写在前面
上篇文章说过，以后每次发文，都要拿出公众号的一部分收入进行捐款，并截图公开。上篇文章收到赞赏33元，拿出30%，也就是十元，捐款。上次接了个广告，从中拿出50元捐款。一共是60元，现截图公开：
上次说要通过蚂蚁金服捐款，后来觉得拿着马化腾的钱走马云的平台有点不合适，虽然他们都姓马，所以直接通过腾讯公益捐款了。反正都是捐，相信马爸爸不会生气的。
导读
过去我们总是在谈政治，今天我们换一种口味，谈一谈关于荷叶的一些事。图片很美，但我们谈的不是“小荷才露尖尖角”的清新与亲密，也不是“接天莲叶无穷碧”的宏大与壮观，而是去探究为什么荷叶上的水会形成水珠，其背后的原理是什么，以及这种原理可以应用到生活的哪些方面。
这篇文章不建议不解风情的男生阅读。你想啊，黄昏，雨后，约了姑娘去湖边漫步，姑娘指着湖里的荷叶：你看荷叶上的水珠，好亮好美啊！然后你开始给她分析荷叶为什么会聚集水珠，背后有什么原理……The End.
言归正传，这篇文章选自今年5月13日的《经济学人》，通过这篇文章的学习，我们可以了解以下几个方面的内容：
落到荷叶上的水为什么会立刻形成晶莹的水珠？背后有什么物理原理？
这一原理应用到生活中有什么意义？又面临着哪些问题？
这些问题是如何解决的？
New materials
The lotus position
A self-repairing surface① that stays clean and dry
THE repulsive powers of lotus leaves are the stuff of legend②. Water sprayed onto them forms instantly into silvery beads and rolls right off③ again—carrying any dirt on the leaf’s surface with it.
The physics behind this impressive and beautiful phenomenon is well understood. Lotus leaves repel④ water because they are covered with minuscule waxy⑤ nodules that stop water molecules bonding with a leaf’s surface tissues, meaning those molecules bond with each other instead.
That arrangement has been replicated in several man-made materials. Unfortunately, these are easily damaged by abrasion⑥—and, not being alive, cannot regrow and repair themselves. They are thus hard to commercialise, which is a pity, because the self-cleaning, self-drying surfaces they create could be of great value. A technique just described in Langmuir by Jürgen Rühe of the University of Freiburg, in Germany, may, however, fix this problem by giving lotus-like materials the ability to regenerate when damaged.⑦
Dr Rühe’s approach is to mimic a second living organism—this time an animal, the lizard. As lizards grow, their scales⑧ do not grow with them. Instead, old scales are shed and replaced from below by new ones. Dr Rühe theorised that it might likewise be possible to create a stack of lotus-like layers that would flake off when damaged, revealing a pristine⑨ surface beneath.
Lotus-like man-made materials belong to a class known as nanograsses—so called because, under an electron microscope, they resemble lawns. Dr Rühe’s nanograsses have water-repellent⑩ “blades” attached to thin sheets of silicon. The task he set himself was to create a stack of these that could tell when the one at the top was compromised so badly that it needed to be replaced, and then replace it automatically.⑪
He conceived of doing this by gluing the layers of the stack together with a water-soluble material. He reasoned that, as the top layer got worn⑫, and water began leaking through it, this glue would start to dissolve. A small amount of damage would do no harm. But enough would weaken the glue to the point where the uppermost nanograss lawn flaked off, and the next one down took over.⑬
Testing this idea out using an appropriate glue (a special water-soluble polymer), he found that it worked. When he scratched the top of such a stack with a scalpel and exposed it to water, it did, indeed, come loose and fall off as the water seeped into the underlying glue. Such an arrangement will not, of course, last for ever. Eventually, it will run out of layers. But if the idea can be applied to industrial practice, then long-lived, self-cleaning surfaces may at last become routine.⑭
New materials
The lotus position
A self-repairing surface① that stays clean and dry
新材料
莲花效应
一种能保持清洁和干燥的自修复表面①
解析：
① A self-repairing surface 文中指荷叶，因为水掉落到荷叶上会因为荷叶的特殊结构而迅速聚成水滴流下，带走污物，保持荷叶表面的干燥。科学家想将这一原理应用到生活中，一旦成功，则会产生巨大的价值。
落到荷叶上的水为什么会立刻形成晶莹的水珠？背后有什么物理原理？
问题一一共有两段，第一段描述的是水掉落到荷叶上迅速聚成水滴流下这一现象；第二段则是对该现象背后的原理进行解释。我们先来看第一段：
THE repulsive powers of lotus leaves are the stuff of legend②. Water sprayed onto them forms instantly into silvery beads and rolls right off③ again—carrying any dirt on the leaf’s surface with it.
荷叶的疏水性是一件奇妙之事②。喷洒到叶面上的水会立刻形成晶莹的水珠然后迅速滚落③，同时带走叶面上所有的污垢。
解析：
② the stuff of legends，也可作 the stuff of dreams/nightmares，表示 the type of things that are usually found in dreams stories etc，相当于imaginary and not real. 举个栗子：
③ rolls off，有三个意思，第一个是文中的意思，表示“滚落”，例如：
第二个意思，表示“印出; 复印出”，比如：
第三个意思，在美国口语中比较常见，表示“骑自行车行过(一段路程)”，举个栗子：
我们再来看第二段：该现象背后有什么物理原理？
The physics behind this impressive and beautiful phenomenon is well understood. Lotus leaves repel④ water because they are covered with minuscule waxy⑤ nodules that stop water molecules bonding with a leaf’s surface tissues, meaning those molecules bond with each other instead.
人们已非常清楚这令人惊叹而美妙的现象背后的物理原理。荷叶疏水④，是因为它们表面覆盖着微小的蜡质⑤结节，会阻止水分子与叶面组织结合，因而水分子只能彼此结合。
解析：
④ repel water，疏水，第一段出现了 repulsive power，repulsive 就是 repel 的形容词形式。关于 repel 一词，这里介绍两个意思：（一）to force something or someone to move away or stop attacking you，击退；抵抗。举两个例子：
（二）People or things that repel you make you feel strongly that you do not want to be near, see or think about them，使厌恶；使极反感。例如：
⑤ waxy，涂蜡的，蜡制的，我们这里主要讲一下它的动词：wax。Wax 有一个常见搭配：wax and wane，表示：to grow stronger and then weaker again，兴衰荣枯；盛衰。举个例子：
注意：本段及之后段落会出现专有名词，大家对照翻译明白什么意思就好，这些词对学英语没有什么帮助，这里就不讲了。
这一原理应用到生活中有什么意义？又面临着哪些问题？
That arrangement has been replicated in several man-made materials. Unfortunately, these are easily damaged by abrasion⑥—and, not being alive, cannot regrow and repair themselves. They are thus hard to commercialise, which is a pity, because the self-cleaning, self-drying surfaces they create could be of great value. A technique just described in Langmuir by Jürgen Rühe of the University of Freiburg, in Germany, may, however, fix this problem by giving lotus-like materials the ability to regenerate when damaged.⑦
已有几种人造材料复制了这种结构。遗憾的是，这些材料都很容易因磨蚀⑥而损坏，而且由于它们不是活体组织，无法再生或自我修复。因此，这些材料都难以商业化。这很可惜，因为它们形成的自我清洁、自我干燥表面可能极具价值。不过德国弗莱堡大学（University of Freiburg）的尤尔根·胡荷（Jürgen Rühe）最近刚刚在期刊《朗缪尔》（Langmuir）中介绍了一种技术，可以让仿荷叶材料具备受损后再生的能力，可能会解决这个问题。⑦
解析：
⑥ abrasion，英文解释是 the process of rubbing away the surface of something，磨损，磨耗；擦伤。例如：
本段介绍了这一原理应用到生活中面临的两个问题，文中已用紫色颜色的字体表示：磨损，不可再生或修复。
⑦ 本段结构很简单，有三个关键点，文中已用下划线形式标出，掌握这三个关键点，文章结构便清晰可见了：（一）一些人造材料中应用了这一原理。后面一个转折词 Unfortunately 暗含这种应用面临一些问题；（二）这很可惜，因为它们形成的自我清洁、自我干燥表面可能极具价值；（三）一名科学家让仿荷叶材料具备受损后再生的能力，或解决这个问题。
第三个问题包括四段的内容，其中前三段是理论、构想，最后一段是实验检验。
我们先来看第四段：蜥蜴给了胡荷灵感。
Dr Rühe’s approach is to mimic a second living organism—this time an animal, the lizard. As lizards grow, their scales⑧ do not grow with them. Instead, old scales are shed and replaced from below by new ones. Dr Rühe theorised that it might likewise be possible to create a stack of lotus-like layers that would flake off when damaged, revealing a pristine⑨ surface beneath.
胡荷的方法是模仿另一种活体组织。这次是一种动物——蜥蜴。蜥蜴逐渐长大，它们的鳞片⑧并不随之长大。相反，旧鳞片会脱落，被下面长出的新鳞片取代。胡荷由此推测，也许同样可以设计出层层堆叠的仿荷叶膜层，上层在受损后脱落，露出下层的全新⑨表面。
解析：
⑧ scale，最常见的意思是“规模，尺度”，但在文中的意思是“（鱼、蛇等动物皮肤表层的）鳞，鳞片”——one of the many very small flat pieces which cover the skin of fish, snakes, etc.
关于 scale，有一个文绉绉的搭配：the scales fall from sb's eyes，英文解释是：If the scales fall from your eyes, you suddenly know and understand the truth. 表示“恍然大悟，顿时看清真相”。这个搭配很形象生动，鳞片从眼睛上跌落下来了，瞬间看清了真相。
⑨ pristine，英文解释是：new or almost new, and in very good condition，即：崭新的；状态良好的。举个栗子：
pristine new offices
崭新的办公室
那么蜥蜴到底给胡荷什么启发呢？我们一起来看第五段：
Lotus-like man-made materials belong to a class known as nanograsses—so called because, under an electron microscope, they resemble lawns. Dr Rühe’s nanograsses have water-repellent⑩ “blades” attached to thin sheets of silicon. The task he set himself was to create a stack of these that could tell when the one at the top was compromised so badly that it needed to be replaced, and then replace it automatically.⑪
人造的仿荷叶材料属于一类名为“纳米草”（nanograss）的材料，这样叫是因为它们在电子显微镜下看起来很像草坪。胡荷的纳米草有着拒水的“草叶”，附着在硅薄片上。他给自己设定的任务是创造出一叠这样的结构，它能自行判断上层受损的程度已经到了需要替换的地步，而后自动更换。⑪
解析：
⑩ water-repellent，形容词，防水的。Repellent 是 repel 的形容词。我们刚刚讲到，repulsive 也是 repel 的形容词，它俩的区别是，repel作“反感”讲时，形容词形式是 repulsive，作“排斥”讲时，形容词形式是 repellent.
⑪The task he set himself was to create a stack of these that could tell when the one at the top was compromised so badly that it needed to be replaced, and then replace it automatically. 本段的最后一句话是“纳米草”的工作原理：当顶部磨损严重时，会自动被底部新的替换。
第六段继续写“纳米草”的工作原理，我们继续看：
He conceived of doing this by gluing the layers of the stack together with a water-soluble material. He reasoned that, as the top layer got worn⑫, and water began leaking through it, this glue would start to dissolve. A small amount of damage would do no harm. But enough would weaken the glue to the point where the uppermost nanograss lawn flaked off, and the next one down took over.⑬
他设想用一种水溶性材料把各个膜层粘合起来。他解释说，当顶层磨损后⑫，水就会开始渗透下去，这种水溶性粘胶就会逐渐溶解。轻微的损坏不会有太大问题。但严重的损坏会削弱水溶性粘胶的粘合作用，直到最上层的纳米草剥落，露出下一层。⑬
解析：
⑫ worn，wear 的被动，wear 出了表示“穿”，也经常表示“磨损，磨出（洞）”，举个栗子：
Wear 相当于上一段的 compromise.
⑬ the uppermost nanograss lawn flaked off, and the next one down took over
和之前的紫色句子：
that would flake off when damaged, revealing a pristine surface beneath.
表达的都是同一个意思，但是不管是句式上还是用词上，都不一样，这就是英语表达的灵活性。
我们再来看第七段，也就是最后一段：最后的实验检验结果到底如何呢？
Testing this idea out using an appropriate glue (a special water-soluble polymer), he found that it worked. When he scratched the top of such a stack with a scalpel and exposed it to water, it did, indeed, come loose and fall off as the water seeped into the underlying glue. Such an arrangement will not, of course, last for ever. Eventually, it will run out of layers. But if the idea can be applied to industrial practice, then long-lived, self-cleaning surfaces may at last become routine.⑭
使用合适的粘胶（一种特殊的水溶性聚合物）测验之后，他发现这个想法可行。他用一把手术刀将这种堆叠结构的表层刮破后，让它与水接触。水渗入下方的胶层，表层果真松动并脱落。当然，这种结构并非永续性的，膜层总有一天会掉光。不过，假如这个创意能够应用于工业实践，使用寿命长且有自洁功能的表面也许终会变得司空见惯。⑭
解析：
⑭ become routine，司空见惯。表示“司空见惯”的搭配还有很多，比如 be pervasive, be the rule, two a penny 等等，之前的文章中我们也讲到过。
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