感谢流利阅读，感谢雪梨老师

今日导读

数据中心在网络基础设施上传递、加速、展示、计算和存储数据信息方面发挥着举足轻重的作用，但因为要考虑到安全、成本以及冷却等因素，“数据中心到底该建在哪儿”一直是让互联网企业十分头疼的问题。最近 BBC 新闻爆出微软公司做出了一个开创性的尝试，他们把数据中心沉入了海底。这样做有什么好处呢？专家们对此又有怎样的看法？

Microsoft sinks data centre off Orkney

在奥克尼海域附近，微软将数据中心沉海

注：为了凸显时效性，动词用一般现在时，表示过去已经发生的事情；为了新闻语言凝练，常常省略冠词，a data centre；off在这里相当于near，next to表示距离某地附件或不远

Microsoft has sunk a data centre in the sea off Orkney to investigate whether it can boost energy efficiency. The data centre, a white cylinder containing computers, could sit on the sea floor for up to five years.

日前，微软公司将一个数据中心沉入了奥克尼群岛附近的海域，以此来检测是否能提高能源效率。这个数据中心是一个装有多台计算机的白色圆筒，放在海底的时间可达五年之久。

注：to后接的是目的； investigate 调查；boost 提升；boost efficiency 提升效率；sit 使事物处于某个特定地方，eg: a bus sits outside 门外停着一辆公交车，the jack sets beautifully on his shoulders 那件夹克穿在他身上很合身；

“We think we actually get much better cooling underwater than on land,” says Ben Cutler, who is in charge of what Microsoft has dubbed Project Natick. “Additionally because there are no people, we can take all the oxygen and most of the water vapour out of the atmosphere which reduces corrosion, which is a significant problem in data centres.”

“我们认为，比起在陆地上，水下的冷却效果实际上更好，”本·卡特勒说道。他是这个被微软戏称为“Natick 项目”的负责人。“除此之外，因为水下没有人，我们可以去除大气中所有的氧气和大部分水蒸气，从而减少腐蚀。腐蚀是数据中心面临的一个重大问题。”

注：cooling在这里是名词-冷却；dub 起绰号；corrode vt.& vi.使腐蚀，侵蚀

There has been growing concern that the rapid expansion of the data centre industry could mean an explosion in energy use. But Emma Fryer, who represents the sector at Tech UK, says that fear has been exaggerated. “What’s happened is we’ve had the benefit of Moore’s Law,” she says.

人们越来越担忧，数据中心行业的迅速扩张可能意味着能源使用的激增。但英国技术行业协会数据部门代表艾玛·弗雷尔表示，这种担忧是夸大其词。她说：“目前的情况是，我们享受着摩尔定律给我们的好处。”

注：There has been growing concern that。。。人们越来越担忧。。。；explosion 数量上的激增，a population explosion 人口激增；sector 部门；exaggerate 夸张，夸大；Moore’s Law 摩尔定律；

The continued advances in processing power have made doom-laden predictions look foolish, Ms Fryer says. Nevertheless, she accepts there is a challenge as the industry continues to expand and she welcomes experiments such as Microsoft’s.

弗雷尔表示，数据处理能力在持续进步，使得那些世界末日的预测显得愚蠢。不过，她也承认，随着行业不断扩张，人们的确面临着挑战，她也欣然接受（可以替换为receive或者accept）像微软这样的实验。

Another expert is not so sure. Prof Ian Bitterlin, a data centre consultant for nearly 30 years, is sceptical about the environmental impact of going underwater. “You just end up with a warmer sea and bigger fish,” he says.

而另一位专家却不那么肯定。担任数据中心顾问约30年的伊恩·比特林教授就对水下作业对环境的影响持怀疑态度（skeptical单词也对）。他说：“再这样下去，海水只会越来越热，海里的鱼只会变得越来越大。”

注：end up with sth 以一种根本不想或者没有预料到的方式结束某件事情；

Ben Cutler insists the warming effect will be minimal. “One reason we do different types of research into data centres is to learn what makes sense before we decide to take it to a larger scale,” he said.

本·卡特勒坚持认为，数据中心让海洋变暖的影响是微不足道的。他说：“我们之所以对数据中心进行不同类型的研究，一个原因就是，在决定扩大数据中心的规模之前，我们需要了解怎样做才是合情合理的（明智的）选择。”

Now, the Project Natick team will monitor the data centre for the next five years. It could turn out to be a signpost to the future --or maybe just a tourist attraction for passing fish.

目前，Natick 项目小组将在未来的五年内监测该数据中心。这个数据中心可能会成为未来的指路标——但也可能变成一个海底旅游景点，供经过的鱼类观赏。

————— 文章来源 / BBC新闻

重点词汇：

sink

/sɪŋk/

v. 使下沉；使沉没 (sank, sunk)e.g.

sink the enemy's ship 击沉敌船

The sun was sinking in the west. 夕阳西下

Orkney

/ˈɔrkni/

n. 奥克尼

cylinder