纪录片《为何讲话》 第31期：珍珠鸟

To adapt a song without being taught how to

没有学过就能修改鸣叫声

means the finches must have some innate² ability.

说明珍珠鸟必然有某种天生的能力

In the bird, seems to be somehow encoded

鸟类体中 似乎有某种密码

so that when they imitate sounds,

当它们模仿某些声音时

they'll shift them to where some kind of an internal image

它们能将密码转换成某种内影像

that they have of how a good zebra finch¹ song should be like.

也就是珍珠鸟好听鸣叫声的样子

Ofer's work suggests humans

奥弗的实验表明人类

might also have this innate ability to talk.

也可能有这种天生的说话能力

If we'd never heard speech,

如果我们从未听到过语言

we'd develop a form of language within a few generations.

也可能会在几代之内发展出一种语言形式

After 50 years of research delving³ into our brains.

经过五十年对人类大脑的深入研究

Hello, Steve, can you hear me?

你好 史蒂夫 听得到我说话吗

Observing the birth of language in children.

观察孩子们语言的形成

Hi, baby!

你好 宝宝

Studying song birds and investigating anatomy⁴...

研究鸣鸟以及发声的生理结构

Scientists have come to the inescapable conclusion

科学家们得出了必然的结论

that we're built for speech,

我们生来就是为了说话的

and that can only mean one thing.

这只意味着一件事

1 finch   

n.雀科鸣禽(如燕雀，金丝雀等)

参考例句：

• This behaviour is commonly observed among several species of finch.这种行为常常可以在几种雀科鸣禽中看到。
• In Australia,it is predominantly called the Gouldian Finch.在澳大利亚，它主要还是被称之为胡锦雀。

2 innate   

adj.天生的，固有的，天赋的

参考例句：

• You obviously have an innate talent for music.你显然有天生的音乐才能。
• Correct ideas are not innate in the mind.人的正确思想不是自己头脑中固有的。

3 delving   

v.深入探究，钻研( delve的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He has been delving into the American literature of 20th century. 他一直在潜心研究美国20世纪文学。 来自互联网
• In some ways studying Beckett is like delving into Shakespeare's words. 在某些方面，研究Beckett的戯好像是深入研究莎士比亚的语句。 来自互联网

4 anatomy   

n.解剖学，解剖；功能，结构，组织

参考例句：

• He found out a great deal about the anatomy of animals.在动物解剖学方面，他有过许多发现。
• The hurricane's anatomy was powerful and complex.对飓风的剖析是一项庞大而复杂的工作。