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万物简史 第214期:把铅撵出去(3)

时间：2017-02-27 08:41:34

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 　　As Sharon Bertsch McGrayne notes in her absorbing history of industrial chemistry, Prometheans in the Lab, when employees at one plant developed irreversible delusions1, a spokesman blandly2 informed reporters: "These men probably went insane because they worked too hard." Altogether at least fifteen workers died in the early days of production of leaded gasoline, and untold3 numbers of others became ill, often violently so; the exact numbers are unknown because the company nearly always managed to hush4 up news of embarrassing leakages5, spills, and poisonings. At times, however, suppressing the news became impossible, most notably6 in 1924 when in a matter of days five production workers died and thirty-five more were turned into permanent staggering wrecks7 at a single ill-ventilated facility.

　　正如沙伦·伯奇·麦格雷恩在她的工业化学史《实验室里的普罗米修斯》一书中指出的，要是哪家工厂的雇员得了不可治愈的幻觉症，发言人便会厚颜无耻地告诉记者：“这些人之所以精神失常，很可能是因为工作太辛苦。”在生产含铅汽油的初期，至少有15名工人死亡，数不清的人得病，常常是大病。确切的数字无法知道，因为公司几乎总是能掩盖过去，从不透露令人难堪的泄漏、溢出和中毒等消息。然而，有的时候，压制消息已经不可能──尤其值得注意的是在1924年，在几天时间里，光在一个通风不良的场所就有5名生产工人死亡，35名工人终身残疾。
　　As rumors8 circulated about the dangers of the new product, ethyl's ebullient9 inventor, Thomas Midgley, decided10 to hold a demonstration11 for reporters to allay12 their concerns. As he chatted away about the company's commitment to safety, he poured tetraethyl lead over his hands, then held a beaker of it to his nose for sixty seconds, claiming all the while that he could repeat the procedure daily without harm. In fact, Midgley knew only too well the perils13 of lead poisoning: he had himself been made seriously ill from overexposure a few months earlier and now, except when reassuring14 journalists, never went near the stuff if he could help it.
　　随着有关新产品很危险的谣言四起，为了打消人们的担心，四乙铅汽油的发明者托马斯·米奇利决定当着记者的面作一次现场表演。他一面大谈公司如何确保安全，一面往自己的手上泼含铅汽油，还把一烧杯这类汽油放在鼻子跟前达60秒之久，不停声称他每天可以这么干而不受任何伤害。其实，米奇利心里对铅中毒的危险很清楚：他几个月之前还因接触太多而害了一场大病，现在除了在记者面前以外决不接近那玩意儿，只要可能的话。

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1 delusions 2aa783957a753fb9191a38d959fe2c25     
n.欺骗( delusion的名词复数 )；谬见；错觉；妄想
参考例句：
  • the delusions of the mentally ill 精神病患者的妄想
  • She wants to travel first-class: she must have delusions of grandeur. 她想坐头等舱旅行，她一定自以为很了不起。 来自辞典例句
2 blandly f411bffb7a3b98af8224e543d5078eb9     
adv.温和地，殷勤地
参考例句：
  • There is a class of men in Bristol monstrously prejudiced against Blandly. 布里斯托尔有那么一帮人为此恨透了布兰德利。 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛
  • \"Maybe you could get something in the stage line?\" he blandly suggested. “也许你能在戏剧这一行里找些事做，\"他和蔼地提议道。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
3 untold ljhw1     
adj.数不清的，无数的
参考例句：
  • She has done untold damage to our chances.她给我们的机遇造成了不可估量的损害。
  • They suffered untold terrors in the dark and huddled together for comfort.他们遭受着黑暗中的难以言传的种种恐怖，因而只好挤在一堆互相壮胆。
4 hush ecMzv     
int.嘘，别出声；n.沉默，静寂；v.使安静
参考例句：
  • A hush fell over the onlookers.旁观者们突然静了下来。
  • Do hush up the scandal!不要把这丑事声张出去！
5 leakages 36373042d7bcef17373f6410c1bd165a     
泄露； 漏( leakage的名词复数 )； 漏出； 漏出物； 渗漏物
参考例句：
  • We can see that the flow has both leakages from it and injection into it. 我们就可以看到，这个流量既有漏出的又有注入的。
  • We can see that the flow has both leakages from it and injections into it. 我们就可以看到，这个流量是既有漏出的又有注入的。
6 notably 1HEx9     
adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地
参考例句：
  • Many students were absent,notably the monitor.许多学生缺席，特别是连班长也没来。
  • A notably short,silver-haired man,he plays basketball with his staff several times a week.他个子明显较为矮小，一头银发，每周都会和他的员工一起打几次篮球。
7 wrecks 8d69da0aee97ed3f7157e10ff9dbd4ae     
n.沉船( wreck的名词复数 )；（事故中）遭严重毁坏的汽车（或飞机等）；（身体或精神上）受到严重损伤的人；状况非常糟糕的车辆（或建筑物等）v.毁坏[毁灭]某物( wreck的第三人称单数 )；使（船舶）失事，使遇难，使下沉
参考例句：
  • The shores are strewn with wrecks. 海岸上满布失事船只的残骸。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • My next care was to get together the wrecks of my fortune. 第二件我所关心的事就是集聚破产后的余财。 来自辞典例句
8 rumors 2170bcd55c0e3844ecb4ef13fef29b01     
n.传闻( rumor的名词复数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷v.传闻( rumor的第三人称单数 )；[古]名誉；咕哝；[古]喧嚷
参考例句：
  • Rumors have it that the school was burned down. 有谣言说学校给烧掉了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Rumors of a revolt were afloat. 叛变的谣言四起。 来自《简明英汉词典》
9 ebullient C89y4     
adj.兴高采烈的，奔放的
参考例句：
  • He was ebullient over the reception of his novel.他因小说获好评而兴高采烈。
  • She wrote the ebullient letter when she got back to her flat.她一回到自己的寓所,就写了那封热情洋溢的信。
10 decided lvqzZd     
adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的
参考例句：
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
11 demonstration 9waxo     
n.表明，示范，论证，示威
参考例句：
  • His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
  • He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。
12 allay zxIzJ     
v.消除，减轻(恐惧、怀疑等)
参考例句：
  • The police tried to allay her fears but failed.警察力图减轻她的恐惧，但是没有收到什么效果。
  • They are trying to allay public fears about the spread of the disease.他们正竭力减轻公众对这种疾病传播的恐惧。
13 perils 3c233786f6fe7aad593bf1198cc33cbe     
极大危险( peril的名词复数 )； 危险的事（或环境）
参考例句：
  • The commander bade his men be undaunted in the face of perils. 指挥员命令他的战士要临危不惧。
  • With how many more perils and disasters would he load himself? 他还要再冒多少风险和遭受多少灾难？
14 reassuring vkbzHi     
a.使人消除恐惧和疑虑的，使人放心的
参考例句：
  • He gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. 他轻拍了一下她的肩膀让她放心。
  • With a reassuring pat on her arm, he left. 他鼓励地拍了拍她的手臂就离开了。

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