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MoribaJah_IfAllSatellitesDisappeared_2020E-_如果每一个卫星突然消失了_-
One day, without warning or apparent cause, all of humanity’s artificial satellites suddenly disappear . 某一天,在没有警告或明确的原因下, 所有人类的人造卫星突然消失了。
The first to understand the situation are a handful of government and commercial operators. 第一个会了解到情况的人 会是少数的政府和商业管制员。
But well before they have time to process what’s happened, millions sitting on their couches become aware that something is amiss . 但是远在他们了解情况之前, 数百万坐在自己沙发上的人们将会已经察觉到异常。
apparent:adj.显然的;表面上的; artificial:adj.人造的;仿造的;虚伪的;非原产地的;武断的; disappear:v.消失;失踪;不复存在; commercial:adj.贸易的;商业的;赢利的;以获利为目的的;n.(电台或电视播放的)广告; process:v.处理;加工;列队行进;n.过程,进行;方法,adj.经过特殊加工(或处理)的; couches:n.睡椅,长沙发;床;卧榻;vi.蹲伏,埋伏;躺着;vt.使躺下;表达;弯下; amiss:adj.有毛病的,有缺陷的;出差错的;adv.错误地;
TV that’s broadcast from or routed through satellites dominate the market for international programming as well as some local channels, so the disappearance causes immediate disruptions , worldwide . 通过卫星广播或路由的电视 主导着国际频道和一些地方频道市场, 所以卫星的消失会立即导致全球性的中断。
The next people affected are those traveling by air, sea, or land, as global positioning, navigation and timing services, have entirely ceased . 下一步会受到影响的人 是那些在空中、海上或陆地上行进的人们, 因为全球定位系统、导航和授时功能,都会完全停止。
broadcast:v.广播; n.广播节目; adj.[无线]播音的; routed:n.已选择路径;v.按路线发送(route的过去分词和过去式); dominate:vt.控制;支配;占优势;在…中占主要地位;vi.占优势;处于支配地位; as well as:也;和…一样;不但…而且; disappearance:n.消失;不见; disruptions:破坏,毁坏;分裂,瓦解(disruption的复数); worldwide:adj.全世界的;adv.在世界各地; global:adj.全球的;总体的;球形的; navigation:n.导航;航行;领航; ceased:v.停止(cease的过去式及过去分词形式);中止;中断;
Pilots, captains, and drivers have to determine their locations using analog instruments and maps. 飞行员、船长和驾驶员们都必须使用 模拟式仪表和地图来定位。
Aircraft , ships, and ground vehicles get stopped, grounded, or returned to port. 飞机、船和地面车辆会被停止、停飞或返回港口。
In the meantime , air traffic controllers have a difficult task on their hands to prevent plane crashes. 同一时间,航空交通管理员们手上会有 防止飞机失事这一项艰巨任务。
determine:v.决定;确定;测定;查明;形成;影响;裁决;安排; locations:n.地方;地点;位置;定位(location的复数) analog:n.[自]模拟;类似物;adj.[自]模拟的;有长短针的; instruments:n.器械;仪器;器具;手段(instrument的复数) Aircraft:n.飞机,航空器; vehicles:n.车辆;飞行器;运行工具;(vehicles是vehicle的复数) In the meantime:在此期间;于此际; controllers:n.[自]控制器(controller的复数形式);管理者;控制部件;
Within hours, most of the planet’s traffic grinds to a halt . 在数小时之内,大多数地球的交通会停滞不前。
The effects aren’t limited to entertainment and travel. 这些影响不光会局限在娱乐和行驶范围内。
All sorts of machines, from heating and cooling systems to assembly lines, rely on super-accurate satellite-based timing systems, and many have little-to-no backup options . 各种各样的机械,从暖通空调到流水线, 都依赖着超级精确的卫星授时系统。 而且很多只有少许或者完全没有后备选项。
grinds:v.磨碎; n.令人疲劳(或厌倦)的工作; (grind的第三人称单数和复数) halt:v.停止;立定;踌躇,犹豫;n.停止;立定;休息; limited:adj.有限的; n.高级快车; v.限制; (limit的过去分词和过去式) assembly:n.装配;集会,集合; rely:vi.依靠;信赖; satellite-based:星载的,基于卫星的; backup:n.后援;增援;(文件等的)备份;adj.后补的;支持性的;伴奏的; options:n.选择; v.得到或获准进行选择; (option的三单形式)
Stoplights and other traffic control systems stop synchronizing , so police and good Samaritans step in to direct the remaining cars and prevent as many accidents as possible. 红绿灯和其他交通管制系统会停止同步, 所以警察和好心民众会介入 帮忙指挥剩下正在行驶中的车辆, 并且防止尽可能多的交通事故。
The most catastrophic impact is yet to come. 最灾难性的影响还未到来。
Because in the next few hours, the world economy shuts down. 因为在下面的几个小时内, 世界经济会停止运行。
Satellite-based timestamps play a critical part in everything from credit card readers and stock exchanges to the systems that keep track of transactions . 卫星时间戳在一切事物中都起着关键作用, 从信用卡读卡机和股票市场 到交易记录系统。
Stoplights:n.红色尾灯;停止行进号志; synchronizing:adj.同步的;v.同步,整步(synchronize的ing形式); catastrophic:adj.灾难的;悲惨的;灾难性的,毁灭性的; impact:n.影响;效果;碰撞;冲击力;v.挤入,压紧;撞击;对…产生影响; economy:n.经济;节约;理财; timestamps:n.工时戳记; critical:adj.鉴定的;[核]临界的;批评的,爱挑剔的;危险的;决定性的;评论的; credit card:n.[经]信用卡; stock:n.股票; v.库存; adj.老一套的; keep track of:记录;与…保持联系; transactions:n.处理,[图情]会报;汇报(transaction复数);
People are unable to withdraw cash or make electronic payments . 人们将不能取款或使用电子支付。
Logistics and supply chains for crucial goods like food and medicine fragment , leaving people to survive on whatever is locally available. 例如食物和药物的关键物资的物流和供应链会断裂, 人们将只能依赖当地现有资源存活。
Most countries declare a state of emergency and call on the military to restore order. 大多数国家会宣布进入紧急状态 然后号召军方恢复秩序。
withdraw:v.撤回;提;撤离;停止提供; electronic:adj.电子的;电子器件的;电子设备的; payments:n.付款;支付;收款;款项;报答;(payment的复数) Logistics:n.[军]后勤;后勤学;物流; crucial:adj.重要的;决定性的;定局的;决断的; fragment:n.片段;破片;弹片;小块;v.分割;使成碎片; locally:adv.在本地;局部地;在地方上; emergency:n.紧急情况;突发事件;非常时刻;adj.紧急的;备用的; military:adj.军事的;军人的;适于战争的;n.军队;军人; restore:v.恢复;修复;恢复(某种情况或感受);使复原;
That may take quite a while. 但是那可能会需要很长时间完成。
Most navigation and communication systems are no longer operational , so military chains of command may be in disarray . 大多数导航和通讯系统已经无法运行, 所以军方指挥链可能会混乱。
Many troops, including those actively deployed , are left to their own devices . 很多军队,包括那些已被部署的,会被放任自行其是。
Commanders of nuclear submarines and missile control centers wonder if the disruption is the result of a hostile attack. 核潜艇和导弹控制中心的指挥官们 会思索中断是否是敌对攻击导致的。
operational:adj.操作的;运作的; disarray:n.无秩序;杂乱;衣冠不整;vt.使混乱;弄乱;使脱去衣服; deployed:v.部署(deploy的过去式);展开; devices:n.[机][计]设备;[机]装置;[电子]器件(device的复数); Commanders:n.指挥官(commander的复数); nuclear:adj.原子能的;[细胞]细胞核的;中心的;原子核的; submarines:n.潜艇;(submarine的第三人称单数和复数) missile:n.导弹;发射物;投掷物; hostile:adj.敌意的; n.敌对分子;
What sorts of decisions do they make with partial information? 在只有部分信息的情况下他们将会做出什么样的决策呢？
Even in the best-case scenario , our civilization gets set back by decades at the very least. 即使在最佳情况下, 人类文明将会倒退最少几十年。
That’s because, despite being a relatively new phenomenon , satellites have quickly replaced more traditional long range technologies . 这是因为,虽然卫星是相对新的科技, 但是它已经快速的取代了多项传统远程技术。
partial:adj.部分的;不完整的;片面的;有偏见的; best-case:adj.为最佳情况设计的;供最佳情况下使用的;从最佳情况考虑的; scenario:n.方案;情节;剧本; civilization:n.文明;文明社会;文明世界;(特定时期和地区的)社会文明; despite:prep.尽管,不管;n.轻视;憎恨;侮辱; relatively:adv.相当程度上;相当地;相对地; phenomenon:n.现象;杰出的人;非凡的人(或事物); traditional:传统的,惯例的, technologies:n.技术;科技(technology的复数);
The combination of global positioning and internet has allowed for near-instant signals that can be synchronized worldwide. 全球定位系统和互联网的结合 让近乎即时的信号可以全球同步。
Many systems we use daily have been built upon this foundation . 很多我们日常用到的系统都是在这个基础上建设的。
Going back to the communication systems of the mid-20th century would not be a simple matter. 返回到二十世纪中旬的通讯系统 不会是一件容易的事。
combination:n.结合;组合;联合;[化学]化合; synchronized:adj.同步的;同步化的;v.使协调(synchronize的过去分词);同时发生;校准; foundation:n.基础;地基;基金会;根据;创立;
In many cases, they’d have to be rebuilt from the ground up . 在很多情况下,这些系统需要从头开始重建。
While the sudden disappearance in this thought experiment is unlikely , there are two very real scenarios that could lead to the same results. 虽然这个思想实验里的突然消失不太可能发生, 但是有两个非常现实的情形会导致同样的后果。
The first is a solar flare so strong it fries satellite circuitry– as well as many other devices and power grids around the world. 第一个是当耀斑爆发出强大的能量足以破坏卫星电路 和全球很多其他的电器与电网。
from the ground up:从头开始;彻底; unlikely:adj.不大可能发生的;非心目中的;非想象的;难以相信的; scenarios:n.情节;脚本;情景介绍(scenario的复数); flare:vt.使闪耀; vi.闪耀,闪光; n.闪光,闪耀; grids:n.[数]网格(grid的复数形式);栅格;
And the second is an orbital chain reaction of collisions . 第二个是当轨道碰撞的连锁反应发生时。
With about 7,500 metric tons of defunct spacecraft , spent boosters , and discarded equipment orbiting our planet at relative speeds up to 56,000 kilometers per hour, even small objects can be highly destructive . 在有大概7500吨废弃的航天器、助推器 和器材环绕着我们的星球轨道 以最高每小时56000公里的 相对速度绕着轨道运行的情况下, 就算小的物件也可拥有极具破坏性。
orbital:adj.轨道的;眼窝的; chain reaction:连锁反应; collisions:n.[物]碰撞;冲突;撞击(collision的复数形式); metric:adj.米制的;公制的;按公制制作的;用公制测量的; defunct:adj.死的;非现存的;n.死者; spacecraft:n.[宇]宇宙飞船;航天器; boosters:n.支持者(booster的复数形式);拉拉队; discarded:v.丢弃;抛弃;垫(牌);打出(无用的牌);(discard的过去式和过去分词) orbiting:v.[航][天]轨道运行;轨道运动;转圈(orbit的ing形式); highly:adv.高度地;非常;非常赞许地; destructive:adj.破坏的;毁灭性的;有害的,消极的;
A single collision in space could create thousands of new pieces of debris , leading to a chain reaction. 在宇宙里的单单一个碰撞 就有可能产生数千块新的太空垃圾, 从而导致连锁反应。
Space is huge, but many of the thousands of satellites currently in orbit share the same orbital highways for their specific purposes. 宇宙非常庞大,但是在数千个在轨卫星中 有很多因为它们具体的用途而分享着同一个轨道。
And since most objects sent to space are not designed with disposal in mind, these highways only become more congested over time. 而且因为大多数被送去宇宙的物体 设计时并不会考虑到清除方案, 这些轨道只会越来越拥挤。
debris:n.碎片,残骸; currently:adv.当前;一般地; specific:adj.特殊的,特定的;明确的;详细的;[药]具有特效的;n.特性;细节;特效药; disposal:n.处理;清除;去掉;(企业、财产等的)变卖; congested:adj.堵塞的,拥挤的;v.挤满;超负荷(congest的过去分词);
The good news is, we can protect ourselves by studying our solar system , creating backup options for our satellite networks, and cooperating to avoid an orbital tragedy of the commons. 好消息是,我们可以通过研究太阳系, 为我们的卫星系统创造后备选项, 和合作以避免轨道上的公地悲剧来保护我们自己。
The space kilometers above our heads is like our forests, the ocean’s biodiversity and clean air: 距离我们头顶数公里的宇宙像我们的森林、 海洋的生物多样性和清洁空气一样:
If we don't treat it as a finite resource , we may wake up one day to find we no longer have it at all. 如果我们不把它当作有限资源, 我们可能会在某一天醒来时发现我们已经没有它了。
solar system:[天]太阳系; cooperating:v.合作;协作;协助;配合;(cooperate的现在分词) tragedy:n.悲惨的事;不幸;灾难;悲剧作品; biodiversity:n.生物多样性; treat:v.治疗;处理;招待;款待;n.款待;乐事;乐趣; finite:adj.有限的;限定的;n.有限之物; resource:n.资源;资料;才智;财力;v.向…提供资金(或设备);