hot, dry, and familiar.

空气很潮湿,直到我们经过另一扇门;然后突然,空气感到热,干燥,熟悉.

We were back in the desert.

我们回到了沙漠。

That’s the magical thing about B2—with the turn of a doorknob, you move from one corner of the world into another.

这才是B2的神奇之处,

Our next stop wasn’t another biome, though.

我们的下一站不是另一站,

It was a 50-foot (15.

那是个50英尺(15.

24 m) high lung!

24米高的肺脏!

The Lung If you put too much air in a balloon, it pops.

龙 如果你把太多的空气 在气球,它会爆炸。

The same once applied to B2.

这一点曾经适用于B2。

Air pressure inside B2 built up as air expanded on hot days.

B2内部的气压随着热天空气扩张而逐渐增强.

To protect it, the engineers had to control that pressure, but how?

为了保护它,工程师们必须控制这种压力,但是怎样?

We headed through a hatch marked “South Lung Tunnel” and entered a huge room that echoed like crazy.

我们穿过一个标记为"南龙隧道"的舱口,进入了一个巨大的房间,像疯子一样呼应.

Back when B2 was still sealed, the lungs (there are two, just as in your body) equalized air pressure inside the structure.

早在B2仍然被封住的时候,肺部(有2个,就像你体内)结构内部的平分气压.

Its ceiling is actually a rubber membrane, like a 40,000-pound (18,144 kg) circus tent without poles to hold it up.

它的天花板实际上是一个橡胶膜,就像一个40,000磅(18,144公斤)的马戏团帐篷,没有起立杆.

So what does hold it up?

那又怎样?

Air pressure.

气压。

During the day, the air inside B2 heats up and expands, pushing up the membrane.

白天,B2内部的空气会加热并膨胀,推高膜.

At night, the air pressure decreases and the membrane sinks down.

在夜间,气压下降而膜下沉.

When John opened the door, air whooshed out.

当约翰打开门, 空气呼喊出。

We whooshed out, too, and continued on our tour.

我们也大呼小叫 继续巡演

Today, the people at B2 are transforming the ocean biome to look like the Gulf of California.

今天,B2的人正在改变海洋生物群落 以看起来像加利福尼亚湾。

The outside of the lung (inset), and John and me inside the lung.

肺外出(入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入入

This is one of two huge domes that were built to keep all of B2 from exploding!

这是两个巨大的圆顶之一 建造它是为了防止所有B2爆炸!

Research Now B2 scientists used to study how we might survive on other planets.

研究现在的B2科学家 曾经研究我们如何在其它行星上生存。

Now, scientists at B2 look at living on this one with climate change.

现在,B2的科学家们 看着这个有气候变化的生物。

In the Landscape Evolution Observatory (LEO) project, where we headed next, they’re trying to figure that out.

在地貌进化观测站(LEO)的项目中,

We entered the area that once was the farm.

我们进入了曾经是农场的地区。

Here, scientists study how water interacts with land in three phases.

在这里,科学家研究水如何在三个阶段与土地相互作用.

In phase one—the current phase—they took more than a million pounds of basalt (crushed volcanic rock) and arranged it on three slopes.

在第一阶段,即目前的阶段,他们拿走了一百万多磅的玄武岩(被碾碎的火山岩),并将其安排在了三个山坡上。

They can make it rain in here, too.

这里也能下雨

Over time, the basalt will turn into soil.

随着时间的推移,玄武岩会变成土壤.

Scientists want to know how long the change will take and under what conditions.

科学家想知道变化需要多长时间,在什么条件下.