2020年经济学人 无罪(2)

Working with a team of colleagues, the researchers obtained DNA¹ from 12 woolly-rhinoceros bones collected from permafrost in Siberia,

研究人员和同事们从西伯利亚多年冻土中采集到的12根披毛犀骨头中提取到了DNA，

dating from the beginning of the Late Pleistocene, about 130,000 years ago, until the animals were on the verge⁴ of extinction⁵.

年代区间约从13万年前的晚更新世开始，到这些动物濒临灭绝为止。

Extra DNA was recovered from one sample of rhino² hair and one piece of tissue found in the stomach of a frozen wolf that had been preserved by the cold.

另外的DNA来自于一根犀牛毛发样本，以及在一只冻狼胃部发现的一块组织，这只狼被低温保存了下来。

Analysing the genetic⁶ diversity of the samples allowed the researchers to make a rough calculation of the size of the woolly-rhino population over time.

分析这些样本的基因多样性能够让研究人员粗滤估算各时期披毛犀的数量。

Rather than declining as humans arrived, the population remained stable from 29,000 years ago until 18,500 years ago,

随着人类的到来，它们的数量没有减少，而是从2.9万年前开始就保持稳定，直到1.85万年前，

just a few thousand years before the species went extinct.

此时距离该物种灭绝仅几千年。

That suggests that, far from being hunted to extinction, the rhinos⁷ co-existed stably with humans for around 10,000 years.

这表明，这种犀牛并不是被猎杀致灭绝的，约一万多年以来，它们一直都和人类稳定地共存。

Perhaps the people who encountered the beasts found them unpalatable.

大概遇到这种野兽的人发现它们超级难吃。

Or perhaps the rhinos were simply too dangerous to hunt with their simple weapons.

又或者只是因为这种犀牛太过危险，人类简单的武器无法捕获它们。

(They were the size of the modern white rhino, which is not an animal that takes kindly⁸ to being stabbed with spears.)

（它们的体型和现代白犀牛的差不多，而白犀牛可不是那种喜欢被矛穿刺的动物。）

The researchers' case is not quite conclusive⁹.

研究人员的结论还不是很明确。

It is possible that some sort of technological¹⁰ advance eventually gave ancient humans the ability to hunt rhinos safely,

或许某种继续进步最终赋予了古代人类安全捕获犀牛的能力，

and that extinction followed after that breakthrough.

并且在这次突破之后，它们就灭绝了。

On the other hand, the animals' decline lines up suggestively with a rapid bout³ of global warming that began around 14,700 years ago.

另一方面，动物数量的减少与始于大约1.47万年前的全球变暖的迅速爆发有明显的联系。

The researchers argue that this was the more likely cause of the animal's disappearance¹¹. This time, it seems, it was Mother Nature whodunnit.

研究人员表示，这更有可能是这种动物消失的原因。这一次，似乎是大自然母亲下的手。

1 DNA   

(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸

参考例句：

• DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。

2 rhino   

n.犀牛，钱, 现金

参考例句：

• The rhino charged headlong towards us.犀牛急速地向我们冲来。
• They have driven the rhino to the edge of extinction.他们已经令犀牛濒临灭绝。

3 bout   

n.侵袭，发作；一次(阵，回)；拳击等比赛

参考例句：

• I was suffering with a bout of nerves.我感到一阵紧张。
• That bout of pneumonia enfeebled her.那次肺炎的发作使她虚弱了。

4 verge   

n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• She was on the verge of bursting into tears.她快要哭出来了。

5 extinction   

n.熄灭，消亡，消灭，灭绝，绝种

参考例句：

• The plant is now in danger of extinction.这种植物现在有绝种的危险。
• The island's way of life is doomed to extinction.这个岛上的生活方式注定要消失。

6 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

7 rhinos   

n.犀牛（rhino的复数形式）

参考例句：

• There are many reports of people taming and even training Indian rhinos. 有许多关于人们驯养甚至训练印度犀牛的记载。 来自辞典例句
• The rhinos had fed during the night in the rice fields of these villagers. 犀牛夜里在这些村民的庄稼地里也已吃饱了。 来自辞典例句

8 kindly   

adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地

参考例句：

• Her neighbours spoke of her as kindly and hospitable.她的邻居都说她和蔼可亲、热情好客。
• A shadow passed over the kindly face of the old woman.一道阴影掠过老太太慈祥的面孔。

9 conclusive   

adj.最后的，结论的；确凿的，消除怀疑的

参考例句：

• They produced some fairly conclusive evidence.他们提供了一些相当确凿的证据。
• Franklin did not believe that the French tests were conclusive.富兰克林不相信这个法国人的实验是结论性的。

10 technological   

adj.技术的；工艺的

参考例句：

• A successful company must keep up with the pace of technological change.一家成功的公司必须得跟上技术变革的步伐。
• Today,the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements.当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。

11 disappearance   

n.消失，消散，失踪

参考例句：

• He was hard put to it to explain her disappearance.他难以说明她为什么不见了。
• Her disappearance gave rise to the wildest rumours.她失踪一事引起了各种流言蜚语。