離開
進入《中英對照讀新聞》NASA scientists plan to stop supervolcano that could kill millions－NASA科學家計畫阻止可能令數百萬人喪命的超級火山
美國黃石公園的大稜鏡溫泉。（取自網路）
◎孫宇青
With around 20 so-called supervolcanoes scattered around the world right now, NASA says that an eruption of just one of them could be a catastrophic threat to the human race.
美國國家航太總署（NASA）表示，現今有20座超級火山散布在全球各地，只要其中一座爆發，將為人類帶來災難性威脅。
Hidden under Yellowstone National Park in the US, the Yellowstone Caldera is an enormous crater-like depression and is filled with red-hot magma. If it were to blast in a super-eruption, molten material that it spews out would incinerate everything within 60 miles and leave Wyoming and surrounding states blanketed with three feet of volcanic ash.
隱藏在美國黃石公園下的黃石火山，是一個形狀如隕石坑、充滿熾熱岩漿的巨大破火山口。一旦大規模爆發，噴出的岩漿會將60英里（約97公里）內的萬物焚毀，懷俄明州和附近各州將覆蓋3英尺（約91公分）厚的火山灰。
The dust and gases released by the eruption would also blot out enough sun to wipe out crops and plunge the world into a ’volcanic winter’ that c ould last for decades and kill millions.
爆發所釋放的火山灰和氣體，也會遮蔽充足光照，令穀物死亡、讓地球進入可能持續數十年的「火山冬天」，導致數百萬人喪命。
The team says that they could prevent an eruption by siphoning geothermal energy from the caldera and converting it into electricity.
團隊表示，他們將抽取破火山口的地熱，並將該能量轉換為電力，或許可阻止爆發。
Water would be pumped through the borehole into the hot rock and then return to the surface at a temperature of more than 600 degrees Fahrenheit. This would then be used to drive turbines and generate electric power. When cooled, the water could be pumped back underground to subtract more heat.
他們將鑿洞將水送入熱岩，水回到地表時將高達逾華氏600度（攝氏316度）。接著被用來驅動渦輪機以產生電能。冷卻下來後，這些水將再度被送入地底降溫。
《新聞辭典》
enormous：形容詞，巨大的。例句：Their main bedroom is enormous.（他們的主臥室很大。）
spew：動詞，噴出。例句：Water spewed out of the crevasse.（水從裂縫中湧出。）
blot out：動詞，遮蔽。例句：The storm blotted out the sky and the land.（暴風雨鋪天蓋地而來。）
