The end of the world is near—December 21， 2012， to be exact—according to theories based on a purported2） ancient Maya prediction. But could humankind really meet its end in 2012—drowned in apocalyptic3） floods， walloped4） by a secret planet， seared5） by an angry sun， or thrown overboard by speeding continents？ And did the ancient Maya—whose empire peaked between A.D. 250 and 900 in what is now Mexico and Central America—really predict the end of the world in 2012？

有關(guān)世界末日的種種說(shuō)法都源于傳說(shuō)中古瑪雅人的一個(gè)預(yù)言，按照這些說(shuō)法，世界末日（確切來(lái)說(shuō)是2012年12月21日）快到了。然而，人類真的會(huì)在2012年迎來(lái)末日——葬身洪水浩劫，遭神秘星球撞擊，被似火驕陽(yáng)烤焦，或是被急速移動(dòng)的大陸甩出？古瑪雅人的帝國(guó)（今墨西哥和中美洲地區(qū)）曾在公元250～900年間盛極一時(shí)，他們是否真的曾預(yù)言說(shuō)世界末日就在2012年呢？

Myth

傳言1

Maya Predicted End of the World in 2012

瑪雅預(yù)言2012世界末日

The Maya calendar doesn't end in 2012， as some have said， and the ancients never viewed that year as the time of the end of the world， archaeologists say. But December 21， 2012 was nonetheless momentous to the Maya. \"It's the time when the largest grand cycle in the Mayan calendar—1，872，000 days or 5125.37 years—overturns and a new cycle begins，\" said Anthony Aveni， a Maya expert and archaeoastronomer at Colgate University in Hamilton， New York.

The Maya kept time on a scale few other cultures have considered. During the empire's heyday6）， the Maya invented the Long Count7）， a lengthy circular calendar. During the 2012 winter solstice， time runs out on the current era of the Long Count calendar， which began at what the Maya saw as the dawn of the last creation period： August 11， 3114 B.C. The Maya wrote that date as Day Zero.

In December 2012 the lengthy era ends and the complicated， cyclical8） calendar will roll over again to Day Zero， beginning another enormous cycle. \"The idea is that time gets renewed， that the world gets renewed all over again—often after a period of stress—the same way we renew time on New Year's Day or even on Monday morning，\" said Aveni.

考古學(xué)家們稱，瑪雅歷法并不像有些人所說(shuō)的那樣止于2012年，而且古瑪雅人也從來(lái)沒(méi)有把2012年視為世界終結(jié)的時(shí)間。不過(guò)，對(duì)瑪雅人來(lái)說(shuō)，2012年12月21日確實(shí)是個(gè)很重要的日子?！斑@天是瑪雅歷法中最長(zhǎng)的大周期（187.2萬(wàn)天或5125.37年）行進(jìn)到頭而新周期開(kāi)始的日子?！奔~約州哈密爾頓市科爾蓋特大學(xué)的瑪雅研究專家和考古天文學(xué)家安東尼·阿韋尼如是說(shuō)。

瑪雅人計(jì)時(shí)的方法鮮有其他文明想到過(guò)。在瑪雅帝國(guó)的鼎盛時(shí)期，瑪雅人發(fā)明了長(zhǎng)計(jì)歷——一種周期特別長(zhǎng)的循環(huán)歷法。當(dāng)前長(zhǎng)計(jì)歷的起始時(shí)間是公元前3114年8月11日（瑪雅人認(rèn)為這一天是最后一個(gè)創(chuàng)世時(shí)期開(kāi)始的日子），終止時(shí)間是2012年的冬至日（瑪雅人將這一天記為“零日”）。

在2012年12月，這個(gè)漫長(zhǎng)的時(shí)期結(jié)束，錯(cuò)綜復(fù)雜、循環(huán)往復(fù)的長(zhǎng)計(jì)歷將再次運(yùn)轉(zhuǎn)到“零日”，開(kāi)始又一個(gè)大周期。“瑪雅人認(rèn)為，既然時(shí)間要重頭計(jì)起，那么世界也會(huì)全部煥然一新。這種更迭輪回常常在歷經(jīng)一段緊張時(shí)期后出現(xiàn)，就跟我們?cè)谠┥踔林芤磺宄坑瓉?lái)全新開(kāi)始是一樣的?！卑㈨f尼如是說(shuō)。

Myth

傳言2

Breakaway Continents Will Destroy Civilization

大陸斷裂將毀滅地球文明

In some 2012 doomsday9） prophecies， Earth becomes a deathtrap as it undergoes a \"pole shift\". The planet's crust and mantle10） will suddenly shift， spinning around Earth's liquid-iron outer core like an orange's peel spinning around its fleshy fruit.

2012， the movie， envisions a Maya-predicted pole shift， triggered by an extreme gravitational pull on the planet—courtesy of a rare \"galactic alignment11）\"—and by massive solar radiation destabilizing the inner Earth by heating it. Breakaway oceans and continents dump cities into the sea， thrust palm trees to the poles， and spawn12） earthquakes， tsunamis， volcanic eruptions， and other disasters.

Scientists dismiss such drastic13） scenarios14）， but some researchers have speculated that a subtler shift could occur. Princeton University geologist Adam Maloof says magnetic evidence in rocks confirms that continents have undergone such drastic rearrangement， but the process took millions of years—slow enough that humanity wouldn't have felt the motion.

一些2012世界末日預(yù)言聲稱，地球會(huì)經(jīng)歷一場(chǎng)“磁極轉(zhuǎn)換”，變成一個(gè)死亡之淵。屆時(shí)，地球的地殼和地幔會(huì)突然轉(zhuǎn)動(dòng)起來(lái)，像一個(gè)橙子的外皮繞著它的果肉打轉(zhuǎn)那樣，繞著由液態(tài)鐵構(gòu)成的地球外核不停地旋轉(zhuǎn)。

電影《2012》就設(shè)想了瑪雅預(yù)言中磁極轉(zhuǎn)換的場(chǎng)景。一種罕見(jiàn)的“銀河對(duì)齊”現(xiàn)象使地球受到極強(qiáng)的宇宙引力；同時(shí)，強(qiáng)烈的太陽(yáng)輻射造成地心溫度升高，失去穩(wěn)定。在這兩者的共同作用下，地球發(fā)生磁極轉(zhuǎn)換，海陸開(kāi)裂導(dǎo)致城鎮(zhèn)被傾倒入海，棕櫚樹(shù)飛落兩極，地震、海嘯、火山爆發(fā)以及其他災(zāi)害紛至沓來(lái)。

雖然科學(xué)家們否認(rèn)地球會(huì)出現(xiàn)如此劇變，但是一些研究人員推測(cè)，地球可能會(huì)發(fā)生較為微弱的磁極轉(zhuǎn)換。來(lái)自普林斯頓大學(xué)的地質(zhì)學(xué)家亞當(dāng)·馬盧夫表示，巖石中的磁性跡象證明大陸確實(shí)曾經(jīng)經(jīng)歷過(guò)如此劇變，但該過(guò)程長(zhǎng)達(dá)數(shù)百萬(wàn)年，變化之緩，人類原本都不可能察覺(jué)得到。

Myth

傳言3

Galactic Alignment Spells Doom

銀河對(duì)齊預(yù)示世界末日

Some sky-watchers believe 2012 will close with a \"galactic alignment\"， which will occur for the first time in 26，000 years. In this scenario， the path of the sun in the sky would appear to cross through what， from Earth， looks to be the midpoint of our galaxy， the Milky Way.

Some fear that the lineup will somehow expose Earth to powerful unknown galactic forces that will hasten its doom—perhaps through a \"pole shift\" or the stirring of the supermassive black hole at our galaxy's heart. Others see the purported event in a positive light， as heralding15） the dawn of a new era in human consciousness.

Morrison， senior scientist with the NASA Astrobiology Institute， has a different view. \"There is no 'galactic alignment' in 2012，\" he said， \"or at least nothing out of the ordinary.\" He explained that a type of \"alignment\" occurs during every winter solstice， when the sun， as seen from Earth， appears in the sky near what looks to be the midpoint of the Milky Way. Horoscope16） writers may be excited by alignments， Morrison said. But \"the reality is that alignments are of no interest to science. They mean nothing\". They create no changes in gravitational pull， solar radiation， planetary orbits， or anything else that would impact life on Earth.

一些天文觀測(cè)者認(rèn)為，2012年年底將會(huì)上演 “銀河對(duì)齊”，這將是2.6萬(wàn)年來(lái)該奇觀首次出現(xiàn)。屆時(shí)，太陽(yáng)在天空中的運(yùn)行軌跡似乎會(huì)穿過(guò)銀河系的中點(diǎn)——從地球這里看去正位于我們所處的銀河系的正中央。

有些人擔(dān)心，銀河對(duì)齊將會(huì)以某種方式（可能是“磁極轉(zhuǎn)換”或是銀河系中心超大質(zhì)量黑洞活動(dòng)）使地球遭受強(qiáng)大而未知的星系作用力，從而加快地球的滅亡。而其他人則對(duì)傳言的“銀河對(duì)齊”持積極看法，認(rèn)為這預(yù)示著人類意識(shí)中新紀(jì)元的來(lái)臨。

美國(guó)國(guó)家宇航局天體生物學(xué)研究所資深科學(xué)家莫里森對(duì)此有不同看法?！?012年不會(huì)出現(xiàn)所謂的‘銀河對(duì)齊’，”他說(shuō)，“或者至少不會(huì)出現(xiàn)任何反?，F(xiàn)象?！彼忉屨f(shuō)，每年冬至日都會(huì)出現(xiàn)某種“對(duì)齊”現(xiàn)象，這時(shí)從地球上看，太陽(yáng)在空中看起來(lái)像是位于銀河的中點(diǎn)附近。莫里森說(shuō)，星象專家或許會(huì)對(duì)各種對(duì)齊現(xiàn)象饒有興趣，但“實(shí)際上，這些對(duì)齊現(xiàn)象沒(méi)有科學(xué)價(jià)值，沒(méi)有任何意義”。它們不會(huì)導(dǎo)致宇宙引力、太陽(yáng)輻射、行星軌道或其他一切會(huì)影響地球上生命的因素發(fā)生任何變化。

Myth

傳言4

Planet X Is on a Collision Course with Earth

未知行星X將撞擊地球

Some say it's out there： a mysterious Planet X on a collision course with Earth—or at least a disruptive flyby. A direct hit would obliterate17） Earth， it's said. Even a near miss， some fear， could shower Earth with deadly asteroid impacts hurled our way by the planet's gravitational wake.

Could such an unknown planet really be headed our way in 2012， even just a little bit？ Well， no. \"There is no object out there，\" Morrison said. \"That's probably the most straightforward thing to say.\" \"If there were a planet or a brown dwarf18） or whatever that was going to be in the inner solar system， astronomers would have been studying it for the past decade and it would be visible to the naked eye by now，\" Morrison said. \"It's not there.\"

有些人聲稱外太空有一顆神秘行星X正在撞向地球——或者起碼也是擦肩而過(guò)，造成破壞。據(jù)說(shuō)，行星迎頭撞上地球，地球?qū)?huì)灰飛煙滅。有些人擔(dān)心，即便這顆行星與地球擦肩而過(guò)，受其引力影響尾隨其后的小行星會(huì)向地球襲來(lái)，使地球遭受致命的撞擊。

2012年是否真有這樣一顆未知行星正在沖向地球，哪怕只是一顆很小的行星？答案是：沒(méi)有?！巴馓諞](méi)有這樣的天體，”莫里森說(shuō)，“這說(shuō)起來(lái)可能是再簡(jiǎn)單明了不過(guò)的事了?！薄叭绻嬗羞@樣一顆行星或者褐矮星或者其他天體闖入太陽(yáng)系內(nèi)部，那么天文學(xué)家這十年來(lái)早就在研究它了，現(xiàn)在用肉眼也就能看得到了，” 莫里森說(shuō)，“根本就沒(méi)這種天體?！?/p>

Myth

傳言5

Solar Storms to Savage Earth

太陽(yáng)風(fēng)暴將摧毀地球

In some 2012 disaster scenarios， our own sun is the enemy. Our friendly neighborhood star， it's rumored， will produce lethal19） eruptions of solar flares20）， turning up the heat on Earthlings. Solar activity waxes and wanes21） according to approximately 11-year cycles. Big flares can indeed damage communications and other Earthly systems， but scientists have no indications the sun， at least in the short term， will unleash storms strong enough to fry the planet.

\"As it turns out the sun isn't on schedule anyway，\" Morrison said. \"We expect that this cycle probably won't peak in 2012 but a year or two later.\"

電影《2012》的一些災(zāi)難場(chǎng)景中，我們的太陽(yáng)成了我們的敵人。有傳言說(shuō)，這顆與我們睦鄰友好的恒星將爆發(fā)出致命的太陽(yáng)耀斑，導(dǎo)致地球溫度升高，萬(wàn)物備受炙烤。太陽(yáng)活動(dòng)有盛有衰，約以11年為一個(gè)周期。大耀斑的確可以破壞通信系統(tǒng)和地球上的其他系統(tǒng)，但科學(xué)家們并未發(fā)現(xiàn)任何跡象表明太陽(yáng)將爆發(fā)足夠強(qiáng)的太陽(yáng)風(fēng)暴烤焦地球，至少在短期內(nèi)不會(huì)如此。

“不管怎么說(shuō)，事實(shí)證明太陽(yáng)的活動(dòng)并不嚴(yán)格守時(shí)，” 莫里森說(shuō)，“我們預(yù)計(jì)太陽(yáng)耀斑的活動(dòng)周期可能不會(huì)在2012年達(dá)到峰值，而是會(huì)出現(xiàn)在一兩年后?！?/p>

Myth

傳言6

Maya Had Clear Predictions for 2012

瑪雅人曾明確預(yù)言2012是何景象

If the Maya didn't expect the end of time in 2012， what exactly did they predict for that year？ Many scholars say the empire didn't leave a clear record predicting that anything specific would happen in 2012.

The Maya did pass down a graphic—though undated—end-of-the-world scenario， described on the final page of a circa-1100 text known as the Dresden Codex22）. The document describes a world destroyed by flood， a scenario imagined in many cultures and probably experienced， on a less apocalyptic scale， by ancient peoples.

Aveni said the scenario is not meant to be read literally—but as a lesson about human behavior. In fact， Aveni said， the Maya weren't much for predictions. \"The whole timekeeping scale is very past directed， not future directed，\" he said. \"What you read on these monuments of the Long Count are events that connected Maya rulers with ancestors and the divine. The farther back you can plant your roots in deep time， the better argument you can make that you're legit23）. And I think that's why these Maya rulers were using Long Count time. It's not about a fixed prediction about what's going to happen.\"

如果瑪雅人并不認(rèn)為世界末日是在2012年，那么他們究竟對(duì)2012年做了什么樣的預(yù)言？許多學(xué)者表示，瑪雅帝國(guó)并沒(méi)有留下明確的記載來(lái)預(yù)測(cè)2012年具體會(huì)發(fā)生什么。

不過(guò)，瑪雅人確實(shí)遺留下來(lái)一幅世界末日?qǐng)D，但并未注明日期。該圖在約有1100條條文的《德累斯頓法典》的最后一頁(yè)，圖中描繪了一個(gè)被洪水毀滅的世界，這一場(chǎng)景許多人類文明都曾想象過(guò)，古人還有可能經(jīng)歷過(guò)，只不過(guò)古人經(jīng)歷過(guò)的并沒(méi)有這幅圖所描繪的那么恐怖。

阿韋尼說(shuō)，這幅圖的目的不是讓人們就圖論圖，而是用來(lái)告誡人類要注意自身行為。阿韋尼說(shuō)，瑪雅人其實(shí)并不喜歡預(yù)測(cè)未來(lái)?！艾斞湃说恼麄€(gè)歷法是針對(duì)過(guò)去的，而不是指向未來(lái)，”他說(shuō)，“你所看到的長(zhǎng)計(jì)歷記載的這些重大日期，均發(fā)生過(guò)有關(guān)瑪雅統(tǒng)治者與先賢圣人的重大事件。統(tǒng)治者把自己的淵源說(shuō)得越久遠(yuǎn)，就越能表明其統(tǒng)治地位是合乎章法、順乎天意的。我認(rèn)為這才是瑪雅統(tǒng)治者使用長(zhǎng)計(jì)歷的原因，而不是為了明確預(yù)測(cè)未來(lái)會(huì)發(fā)生什么事。”

1.debunk [?di??b??k] vt. 揭穿

2.purported [p??p??t?d] adj. 傳說(shuō)的；謠傳的

3.apocalyptic [??p?k??l?pt?k] adj. 預(yù)示大動(dòng)亂（或大災(zāi)變）的；預(yù)示世界末日恐怖景象的

4.wallop [?w?l?p] vt. 猛擊

5.sear [s??（r）] vt. 燒焦……的表皮；燒灼

6.heyday [?he?de?] n. 最興盛的時(shí)期

7.Long Count： 長(zhǎng)計(jì)歷，瑪雅人創(chuàng)造的一種新的歷法，用于記錄更長(zhǎng)的時(shí)間，并作為碑文銘刻用的日期。

8.cyclical [?sa?kl?kl； ?s?kl?kl] adj. 循環(huán)的，周期的

9.doomsday [?du?mzde?] n. 世界末日

10.mantle [?m?ntl] n. 【地】地幔

11.galactic alignment： 銀河對(duì)齊，指銀河系中心的黑洞與太陽(yáng)、地球排成一條直線。

12.spawn [sp??n] vt. 造成，引起，釀成13.drastic [?dr?st?k； ?drɑ?st?k] adj. 激烈的，猛烈的

14.scenario [s??nɑ?ri??] n. 局面

15.herald [?her?ld] vt. 預(yù)示……的來(lái)臨

16.horoscope [?h?r?sk??p] n. 星象（尤指某人誕生時(shí)各天體的位置）

17.obliterate [??bl?t?re?t] vt. 消滅

18.brown dwarf： 【天】棕矮星，褐矮星

19.lethal [?li?θl] adj. 致死的；毀滅性的

20.solar flare： 【天】太陽(yáng)耀斑，日暈，日輝

21.wax and wane： （影響等）交替增加和減少；盛衰

22.Dresden Codex： 《德累斯頓法典》，包含了許多天文和歷法信息，如日食、金星凌日以及太陽(yáng)、月球、恒星的運(yùn)動(dòng)變化等。

23.legit [l??d??t] adj. （= legitimate） <口>合法的；正統(tǒng)的