万物简史 第414期:生命的起源(8)

 As one leading biology text puts it, with perhaps just a tiny hint of discomfort¹, 正如一篇重要的生物学文章所说，说得也许有点儿令人不大舒服：

"Researchers agree that such reactions would not have been energetically favorable in the primitive² sea, or indeed in any aqueous medium, because of the mass action law." “研究人员一致认为，由于质量作用定律，在原始的大海里，实际上在任何含水的媒体里，这样的反应在能量方面是不大有利的。”

It is a little like putting sugar in a glass of water and having it become a cube. 这有点像把砂糖放进一杯水里，指望它结成一块方糖。

It shouldn't happen, but somehow in nature it does. 这不该发生，但在自然界却不知怎的发生了。

The actual chemistry of all this is a little arcane³ for our purposes here, 这一切的化学过程到底怎么样，这个问题已经超出了本书的宗旨。

but it is enough to know that if you make monomers wet they don't turn into polymers—except when creating life on Earth. 我们只要知道这样的一点就够了：要是你弄湿了单体，单体不不会变成聚合体——除了制造生命的时候。

How and why it happens then and not otherwise is one of biology's great unanswered questions. 情况怎么是这样发生，为什么会发生，而不是那样发生？这是生物学上的一个没有回答的大问题。

One of the biggest surprises in the earth sciences in recent decades was the discovery of just how early in Earth's history life arose. 近几十年来，地球科学方面有许多极其令人感到意外的发现。其中之一，发现在地球史早期就产生了生命。

Well into the 1950s, it was thought that life was less than 600 million years old. 直到20世纪50年代，还认为生命存在不超过6亿年。

By the 1970s, a few adventurous⁴ souls felt that maybe it went back 2.5 billion years. 到了70年代，几位大胆的人士觉得也许在25亿年前已经有了生命。

But the present date of 3.85 billion years is stunningly⁵ early. 但是，如今确定的38.5亿年确实早得令人吃惊。

Earth's surface didn't become solid until about 3.9 billion years ago. 地球表面上是到了大约39亿年前才变成固体的。

We can only infer from this rapidity that it is not 'difficult' for life of bacterial⁶ grade to evolve on planets with appropriate conditions, “我们只能从这么快的速度推断，细菌级的生命在有合适的条件的行星上演化并不‘困难’。”

Stephen Jay Gould observed in the New York Times in 1996. 斯蒂芬·杰伊·古尔德1996年在《纽约时报》上说，

Or as he put it elsewhere, it is hard to avoid the conclusion that "life, arising as soon as it could, was chemically destined⁷ to be." 他在别的场合也说过，我们不得不下个结论：“生命一有可能会产生，这是化学上势必会发生的事。”

1 discomfort   

n.不舒服，不安，难过，困难，不方便

参考例句：

• One has to bear a little discomfort while travelling.旅行中总要忍受一点不便。
• She turned red with discomfort when the teacher spoke.老师讲话时她不好意思地红着脸。

2 primitive   

adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物

参考例句：

• It is a primitive instinct to flee a place of danger.逃离危险的地方是一种原始本能。
• His book describes the march of the civilization of a primitive society.他的著作描述了一个原始社会的开化过程。

3 arcane   

adj.神秘的，秘密的

参考例句：

• The technique at one time was arcane in the minds of most chemists.这种技术在大多数化学家心目中一度是神秘的。
• Until a few months ago few people outside the arcane world of contemporary music had heard of Gorecki.直至几个月前，在现代音乐神秘殿堂之外很少有人听说了戈莱斯基。

4 adventurous   

adj.爱冒险的；惊心动魄的，惊险的，刺激的　

参考例句：

• I was filled with envy at their adventurous lifestyle.我很羨慕他们敢于冒险的生活方式。
• He was predestined to lead an adventurous life.他注定要过冒险的生活。

5 stunningly   

ad.令人目瞪口呆地；惊人地

参考例句：

• The cooks, seamstresses and other small investors are stunningly vulnerable to reversals. 那些厨师、裁缝及其他的小投资者非常容易受到股市逆转的影响。
• The production cost of this huge passenger liner is stunningly high. 这艘船城造价之高令人惊叹。

6 bacterial   

a.细菌的

参考例句：

• Bacterial reproduction is accelerated in weightless space. 在失重的空间，细菌繁殖加快了。
• Brain lesions can be caused by bacterial infections. 大脑损伤可能由细菌感染引起。

7 destined   

adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的

参考例句：

• It was destined that they would marry.他们结婚是缘分。
• The shipment is destined for America.这批货物将运往美国。