万物简史 第411期:生命的起源(5)

 Without the cell, they are nothing more than interesting chemicals. 没有细胞，它们只是有意思的化学物质。

But without the chemicals, the cell has no purpose. 但要是没有这些化学物质，细胞就毫无用处。

As the physicist¹ Paul Davies puts it, "If everything needs everything else, how did the community of molecules² ever arise in the first place?" 正如戴维斯所说：“要是一切都需要别的一切，分子社会最初是怎么产生的？”

It is rather as if all the ingredients in your kitchen somehow got together and baked themselves into a cake, 这就好像你厨房里的各种原料不知怎的凑到一起，自己把自己烤成了蛋糕，

but a cake that could moreover divide when necessary to produce more cakes. 而且，必要的话，这块蛋糕还会分裂，产生更多的蛋糕。

It is little wonder that we call it the miracle of life. 所以，我们把生命称为奇迹，这是不足为怪的。

It is also little wonder that we have barely begun to understand it. 我们才刚刚开始搞个明白，这也是不足为怪的。

So what accounts for all this wondrous³ complexity⁴? 那么，是什么促成这神奇的复杂结构呢？

Well, one possibility is that perhaps it isn't quite—not quite—so wondrous as at first it seems. 哎呀，一种可能是，也许它并不那么——并不那么——神奇，就像乍一看来的那样。

Take those amazingly improbable proteins. 以那些不可思议的蛋白质分子为例，

The wonder we see in their assembly comes in assuming that they arrived on the scene fully⁵ formed. But what if the protein chains didn't assemble all at once? 我们假设，我们所看到的奇迹般的排列，是在形成完毕以后才出现的。

What if, in the great slot machine of creation, some of the wheels could be held, as a gambler might hold a number of promising⁶ cherries? 要是在那台大老虎机里，有的转轮可以受到控制，就像玩滚木球游戏的人可以控制几根大有希望的木柱一样，那会怎么样？

What if, in other words, proteins didn't suddenly burst into being, but evolved. 换句话说，要是蛋白质不是一下子形成的，而是慢慢地演化的，那会怎么样？

Imagine if you took all the components⁷ that make up a human being—carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and so on, 请你想象一下，要是你把制造一个人的所有材料都拿出来——碳呀，氢呀，氧啊，等等，

and put them in a container with some water, gave it a vigorous stir, and out stepped a completed person. 和水一起放进一个容器，然后用力摇一摇，里面就走出一个完整的人。

That would be amazing. 那将会是不可思议的。

1 physicist   

n.物理学家，研究物理学的人

参考例句：

• He is a physicist of the first rank.他是一流的物理学家。
• The successful physicist never puts on airs.这位卓有成就的物理学家从不摆架子。

2 molecules   

分子( molecule的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The structure of molecules can be seen under an electron microscope. 分子的结构可在电子显微镜下观察到。
• Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules. 在反应堆里，大分子裂变为小分子。

3 wondrous   

adj.令人惊奇的，奇妙的；adv.惊人地；异乎寻常地；令人惊叹地

参考例句：

• The internal structure of the Department is wondrous to behold.看一下国务院的内部结构是很有意思的。
• We were driven across this wondrous vast land of lakes and forests.我们乘车穿越这片有着湖泊及森林的广袤而神奇的土地。

4 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。

5 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

6 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

7 components   

（机器、设备等的）构成要素，零件，成分； 成分( component的名词复数 )； [物理化学]组分； [数学]分量； （混合物的）组成部分

参考例句：

• the components of a machine 机器部件
• Our chemistry teacher often reduces a compound to its components in lab. 在实验室中化学老师常把化合物分解为各种成分。