神秘的死亡之谷风帆石_大学英语阅读

神秘的死亡之谷风帆石

你可曾见过会走路的石头?美国加州死亡谷有一种奇特的现象：石头会在荒滩沙漠上神秘地“自行移动”，并在地面上留下行走的痕迹。这一神秘现象在科学界引发的讨论已逾数十年。它们又是怎么移动的呢?真的是超自然力量的驱使吗?

A baffling phenomenon of nature or a paranormal[1] display of supernatural existence or is it an alien intervention? Questions still remain unanswered while experts are still nailing down on what could be the accurate reason behind stones of Death Valley that slide by themselves, without the interference of humans or animals.[2] In the southwest of the United States of America, lies this mysterious valley—popular as the hottest and driest location in North America. This lowest lying point of the continent is a deserted floor located in the Inyo Country by the border of California and Nevada, and consists of a dry lakebed named “Racetrack Playa[3]” which is proved to have the motion of rocks every two or three years.

What are Sailing Stones?

“Sailing Stones” of Death Valley—named from their distinctive and mysterious feature are in a count of hundreds scattered allover the Racetrack Playa from the size of a pebble to as large as huge boulders.[4] The playa which is nothing but a flat bed of scorched mud observes the sailing of such stones on its broken surface of flat octagons and pentagons.[5] While the stones having rough bottoms tend to form smooth straight tracks, stones with smoother bottom are found wandering in an unorganized pattern. Stones also tend to turn over during this process leading all the way to another track.