新概念

Whimsical Towers 稀奇古怪的钙华塔These pale gray and ivory "tufa towers," located in California's Mono Lake, may look like eerie art instillations, but they occur naturally and are made of limestone. Check out more of these fantastical towers.这些浅灰色和象牙形的“钙华塔”，位于美国加州的莫诺湖，它们可能看起来像是令人毛骨悚然的艺术灌注物，然而它们是在自然界里由石灰岩所构成的。

查看更多的这些神奇的钙华塔。

Moonlit Mono Lake 洒满月光的莫诺湖Tufa, the unusual rock formations that jut out of Mono Lake in California's Eastern Sierra, are famous for their otherworldly beauty. The greatest concentration of these unique "towers" is located at the south end of the lake. In the photo above, the moon rises over one of the dark ivory towers.凝灰岩，是突出在加利福尼亚州的东部雪乐山的莫诺湖面的不同寻常的岩层，以其超凡脱俗的美丽而闻名于世。

这些独特的“塔”（钙华塔）最集中地积聚在莫诺湖的南端。

在上面的照片中，月亮高高地挂在一个昏暗的“象牙塔”上面。

Limestone Buildup 石灰岩的构成Made of limestone, tufa forms as a byproduct of the precipitation of carbonate minerals from surrounding water. When water from heated underwater hot springs rich in calcium meet with the carbonates in lake water, the result is calcium carbonate, also known as limestone.凝灰岩是由石灰岩所组成，它是在其周围湖水里的碳酸盐矿物沉淀的副产品。

当地下含钙丰富的温泉热水与湖水中的碳酸盐相逢时，就会生成碳酸钙，又称石灰岩。

（译者注，由此形成的塔形物，一般称为钙华塔）Sun Over Tufa 太阳照耀下的凝灰岩The uncanny tufa formations take on a golden appearance at sunset.离奇的凝灰岩地层在日落时所呈现出的金黄色外观。

A Chilling Scene 令人不寒而栗的场景The formations look especially eerie in this photo, taken during a cool autumn morning.上面是一张在凉爽的秋季早晨所拍摄的照片，其形态看来格外阴森恐怖。

Daybreak 黎明Another strangely beautiful early morning shot of the tufa formations, with the Sierra Nevada Mountains in the background.这是另一张在清晨所拍摄形态奇怪而又美丽的凝灰岩照片，背景是内华达山脉。

By the Shore 在岸边The tufa towers rise like giant sand castles, peeking above Mono Lake's surface.钙华塔升高得像巨型的沙堡，它正在窥视着莫诺湖的表面。

Tufa Towers 钙华塔The odd shapes that tufa take can sometimes resemble coral. Towers like these were once submerged, but gradually began to become visible as water was diverted into the Los Angeles Aqueduct and the surface level of Mono Lake fell.凝灰岩有时可以具有像珊瑚那样的奇怪形状。

像照片中的这些钙华塔一度曾被淹没，然而当湖水改道流入洛杉矶渡槽而在莫诺湖的水面降低的时候，它们会逐渐开始显露出来。

White Stone, Pink Mountains 粉红色山脉的白石Mono Lake is what remains of a much larger Pleistocene lake known as Lake Russell, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Here, the lake is shown at sunrise.据美国地质调查局，莫诺湖是一个更大的、称为罗素湖的更新世湖的遗迹。

这里显示了湖面上的日出。

Grown Over 长高了Mono Lake's tall grasses and shrubbery are shown growing along the bottom of this tufa formation.莫诺湖的高茎草和灌木林沿着凝灰岩地层的底部生长起来。

、Surreal Landscape 超现实主义的风景The delicate white tufa towers formed where freshwater springs percolate up from the bottom of the lake.柔和、白色的钙华塔形成于淡水泉从湖底渗透出来的地方。

Serene Scene 平静的场景This photo of the towers was taken during wintertime. The more recent calcareous, or calcium carbonate, deposits that make up the tufa formations are closer to the bottom and lighter in color.这些钙华塔的照片是在冬季拍摄的。

钙质或碳酸钙越近现代，所构成凝灰岩地层的沉积物越靠近底部，颜色也比较浅。

Sunset on the Towers 钙华塔上面的日落A sunset casts a warm glow over the tufa formations as seagulls forage for dinner.当海鸥在寻找晚餐时，夕阳在凝灰岩地层上面投射了温暖的光辉。

Alabaster and Azure 光洁雪白和天蓝色The tuPennalafa towers are seen in this reflection in Mono Lake's calm waters. However, the water's serene surface is sometimes disturbed by circular wave patterns that are caused by bubbles from freshwater springs rising to the top.在莫诺湖平静的水面上反射出图喷那拉发塔（tuPennalafa towers）。

然而，湖水的宁静表面有时被圆状的波动图形所干扰，它是由气泡从淡水泉往上升到顶部所引起。

A Soft Sunset 柔和的日落This stunning shot shows the towers' reflections against the salmon pink sky, with the periwinkle haze of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in the background.这张极好的照片显示了反衬在橙红色天空里的钙华塔，背景是内华达山脉里玫瑰色的薄雾。

A surge of adrenalin, a rush of blood, a thing of innocence and pain that lasts a lifetimeI remember the way the light touched her hair. She turned her head, and our eyes met,a momentary awareness in thatraucous fifth-grade classroom. I felt as though I’d been struck a blow under the heart. Thus began my first love affair.Her name was Rachel, and I mooned my way through grade and high school, stricken at the mere sight of her, tongue-tied in her presence. Does anyone, anymore, linger in the shadows of evening, drawn by the pale light of a window-her window-like some hapless summer insect? That delirious swooning, asexual but urgent and obsessive, that made me awkward and my voice crack, is like some impossible dream now. I know I was so afflicted, but I cannot actually believe what memory insists I did. Which was to suffer. Exquisitely.I would catch sight of her, walking down an aisle of trees to or from school, and I’d become paralyzed. She always seemed so poised, so self-possessed. At home, I’d relieve each encounter, writhing at the thought of my inadequacies. Even so, as we entered our teens, I sensed her affectionate tolerance for me.“Going steady” implied a maturity we still lacked. Her Orthodox Jewish upbringing and my own Catholic scruples imposed a celibate grace that made even kissing a distant prospect, however fervently desired. I managed to hold her once at a dance - chaperoned, of course. Our embrace made her giggle, a sound so trusting that I hated myself for what I’d been thinking.At any rate, my love for Rachel remained unrequited. We graduated from high school, she went on to college, and I joined the Army. When World War II engulfed us, I was sent overseas. For a time we corresponded, and her letters were the highlight of those grinding, endless years. Once she sent me a snapshot of herself in a bathing suit, which drove me to the wildest of fantasies. I mentioned the possibility of marriage in my next letter, and almost immediately her replies became less frequent, less personal.The first thing I did when I returned to the States was to call on Rachel. Her mother answered the door. Rachel no longer lived there. She had married a medical student she’d met in college. “I thought she wrote you,” her mother said.Her “Dear John” letter finally caught up with me while I was awaiting discharge. She gently explained the impossibility of a marriage between us. Looking back on it, I must have recovered rather quickly, although for the first few months I believed I didn’t want to li ve. Like Rachel, I found someone else, whom I learned to love with a deep and permanent commitment that has lasted to this day.Then recently, after an interval of more than 40 years, I heard from Rachel again. Herhusband had died. She was passing through town and had learned of my whereabouts through a mutual friend. We agreed to meet.I felt both curious and excited. In the last few years, I hadn’t thought about her, and her sudden call one morning had taken me aback. The actual sight of her was a shock. This white-haired matron at the restaurant table was the Rachel of my dreams and desires, the supple mermaid of that snapshot?Yet time had given us a common reference and respect. We talked as old friends, and quickly discovered we were both grandparents.“Do you remember this?” She handed me a slip of worn paper. It was a poem I’d written her while still in school. I examined the crude meter and pallid rhymes. Watching my face, she snatched the poem from me and returned it to her purse, as though fearful I was going to destroy it.I told her about the snapshot, how I’d carried it all through the war.“It wouldn’t have worked out, you know,” she said.“How can you be sure?” I countered. “Ah, Colleen, it might have been grand indeed - my Irish conscience and your Jewish guilt!”Our laughter startled people at a nearby table. During the time left to us, out glances were furtive, oblique. I think that what we saw in each other repudiated what we’d once been to ourselves, we immortals.Before I put her into a taxi, she turned to me. “I just wanted to see you once more. To tell yo u something.” Her eyes met mine. “I wanted to thank you for having loved me as you did.” We kissed, and she left.From a store window my reflection stared back at me, an aging man with gray hair stirred by an evening breeze. I decided to walk home. Her kiss still burned on my lips.I felt faint, and sat on a park bench. All around me the grass and trees were shining in the surreal glow of sunset. Something was being lifted out of me. Something had been completed, and the scene before me was so beautiful that I wanted to shout and dance and sing for joy.That soon passed, as everything must, and presently I was able to stand and start for home.初恋是情感巨浪的汹涌，初恋是情感在热血中的奔流，初恋是情感纯真的表露，初恋是一生中永恒的伤痛。