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万物简史 第640期:神秘的两足动物(18)

时间:2019-12-18 06:03:03

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All this is problematic enough when you are the intellectual master of the planet,but when you are a small, vulnerable australopithecine, with a brain about thesize of an orange, the risk must have been enormous. Absolute brain size doesnot tell you everything-or possibly sometimes even much. Elephants and whalesboth have brains larger than ours, but you wouldn't have much troubleoutwitting them in contract negotiations1. It is relative size that matters, apoint that is often overlooked. As Gould notes, A. africanus had a brain ofonly 450 cubic centimeters, smaller than that of a gorilla2. But a typical africanus male weighed less than a hundred pounds, and a female much lessstill, whereas gorillas3 can easily top out at 600 pounds (Gould pp. 181-83).

即使在今天,当你已经成为这个星球的智力发达的主人时,这一切依然是个大问题。而对于矮小而又容易受到伤害的南方古猿来说,婴儿降生时的脑大约有一只柑橘那么大(注:诚然,脑的绝对大小并不能说明一切——有时甚至不能说明很多。大象和鲸的脑都比我们大,但是和它们相比你显然聪明许多。脑的大小只是一个相对重要的数据,一个常常可以忽略不计的数据。正如古尔德所指出的那样,南猿非洲种的脑只有450立方厘米,比大猩猩的要小。而一个典型的南猿非洲种体重小于45千克,女性则更轻,而大猩猩的体重则大都重达150多千克。),危险性肯定很大。

Sowhy did Lucy and her kind come down from the trees and out of the forests?Probably they had no choice. The slow rise of the Isthmus4 of Panama had cut theflow of waters from the Pacific into the Atlantic, diverting warming currentsaway from the Arctic and leading to the onset5 of an exceedingly sharp ice agein northern latitudes6. In Africa, this would have produced seasonal7 drying andcooling, gradually turning jungle into savanna8. "It was not so much thatLucy and her like left the forests," John Gribbin has written, "butthat the forests left them."

因此,露西和她的同类从树上来到地上,而后又走出非洲丛林,这是为什么?他们很可能别无选择。巴拿马地峡的慢慢上升阻断了太平洋的海水流进大西洋,改变了流向北极的暖流的方向,使得北纬地区出现了异常寒冷的冰川期。在非洲,季节性干燥和寒冷气候的出现逐渐使得森林变成了草原。“与其说露西和她的同类离开了森林,”约翰·格里宾写道,“不如说是森林离开了他们。”


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1 negotiations af4b5f3e98e178dd3c4bac64b625ecd0     
协商( negotiation的名词复数 ); 谈判; 完成(难事); 通过
参考例句:
  • negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
  • Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。
2 gorilla 0yLyx     
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 gorillas a04bd21e2b9b42b0d71bbb65c0c6d365     
n.大猩猩( gorilla的名词复数 );暴徒,打手
参考例句:
  • the similitude between humans and gorillas 人类和大猩猩的相像
  • Each family of gorillas is led by a great silverbacked patriarch. 每个大星星家族都由一个魁梧的、长着银色被毛的族长带领着。 来自《简明英汉词典》
4 isthmus z31xr     
n.地峡
参考例句:
  • North America is connected with South America by the Isthmus of Panama.巴拿马海峡把北美同南美连接起来。
  • The north and south of the island are linked by a narrow isthmus.岛的北部和南部由一条狭窄的地峡相连。
5 onset bICxF     
n.进攻,袭击,开始,突然开始
参考例句:
  • The drug must be taken from the onset of the infection.这种药必须在感染的最初期就开始服用。
  • Our troops withstood the onset of the enemy.我们的部队抵挡住了敌人的进攻。
6 latitudes 90df39afd31b3508eb257043703bc0f3     
纬度
参考例句:
  • Latitudes are the lines that go from east to west. 纬线是从东到西的线。
  • It was the brief Indian Summer of the high latitudes. 这是高纬度地方的那种短暂的晚秋。
7 seasonal LZ1xE     
adj.季节的,季节性的
参考例句:
  • The town relies on the seasonal tourist industry for jobs.这个城镇依靠季节性旅游业提供就业机会。
  • The hors d'oeuvre is seasonal vegetables.餐前小吃是应时蔬菜。
8 savanna bYbxZ     
n.大草原
参考例句:
  • The savanna is also the home of meat-eaters--the lion,leopard,and hyena who feed on the grasseaters.大草原也是食肉动物的家乡--狮子、豹、鬣狗--它们都是以草食动物维持生命的。
  • They sped upon velvet wheels across an exhilarant savanna.他们的马车轻捷地穿过一片令人赏心悦目的大草原。

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