2022年经济学人 古生物学与穷国之间微妙的关系

Science & Technology

科技版块

The study of fossils

化石研究

Digging deep

深挖

The tricky¹ relationship between palaeontology and poor countries

古生物学与穷国之间微妙的关系

WHAT YOU see depends on where you stand.

你站在哪里决定你看到了什么。

The unarguable fact that most palaeontologists live in the rich world means two things.

大多数古生物学家生活在富裕世界这一无可争议的事实意味着两件事。

One is that the fossils of these places are far better studied than those of poorer countries, which is a scientific pity.

一是富裕国家比贫穷国家的化石研究得更好，这是一个科学上的遗憾。

The other is that what knowledge has been garnered² about poor-country palaeontology is frequently the result of visits by rich-country palaeontologists.

另一个是，穷国古生物学知识往往是富国古生物学家访问的结果。

All this was well known, if not quantified, before Nussaibah Raja put numbers on it in a paper published in Nature Ecology and Evolution.

在努赛巴·拉贾在《自然生态与进化》上发表的一篇论文对其进行统计之前，尽管没人对其量化，但都是心知肚明的。

Ms Raja, however, sees not just a regrettable history-induced bias³ that should certainly be addressed in future, but also a continuing pillage⁴ of poor countries by the scientific establishments of rich places more powerful than they.

然而，拉贾女士认为这是一种令人遗憾的历史导致的偏见，这种偏见肯定应该在未来得到解决，而且还看到了富国的科学机构对穷国的持续掠夺（富国的科学机构比他们更强大）。

Perhaps. But an alternative view is possible.

但是另一种观点是可能的。

This is that many of the world's poor countries have higher priorities than studying their fossils, that letting foreign researchers do it for them is not wrong, provided no laws are broken, and that it is patronising to suggest otherwise.

这是因为世界上许多贫穷国家有比研究它们的化石上更重要的事情，如果不违反法律，让外国研究人员为它们做这件事并没有错，除此以外，再提一些什么建议未免显得居高临下了。

Moreover, as Ms Raja observes, several not-yet-properly rich places, notably⁵ China, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico and India, are indeed developing as palaeontological powers in their own right.

此外，正如拉贾女士所观察到的，一些尚未完全富裕的国家，特别是中国、巴西、阿根廷、墨西哥和印度，确实正在以自身的方式发展成为古生物学强国。

And, as she further points out, Chinese palaeontologists are starting to take an interest in neighbouring Myanmar's fossiliferous amber⁶ beds that a cynic might see as at least as predatory as that of any Western fossil hunter.

而且，正如她进一步指出的那样，中国古生物学家开始对邻国缅甸的琥珀化石层感兴趣，愤世嫉俗者可能会认为他们至少和任何西方化石猎人一样具有掠夺性。

Ms Raja rightly notes that rich-country scientists could do more to assist their poor-world hosts, especially by recruiting local researchers onto their teams to transfer expertise⁷ — something they are currently bad at.

拉贾女士正确地指出，富裕国家的科学家可以做更多的事情来帮助贫穷国家的东道主，特别是通过招募当地研究人员加入他们的团队，来转让他们目前不擅长的专业知识。

But it takes two to tango.

但探戈需要两个人。

And not everywhere yet has the political will, institutional depth, or, indeed, money, to join in the dance.

并不是所有地方都有政治意愿、制度深度，或者说有金钱，来参与这场舞蹈。

1 tricky   

adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；(工作等)棘手的，微妙的

参考例句：

• I'm in a rather tricky position.Can you help me out?我的处境很棘手，你能帮我吗？
• He avoided this tricky question and talked in generalities.他回避了这个非常微妙的问题，只做了个笼统的表述。

2 garnered   

v.收集并（通常）贮藏（某物），取得，获得( garner的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Mr. Smith gradually garnered a national reputation as a financial expert. 史密斯先生逐渐赢得全国金融专家的声誉。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He has garnered extensive support for his proposals. 他的提议得到了广泛的支持。 来自辞典例句

3 bias   

n.偏见，偏心，偏袒；vt.使有偏见

参考例句：

• They are accusing the teacher of political bias in his marking.他们在指控那名教师打分数有政治偏见。
• He had a bias toward the plan.他对这项计划有偏见。

4 pillage   

v.抢劫；掠夺；n.抢劫，掠夺；掠夺物

参考例句：

• The invading troops were guilty of rape and pillage.侵略军犯了抢劫和强奸的罪。
• It was almost pillage.这简直是一场洗劫。

5 notably   

adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地

参考例句：

• Many students were absent,notably the monitor.许多学生缺席，特别是连班长也没来。
• A notably short,silver-haired man,he plays basketball with his staff several times a week.他个子明显较为矮小，一头银发，每周都会和他的员工一起打几次篮球。

6 amber   

n.琥珀；琥珀色；adj.琥珀制的

参考例句：

• Would you like an amber necklace for your birthday?你过生日想要一条琥珀项链吗？
• This is a piece of little amber stones.这是一块小小的琥珀化石。

7 expertise   

n.专门知识(或技能等)，专长

参考例句：

• We were amazed at his expertise on the ski slopes.他斜坡滑雪的技能使我们赞叹不已。
• You really have the technical expertise in a new breakthrough.让你真正在专业技术上有一个全新的突破。