第1599期:Living under the sea

There are people living in almost every corner of our crowded planet. From the tops of mountains to deep underground, we’ve always been able to find habitable places to make a home. But with space at a premium, we’ve started to look even deeper for somewhere to live.在我们这个拥挤的星球上，几乎每个角落都有人居住。从山顶到地下深处，我们总能找到适合居住的地方来安家。但是由于空间非常宝贵，我们已经开始更深入地寻找居住的地方。Throughout history, people have been fascinated by the idea of living underwater. More recently, the effects of human activity on the land have led some to look to the oceans for natural resources. Oceanographers and architects have looked at designing vessels, labs and underwater habitats to enable people to live and work in a submerged world. But, while dreams of an aquatic city have remained a fantasy, how close are we to making our home on the seabed a reality?纵观历史，人们一直对生活在水下的想法着迷。最近，人类活动对陆地的影响导致一些人向海洋寻找自然资源。海洋学家和建筑师一直在研究设计船只、实验室和水下栖息地，以使人们能够在水下世界中生活和工作。但是，虽然水上城市的梦想仍然是一个幻想，但我们离让我们在海底的家成为现实还有多远？The pioneer of undersea living was Ian Koblick, sometimes described as an ‘aquanaut’. He claimed technology already existed to create underwater colonies supporting up to a hundred people. He even opened La Chalupa, once the largest and most advanced underwater habitat and research facility in the world.海底生活的先驱是伊恩·科布里克（Ian Koblick），有时被描述为“水手”。他声称已经存在技术来创建支持多达一百人的水下殖民地。他甚至开设了 La Chalupa，它曾经是世界上最大、最先进的水下栖息地和研究设施。A more recent and ambitious design for an underwater city is Ocean Spiral. Designed by the Japanese Shimizu Corporation, it’s a huge transparent globe attached to the seabed. It’s got a tower running through it to the surface, providing space for homes, offices and even an amusement park for five thousand residents. Masaki Takeuchi from the company told the BBC: “Our idea is to connect the sea surface and the deep sea vertically, and that way we believe that we can utilise the capability of the deep sea.”一个更近期和雄心勃勃的水下城市设计是海洋螺旋。由日本清水公司设计，它是一个巨大的透明球体，附着在海床上。它有一座塔楼穿过它到达地表，为住宅、办公室甚至可以容纳五千名居民的游乐园提供空间。该公司的 Masaki Takeuchi 告诉 BBC：“我们的想法是垂直连接海面和深海，这样我们相信我们可以利用深海的能力。”Of course, there are engineering challenges in constructing an oceanic metropolis. And living underwater would have major effects on the human body, especially as there is an increase in atmospheric pressure which could lead to the bends. So, maybe it’s too soon to be packing our bags and setting up a new life three thousand metres under the sea!当然，建设海洋大都市也存在工程挑战。生活在水下会对人体产生重大影响，特别是因为大气压力增加可能导致弯曲。所以，也许现在收拾行囊，在三千米的海底开始新的生活还为时过早！词汇表underground 在地面以下的habitable 可居住的，适于居住的underwater 在海面下的ocean 海洋oceanographer 海洋学家architect 建筑师vessel 船，舰habitat 栖息地submerged 潜入水中的aquatic city 水中都市the seabed 海床，海底undersea living 水下生活aquanaut 海底实验室工作人员the sea surface 海面the deep sea 深海vertically 垂直地oceanic metropolis 海洋大都市