万物简史 第413期:生命的起源(7)

 De Duve thought it likely that such conditions would be encountered perhaps a million times in every galaxy¹. 德迪夫认为，很有可能，这样的条件在每个星系里大约会遇到100万次。

Certainly there is nothing terribly exotic in the chemicals that animate² us. 当然，在赋予我们生命的化学物质里，没有什么非常奇特的东西。

If you wished to create another living object, whether a goldfish or a head of lettuce³ or a human being, 要是你想要制造另一个有生命的物体，无论是一条金鱼，一棵莴苣，还是一个人，

you would need really only four principal elements, carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen, 你其实只需要4种元素：碳、氢、氧和氮，

plus small amounts of a few others, principally sulfur⁴, phosphorus, calcium⁵, and iron. 加上少量几种别的东西，主要是硫、磷、钙和铁。

Put these together in three dozen or so combinations to form some sugars, acids, and other basic compounds and you can build anything that lives. 把30多种这类混合物放在一起，形成糖、酸和其他的基本化合物，你就可以制造任何有生命的东西。

As Dawkins notes: "There is nothing special about the substances from which living things are made. 正如道金斯所说：“关于制造有生命的东西的物质，也没有什么特别的地方。

Living things are collections of molecules⁶, like everything else." 有生命的东西就是分子的组合，与其他一切东西没有两样。”

The bottom line is that life is amazing and gratifying, perhaps even miraculous⁷, 归根结底，生命是不可思议的，令人满意的，甚至可能是奇迹般的，

but hardly impossible—as we repeatedly attest⁸ with our own modest existences. 但并不是完全不可能的——我们已经反复以我们自己的相朴素存在证明了这一点。

To be sure, many of the details of life's beginnings remain pretty imponderable. 没有错儿，在关生命起源的许多细节现在依然难以解释。

Every scenario⁹ you have ever read concerning the conditions necessary for life involves water—from the "warm little pond" 你在书上读到过的有关生命所心需的条件，每种情况都包括了水——从达尔文认为的生命始发地“小水塘，”

where Darwin supposed life began to the bubbling sea vents¹⁰ that are now the most popular candidates for life's beginnings 到现在是普遍认为的生命始发地冒着包泡的海洋喷气口。

but all this overlooks the fact that to turn monomers into polymers (which is to say, to begin to create proteins) involves what is known to biology as "dehydration¹¹ linkages¹²." 但他们都忽视了一个事实：把单体变成聚合体包含一种反应，即生物学上所谓的“脱水缩合”（换句话说，开始创造蛋白质）。

1 galaxy   

n.星系；银河系；一群(杰出或著名的人物)

参考例句：

• The earth is one of the planets in the Galaxy.地球是银河系中的星球之一。
• The company has a galaxy of talent.该公司拥有一批优秀的人才。

2 animate   

v.赋于生命，鼓励；adj.有生命的，有生气的

参考例句：

• We are animate beings,living creatures.我们是有生命的存在，有生命的动物。
• The girls watched,little teasing smiles animating their faces.女孩们注视着，脸上挂着调皮的微笑，显得愈加活泼。

3 lettuce   

n.莴苣；生菜

参考例句：

• Get some lettuce and tomatoes so I can make a salad.买些莴苣和西红柿，我好做色拉。
• The lettuce is crisp and cold.莴苣松脆爽口。

4 sulfur   

n.硫，硫磺（=sulphur）

参考例句：

• Sulfur emissions from steel mills become acid rain.炼钢厂排放出的硫形成了酸雨。
• Burning may produce sulfur oxides.燃烧可能会产生硫氧化物。

5 calcium   

n.钙(化学符号Ca)

参考例句：

• We need calcium to make bones.我们需要钙来壮骨。
• Calcium is found most abundantly in milk.奶含钙最丰富。

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 miraculous   

adj.像奇迹一样的，不可思议的

参考例句：

• The wounded man made a miraculous recovery.伤员奇迹般地痊愈了。
• They won a miraculous victory over much stronger enemy.他们战胜了远比自己强大的敌人，赢得了非凡的胜利。

8 attest   

vt.证明，证实；表明

参考例句：

• I can attest to the absolute truth of his statement. 我可以证实他的话是千真万确的。
• These ruins sufficiently attest the former grandeur of the place. 这些遗迹充分证明此处昔日的宏伟。

9 scenario   

n.剧本，脚本；概要

参考例句：

• But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
• This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。

10 vents   

（气体、液体等进出的）孔、口( vent的名词复数 )； （鸟、鱼、爬行动物或小哺乳动物的）肛门； 大衣等的)衩口； 开衩

参考例句：

• He always vents his anger on the dog. 他总是拿狗出气。
• The Dandelion Patch is the least developed of the four active vents. “蒲公英区”在这四个活裂口中是发育最差的一个。

11 dehydration   

n.脱水，干燥

参考例句：

• He died from severe dehydration.他死于严重脱水。
• The eyes are often retracted from dehydration.眼睛常因脱水而凹陷。

12 linkages   

n.连接( linkage的名词复数 )；结合；联系；联动装置

参考例句：

• Only the thermosetting resins provide a strong cohesive forces; this is due to molecular cross linkages. 只有热固性树脂具有巨大的凝聚力，这是由于分子交错链所造成的。 来自辞典例句
• The linkages between the stable units must be as near as possible of equal stability. 稳定链节之间的键必须有尽可能接近的稳定性。 来自辞典例句