離開
進入《中英對照讀新聞》This Strange Hum Circled the Whole World 怪怪的嗡嗡聲迴盪全球
一段超級低頻地震波（紅線標示範圍內）11月11日自馬約特島產生後，傳至全球，但沒有任何人察覺到地表晃動。該次地震事件的成因迄今仍是個謎團。（取自網路）
◎劉宜庭
There was a hum that nobody could hear. It was a seismic event, one that originated off the coast of Mayotte on Nov. 11, a tiny island in the waters between Madagascar and Mozambique.
那是一段沒人能聽見的嗡嗡聲。它是一次地震事件，11月11日發生在馬約特島的海岸周遭，這座小島位於馬達加斯加島、莫三比克之間的海域。
The hum, National Geographic reported, was strange for a number of reasons. First, it rang at just a single ultra-low frequency, like a well-tuned bell. Second, the wave emerged and circled the planet without the usual signs of an earthquake; no one in the area felt any shaking. And yet, a Nov. 12 report from the French government found that Mayotte had slid 2.4 inches（6 centimeters）to the east and 1.2 inches（3 cm）to the south.
國家地理雜誌報導，這段嗡嗡聲的不尋常之處很多。首先，它只包含一段超級低頻波，宛如純律鐘聲。再者，震波產生後傳至全球，卻沒有出現地震的一般現象；震央地區沒有人感覺到地表發生任何晃動。而法國政府11月12日發布的報告顯示，馬約特島已經往東滑動2.4吋（6公分）、往南滑動1.2吋（3公分）。
Scientists have proposed a number of possible explanations for the strange seismic event near Mayotte. But none is yet anywhere near confirmed.
科學家已經提出許多針對馬約特島奇怪地震事件的可能解釋。但至今沒有任何假說獲得證實。
Perhaps a "slow earthquake" struck the area, the sort that doesn’t cause much intense shaking because it occurs over a much longer period of time. Perhaps a bubble of magma squeezed past below the surface. Researchers even speculated about a meteor strike, though that seems unlikely. For now, the exact cause remains a mystery.
或許是「慢地震」襲擊該地區，這類地震不會引起劇烈搖晃，因為它的發震持續時間較長。也或許是有岩漿氣泡擠壓過地表之下。研究人員甚至猜測是隕石撞擊，儘管看起來不大可能。直到現在，該次地震事件的確切成因仍是個謎團。
新聞辭典
seismic：形容詞，地震的。例句：Seismic waves usually involve lots of different frequencies.（地震波通常包含許多不同的頻率。）
earthquake：名詞，地震。例句：The slow earthquakes can be classified into several groups as low-frequency earthquake, tremor, very-low-frequency earthquake or slow-slip event.（慢地震可分為幾類：低頻地震、長微震、超低頻地震、慢滑移事件。）
magma：名詞，岩漿。例句：There is a magma chamber 20 kilometers beneath the Wanli and Jingshan districts of New Taipei.（新北市萬里區、金山區地底下20公里處有岩漿庫。）
