经济学人:熊猫遗传学:熊猫的远亲是谁?(1)

 　　Science and technology: Panda genetics 科技：熊猫遗传学

　　Hey dude. Give me six! 嘿，伙计。用六指击个掌吧！

　　Two strange mammals illuminate² the process of natural selection. 两种不同的哺乳动物阐明自然选择的过程。

　　Convergent³ evolution—the arrival, independently, by different species at the same answer to a question posed by nature—is a topic of great interest to biologists. 趋同进化是生物学家们有着极大兴趣的话题，它是指在自然作用下，不同物种独立的共同进程。

　　One aspect of the phenomenon which has not yet been much looked at, however, is its underlying⁴ genetics. 然而该现象在潜在基因方面尚未得到许多的关注。

　　In particular, an issue not previously⁵ addressed is how often such changes arise from similar mutations in the two convergent lines,  尤其是在两条趋势线中来自相似基因突变引起趋同变化的频率，

　　and how often they have different genetic¹ causes that happen to have similar effects on the organisms’ forms and functions. 以及不同基因对生物的形态功能起到相似作用的概率的方面，尚未得到解决。

　　That has now been rectified⁶ by an examination of two creatures which,  如今通过对两种生物的检验已得到纠正，

　　though only distantly related, share an unusual feeding habit, an unusual anatomical feature and an unusual name: panda. 虽然这两种动物是远亲，但他们都具有与众不同的饮食习性、解剖特性以及一个不寻常的名字：熊猫。

　　The giant panda is a black and white bear. The red panda is related to weasels, raccoons and skunks⁷.  大熊猫是一种黑白相间的熊。小熊猫与鼬鼠，浣熊和臭鼬具有亲属关系。

　　Their habitats—mountainous areas of southern China and its neighbours—overlap, but their last common ancestor lived 43m years ago.  他们的栖息地在华南山区且近亲重叠，在4300万年前，他们有着共同祖先。

　　They do, though, share a limited kinship, for both are members (along with dogs, cats, hyenas⁸, mongooses, seals and so on) of the mammalian order Carnivora.  尽管如此，由于它们都是食肉目哺乳动物类（像狗，猫，鬣狗，猫鼬，海豹等），所以确实有一些相同的血缘关系。

　　Which is curious, because both are vegetarian⁹. 令人好奇的是它们都是食草动物。

　　More intriguingstill, both subsist¹⁰ almost entirely¹¹ on bamboo (some etymologists think their mutual¹² name is derived¹³ from the Nepali phrase nigalyaponya, meaning "bamboo-eater").  更有趣的是，它们几乎完全以竹子为食（一些词源学家认为它们的共同名字源于尼泊尔语nigalyaponya，指“食竹者”）。

1 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。

2 illuminate   

vt.照亮，照明；用灯光装饰；说明，阐释

参考例句：

• Dreams kindle a flame to illuminate our dark roads.梦想点燃火炬照亮我们黑暗的道路。
• They use games and drawings to illuminate their subject.他们用游戏和图画来阐明他们的主题。

3 convergent   

adj.会聚的

参考例句：

• A curved-inwards wall has a convergent effect on wall spray.凹型壁面对碰壁喷雾有聚集作用。
• If a sequence is not convergent,it is divergent.如果一个序列不收敛，我们称它发散。

4 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

5 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

6 rectified   

[医]矫正的，调整的

参考例句：

• I am hopeful this misunderstanding will be rectified very quickly. 我相信这个误会将很快得到纠正。
• That mistake could have been rectified within 28 days. 那个错误原本可以在28天内得以纠正。

7 skunks   

n.臭鼬( skunk的名词复数 )；臭鼬毛皮；卑鄙的人；可恶的人

参考例句：

• Slim swans and slender skunks swim in the slippery slime. 苗条的天鹅和纤细的臭鼬在滑滑的黏泥上游泳。 来自互联网
• But not all baby skunks are so lucky. -We're coming down. 但不是所有的臭鼬宝宝都会如此幸运。-我们正在下来。 来自互联网

8 hyenas   

n.鬣狗( hyena的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• These animals were the prey of hyenas. 这些动物是鬣狗的猎物。 来自辞典例句
• We detest with horror the duplicity and villainy of the murderous hyenas of Bukharinite wreckers. 我们非常憎恨布哈林那帮两面三刀、杀人破坏，干尽坏事的豺狼。 来自辞典例句

9 vegetarian   

n.素食者；adj.素食的

参考例句：

• She got used gradually to the vegetarian diet.她逐渐习惯吃素食。
• I didn't realize you were a vegetarian.我不知道你是个素食者。

10 subsist   

vi.生存，存在，供养

参考例句：

• We are unable to subsist without air and water.没有空气和水我们就活不下去。
• He could subsist on bark and grass roots in the isolated island.在荒岛上他只能靠树皮和草根维持生命。

11 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

12 mutual   

adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的

参考例句：

• We must pull together for mutual interest.我们必须为相互的利益而通力合作。
• Mutual interests tied us together.相互的利害关系把我们联系在一起。

13 derived   

vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取

参考例句：

• Many English words are derived from Latin and Greek. 英语很多词源出于拉丁文和希腊文。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He derived his enthusiasm for literature from his father. 他对文学的爱好是受他父亲的影响。 来自《简明英汉词典》