“百慕大三角之謎”已解開？

過去，曾有許多飛機和船隻駛入百慕大三角地區後便神祕失蹤，原因衆說紛紜未有定論。最近，有科學家提出新理論，認爲該區上空形成“六邊形的怪雲”，是令飛機和船隻失事失蹤的元兇。

Researchers in the US claim they have discovered the answer to the mystery of the Bermuda Triangle.
美國的研究者聲稱已經破解了百慕大三角之謎。

Covering more than half a million square miles of ocean located between Bermuda, Florida and Puerto Rica, the term "Bermuda Triangle" was first coined by writer Vincent H. Gaddis in 1964.
“百慕大三角”一詞最先於1964年由作家文森特•嘉迪斯提出，是指百慕大羣島、佛羅里達州和波多黎各之間超過五十萬平方千米的海域。

The area is notorious for (legend has it) the unusually high number of planes and ships that go missing there without trace.
據傳說，有大量的飛機和船隻曾在這片海域離奇失蹤。“百慕大三角”因此臭名昭著。

In a new Science Channel documentary, meteorologists claim that an unusual type of cloud located in the region could be behind a number of the disappearances.
在科學頻道新播出的一部紀錄片中，氣象學家們認爲大部分的神祕失蹤事件可能和這片海域上的一種不同尋常的雲有關。

The hexagonal-shaped clouds, measuring between 20 and 50 miles across, can cause extremely localised high winds which, they speculate, could be the cause of some of the previously-unexplained incidents.
這種六邊形的雲有二十至五十英里寬，可以導致局部強風。他們推測，這可能就是部分未解事件的起因。

These types of hexagonal shapes over the ocean are in essence, 'air bombs,'' said Dr Randy Cerveny of Arizona State University.
“這種六邊形的雲在本質上就像‘航空炸彈’，”來自亞利桑那州立大學的蘭迪•瑟維尼博士解釋道。

They're formed by what are called microbursts.
“它們是由所謂的微暴流形成的。”

They're blasts of air that come down out of the bottom of the clouds and hit the ocean, and they create waves that can sometimes be massive in size once they start to interact with each other."
“這些下沉氣流衝破雲層底部‘撞向’海面，一旦相互作用會在海面上捲起巨大的海浪。”

However, some experts have disputed the meteorologists claims.
不過，一些專家對這種氣象學解釋提出了異議。

NBCs Kevin Corriveau said: "When I look at a hexagonal cloud shape in the Bahamas, this is not the cloud signature of what a microburst looks like.
美國全國廣播公司的凱文•科裏沃說道：“我在巴哈馬曾見過六邊形雲，這看起來並不像形成微暴流的雲層特徵。”

You would normally have one large to extremely large thunderstorm that wouldn't have an opening in the middle."
“一般來說，那些能夠引發雷暴乃至超大雷暴天氣的雲，它們的中部是不會有開口的。”

Others have pointed out that, while there have indeed been a number of disappearances in the Bermuda Triangle region, they are statistically relatively insignificant given the huge number of ships and aircraft that pass through the area.
然而，也有人指出，縱然在百慕大三角地區曾發生了多起失蹤事件，但和經過該海域的船隻和飛機的巨大數量相比，這些意外事件實際上顯得微不足道。