TED演讲:为什么昆虫的大脑如此神奇(1)

 　　The human brain is one of the most sophisticated organs in the world, 人类的大脑是世界上最复杂的器官之一，

　　a supercomputer made of billions of neurons that processes and controls all of our senses, thoughts, and actions. 一个由数十亿神经元组成的超级计算机，控制我们所有的感观、思维和行动。

　　But there was something Charles Darwin found even more impressive: 但是查尔斯·达尔文发现了更引人瞩目的东西：

　　the brain of an ant, which he called one of the most marvelous atoms of matter in the world. 那就是蚂蚁的大脑。他称其为世界上最不可思议的原子构成物之一。

　　If you find it hard to believe that something so tiny could have a complex brain, you're not alone. 这么小的生物却拥有如此复杂的大脑真令人难以置信，这样想的不只你一个。

　　In his project to classify and describe all living things, Swedish naturalist¹ Carl Linnaeus assumed insects had no brains at all. 瑞典自然学家卡尔·林奈在分类和描述生物时，认为昆虫根本没有大脑。

　　He was wrong, but understandably so. 虽然他错了，但情有可原。

　　Insect brains are not only miniscule, but in many respects, they function differently than our own. 昆虫的大脑不仅极其微小，而且在很多方面，与我们大脑的工作方式完全不同。

　　One of the most noticeable differences is that an insect that loses its head can still walk, scratch itself, breathe, and even fly. 最显而易见的区别之一就是一只没了头的昆虫仍然能够爬行、挠痒、呼吸、甚至飞行。

　　This is because while our nervous system works like a monarchy,  我们神经系统的运作好比君主制，

　　with the brain calling the shots, the insect nervous system works more like a decentralized federation². 由大脑发号施令，而昆虫的神经系统却像分权制那样运行。

　　Many insect activities, like walking or breathing, are coordinated³ by clusters of neurons, also known as ganglia, along their bodies. 昆虫的许多活动，比如爬行或者呼吸，都由贯穿身体的神经元群处理，也就是神经节。

　　Together with the brain, these local ganglia form the insect nervous system. 各部位的神经节与大脑一起，构成了昆虫的神经系统。

　　While an insect can do a lot with just its local ganglia, the brain is still crucial for its survival. 尽管昆虫可以依靠神经节进行生命活动，对它的生存来说，大脑依旧不可或缺。

　　An insect's brain lets it perceive the world through sight and smell. 昆虫的大脑让它通过视觉和嗅觉来感知世界。

　　It also chooses suitable mates, remembers locations of food sources and hives, regulates communication, 选择合适的配偶，记住食物和巢穴的位置，进行有效的沟通，

　　and even coordinates⁴ navigation over huge distances. 甚至在长途跋涉时辨别方向。

　　And this vast diversity of behaviors is controlled by an organ the size of the head of a pin, 上述种种行为都由一个针尖大的器官控制，

　　with less than one million neurons, compared to our 86 billion. 里面的神经元不超过一百万，而我们人类，有860亿神经元。

1 naturalist   

n.博物学家(尤指直接观察动植物者)

参考例句：

• He was a printer by trade and naturalist by avocation.他从事印刷业，同时是个博物学爱好者。
• The naturalist told us many stories about birds.博物学家给我们讲述了许多有关鸟儿的故事。

2 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

3 coordinated   

adj.协调的

参考例句：

• The sound has to be coordinated with the picture. 声音必须和画面协调一致。
• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

4 coordinates   

n.相配之衣物；坐标( coordinate的名词复数 )；（颜色协调的）配套服装；[复数]女套服；同等重要的人（或物）v.使协调，使调和( coordinate的第三人称单数 )；协调；协同；成为同等

参考例句：

• The town coordinates on this map are 695037. 该镇在这幅地图上的坐标是695037。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, headed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator, coordinates all UN emergency relief. 联合国人道主义事务协调厅在紧急救济协调员领导下，负责协调联合国的所有紧急救济工作。 来自《简明英汉词典》