世界节假日博览 第24期:达尔文日

 　　February the 12th is Darwin Day. It is to celebrate the anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin on February 12, 1809 and his life as a scientist. This day also aims to encourage children to get into science. Darwin was one of the world’s greatest scientists and greatly changed the way we look at how we got here. His theory of evolution is one of the most important theories ever. Scientists first came together to recognize and discuss Darwin’s contribution to science in 1909. Today, there are many events on Darwin Day all over the world. These include dinner parties with special recipes for evolutionary soup, recreations of Darwin’s journey in his ship the Beagle, and Darwin festivals.

　　每年的2月12日是达尔文日。这一天是科学家达尔文的诞辰纪念日，达尔文出生于1809年的2月12日。该日举办的目的也是为了鼓励孩子投身科学。达尔文是全球最伟大的科学家之一，他彻彻底底地改变了人类看待自己祖先的问题。他的进化论是史上最为重要的理论之一。1909年，科学家首次认识，并开始讨论达尔文对科学的贡献。如今，全球会在这一天举办许多活动。包括用特殊食谱所制作的“进化汤”晚宴，在小猎犬号船上举办的达尔文之旅活动，以及达尔文庆祝活动。

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　　Darwin was an English naturalist who had a passion for nature. Through his studies, he realized that all species of life evolved over time from common cells billions of years ago. He sailed around the world observing and drawing animals to demonstrate this. He published a book on his findings, “On the Origin of the Species”, which is accepted by most scientists as the theory of evolution. It is still the foundation of biology and provides a logical explanation for the diversity of life on Earth. He described the process of how new species started as ‘natural selection’, or ‘the survival of the fittest’. Darwin is buried in London’s Westminster Abbey, close to another great British scientist Sir Isaac Newton.

　　达尔文是一名英国自然学家，他酷爱自然。他通过研究认识到十几亿年前，所有生物都是通过普通细胞进化而成的。为了证明这一结论，他环游世界，对动物进行观察和绘画。他还将其发现出版成书，名字叫做“物种起源”，绝大部分科学家都认可这一结论，并将其看成是进化理论。如今，这一理论仍然是生物学的基础，并对地球上的生物多样性提供了逻辑解释。他将新物种的开始称作是“自然选择”，或是“适者生存”。达尔文死后被埋葬于伦敦的威斯敏斯特教堂，旁边是另一位英国伟大的科学家牛顿。