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万物简史 第3期:引言(3)

时间:2016-03-04 05:29来源:互联网 提供网友:mapleleaf   字体: [ ]
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    (单词翻译:双击或拖选)

   So thank goodness for atoms.

  所以,谢天谢地,有了原子。
  But the fact that you have atoms and that they assemble in such a willing manner is only part of what got you here.
  不过,有了原子,它们心甘情愿地聚集在一起,这只是你来到这个世界的部分条件。
  "To be here now, alive in the 21st century and smart enough to know it,你现在在这个地方,生活在21世纪,聪明地知道有这回事,you also had to be the beneficiary of an extraordinary string of biological good fortune.
  你还必须是生物方面一连串极不寻常的好运气的受益者。
  Survival on Earth is a surprisingly tricky1 business.
  在地球上幸存下来,这是一件非常微妙的事。
  Of the billions and billions of species of living thing that have existed since the dawn of time, most-99.99%-are no longer around.
  自开天辟地以来,存在过上百上千亿物种,其中大多数--据认为是99.9%--已经不复存在。
  Life on Earth, you see, is not only brief but dismayingly tenuous2.
  你看,地球上的生命不仅是短暂的,而且是令人沮丧的脆弱的。
  It is a curious feature of our existence that we come from a planet that is very good at promoting life but even better at extinguishing it.
  我们产生于一颗行星,这颗行星善于创造生命,但又更善于毁灭生命,这是我们的存在的一个很有意思的特点。
  The average species on Earth lasts for only about 4 million years,地球上的普通物种只能延续大约400万年,
  so if you wish to be around for billions of years, you must be as fickle3 as the atoms that made you.
  因此,若要在这里待上几十亿年,你不得不像制造你的原子那样变个不停。
  You must be prepared to change everything about yourself-shape, size, color, species affiliation4, everything-and to do so repeatedly.
  你要准备自己身上的一切都发生变化--形状、大小、颜色、物种属性等等--反复地发生变化。
  That's much easier said than done, because the process of change is random5.
  这说起来容易做起来难,因为变化的过程是无定规的。
  "protoplasmal primordial6 atomic globule", as the Gilbert and Sullivan song put it,从\"细胞质的原始原子颗粒\",到有知觉、
  to sentient7 upright modern human has required you to mutate new traits over and over in a precisely8 timely manner for an exceedingly long while.",能直立的现代人,要求你在特别长的时间里,以特别精确的方式,不断产生新的特点。
  So at various periods over the last 3.8 billion years you have abhorred9 oxygen and then doted on it,因此,在过去38亿年的不同时期里,你先是讨厌氧气,后又酷爱氧气,grown fins10 and limbs and jaunty11 sails, laid eggs, flicked12 the air with a forked tongue, been sleek13, been furry,长过鳍、肢和漂亮的翅膀,生过蛋,用叉子般的舌头舔过空气,曾经长得油光光、毛茸茸,lived underground, lived in trees, been as big as a deer and as small as a mouse, and a million things more.
  住过地下,住过树上,曾经大得像麋鹿,小得像老鼠,以及超过100万种别的东西。
  The tiniest deviation14 from any of these evolutionary15 shifts,这些都是必不可少的演变步骤,
  and you might now be licking algae16 from cave walls or lolling walrus-like on some stony17 shore只要发生哪怕最细微的一点偏差,你现在也许就会在舔食长在洞壁上的藻类,或者像海象那样懒洋洋地躺在哪个卵石海滩上,or disgorging air through a blowhole in the top of your head before diving 60 feet for a mouthful of delicious sand worms.",或者用你头顶的鼻孔吐出空气,然后钻到18米的深处去吃一口美味的蚯蚓。
 

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1 tricky 9fCzyd     
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 tenuous PIDz8     
adj.细薄的,稀薄的,空洞的
参考例句:
  • He has a rather tenuous grasp of reality.他对现实认识很肤浅。
  • The air ten miles above the earth is very tenuous.距离地面十公里的空气十分稀薄。
3 fickle Lg9zn     
adj.(爱情或友谊上)易变的,不坚定的
参考例句:
  • Fluctuating prices usually base on a fickle public's demand.物价的波动往往是由于群众需求的不稳定而引起的。
  • The weather is so fickle in summer.夏日的天气如此多变。
4 affiliation MKnya     
n.联系,联合
参考例句:
  • There is no affiliation between our organization and theirs,even though our names are similar.尽管两个组织的名称相似,但我们之间并没有关系。
  • The kidnappers had no affiliation with any militant group.这些绑架者与任何军事组织都没有紧密联系。
5 random HT9xd     
adj.随机的;任意的;n.偶然的(或随便的)行动
参考例句:
  • The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
  • On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查,发现肉变质了。
6 primordial 11PzK     
adj.原始的;最初的
参考例句:
  • It is the primordial force that propels us forward.它是推动我们前进的原始动力。
  • The Neanderthal Man is one of our primordial ancestors.的尼安德特人是我们的原始祖先之一.
7 sentient ahIyc     
adj.有知觉的,知悉的;adv.有感觉能力地
参考例句:
  • The living knew themselves just sentient puppets on God's stage.生还者认识到,他们不过是上帝的舞台上有知觉的木偶而已。
  • It teaches us to love all sentient beings equally.它教导我们应该平等爱护一切众生。
8 precisely zlWzUb     
adv.恰好,正好,精确地,细致地
参考例句:
  • It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
  • The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。
9 abhorred 8cf94fb5a6556e11d51fd5195d8700dd     
v.憎恶( abhor的过去式和过去分词 );(厌恶地)回避;拒绝;淘汰
参考例句:
  • He abhorred the thoughts of stripping me and making me miserable. 他憎恶把我掠夺干净,使我受苦的那个念头。 来自辞典例句
  • Each of these oracles hated a particular phrase. Liu the Sage abhorred "Not right for sowing". 二诸葛忌讳“不宜栽种”,三仙姑忌讳“米烂了”。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说
10 fins 6a19adaf8b48d5db4b49aef2b7e46ade     
[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
11 jaunty x3kyn     
adj.愉快的,满足的;adv.心满意足地,洋洋得意地;n.心满意足;洋洋得意
参考例句:
  • She cocked her hat at a jaunty angle.她把帽子歪戴成俏皮的样子。
  • The happy boy walked with jaunty steps.这个快乐的孩子以轻快活泼的步子走着。
12 flicked 7c535fef6da8b8c191b1d1548e9e790a     
(尤指用手指或手快速地)轻击( flick的过去式和过去分词 ); (用…)轻挥; (快速地)按开关; 向…笑了一下(或瞥了一眼等)
参考例句:
  • She flicked the dust off her collar. 她轻轻弹掉了衣领上的灰尘。
  • I idly picked up a magazine and flicked through it. 我漫不经心地拿起一本杂志翻看着。
13 sleek zESzJ     
adj.光滑的,井然有序的;v.使光滑,梳拢
参考例句:
  • Women preferred sleek,shiny hair with little decoration.女士们更喜欢略加修饰的光滑闪亮型秀发。
  • The horse's coat was sleek and glossy.这匹马全身润泽有光。
14 deviation Ll0zv     
n.背离,偏离;偏差,偏向;离题
参考例句:
  • Deviation from this rule are very rare.很少有违反这条规则的。
  • Any deviation from the party's faith is seen as betrayal.任何对党的信仰的偏离被视作背叛。
15 evolutionary Ctqz7m     
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。
16 algae tK6yW     
n.水藻,海藻
参考例句:
  • Most algae live in water.多数藻类生长在水中。
  • Algae grow and spread quickly in the lake.湖中水藻滋蔓。
17 stony qu1wX     
adj.石头的,多石头的,冷酷的,无情的
参考例句:
  • The ground is too dry and stony.这块地太干,而且布满了石头。
  • He listened to her story with a stony expression.他带着冷漠的表情听她讲经历。
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