The cod delusion

 Neil:   Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English, the programme in which we discuss something from the news and teach you a few useful words and phrases on the way! I’m Neil and joining me today is Rosie. Hi Rosie. 

Rosie:  Hi Neil. 

Neil:  We’ve got a story about naming things this week. 

Rosie:  Yes, you know how streets or buildings are often named after a famous or successful person from the past.  

Neil:  Here at the BBC in London there is a part of the building called the ‘Peel Wing’, named after a famous radio presenter¹ called John Peel. He also used to have a show on the World Service. Can you give us another example, Rosie? 

Rosie:  I like Liverpool John Lennon Airport because normally streets and buildings are named after rather boring old figures from history who no-one really cares about any more. John Lennon who had a big cultural impact on the world we live in today. 

Neil:  Well, our story today is about a rather unusual thing to be named after a well-known person. 

Rosie:  Not a street, building or an airport but a fish! 

Neil:  That’s right, but before we get onto that we have our quiz questions. Are you ready? 

Rosie:  Yes I am. 

Neil:  Well, I’ve already mentioned John Lennon and I am a massive Beatles fan, so it’s a perfect excuse for a Beatles-related question. It’s a really easy one. What was the Beatles first UK number 1 hit? 

a) Love Me Do. 

b) Please Please Me. 

c) Yellow Submarine. 

Rosie:  I think it was a) Love Me Do. 

Neil:  We’ll find out at the end of the programme. So, we are talking about naming things after famous people. This week, the British biologist, Richard Dawkins has had a fish named after him. 

Rosie:  Richard Dawkins is a well-known atheist². 

Neil:  Atheists think that God or gods don’t exist. 

Rosie:  Dawkins is an expert in evolutionary³ science - very simply, that’s the science based on Charles Darwin’s theory that animals and plants developed slowly over time rather than were created by a God or higher power. 

Neil:  And to recognise this work he’s done, he’s had a species or type of fish named after him. But he’s not the first famous person to have an unusual thing named after him. Listen to the first clip from the BBC’s Beth McLeod to find out who else has had strange things named in their honour. 

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Nelson Mandela has a species of spider named after him and there's a group of crustaceans⁴ named after the singer Bob Marley. Now the British biologist and atheist Richard Dawkins is the latest public figure to lend his name to a living organism. A Sri Lankan scientist Rohan Pethiyagoda has identified a new genus of fish and called it Dawkinsia in recognition, he says, of the contribution to evolutionary science that Dawkins has made. 

Rosie:  The reggae singer Bob Marley had a group of crustaceans named after him. Crustaceans are animals which live in water and have a shell, such as crabs⁵ and lobsters⁶. 

Neil:  And Nelson Mandela has had a spider named after him. So Rosie, what is this fish called that Richard Dawkins has given his name to? 

Rosie:  It’s called ‘Dawkinsia’. It’s a strange sort of an honour isn’t it? I’m not sure how I’d react! 

Neil:  Me neither, but let’s hear how Richard Dawkins himself took the news of his honour. He uses a word which means that living or lasting⁷ forever. What is it?  

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“Well I’m delighted, it’s a great honour. It’s a kind of immortality⁸ and it’s a delightful⁹ little fish and so I’m really very pleased. My whole life is devoted¹⁰ to extolling¹¹ the beauty and wonder of the living world. And Dr. Pethiyagoda in his paper very kindly¹² paid tribute to that.” 

Rosie:  He said it’s a kind of immortality. 

Neil:  Living or lasting forever - in the form of a fish! He also said that his whole life has been devoted to extolling the beauty and wonder of the living world.  

Rosie:  Extolling. He means praising the beauty of the living world. 

Neil:  But fish are just fish, aren’t they Rosie? I mean they can’t really be described as beautiful. 

Rosie:  What do you mean?! Fish can be really beautiful. And these ones that Richard Dawkins has had named after him sound like they are particularly attractive to the opposite sex. 

Neil:  But what is it that makes them attractive? Listen to the final part of this BBC report and see if you can hear. 

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Four species of fish are currently recognised as belonging to the Dawkinsia group. They live in freshwater and are notable for the long filaments¹³ trailing from their fins¹⁴ - which makes them more attractive to the opposite sex. The researchers were studying a group of fish known as Puntius, and decided¹⁵ to re-classify them after discovering that they were far more diverse than previously¹⁶ thought. Dr Pethiyagoda wants the name to remind people of Dawkins' writings about evolution which he says seek to explain the unimaginable diversity of life on earth. 

Rosie:  They are notable for the long filaments from their fins. 

Neil:  Filaments are thin wires or threads. Well OK then, I suppose if a fish is going to be named after you, this one sounds like it is quite attractive - to other fish at least. OK Rosie, let’s finish off with our quiz question about the Beatles… 

Rosie:  Yes, you asked me what the Beatles first number 1 hit single was in the UK. 

Neil:  The options were: 

a) Love Me Do. 

b) Please Please Me. 

c) Yellow Submarine. 

Rosie:  And I said a) Love Me Do. 

Neil:  And you were wrong. 

Rosie:  That’s all we have time for. 

Neil: Join us again for more 6 Minute English from bbclearningenglish.com 

1 presenter   

n.（电视、广播的）主持人，赠与者

参考例句：

• Most people think being a television presenter is exciting.很多人认为当电视节目主持人是一件刺激的事情。
• The programme dispensed with its most popular presenter.这个节目最受欢迎的主持人被换掉了。

2 atheist   

n.无神论者

参考例句：

• She was an atheist but now she says she's seen the light.她本来是个无神论者，可是现在她说自己的信仰改变了。
• He is admittedly an atheist.他被公认是位无神论者。

3 evolutionary   

adj.进化的；演化的，演变的；[生]进化论的

参考例句：

• Life has its own evolutionary process.生命有其自身的进化过程。
• These are fascinating questions to be resolved by the evolutionary studies of plants.这些十分吸引人的问题将在研究植物进化过程中得以解决。

4 crustaceans   

n.甲壳纲动物（如蟹、龙虾）( crustacean的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• These crustaceans provide a valuable food source for some fish. 这些甲壳纲动物是某些鱼类重要的食物来源。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• When the tide ebbs it's a rock pool inhabited by crustaceans. 退潮时，它便成为甲壳动物居住的岩石区潮水潭。 来自辞典例句

5 crabs   

n.蟹( crab的名词复数 )；阴虱寄生病；蟹肉v.捕蟹( crab的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• As we walked along the seashore we saw lots of tiny crabs. 我们在海岸上散步时看到很多小蟹。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The fish and crabs scavenge for decaying tissue. 鱼和蟹搜寻腐烂的组织为食。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 lobsters   

龙虾( lobster的名词复数 )； 龙虾肉

参考例句：

• I have no idea about how to prepare those cuttlefish and lobsters. 我对如何烹调那些乌贼和龙虾毫无概念。
• She sold me a couple of live lobsters. 她卖了几只活龙虾给我。

7 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

8 immortality   

n.不死，不朽

参考例句：

• belief in the immortality of the soul 灵魂不灭的信念
• It was like having immortality while you were still alive. 仿佛是当你仍然活着的时候就得到了永生。

9 delightful   

adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的

参考例句：

• We had a delightful time by the seashore last Sunday.上星期天我们在海滨玩得真痛快。
• Peter played a delightful melody on his flute.彼得用笛子吹奏了一支欢快的曲子。

10 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

11 extolling   

v.赞美( extoll的现在分词 )；赞颂，赞扬，赞美( extol的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He never stops extolling the virtues of the free market. 他不停地颂扬自由市场的种种好处。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They kept extolling my managerial skills. 他们不停地赞美我的管理技能。 来自辞典例句

12 kindly   

adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
• A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。

13 filaments   

n.（电灯泡的）灯丝( filament的名词复数 )；丝极；细丝；丝状物

参考例句：

• Instead, sarcomere shortening occurs when the thin filaments'slide\" by the thick filaments. 此外，肌节的缩短发生于细肌丝沿粗肌丝“滑行”之际。 来自辞典例句
• Wetting-force data on filaments of any diameter and shape can easily obtained. 各种直径和形状的长丝的润湿力数据是易于测量的。 来自辞典例句

14 fins   

[医]散热片；鱼鳍；飞边；鸭掌

参考例句：

• The level of TNF-α positively correlated with BMI,FPG,HbA1C,TG,FINS and IRI,but not with SBP and DBP. TNF-α水平与BMI、FPG、HbA1C、TG、FINS和IRI呈显著正相关，与SBP、DBP无相关。 来自互联网
• Fins are a feature specific to fish. 鱼鳍是鱼类特有的特征。 来自辞典例句

15 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

16 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。