It Rained Cement： I Lived Near an Erupting Volcano 天空下起“水泥雨”

自2012年起，美國黃石公園火山就新聞不斷。據(jù)說該火山已進入活躍期，一旦噴發(fā)，恐將帶來巨大災難，不過也有專家認為這純屬謠言。不管是真是假，人們都為此憂心了一把?；鹕絿姲l(fā)究竟是什么樣的呢？你也許看過其壯觀的圖片，聽過其帶來的災難，甚至了解過其原理，但你一定未曾親身經(jīng)歷過火山噴發(fā)的情形吧。噴發(fā)前的大地顫抖、噴發(fā)中的濃霧升騰、噴發(fā)后的灰塵彌漫，這一切都足以給你帶來一生難忘的經(jīng)歷。

When I moved to Quito， Ecuador， in the 1990s， the last thing I expected to see was an erupting volcano.

I had read a lot about Quito. But I hadn't come across1） anything about Guagua Pichincha， an active volcano a few miles west of the city. I didn't even know it existed ... until 1999， when it was about to erupt.

20世紀90年代，我移居到厄瓜多爾的首都基多，當時最不愿看到的就是火山噴發(fā)了。

雖然我此前讀了很多有關基多的介紹，但卻沒有看到過關于皮晉查火山（基多市以西數(shù)英里處的一座活火山）的任何信息。我甚至都不知道它的存在，直到1999年它即將噴發(fā)時。

The Erupting Volcano

Guagua Pichincha had not erupted for hundreds of years. But now magma2） was making its way to the surface， and the pressure was causing earthquakes.

In the city， we did not feel the earthquakes very often. But geologists were able to detect them. Some of the tremors3） shook nonstop for six hours. Guagua Pichincha was about to erupt.

On the morning of September 3， 1999， I saw a huge plume4） of ash shoot from the volcano. The mushroom-shaped cloud rose to a height of more than three miles. As the ash settled， it covered the city in a thin layer. Even cities miles away from Quito were blanketed in ash.

Reason of This Eruption

What had set off this eruption？ The answer was water. As the magma came closer to the surface， it heated rainwater in the ground. The water boiled. As the water turned into steam， the steam caused so much pressure that weak spots in the surface finally gave way and exploded.

One way to understand this type of eruption is to think of shaking a bottle of soda and then popping5） off the lid. Expanding gas in the soda creates so much pressure that it explodes out of the bottle， taking the soda with it.

The ash from Guagua Pichincha shot out with so much force that it traveled for miles before it settled. The finer6） ash hung in the air.

Volcanic ash is different from the ash left over from a wood fire. Volcanic ash is made up of tiny bits of lava. The eruption blasts7） the bits into the air while they are still hot， and they cool as separate particles， forming a fine dust.

This dust can clog8） the works of an engine or any other machine that needs air. Cars， buses， and even airplanes could not run in Quito for days.

Worse， the air could carry ash into a person's lungs， permanently damaging them. Schools were closed. People who had to leave home wore masks that protected their lungs.

噴發(fā)的火山

皮晉查火山已有數(shù)百年沒有噴發(fā)過?？涩F(xiàn)在，巖漿正向地表涌來，由此造成的壓力引發(fā)了一次又一次地震。

盡管我們在基多市內(nèi)并沒有頻繁地感覺到地震，但地質(zhì)學家們卻有辦法監(jiān)測到這些地震。有時候，地面的輕微震動會不停地持續(xù)六小時之久。皮晉查火山就快要噴發(fā)了。

1999年9月3日清晨，我看到一大股火山灰從火山口噴射而出。這團如蘑菇狀的煙霧扶搖直上，升騰至三英里多的高空中。待到火山灰落定，整個基多市都覆蓋上了薄薄的一層火山灰，就連距離基多數(shù)英里以外的幾座城市也籠罩在火山灰之下。

火山噴發(fā)的原因

是什么引起了這次火山噴發(fā)呢？答案是水。當巖漿距地表越來越近時，地下雨水也隨之被巖漿加熱，直至沸騰。雨水變?yōu)樗魵夂?，水蒸氣會造成巨大的氣壓，導致地表的薄弱地帶坍塌，進而爆裂開來。

有一種方法可以幫你理解火山噴發(fā)的這種形式。設想一下，把一瓶蘇打水晃一晃，然后啪的一聲打開瓶蓋。蘇打水中不斷增加的氣體會造成很大的氣壓，導致氣體裹挾著蘇打水一起從瓶中噴涌而出。

由于皮晉查火山噴發(fā)的沖擊力過大，噴出的火山灰要在空中飄揚數(shù)英里之后才會“塵埃落定”。而更為微小的火山灰則會懸浮在空中。

與木材燃盡后留下的灰燼有所不同，火山灰是由微小的火山熔巖所組成的?；鹕絿姲l(fā)時會將這些仍舊熾熱的熔巖碎屑噴射到空中，待它們冷卻之后，便會成為一個個單獨的微粒，形成微塵。

這種微塵會妨礙發(fā)動機或任何一種需要空氣的機器運轉(zhuǎn)。在基多，汽車、公交車甚至飛機都接連好多天無法運行。

更糟糕的是，火山灰會隨空氣進入人的肺部，對其造成永久損害。各個學校都停課了。那些不得不出門的人則戴上口罩以保護自己的肺。

A Cleansing Rain

One day， dark rain clouds rolled toward Quito. I thought， what a relief to have the air finally clean！ I was looking forward to the time when I could walk outside without wearing a bulky9） mask over my nose and mouth.

I had an appointment in 10 minutes. I had to walk， of course， since no cars or buses were running. As the clouds neared the city， I strapped10） on my mask.

When the rain started to fall， the water looked normal until I looked down. The water wasn't clear. It was gray. My clothes had little drops of wet ash on them. The rain was cleaning the air as I had hoped. But it was dropping the ash as a watery mess.

I walked faster. The rain fell harder. Before I knew it， I was wet from head to toe. The surprising part was that when I finally found shelter， the thin， ashy rainwater started to harden. I could move my clothes and my hair into any form and they would stay. It was as if the sky had rained cement！

Minor eruptions of steam and ash continued for months. I never thought I would get used to the sight of a volcano erupting， but it became commonplace for the people of Quito.

By the year 2000， Guagua Pichincha finally rested again. I will never forget the huge clouds of ash rising from the mountains behind us. And I will always remember to stay out of the rain after a volcano erupts.

凈化空氣的雨水

一天，天邊烏云滾滾，向基多上空飄來。我想，空氣終于要變得清新了，多么令人欣慰呀！到時候我就不用再戴著厚實的大口罩遮住鼻子和嘴巴出門了。我很期待那一刻的到來。

十分鐘后我有一個約會。當然，由于汽車和公交車都無法運行，我只能步行赴約。其時烏云正逐漸逼近基多，我系緊了我的口罩。

雨點開始落了下來。雨水在空中看起來很正常，不過等我低頭一看，才發(fā)現(xiàn)這雨水并不透明，而是灰色的。我衣服上印了一個個小斑點，那是濕乎乎的火山灰。雨水正如我所期待的那樣在凈化空氣，但它同時也把火山灰變成了從天而降的泥漿。

我走得越來越快，雨下得越來越大。我還沒反應過來，渾身上下就已經(jīng)濕透了。令人驚訝的是，等我最后找到避雨的地方時，我身上那稀薄的灰色雨漬竟然開始慢慢變硬。我可以把衣服和頭發(fā)弄成任何造型，無論什么造型都會保持得很好，就好像天空下的是“水泥”一樣！

接下來幾個月又發(fā)生了數(shù)次裹挾著蒸汽和火山灰的小規(guī)?；鹕絿姲l(fā)。我從來都沒想過自己會對看到火山噴發(fā)習以為常，不過對基多人來說，火山噴發(fā)成了司空見慣的事情。

直到2000年，皮晉查火山終于再次進入休眠。我永遠都不會忘記那由灰燼構成的巨大蘑菇云從我們身后的火山升騰而起的景象。我也會一直記得，火山噴發(fā)后要避免淋雨。

What's More

皮晉查火山屬于復式火山堆，該火山是由兩種不同類型的噴發(fā)所噴出的物質(zhì)堆積而成的。其中一種噴發(fā)噴出的是火山灰和煤渣（ash and cinders），另外一種則噴出黏稠的巖漿（lava），覆蓋在火山灰和煤渣之上。每發(fā)生其中一種火山噴發(fā)，該火山就會堆積起一層又一層的煤渣或流體巖漿或二者的混合物，從而越堆越高。跟以上這兩類噴發(fā)相比，1999年的那次噴發(fā)就沒有那么劇烈，它向空中噴出的主要是火山灰。

目前，皮晉查火山海拔4784米，超過了12個帝國大廈疊起來的高度，差不多相當于世界第一高峰珠穆朗瑪峰的一半。

1776年7月4日，隨著《獨立宣言》的誕生，北美13個英屬殖民地宣告擺脫大英帝國的統(tǒng)治，成為獨立自由的國家——美利堅合眾國。作為美國重要的開國文件，《獨立宣言》不僅被妥善珍藏，其中“人人生而平等”的理念更被廣為傳頌，給美國乃至全世界都帶來了重大影響。這份重要文件的主要起草人就是美國開國元勛、美國第三任總統(tǒng)托馬斯·杰斐遜。可你知道嗎？當年的杰斐遜因為思鄉(xiāng)情切，差點與這一重要的歷史事件失之交臂。而這一切都要從1776年那個炎熱的夏天說起。

It is the summer of 1776—and unusually hot. Thomas Jefferson is not happy. He'd rather be home in Virginia than attending Philadelphia's Continental Congress1）.

Thomas Jefferson knew he had a job to do. Important men throughout the American colonies were meeting in Philadelphia to discuss and debate the war with Great Britain. The colony of Virginia sent Thomas Jefferson to Philadelphia. But Jefferson wasn't happy. He wasn't much of a debater.

那是1776年的夏天，天氣分外炎熱。托馬斯·杰斐遜有些悶悶不樂。他寧愿待在弗吉尼亞自己的家里，也不愿去費城參加大陸會議。

杰斐遜知道自己有任務在身。北美各殖民地的重要人物都將齊聚費城，就與英國的戰(zhàn)爭事宜展開商討和辯論。弗吉尼亞殖民地派杰斐遜前往費城參加會議，但杰斐遜卻感到郁悶。他不太擅長辯論。

Back in Virginia

Jefferson wanted to be home that hot summer of 1776. He missed his wife， Martha. She hadn't been feeling well when he left， and he worried about her.

Jefferson was certain more important and exciting things were taking place in Virginia. The Continental Congress in Philadelphia spent hours discussing daily events—worthwhile but not dramatic2）. Virginia was writing a constitution3）， forming its own rules of government. If something historic was going to happen over the summer， Jefferson was convinced it would be in Virginia.

Jefferson Begs to Go Home

Jefferson knew this was a chance to create a new form of government. He wrote to the Virginia Convention4） that a state constitution would be \"a work of the most interesting nature\"， one that \"every individual would wish to have his voice in5）\". He begged the Convention to let him come home—to help create the constitution—but he was told to stay in Philadelphia.

Jefferson made the best of his situation6）. The men at the Continental Congress created many resolutions （opinions） and drafted many documents. Known as a good writer， Jefferson was busy penning declarations7）. But in his spare time， he worked on his version of the Virginia constitution. If he couldn't be a part of history back home， he could contribute to it in Philadelphia.

On June 7， 1776， fellow Virginia delegate Richard Henry Lee stood up at the Congress and announced that \"these United Colonies are， and of right ought to be， free and independent States\". Jefferson probably knew what was coming next. Here was another resolution to debate. And whenever there was a resolution， there was a declaration.

Jefferson Stays Put8）

The American colonies had been at war with Great Britain for more than a year， but surprisingly， the colonies had not formally announced their independence. So the Congress appointed a five-man committee to create a document proclaiming9） America's independence. And the committee chose Thomas Jefferson， the man with the \"masterly Pen\"， to write it.

Jefferson knew he was to list the unfair things Great Britain had done to the colonies， then declare American independence. It was a simple task—like the many other declarations he had written. But Jefferson kept thinking about his Virginia constitution. Maybe he could add his ideas of a perfect government to this paper. It would take time. But it would be worth staying in Philadelphia.

For days and days， Jefferson wrote and rewrote about the king and his unfair laws. About independence. About freedom. He borrowed ideas from other political writers， but he wrote these thoughts in words that all people could understand. He wanted his ideas to be shared with everyone.

And they were. The Continental Congress voted to adopt the Declaration of Independence on July 4， 1776. On July 8， it was read out loud to a cheering crowd. No one knew who the author was， but they knew what the Declaration stood for—independence and liberty for all.

Still， Thomas Jefferson dreamed of home. In late July he begged Richard Henry Lee to replace him in Congress. \"I am under a sacred10） obligation11） to go home，\" he wrote. Jefferson had promised his wife he would return soon.

In September， Jefferson's dream finally came true， and he traveled home.

Since then， the words Thomas Jefferson wrote during that hot Philadelphia summer have inspired people throughout the world. Thank goodness Jefferson didn't go home. He had a job to do， and he did it！

1.Continental Congress： 大陸會議，系美國獨立戰(zhàn)爭（1775～1783）初期北美各殖民政府聯(lián)合起來反抗英國統(tǒng)治的正式政治手段。美國宣布獨立后，該會議在獨立戰(zhàn)爭期間代表新美國聯(lián)邦政府行使外交職能。congress [?k??ɡres] n. （若干國家的政府代表協(xié)商問題的） （正式）會議；議會，國會

2.dramatic [dr??m?t?k] adj. 激動人心的，令人印象深刻的

3.constitution [?k?nst??tju??n] n. 憲法

當時的弗吉尼亞

1776年那個炎熱的夏天，杰斐遜想要留在家里。他想念妻子瑪莎。他離開家時，瑪莎的身體狀況一直不太好，他很擔心她。

杰斐遜相信，在弗吉尼亞有一些更為重大且振奮人心的事情正在發(fā)生。費城的大陸會議花費數(shù)個小時討論一些日常事務，這些事務雖有討論的必要，但卻不夠激動人心。而弗吉尼亞則在制定憲法，建立該地獨立的政治體制法規(guī)。杰斐遜確信，如果這個夏天會有什么具有歷史意義的事件發(fā)生，那將會發(fā)生在弗吉尼亞。

杰斐遜請求返鄉(xiāng)

杰斐遜知道這是一次建立全新政治體制的機會。他在寫給弗吉尼亞大會的信中提到，制定一個州的憲法將是“一份最令人感興趣的工作”，“每一個人都希望能夠參與其中”。他懇請大會準許他返回家鄉(xiāng)參與弗吉尼亞憲法的制定工作，卻被要求留在費城。

在這不盡如人意的情況下，杰斐遜做了自己力所能及之事。大陸會議的與會者們通過了很多決議（意見），起草了許多文件。由于文筆出色，杰斐遜一直忙于撰寫各項聲明。但在空余時間，他則撰寫自己心目中的弗吉尼亞憲法。如果他無法回到家鄉(xiāng)成為歷史的創(chuàng)造者之一，他可以在費城為此做出貢獻。

1776年6月7日，同樣來自弗吉尼亞的與會代表理查德·亨利·李在大陸會議上發(fā)言，宣布“這些聯(lián)合殖民地從此成為且名正言順地應當成為自由獨立的合眾國”?；蛟S杰斐遜預料到了接下來將要發(fā)生的事情。大陸會議又有一份新的決議需要展開討論，而不論何時，一份決議的形成就意味著一份新聲明的誕生。

杰斐遜留了下來

北美殖民地與英國之間的戰(zhàn)爭已經(jīng)持續(xù)了一年多，但令人意外的是，各殖民地一直沒有正式宣布獨立。因此，大陸會議任命了五個人組成委員會來起草一份宣告美國獨立的文件，該委員會選擇請“寫得一手好文章”的托馬斯·杰斐遜來執(zhí)筆。

杰斐遜明白自己所要做的就是一一列舉英國對各殖民地的不公正待遇，繼而宣告美國獨立。就像他寫過的其他那些聲明一樣，這是個簡單的任務。但是，杰斐遜心中一直思考著他的弗吉尼亞憲法?；蛟S他可以在這份宣言中加入自己對理想政府的構想。這要花點時間。不過，為此待在費城也值得。

一天又一天，杰斐遜不停地撰寫和修改這份宣言，他寫到英國國王及其不公正的法律，寫到獨立，寫到自由。他借鑒了其他一些政論家的觀點，但他把這些想法用淺顯易懂的語言表達了出來。他希望自己的思想能傳達給每一個人。

他確實做到了。1776年7月4日，大陸會議通過投票，采納了這份《獨立宣言》。7月8日，這份宣言在人群中被大聲宣讀出來，贏得了人們的歡呼。沒有人知道這份宣言的作者是誰，但他們知道它宣揚什么，那就是所有人的獨立和自由。

杰斐遜依然思鄉(xiāng)情切。7月底，他懇求理查德·亨利·李代替自己出席大陸會議。他寫道：“我負有神圣的義務，需要返回家鄉(xiāng)?！苯莒尺d此前答應過妻子很快就會回去。

9月，杰斐遜的愿望終于達成，他回到了家鄉(xiāng)。

從那時起，托馬斯·杰斐遜在費城那個炎熱的夏天里寫下的字句就一直激勵著全世界的人們。謝天謝地，杰斐遜當時沒有回家。他有大任在身，而且完成得很好！

4.convention [k?n?ven?n] n. （正式）會議，（定期）大會

5.have a voice in （sth.）： 參與決議（某事）

6.make the best of a （bad） situation： 在境況不盡如人意時盡力而為

7.declaration [?dekl??re??n] n. 聲明；宣言

8.stay put： <口>留在原地；固定不動

9.proclaim [pr??kle?m] vt. 宣告，公布，聲明

10.sacred [?se?kr?d] adj. 神圣的

11.obligation [??bl??ɡe??n] n. （法律或道義上的）義務，責任