Can you solve the fish riddle? - Steve Wyborney

翻译人员: Lipeng Chen 校对人员: Lyra Wang

You are the cargo director on the maiden voyage of the S.S. Buoyant,

你身为S.S. Buoyant货船首航的船长，

and you've agreed to transport several tanks containing

同意运送装载着

the last specimens of a critically endangered fish species

濒危鱼类的数个鱼缸

to their new aquarium.

到它们新的水族馆。

Unfortunately, as you're passing through shark-infested waters,

不幸的是，在你穿过鲨鱼聚集的水域时，

the boat is battered by a fierce storm, throwing your precious cargo overboard.

货船遇上了猛烈的风暴， 宝贵的鱼缸被扔下了船体。

And to make matters worse,

更糟糕的是，

no one seems certain just how many fish tanks are missing.

没人确定少了多少个鱼缸。

Fortunately, you have a rescue sub at your disposal,

幸运的是，你手头有一个救援潜艇，

but only enough fuel for one trip to the ocean floor.

但燃料只够去一次海底。

You need to know where the tanks are

你需要知道鱼缸在哪里，

so you can gather them all in one quick pass.

才能一次性的全部收集好它们。

Not a single fish can be lost.

不能丢下任何一个鱼缸。

You decide to scan the three sectors of the ocean floor

你决定扫描鱼缸可能掉在

where the cargo could have landed.

海底的三个区域。

Thermal imaging shows 50 organisms in the area,

热感图像显示区域内有50个生命体，

and you quickly realize that that number includes both your fish

你立刻意识到这个数字既包括了你的鱼，

and some ravenous sharks.

也包括了凶猛的鲨鱼。

You flip on the sonar to get a better look.

你转向雷达，获得更好的图像。

The image for Sector Alpha shows four tanks and two sharks,

Alpha区域的图像显示有四个水箱和两条鲨鱼，

the image for Sector Beta shows two tanks and four sharks,

Beta区域的图像显示有两个水箱和四条鲨鱼，

and the image for Sector Gamma is blank.

Gamma区域的图像一片空白。

Your sonar has malfunctioned,

你的雷达坏了，

and you're going to have to go with the info you have.

你只能使用现有的信息。

You check the shipping notes,

你查了查货运记录，

but all you learn is that each tank had the same number of fish inside.

只知道每个鱼缸内有着相同数目的鱼。

The cargo hold had space for anywhere from 1 to 13 total tanks.

货船可以容纳1到13个鱼缸。

And finally, the old captain tells you that this area has the odd property

最后，老船长告诉你这片区域有着奇怪的特性，

that no two sectors can have the same number of sharks,

没有两个区域可以有相同数目的鲨鱼，

but every sector will have at least one,

但是每个区域至少会有一条鲨鱼，

and no more than seven.

不会超过七条。

There's no time to waste.

没有时间可以浪费了。

The tanks won't withstand the pressure much longer.

鱼缸不能长时间的承受压力。

As you descend in the sub, you review everything you know.

当你乘着潜艇下潜时， 你回顾所有你知道的东西。

How many fish tanks do you need to find in Sector Gamma?

你需要在Gamma区域找到多少个鱼缸？

Hurry, the fate of an entire species depends on you.

快点，整个物种的命运取决于你。

Pause here if you want to figure it out for yourself.

如果你想要自己搞清楚，在这里暂停。

Answer in: 3

答案：3秒

Answer in: 2

答案：2秒

Answer in: 1

答案：1秒

At first, it seems like there are just too many missing pieces of information.

首先，好像遗漏了好多信息。

After all, you don't know how many fish or how many tanks there are,

毕竟，你不知道有多少个鱼缸，

let alone how many fish are in each one.

更不要说每个鱼缸里有多少条鱼了。

But then you remember the best way

但是你想起了比较部分信息的最好办法

to compare multiple pieces of partial information - a table.

是用一个表格。

Since we know there are thirteen tanks at most,

既然我们知道最多有13个鱼缸，

and we already see six tanks in Sectors Alpha and Beta,

而且我们已经在Alpha和Beta区域看到了6个鱼缸，

we know the total number of tanks must be between 6 and 13.

那么我们就知道总的鱼缸数目一定在6到13之间。

We also know that each sector has a different amount of sharks

我们还知道每个区域有不同数目的鲨鱼，

with no more than seven in each one.

而且每个区域最多不会超过7条。

Since there are two in Sector Alpha and four in Sector Beta,

既然Alpha区域有2条，Beta区域有4条，

Sector Gamma can have 1, 3, 5, 6, or 7 sharks.

那么Gamma区域可以有1、3、5、6或7条鲨鱼。

What about the number of endangered fish?

有多少条濒危的鱼呢？

Out of the 50 total organisms in all three sectors,

在三个区域内50个生命体之中，

we know at least seven are sharks,

我们知道至少有7条鲨鱼，

leaving a maximum of 43 fish inside all the tanks.

那么所有鱼缸里至多有43条鱼。

And the more sharks we find in Sector 3, the fewer fish there are to save.

如果在Gamma区域内的鲨鱼越多， 鱼的数量就越小。

Now, remember that the fish are equally distributed across all the tanks.

记住，所有鱼缸里的鱼的数目是相等的。

Why is that important?

为什么这很重要？

Because it means that one of the possible values for the total amount of fish

因为这意味着可能的鱼的总条数，

must be divisible by one of the possible values for the total amount of tanks.

必须可以被可能的鱼缸数目整除。

And looking at the table, we can see that the only combination that works

看表格，我们可以发现唯一符合的组合

is 39 fish divided between 13 tanks with three fish in each.

只有39条鱼，分装在13个鱼缸内， 每个鱼缸里有三条。

With sharks swarming around,

鲨鱼在旁边游动，

you quickly pilot the sub through the first two sectors

你先迅速的救下了前两个区域的鱼，

before retrieving the remaining seven tanks in Sector Gamma.

后救回了Gamma区域的7个鱼缸。

You've saved the species and taken an impromptu dive.

你拯救了这个物种，潜水放松了下。

All in all, not a bad day, unless you happen to be a hungry shark.

总的来说，不是糟糕的一天， 除非你正好是条饥饿的鲨鱼。