TED演讲：重新定义字典(9)

 　　So, enough scientists in other disciplines are really asking people to help, and they're doing a good job of it. 足够多的科学家在其它领域正寻求大家帮忙，而且大伙也干的不错。

　　For instance, there's eBird, where amateur birdwatchers can upload information about their bird sightings. 例如，有一种电子鸟，业余观鸟爱好者可以把自己的观察结果上传，

　　And then, ornithologists can go and help track populations, migrations¹, etc. 之后鸟类学家可以从中追踪数量，迁徙情况等。

　　And there's this guy, Mike Oates. Mike Oates lives in the U.K. 有个叫迈克·奥特斯的人，他住在英国，

　　He's a director of an electroplating company. He's found more than 140 comets. 他是一家电镀公司的总监。他发现了超过140个彗星。

　　He's found so many comets, they named a comet after him. It's kind of out past Mars. It's a hike. 他发现了如此之多的彗星，有一颗彗星就以他命名。那些彗星比火星还远，是一个长途旅行。

　　I don't think he's getting his picture taken there anytime soon. 我不认为他拍过什么照片。

　　But he found 140 comets without a telescope. 他发现的140颗彗星，并没有用望远镜，

　　He downloaded data from the NASA SOHO satellite, and that's how he found them. 而是从NASA SOHO卫星下载数据分析出来的。

　　If we can find comets without a telescope, shouldn't we be able to find words? 如果我们可以不用望远镜就能发现彗星，为什么我们就不能发现单词呢？

　　Now, y'all know where I'm going with this. 现在你明白我的立场了。

　　Because I'm going to the Internet, which is where everybody goes. 我要去互联网，就像大伙那样。

　　And the Internet is great for collecting words, because the Internet's full of collectors. 互联网非常合适搜集单词，因为互联网上有很多搜集者。

　　And this is a little-known technological² fact about the Internet, 这是一个关于互联网的不为人知的技术事实，

　　but the Internet is actually made up of words and enthusiasm. 互联网实际上是由单词和热情组成的。

　　And words and enthusiasm actually happen to be the recipe for lexicography. Isn't that great? 而单词和热情正好是字典编纂的膳料。那不是很好吗？

　　So there are a lot of really good word-collecting sites out there right now, 现在已经有很多单词搜集网站了，

　　but the problem with some of them is that they're not scientific enough. 只是它们中有些还不够科学，

　　They show the word, but they don't show any context. Where did it come from? Who said it? 有些显示了词，没有显示上下文。词从哪里来？谁说的？

　　What newspaper was it in? What book? Because a word is like an archaeological artifact. 源自哪张报纸？哪本书？因为一个词就像一个考古学产物，

　　If you don't know the provenance³ or the source of the artifact, it's not science, it's a pretty thing to look at. 如果你不知道起源或源头，这就不够科学——这是应该去考究的。

1 migrations   

n.迁移，移居( migration的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• It foundered during the turmoils accompanying the Great Migrations. 它在随着民族大迁徙而出现的混乱中崩溃。 来自辞典例句
• Birds also have built-in timepieces which send them off on fall and spring migrations. 鸟类也有天生的时间感应器指导它们秋春迁移。 来自互联网

2 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。

3 provenance   

n.出处；起源

参考例句：

• Kato was fully aware of the provenance of these treasures.加藤完全清楚这些珍宝的来源。
• This plant's provenance is Asiadj.这种植物原产于亚洲。