英汉双语阅读87：如何才能找到石油？

摘要：Several geologic elements are necessary for oil and gas to accumulate in sufficient quantities to create a pool large enough to be

高效记单词：《新概念英语1词汇专练》

英汉双语阅读86：银行是如何赚钱的？

Several geologic elements are necessary for oil and gas to accumulate in sufficient quantities to create a pool large enough to be worth producing. These elements include an organic-rich source rock to generate the oil or gas, a porous reservoir rock to store the petroleum in, and some sort of trap to prevent the oil and gas from leaking away. Traps generally exist in predictable places - such as at the tops of anticlines, next to faults, in the updip pinchouts of sandstone beds, or beneath unconformities.

要使石油和天然气在地下大量聚集形成足以开采的油气藏，需要具备几个地质要素。这些要素包括生成油气的有机质丰富的生油岩、储存石油的多孔储集岩以及防止油气泄漏的某种封闭构造。封闭构造通常存在于一些可预测的位置，如背斜顶部、断层附近、砂岩层的上部凸起处或不整合面之下。

To find a convergence in the subsurface of the geologic elements necessary to form an oil or gas pool requires a careful blend of science and art. To discover what geometries and compositions the rocks might possess deep underground, geologists examine the rocks where they are exposed in surface outcrops, or they examine aerial photographs and satellite images when surface access is limited. Geologists also work closely with geophysicists to integrate seismic lines and other types of geophysical data into their interpretations.

在地下寻找这些形成油气藏所需的地质要素的交汇点需要科学与艺术的巧妙结合。为了了解地下岩石可能具有的几何结构和成分，地质学家会研究岩石在露头处的形态，或者在地表访问受限时会查看航空照片和卫星图像。地质学家还会与地球物理学家密切合作，将地震剖面和其他类型的地球物理数据融入他们的解释中。收集地震数据涉及向地下发送震动波，并测量地下岩石反射这些波回到地表所需的时间。目前使用的震动波通常是由巨型震动器卡车撞击地球产生的，但在过去，地球物理学家更喜欢在浅坑中引爆小型炸药。然而，如今大多数地方的环境法规禁止使用爆炸物来收集地震数据。

The collection of seismic data involves sending shock waves into the ground and measuring how long it takes for the subsurface rocks to reflect these waves back to the surface. The shock waves that are used today are usually generated by pounding the earth with giant vibrator trucks, but in the past gephysicists preferred to explode small dynamite charges in shallow holes. However, environmental restrictions in most places today prevent using explosives to collect seismic data.

地震数据的收集包括向地下发射冲击波，并测量地下岩石将这些波反射回地面所需的时间。今天使用的冲击波通常是用巨大的振动车撞击地球产生的，但在过去，地球物理学家更喜欢在浅洞中引爆小型炸药。然而，目前大多数地方的环境限制阻止了使用炸药收集地震数据。

When shock waves created by the vibrator trucks travel into the earth, boundaries between the rocks reflect the waves back, and the arrival times of the waves back at the surface are detected by listening devices called geophones. Computers then process the geophone data and convert it into seismic lines, which are nothing more than two-dimensional displays that resemble cross-sections.

当震动器卡车产生的震动波进入地球时，岩石之间的边界会将波反射回来，并通过被称为检波器的听音设备检测到波的返回时间。然后，计算机处理检波器数据并将其转换为地震剖面线。这些剖面线不过是类似于横截面的二维显示而已。

Seismic lines in the old days were just that two-dimensional lines created by laying the geophones out in single line. But today, the data is commonly collected as an intersecting grid of seismic lines referred to as 3-D seismic volume. Data collected in this fashion may even be used to help create 3-D computer models of the underground geometries of the rocks.

过去的地震剖面线只是由沿单一直线排列的检波器创建的二维线。但如今，通常会收集形成交错网格的地震剖面线，称为三维地震体。采用这种方式收集的数据甚至可以用来帮助创建地下岩石地质构造的三维计算机模型。

Geologic and geophysical clues are enticing, butdrilling is the only way to learn if an oil or gas field really exists.

地质和地球物理线索很诱人，但钻探是了解油田或气田是否真的存在的唯一途径。