TED演讲:论生物多样性(2)

 In so doing, I reached a frontier of biology so strange, so rich,  通过这样的方式，我来到一个非常古怪却又非常丰富的生物学领域，

that it seemed as though it exists on another planet.  简直就像降临到别的星球一样。

In fact, we live on a mostly unexplored planet.  事实上，我们就生活在一个很多地方皆未被研究的星球上。

The great majority of organisms on Earth remain unknown to science.  科学家对于地球上大多数的有机体都是一无所知的。

In the last 30 years, thanks to explorations in remote parts of the world and advances in technology,  过去30年，人们去到了一些较为边缘的地区,也得益于科技的进步，

biologists have, for example, added a full one-third of the known frog and other amphibian¹ species,  生物学家使已知的青蛙以及两栖类物种数增加了三分之一，

to bring the current total to 5,400,  现在，两栖类生物物种总数为5400种，

and more continue to pour in.  并且还不断有新的物种被发现。

Two new kinds of whales have been discovered, along with two new antelopes,  也发现了两种新的鲸鱼种类，以及两种新的羚羊，

dozens of monkey species and a new kind of elephant and even a distinct kind of gorilla².  还有几十个猴子的种类以及一种新的大象种类,甚至还有一种新发现的大猩猩！

At the extreme opposite end of the size scale, the class of marine³ bacteria,  而在生物体体型大小的另一端，我们发现了新的海洋细菌，

the Prochlorococci -- that will be on the final exam,although discovered only in 1988, are now recognized as likely the most abundant organisms on Earth,  原绿球藻，也许在你的期末考试出现过,虽说是1988年发现的，现在则被认为是地球上最繁盛的生物，

and moreover, responsible for a large part of the photosynthesis⁴ that occurs in the ocean.  这一生物为海洋里头发生的光合作用起到了很大的推动作用。

These bacteria were not uncovered sooner,  我们没能在更早的时候发现这些细菌，

because they are also among the smallest of all Earth's organisms so minute that they cannot be seen with conventional optical microscopy. 是因为它们也是地球上体型最小的生物之一,你用普通的光学仪器是难以看得到它们的。

Yet life in the sea may depend on these tiny creatures.  但海底的生物却必须依赖它们才能生存。

These examples are just the first glimpse of our ignorance of life on this planet.  这些都不过是一些例子，显示出我们对于地球上的生物是多么无知。

Consider the fungi⁵ -- including mushrooms, rusts⁶, molds and many disease-causing organisms.  再看看真菌，包括蘑菇、锈菌、霉菌以及其他携带病原体的真菌

60,000 species are known to science,  我们知道有6万种的真菌，

but more than 1.5 million have been estimated to exist.  但科学家估计，事实上有150万真菌存活于地球上。

Consider the nematode roundworm, the most abundant of all animals.  再看看线虫，它们是所有动物家族当中最为繁盛的。

Four out of five animals on Earth are nematode worms if all solid materials except nematode worms were to be eliminated, 地球上80%的动物都是线虫,假如地球上除了线虫以外所有的固态物质都消失，

you could still see the ghostly outline of most of it in nematode worms.  你还是可以从线虫身上看出曾经的地球痕迹。

About 16,000 species of nematode worms have been discovered and diagnosed by scientists; 大约16000种线虫动物,已经被科学家发现并进行研究；

there could be hundreds of thousands of them, even millions, still unknown.  而事实上，也许有数以千计甚至是数以百万计的我们还未曾知道。

This vast domain⁷ of hidden biodiversity is increased still further by the dark matter of the biological world of bacteria, 还有另外一个生物群体,它们通常不被关注，但其蕴含的生物多样性却更多，

which within just the last several years still were known from only about 6,000 species of bacteria worldwide.  单单是过去的几年,世界范围内就发现了6000例新的细菌物种。

But that number of bacteria species can be found in one gram of soil,  在一克的泥土里，就可以找出这一数目的细菌出来，

just a little handful of soil, in the 10 billion bacteria that would be there.  一剖泥土，里面就有一百亿的细菌。

It's been estimated that a single ton of soil-fertile soil contains approximately four million species of bacteria, all unknown.  有人估计，单单是一吨沃土当中就包含了近四百万种的细菌，并且我们对这些细菌一无所知。

So the question is: what are they all doing?  所以，我们要问：那些家伙到底在干嘛？

The fact is, we don't know.  答案是：我们根本不知道答案。

1 amphibian   

n.两栖动物；水陆两用飞机和车辆

参考例句：

• The frog is an amphibian,which means it can live on land and in water.青蛙属于两栖动物，也就是说它既能生活在陆地上也能生活在水里。
• Amphibian is an important specie in ecosystem and has profound meaning in the ecotoxicology evaluation.两栖类是生态系统中的重要物种，并且对环境毒理评价有着深远意义。

2 gorilla   

n.大猩猩，暴徒，打手

参考例句：

• I was awed by the huge gorilla.那只大猩猩使我惊惧。
• A gorilla is just a speechless animal.猩猩只不过是一种不会说话的动物。

3 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

4 photosynthesis   

n.光合作用

参考例句：

• In apple trees photosynthesis occurs almost exclusively in the leaves.苹果树的光合作用几乎只发生在叶内。
• Chloroplasts are the structures in which photosynthesis happens.叶绿体就是光合作用发生的地方。

5 fungi   

n.真菌，霉菌

参考例句：

• Students practice to apply the study of genetics to multicellular plants and fungi.学生们练习把基因学应用到多细胞植物和真菌中。
• The lawn was covered with fungi.草地上到处都是蘑菇。

6 rusts   

n.铁锈( rust的名词复数 )；（植物的）锈病，锈菌v.（使）生锈( rust的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Copper nails are better than iron nails because the iron rusts. 铜钉比铁钉好，因为铁会生锈。 来自辞典例句
• The axenic culture of rusts has been achieved on various defined media. 在各种规定的培养基上可得到锈菌的单体纯净培养物。 来自辞典例句

7 domain   

n.(活动等)领域，范围；领地，势力范围

参考例句：

• This information should be in the public domain.这一消息应该为公众所知。
• This question comes into the domain of philosophy.这一问题属于哲学范畴。