TED演讲：宏观历史(7)

 　　For most of that time of life on Earth, living organisms have been relatively¹ simple -- single cells. 地球的大多数时间，生物体多是以简单的单细胞存在的。

　　But they had great diversity, and, inside, great complexity². 但是它们是十分多样的，而且，内部结构极其复杂。

　　Then from about 600 to 800 million years ago, multi-celled organisms appear. 然后6亿年到8亿年之前，多细胞生物出现。

　　You get fungi³, you get fish, you get plants, you get amphibia, you get reptiles⁴, and then, of course, you get the dinosaurs⁵. 你会发现菌类，鱼，植物，两栖类，爬行类，然后，当然，你会发现恐龙。

　　And occasionally, there are disasters. Sixty-five million years ago, an asteroid⁶ landed on Earth near the Yucatan Peninsula, 接着，偶然间，发生了灾难。6500万年之前，一颗陨石撞击地球，在犹卡坦半岛附近，

　　creating conditions equivalent to those of a nuclear war, and the dinosaurs were wiped out. 引发的情况相当于一场核战争，恐龙就被彻底灭绝了。

　　Terrible news for the dinosaurs, but great news for our mammalian ancestors, who flourished in the niches⁷ left empty by the dinosaurs. 对于恐龙来说是可怕的消息。但是对于在恐龙遗留下的空旷之地蓬勃发展的哺乳类祖先来说，这是好消息。

　　And we human beings are part of that creative evolutionary⁸ pulse that began 65 million years ago with the landing of an asteroid. 我们人类就是这次始于6500万年前随着陨石撞击后，生物进化狂潮的一部分。

　　Humans appeared about 200,000 years ago. And I believe we count as a threshold in this great story. Let me explain why. 人类起源于20万年前。我相信人类发展就是宇宙进化的一个阶段。让我解释一下为什么。

　　We've seen that DNA⁹ learns in a sense, it accumulates information. But it is so slow. 我们已经看到DNA某种意义上的进化，它积累信息。但是这十分缓慢。

　　DNA accumulates information through random¹⁰ errors, some of which just happen to work. DNA累积信息伴随着随机的差错，有些差错也可以运作。

　　But DNA had actually generated a faster way of learning: 但是DNA已经发展成一种更快的进化方式；

　　it had produced organisms with brains, and those organisms can learn in real time. 它产生了有大脑的生物，那些生物能及时的进化。

　　They accumulate information, they learn. The sad thing is, when they die, the information dies with them. 它们积累信息，它们进化。但是遗憾的是，当它们死亡，信息也随着它们死亡。

　　Now what makes humans different is human language. We are blessed with a language, a system of communication, 让人类特别的是人类的语言。我们有幸能有语言，一种交流方式，

　　so powerful and so precise that we can share what we've learned with such precision that it can accumulate in the collective memory. 如此的强大和准确，以至于我们可以准确的分享我们学到的事，它就积累成为集体记忆。

　　And that means it can outlast¹¹ the individuals who learned that information, and it can accumulate from generation to generation. 这就意味着它能比学到信息的个体存在的更长久，而且它也能一代一代的积累。

　　And that's why, as a species, we're so creative and so powerful, and that's why we have a history. 这就是为什么，作为一个物种，我们如此的有创造力，如此强大，这就是为什么我们有历史。

　　We seem to be the only species in four billion years to have this gift. 我们似乎是在40亿年中唯一的拥有这种天赋的生物。

1 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

2 complexity   

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。

3 fungi   

n.真菌，霉菌

参考例句：

• Students practice to apply the study of genetics to multicellular plants and fungi.学生们练习把基因学应用到多细胞植物和真菌中。
• The lawn was covered with fungi.草地上到处都是蘑菇。

4 reptiles   

n.爬行动物，爬虫( reptile的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Snakes and crocodiles are both reptiles. 蛇和鳄鱼都是爬行动物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Birds, reptiles and insects come from eggs. 鸟类、爬虫及昆虫是卵生的。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 dinosaurs   

n.恐龙( dinosaur的名词复数 )；守旧落伍的人，过时落后的东西

参考例句：

• The brontosaurus was one of the largest of all dinosaurs. 雷龙是所有恐龙中最大的一种。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Dinosaurs have been extinct for millions of years. 恐龙绝种已有几百万年了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 asteroid   

n.小行星；海盘车(动物)

参考例句：

• Astronomers have yet to witness an asteroid impact with another planet.天文学家还没有目击过小行星撞击其它行星。
• It's very unlikely that an asteroid will crash into Earth but the danger exists.小行星撞地球的可能性很小，但这样的危险还是存在的。

7 niches   

壁龛( niche的名词复数 )； 合适的位置[工作等]； （产品的）商机； 生态位（一个生物所占据的生境的最小单位）

参考例句：

• Some larvae extend the galleries to form niches. 许多幼虫将坑道延伸扩大成壁龛。
• In his view differences in adaptation are insufficient to create niches commensurate in number and kind. 按照他的观点，适应的差异不足以在数量上和种类上形成同量的小生境。

8 evolutionary   

adj.进化的；演化的，演变的；[生]进化论的

参考例句：

• Life has its own evolutionary process.生命有其自身的进化过程。
• These are fascinating questions to be resolved by the evolutionary studies of plants.这些十分吸引人的问题将在研究植物进化过程中得以解决。

9 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。

10 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。

11 outlast   

v.较…耐久

参考例句：

• The great use of life is to spend it doing something that will outlast it.人生的充分利用就是为争取比人生更长久的东西而度过一生。
• These naturally dried flowers will outlast a bouquet of fresh blooms.这些自然风干的花会比一束鲜花更加持久。