万物简史 第412期:生命的起源(6)

 Well, that's essentially¹ what Hoyle and others (including many ardent² creationists) argue when they suggest that proteins spontaneously formed all at once. 哎呀，那基本上就是霍伊尔和其他人（包括许多热心的特创论者）提出的。他们认为，蛋白质是一下子自发形成的。

They didn't—they can't have. 蛋白质不是——也不可能——这样形成。

As Richard Dawkins argues in The Blind Watchmaker, 正如理查德·道金斯在《盲人钟表匠》一书中所说，

there must have been some kind of cumulative³ selection process that allowed amino acids to assemble in chunks⁴. 肯定有某种日积月累的选择过程，使得氨基酸聚集成块状。

Perhaps two or three amino acids linked up for some simple purpose 而三个氨基酸分子也许为了某种简单的目的联结起来，

and then after a time bumped into some other similar small cluster and in so doing "discovered" some additional improvement. 一段时间以后撞在一起成为类似的小群体，在此过程中“发现”又有了某些改进。

Chemical reactions of the sort associated with life are actually something of a commonplace. 这种与生命有关的化学反应实际上比比皆是。

It may be beyond us to cook them up in a lab, a la Stanley Miller⁵ and Harold Urey, but the universe does it readily enough. 我们也许无法按照斯坦利·米勒和哈罗德·尤里的方式从实验室制造出来，但宇宙干这事儿很容易。

Lots of molecules⁶ in nature get together to form long chains called polymers. 大自然里许多分子聚在一起形成长长的链子，名叫聚合物。

Sugars constantly assemble to form starches⁷. 糖分子经常聚在一起形成淀粉。

Crystals can do a number of lifelike things—replicate, respond to environmental stimuli⁸, take on a patterned complexity⁹. 晶体会干部许多栩栩如生的事——复制呀，对环境的刺激作出反应呀，呈现复杂的图案呀。

They've never achieved life itself, of course, but they demonstrate repeatedly that complexity is a natural, spontaneous, entirely¹⁰ commonplace event. 当然，它们从来不制造生命本身，但它们反复展示，复杂的结构是一种自然、自发、完全可靠的事。

There may or may not be a great deal of life in the universe at large, but there is no shortage of ordered self-assembly, 整个宇宙里也许存在大量生命，也许不存在，但不乏有序的自发聚合。

in everything from the transfixing symmetry of snowflakes to the comely¹¹ rings of Saturn¹². 它存在于一切东西，从对称的雪花到土星的秀丽光环。

So powerful is this natural impulse to assemble that many scientists now believe that life may be more inevitable¹³ than we think, 大自然聚合事物是如此干劲十足，许多科学家现在认为，生命比我们认为的还要不可避免,

that it is, in the words of the Belgian biochemist and Nobel laureate Christian¹⁴ de Duve, 用比利时生物化学家、诺贝尔奖获得者克里斯蒂安·德迪夫的话来说：

"an obligatory¹⁵ manifestation¹⁶ of matter, bound to arise wherever conditions are appropriate." “只要哪里有条件合适，物质的专性表现势必发生。”

1 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

2 ardent   

adj.热情的，热烈的，强烈的，烈性的

参考例句：

• He's an ardent supporter of the local football team.他是本地足球队的热情支持者。
• Ardent expectations were held by his parents for his college career.他父母对他的大学学习抱着殷切的期望。

3 cumulative   

adj.累积的，渐增的

参考例句：

• This drug has a cumulative effect.这种药有渐增的效力。
• The benefits from eating fish are cumulative.吃鱼的好处要长期才能显现。

4 chunks   

厚厚的一块( chunk的名词复数 )； （某物）相当大的数量或部分

参考例句：

• a tin of pineapple chunks 一罐菠萝块
• Those chunks of meat are rather large—could you chop them up a bIt'smaller? 这些肉块相当大，还能再切小一点吗？

5 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

6 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。

7 starches   

n.淀粉( starch的名词复数 )；含淀粉的食物；浆粉v.把（衣服、床单等）浆一浆( starch的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• You should avoid sugars and starches. 你应避免吃糖和含淀粉的食物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Cotton and rayon yarns are most often sized with water-insoluble starches. 棉和人造丝纱多用不溶于水的淀粉上浆。 来自互联网

8 stimuli   

n.刺激（物）

参考例句：

• It is necessary to curtail or alter normally coexisting stimuli.必需消除或改变正常时并存的刺激。
• My sweat glands also respond to emotional stimuli.我的汗腺对情绪刺激也能产生反应。

9 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。

10 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。

11 comely   

adj.漂亮的，合宜的

参考例句：

• His wife is a comely young woman.他的妻子是一个美丽的少妇。
• A nervous,comely-dressed little girl stepped out.一个紧张不安、衣着漂亮的小姑娘站了出来。

12 Saturn   

n.农神，土星

参考例句：

• Astronomers used to ask why only Saturn has rings.天文学家们过去一直感到奇怪，为什么只有土星有光环。
• These comparisons suggested that Saturn is made of lighter materials.这些比较告诉我们，土星由较轻的物质构成。

13 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

14 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

15 obligatory   

adj.强制性的，义务的，必须的

参考例句：

• It is obligatory for us to obey the laws.我们必须守法。
• It is obligatory on every citizen to safeguard our great motherland.保卫我们伟大的祖国是每一个公民应尽的义务。

16 manifestation   

n.表现形式；表明；现象

参考例句：

• Her smile is a manifestation of joy.她的微笑是她快乐的表现。
• What we call mass is only another manifestation of energy.我们称之为质量的东西只是能量的另一种表现形态。