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万物简史 第412期:生命的起源(6)

时间：2018-06-15 07:39:31

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（单词翻译）

 Well, that's essentially1 what Hoyle and others (including many ardent2 creationists) argue when they suggest that proteins spontaneously formed all at once. 哎呀，那基本上就是霍伊尔和其他人（包括许多热心的特创论者）提出的。他们认为，蛋白质是一下子自发形成的。

They didn't—they can't have. 蛋白质不是——也不可能——这样形成。
As Richard Dawkins argues in The Blind Watchmaker, 正如理查德·道金斯在《盲人钟表匠》一书中所说，
there must have been some kind of cumulative3 selection process that allowed amino acids to assemble in chunks4. 肯定有某种日积月累的选择过程，使得氨基酸聚集成块状。
Perhaps two or three amino acids linked up for some simple purpose 而三个氨基酸分子也许为了某种简单的目的联结起来，
and then after a time bumped into some other similar small cluster and in so doing "discovered" some additional improvement. 一段时间以后撞在一起成为类似的小群体，在此过程中“发现”又有了某些改进。
Chemical reactions of the sort associated with life are actually something of a commonplace. 这种与生命有关的化学反应实际上比比皆是。
It may be beyond us to cook them up in a lab, a la Stanley Miller5 and Harold Urey, but the universe does it readily enough. 我们也许无法按照斯坦利·米勒和哈罗德·尤里的方式从实验室制造出来，但宇宙干这事儿很容易。
Lots of molecules6 in nature get together to form long chains called polymers. 大自然里许多分子聚在一起形成长长的链子，名叫聚合物。
Sugars constantly assemble to form starches7. 糖分子经常聚在一起形成淀粉。
Crystals can do a number of lifelike things—replicate, respond to environmental stimuli8, take on a patterned complexity9. 晶体会干部许多栩栩如生的事——复制呀，对环境的刺激作出反应呀，呈现复杂的图案呀。
They've never achieved life itself, of course, but they demonstrate repeatedly that complexity is a natural, spontaneous, entirely10 commonplace event. 当然，它们从来不制造生命本身，但它们反复展示，复杂的结构是一种自然、自发、完全可靠的事。
There may or may not be a great deal of life in the universe at large, but there is no shortage of ordered self-assembly, 整个宇宙里也许存在大量生命，也许不存在，但不乏有序的自发聚合。
in everything from the transfixing symmetry of snowflakes to the comely11 rings of Saturn12. 它存在于一切东西，从对称的雪花到土星的秀丽光环。
So powerful is this natural impulse to assemble that many scientists now believe that life may be more inevitable13 than we think, 大自然聚合事物是如此干劲十足，许多科学家现在认为，生命比我们认为的还要不可避免,
that it is, in the words of the Belgian biochemist and Nobel laureate Christian14 de Duve, 用比利时生物化学家、诺贝尔奖获得者克里斯蒂安·德迪夫的话来说：
"an obligatory15 manifestation16 of matter, bound to arise wherever conditions are appropriate." “只要哪里有条件合适，物质的专性表现势必发生。”

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1 essentially nntxw     
adv.本质上，实质上，基本上
参考例句：
  • Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
  • She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。
2 ardent yvjzd     
adj.热情的，热烈的，强烈的，烈性的
参考例句：
  • He's an ardent supporter of the local football team.他是本地足球队的热情支持者。
  • Ardent expectations were held by his parents for his college career.他父母对他的大学学习抱着殷切的期望。
3 cumulative LyYxo     
adj.累积的，渐增的
参考例句：
  • This drug has a cumulative effect.这种药有渐增的效力。
  • The benefits from eating fish are cumulative.吃鱼的好处要长期才能显现。
4 chunks a0e6aa3f5109dc15b489f628b2f01028     
厚厚的一块( chunk的名词复数 )； （某物）相当大的数量或部分
参考例句：
  • a tin of pineapple chunks 一罐菠萝块
  • Those chunks of meat are rather large—could you chop them up a bIt'smaller? 这些肉块相当大，还能再切小一点吗？
5 miller ZD6xf     
n.磨坊主
参考例句：
  • Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
  • The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。
6 molecules 187c25e49d45ad10b2f266c1fa7a8d49     
分子( molecule的名词复数 )
参考例句：
  • The structure of molecules can be seen under an electron microscope. 分子的结构可在电子显微镜下观察到。
  • Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules. 在反应堆里，大分子裂变为小分子。
7 starches 4a2ff941018a19601cc0790704781df1     
n.淀粉( starch的名词复数 )；含淀粉的食物；浆粉v.把（衣服、床单等）浆一浆( starch的第三人称单数 )
参考例句：
  • You should avoid sugars and starches. 你应避免吃糖和含淀粉的食物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Cotton and rayon yarns are most often sized with water-insoluble starches. 棉和人造丝纱多用不溶于水的淀粉上浆。 来自互联网
8 stimuli luBwM     
n.刺激（物）
参考例句：
  • It is necessary to curtail or alter normally coexisting stimuli.必需消除或改变正常时并存的刺激。
  • My sweat glands also respond to emotional stimuli.我的汗腺对情绪刺激也能产生反应。
9 complexity KO9z3     
n.复杂(性)，复杂的事物
参考例句：
  • Only now did he understand the full complexity of the problem.直到现在他才明白这一问题的全部复杂性。
  • The complexity of the road map puzzled me.错综复杂的公路图把我搞糊涂了。
10 entirely entirely     
ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地
参考例句：
  • The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
  • His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。
11 comely GWeyX     
adj.漂亮的，合宜的
参考例句：
  • His wife is a comely young woman.他的妻子是一个美丽的少妇。
  • A nervous,comely-dressed little girl stepped out.一个紧张不安、衣着漂亮的小姑娘站了出来。
12 Saturn tsZy1     
n.农神，土星
参考例句：
  • Astronomers used to ask why only Saturn has rings.天文学家们过去一直感到奇怪，为什么只有土星有光环。
  • These comparisons suggested that Saturn is made of lighter materials.这些比较告诉我们，土星由较轻的物质构成。
13 inevitable 5xcyq     
adj.不可避免的，必然发生的
参考例句：
  • Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
  • The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。
14 Christian KVByl     
adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒
参考例句：
  • They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
  • His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。
15 obligatory F5lzC     
adj.强制性的，义务的，必须的
参考例句：
  • It is obligatory for us to obey the laws.我们必须守法。
  • It is obligatory on every citizen to safeguard our great motherland.保卫我们伟大的祖国是每一个公民应尽的义务。
16 manifestation 0RCz6     
n.表现形式；表明；现象
参考例句：
  • Her smile is a manifestation of joy.她的微笑是她快乐的表现。
  • What we call mass is only another manifestation of energy.我们称之为质量的东西只是能量的另一种表现形态。

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