03-A.TheAtlanticOceanTheAtlanticOceanisoneoftheoceansthatseparatetheOldWorldfromtheNew.ForcenturiesitkepttheAmericasfrombeingdiscoveredbythepeopleofEurope.ManywrongideasabouttheAtlanticmadeearlysailorsunwillingtosailfaroutintoit.Oneideawasthatitreachedoutto"theedgeoftheworld."Sailorswereafraidthattheymightsailrightofftheearth.Anotherideawasthatattheequatortheoceanwouldbeboilinghot.TheAtlanticOceanisonlyhalfasbigasthePacific,butitisstillverylarge.Itismorethan4,000miles(6,000km)widewhereColumbuscrossedit.Evenatitsnarrowestitisabout2,000miles(3,200km)wide.ThisnarrowestplaceisbetweenthebulgeofsouthAmericaandthebulgeofAfrica.TwothingsmaketheAtlanticOceanratherunusual.Forsolargeanoceanithasveryfewislands.Also,itistheworld'ssaltiestocean.ThereissomuchwaterintheAtlanticthatitishardtoimaginehowmuchthereis.Butsupposenomorerainfellintoitandnomorewaterwasbroughttoitbyrivers.Itwouldtaketheoceanabout4,000yearstodryup.Ontheaveragethewaterisalittlemorethantwomiles(3.2km)deep,butinplacesitismuchdeeper.ThedeepestspotisnearPuertoRico.This"deep"30,246feet-almostsixmiles(9.6km).OneofthelongestmountainrangesoftheworldrisestheflooroftheAtlantic.Thismountainrangerunsnorthandsouthdownthemiddleoftheocean.Thetopsofafewofthemountainsreachupabovetheseaandmakeislands.TheAzoresarethetopsofpeaksinthemid-Atlanticmountainrange.SeveralhundredmileseastwardfromFloridathereisapartoftheoceancalledtheSargassoSea.Herethewaterisquiet,forthereislittlewind.Inthedaysofsailingvesselsthecrewwereafraidtheywouldbebecalmedhere.Sometimestheywere.Oceancurrentsaresometimecalled"riversinthesea."Oneofthese"river"intheAtlanticiscalledtheGulfStream.Itisacurrentofwarmwater.AnotheristheLabradorCurrent-coldwatercomingdownfromtheArctic.Oceancurrentsaffecttheclimatesofthelandsnearwhichtheyflow.TheAtlanticfurnishesmuchfoodforthepeopleonitsshores.Oneofitsmostfamousfishingregions,theGrandBanks,isnearNewfoundland.TodaytheAtlanticisagreathighway.Itisnot,however,alwaysasmoothandsafeone.Stormssweepacrossitandpileupgreatwaves.IcebergsfloatdownfromtheFarNorthacrossthepathsofships.Wenowhavesuchfastwaysoftravelingthatthisbigoceanseemstohavegrownsmaller.Columbussailedformorethantwomonthstocrossit.Afastmodernsteamshipcanmakethetripinlessthanfourdays.AirplanesflyfromNewYorktoLondoninonlyeighthoursandfromSouthAmericatoAfricainfour!【课文译文】大西洋大西洋是将欧洲和美洲分隔开的海洋之一。它使南北美洲长达几个世纪之久都未被人发现。人们对大西洋有许多误解，这使得早期的海员不愿意远航驶入大西洋。一种想法是大西洋远抵“世界的边缘”，海员们担心他们会一直航行到地球边上掉落下去。另一个想法是在赤道处，大西洋的海水是滚烫的。大西洋的面积只是太平洋的一半，但也非常辽阔。哥伦布穿越过的地方宽达4000多英里(6000公里)。即使最窄的地方宽度也有大约2000英里(3200公里)，这是一片位于南美洲最东端与非洲最西端之间的水域。大西洋有两点非同寻常。其一是在如此辽阔的海洋里少有岛屿。另外，大西洋是世界上含盐量最高的海洋。大西洋海水量很大，人们无法想像到底有多少水。但如果假设不再有降雨和河水注入，则需4000年大西洋才会干涸。大西洋平均水深有2英里(3.2公里)多一点，但有些地方要深得多。最深处在波多黎各岛附近，深达30246英尺——约6英里(9.6公里)。世界上最长的山脉之一从大西洋海底隆起，这条山脉沿海底中部向南北延伸，几座山峰露出海面，形成岛屿。亚速尔群岛就是大西洋中部山脉露出水面的几座山峰。佛罗里达州向东几百英里有一处海域叫马尾藻海，这里由于很少刮风，海面很平静。在使用帆船的时代，船员们担心他们会因...
