001 间歇泉与温泉

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Mark's father parked his car." There's a crowd forming around Old Faithful," he said

马克的父亲停好车。“老忠实泉那边围了一群人，”他说。

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" The geyser is probably about to blow. Come on, Mark!

“间歇泉可能马上就要喷发了。快点，马克！

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If we hurry, we might get to see the eruption."

我们快一点的话，也许能看到喷发。”

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Mark had never seen a geyser erupt, so he and his father had come to Yellowstone National Park for the day

马克从未见过间歇泉喷发，所以他和父亲今天专程来到黄石国家公园。

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The park was famous for its geysers and hot springs, especially the geyser known as Old Faithful

这个公园以间歇泉和温泉闻名，尤其是那座叫做老忠实泉的间歇泉。

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Mark's dad had told him that geysers are one of the most amazing things found in nature

马克的爸爸告诉过他，间歇泉是大自然中最令人惊奇的事物之一。

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A crack in the ground is filled with hot water, with bubbles and steam rising to the surface

地缝里充满了热水，气泡和蒸汽升腾到表面。

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Then — often with little warning — it erupts

接着——常常毫无预警地——它就喷发了。

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A giant burst of steam and water shoots high into the air

一股巨大的蒸汽和水柱高高射入空中。

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Mark and his father made it to the geyser just in time

马克和父亲及时赶到了间歇泉边。

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" Old Faithful is about to blow!" a park ranger shouted

“老忠实泉要喷发了！”一位公园管理员喊道。

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Mark felt a vibration coming from deep beneath the earth

马克感到从地下深处传来一阵震动。

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There was a strange gurgling sound, and then, from a hole in the ground, steam and water shot up over forty meters into the air!

先是传来一阵奇怪的汩汩声，接着，从一个地洞里，蒸汽和水柱猛地喷射到四十多米高的空中！

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" Whoa!" Mark cried

“哇！”马克叫了起来。

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Soon the water flowed back down into the hole

很快，水又流回到了那个洞里。

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To Mark, it sounded just like water gurgling down the drain of a sink

在马克听来，那声音就像水从洗手池的下水口汩汩流下去一样。

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Mark had a question for the ranger." Why is this geyser named Old Faithful?" he asked

马克有个问题想问管理员。“这个间歇泉为什么叫老忠实泉？”他问道。

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" Most geysers are unpredictable," the ranger explained

“大多数间歇泉都不可预测，”管理员解释说。

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" But Old Faithful's eruptions follow a predictable pattern

“但是老忠实泉的喷发遵循一个可预测的模式。

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If it erupts for two minutes, then it erupts again in sixty minutes

如果它喷发两分钟，那么它会在六十分钟后再次喷发。

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If it erupts for five minutes, it erupts again in one hundred minutes."

“如果它喷发五分钟，那么会在100分钟后再次喷发。”

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" I get it," said Mark." Old Faithful always does the same thing!"

“我明白了，”马克说，“老忠实总是这样！”

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" Exactly." The ranger grinned at Mark

“完全正确。”护林员对马克咧嘴笑了笑。

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Soon Mark and his father followed the park ranger to an exhibit

很快，马克和父亲跟着护林员来到一个展览处。

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There, Mark learned that Yellowstone Park contains more than half of all the geysers and hot springs on earth

在那里，马克了解到，黄石公园拥有地球上超过半数的间歇泉和温泉。

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" What are hot springs?" Mark asked the ranger." Are they different from geysers?"

“什么是温泉？”马克问护林员，“它们和间歇泉不一样吗？”

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" Yes, they are different," the ranger replied

“是的，它们不一样。”护林员回答。

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" They form because of earth's water table

“它们的形成和地下水位有关。

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When rain falls, some water sinks deep into the earth until it reaches a layer of rock

下雨时，一部分水会渗入地下深处，直到触及岩层。

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The water sits on top of the rock and forms what's called the water table — a layer of water

水聚集在岩石上方，形成了所谓的‘地下水位’——一个水层。

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" In some places, such as Yellowstone Park, the hot core of the earth is near this water table

“在黄石公园这样的地方，炽热的地心离这个地下水层很近。

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So the water gets heated to boiling hot temperatures

所以水会被加热到沸腾的程度。

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If there is a crack in the earth above the water, the water expands and forces its way up. Water then pools around the opening."

如果水上方的地壳有裂缝，水就会膨胀并向上涌，然后在开口周围汇聚成池。”

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" I see." Mark nodded." Hot springs don't erupt. But then what makes geysers erupt?"

“我明白了。”马克点点头，“温泉不会喷发。那是什么让间歇泉喷发呢？”

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" Well," the park ranger said." A hot spring's crack, or fissure, is shaped like a pipe

“嗯，”护林员说，“温泉的裂缝就像一根直的管道。

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But a geyser's fissure is wider, forming a large cavern underground

但间歇泉的裂缝更宽，在地下形成一个巨大的空穴。

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Hot water and steam rise and fill the cavern while the water at the top of the cavern cools off quickly

热水和水蒸气上升并填满空穴，而空穴顶部的水会迅速冷却。

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This cool water acts like a heavy lid on a pot of boiling water

这层冷水就像一个沉重的盖子，盖在一锅沸水上。

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Hot pressure builds up in the cavern

空穴里积聚了很大的压力。

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Suddenly all the pressure is released at once, shooting water and steam into the air."

一瞬间，所有压力突然释放，把水和蒸汽喷射到空中。”

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Mark and his father stayed a while longer, exploring the exhibit

马克和父亲又待了一会儿，继续参观展览。

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They found out that Iceland, a small country in Europe, also has a large number of geysers and hot springs

他们了解到，欧洲小国冰岛也拥有大量的间歇泉和温泉。

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The people living there can even use the energy from geysers and hot springs to heat their homes and generate electricity!

住在那儿的人甚至可以利用间歇泉和温泉的能量来供暖和发电！

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" Look, Dad!" Mark pointed to a picture of a giant mud bath

“看，爸爸！”马克指着一张巨大的泥浴图片。

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" Sometimes the hot spring mixes with soil to form mud baths like this one

“有时候温泉水混合了泥土，就形成这样的泥浴。

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I bet it feels good to lay in that!"

我打赌躺在里面肯定很舒服！”

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" Many people find these mud baths soothing," replied Mark's dad

“很多人觉得这些泥浴能让人放松镇静。”马克的父亲回答。

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" Japan is famous for its relaxing hot springs

“日本以其令人放松的温泉而闻名。

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Some people even believe that mud baths and hot springs can cure diseases — or at least take away some aches and pains!"

有些人甚至相信泥浴和温泉能治病——或者至少能缓解一些疼痛！”

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The ranger heard them talking." In Yellowstone Park the hot springs' water is usually too hot to touch," he said

护林员听到了他们的谈话。“在黄石公园，温泉水通常太烫了，不能碰。”他说。

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" So unfortunately, people can't bathe in the hot springs here

“所以很遗憾，人们不能在这里的温泉里泡澡。

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But there is something special about our hot springs

不过，我们的温泉有个特别之处。

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Some forms of bacteria and algae live in them

水里生活着某些种类的细菌和藻类。

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These life forms are different colors and give the hot springs an unusual and beautiful appearance."

这些生物颜色各异，赋予了温泉一种奇特而美丽的外观。”

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Later Mark and his father thanked the park ranger and headed back toward their car. It was time to go home

后来，马克和父亲向护林员道谢，然后朝他们的车走去。该回家了。

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" Dad, I wish we could go to one of those hot springs where you can swim and relax," Mark said." That sounds like fun!"

“爸爸，真希望我们能去那种可以游泳和放松的温泉，”马克说，“听起来太好玩了！”

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" I've heard there are hot springs like that in Canada," replied Mark's father

“我听说加拿大有那样的温泉。”马克的父亲回答。

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" You can sit in a hot spring high in the mountains

“你可以坐在高山的温泉里。

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Would you like to go there on our next vacation?" he asked

下次假期想去那儿吗？”他问道。

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" Yes!" Mark said, grinning." That sounds cool... er, I mean, hot!"

“想！”马克咧嘴笑着说，“听起来真酷……哦，我是说，真热！”