到底有多少个大洲？：英语精读讲义

How many continents are there?

世界上有多少个大洲？

If you grew up in the English-speaking world, 語法

如果你在英语世界长大，

you might think that the answer is obvious.

你可能会觉得答案显而易见。

1 2 3 4 5 6 7.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7。

But not everyone counts continents the same way. 語法

但并不是每个人都这样计算大洲的数量。

The usual definition,

通常的定义是，

that they're large landmasses separated from others by oceans,

它们是被海洋分隔开的巨大陆地，

is fine until you actually start to think about it. 表達脈絡

这个定义乍听没问题，直到你开始仔细思考。

And then you run into problems. 短語動詞

然后你就会发现一些问题。

Problems like this.

比如像这样的问题。

Here's Europe,

这里是欧洲，

here's Asia,

这里是亚洲，

and you'll notice a lack of ocean between them. 短語搭配

你会注意到它们之间并没有海洋。

Then why are they two different continents?

那为什么它们是两个不同的大洲？

The usual reason for the split is a cultural one, 語法

通常的划分理由是文化原因，

that Europe is so different from Asia that it's best to pretend it's a separate entity. 語法

也就是欧洲和亚洲文化差异太大，所以最好把它们当成两个独立的实体。

Okay,

好吧，

maybe.

也许是这样。

But if the cultural argument is valid, 語法

但是，如果文化的说法站得住脚，

then surely it also applies to India and the Middle East.

那么它肯定也适用于印度和中东。

Now you have nine continents and a new problem.

现在你有了九个大洲，以及一个新的问题。

If culture defines continents,

如果文化决定了大洲的划分，

then you'll never stop drawing increasingly unhelpful lines.

那你就会一直画出越来越多毫无意义的界线。

So some places ditch the cultural division and combine Europe and Asia into Eurasia. 用詞

因此，有些地方抛弃了文化划分，将欧洲和亚洲合并为亚欧大陆。

This Eurasia is not to be confused with this Eurasia, 短語搭配

此欧亚大陆不要与彼欧亚国混淆，

which has always been at war with Eastasia. 文化背景

那个一直在与东亚国交战的国家。

Making Eurasia gives a six-continent view of the world.

将欧亚合并，世界就变成了六大洲。

But what about over here?

但是这里呢？

North America and South America.

北美洲和南美洲。

They're connected at Panama,

它们在巴拿马是相连的，

or at least they used to be until Teddy Roosevelt decided that someone had to cut that country in half and it might as well be him. 講解

或者至少它们曾经是相连的，直到老罗斯福决定必须有人把那个国家劈成两半，而那个人不妨就是他。

But even still,

但即便如此，

the canal's only 13 meters deep.

这条运河也只有13米深。

You could walk all the way from Northern Alaska across the narrow Panama Canal and, 短語搭配

你可以从阿拉斯加北部一路走来，穿过狭窄的巴拿马运河，而且，

if it weren't for the deadly, 語法

要不是因为那致命的、

impenetrable,

无法穿越的、

poison-filled Brazilian rainforest,

充满毒物的巴西雨林，

make it all the way to the southern tip of Chile.

你可以一路走到智利的最南端。

So North and South America,

所以北美洲和南美洲，

despite the canal, 語法

尽管有运河存在，

aren't really divided,

并没有真正被分开，

which is why some places, 表達脈絡

这就是为什么有些地方，

particularly South America,

特别是南美洲，

treat America as a single continent,

把美洲看作是一个大洲，

not two,

而不是两个，

which brings the total number of continents down to five. 短語搭配

这把大洲的总数降到了五个。

But if you disregard the Panama Canal, 語法

但如果你无视巴拿马运河，

then you also have to disregard the Suez Canal,

那么你也得无视苏伊士运河，

and you've just created the monstrously large Afro-Eurasian continent,

这样你就创造了巨大的非欧亚大陆，

85 million square kilometers,

面积达8500万平方公里，

home to 5.7 billion people. 短語搭配

拥有57亿人口。

With this four-continent view of the world,

有了这个四大洲的世界观，

we must surely be done because there are no more continents to merge

我们肯定完事了，因为再也没有大洲可以合并，

and our definition from the beginning is now consistent.

而且我们一开始的定义现在终于一致了。

Except,

不过，

we're not done because of that troublesome word large.

我们还没完，因为‘巨大’这个词很麻烦。

Exactly how large is continental large?

到底多大才算是大洲级别的大？

Is Australia really a dinky continent or is it king of the islands? 習語

澳大利亚真的是一个迷你的大洲，还是仅仅是岛屿之王？

Why not make Greenland the smallest continent?

为什么不把格陵兰岛作为最小的大洲呢？

It's pretty big even if you took away its ice. 語法

即使去掉冰层，它也相当大。

And speaking of ice, 短語搭配

说到冰，

what about Antarctica?

南极洲呢？

The forgotten continent unfairly smushed against the bottom of maps just because no one lives there. 用詞

这块被遗忘的大陆，只因为无人居住，就不公平地被挤在地图的最底下。

Remove the ice sheet that covers Antarctica and you reveal it for the archipelago it really is,

移除覆盖南极洲的冰盖，你会发现它实际上是一个群岛，

not the single landmass it pretends to be.

而不是它伪装成的一整块陆地。

And to complicate matters, 表達脈絡

更复杂的是，

the largest of these Antarctic islands is smaller than Australia.

这些南极岛屿中最大的一个比澳大利亚还要小。

So if you want to keep calling Antarctica a continent, 語法

所以如果你想继续称南极洲为一个大洲，

then there's a bunch of other islands that might want to be continents too.

那也有一堆其他岛屿可能也想成为大洲。

Islands like New Guinea,

像新几内亚、

Borneo,

婆罗洲、

Madagascar,

马达加斯加、

Baffin Island,

巴芬岛、

Sumatra,

苏门答腊，

and Honshu.

还有本州岛。

While this seems inclusive to the point of silliness, 短語搭配

虽然这听起来包容得有些愚蠢，

ultimately someone has to decide what large means and that's going to be an arbitrary line.

但最终必须有人来决定‘巨大’到底意味着什么，而这将是一条武断的界线。

This problem will be familiar to anyone who remembers the is Pluto a planet or not a planet fiasco, 文化背景

对于记得冥王星到底是不是行星这场闹剧的人来说，这个问题一定很熟悉，

which hinged mostly on this same issue of size. 短語動詞

它主要也是取决于大小问题。

So now we're more confused than before we started. 語法

所以现在我们比开始时更加困惑了。

There might be three continents or dozens.

也许有三个大洲，也许有几十个。

You know what will sort this out? 短語動詞

你知道什么能解决这个问题吗？

Science.

科学。

Confusion plus science equals answers. 表達脈絡

困惑加上科学等于答案。

Let's ask a geologist what a continent is.

让我们问问地质学家什么是大洲。

For them,

对他们来说，

a continent is a tectonic plate, 文化背景

大洲就是构造板块，

parts of the Earth's crust that move together.

是地壳中一起移动的部分。

So geologists,

那么地质学家们，

show us your continents.

向我们展示你们的大洲吧。

The Antarctic plate,

南极洲板块、

the Australian plate,

澳大利亚板块、

the Eurasian plate,

亚欧板块、

the South American plate,

南美洲板块、

the African plate.

非洲板块。

So far,

到目前为止，

this is looking pretty good.

看起来还不错。

The Middle Eastern plate,

中东板块、

the Indian plate,

印度板块、

the Caribbean plate,

加勒比板块、

the Pacific plate.

太平洋板块。

There isn't even anything there.

那里明明什么都没有啊。

Well,

好吧，

there's mostly nothing there.

大部分区域是什么都没有。

The Nazca plate,

纳斯卡板块、

the Scotia plate.

斯科舍板块。

Really?

真的吗？

At least North America is still looking reasonable, 表達脈絡

至少北美洲看起来还算合理，

until you include a chunk of Russia,

直到你把俄罗斯的一块、

half of Japan,

日本的一半，

and half of Iceland.

还有冰岛的一半都算进去。

Well,

好吧，

this is unhelpful.

这没啥用。

Thanks a lot, 語氣意圖

多谢了，

geologists.

地质学家们。

The heart of the problem is that the word continent doesn't have a simple and consistent definition for everyday use. 講解

问题的核心在于，‘大洲’这个词在日常使用中并没有一个简单而一致的定义。

So how many continents are there?

那么到底有多少个大洲呢？

Well,

这个嘛，

how many do you want there to be? 語氣意圖

你希望有多少个？

Six.

六个。

The answer is clearly six. 語氣意圖

答案很明显是六个。