万物简史 第419期:生命的起源(13)

 　　Any simple organisms, alas¹, would have been baked away by the processes that turned ocean mud to stone. 哎呀，任何简单的生物都会在海洋污泥变成石头的过程中被烘烤没了。

　　Instead what we would see if we crunched² up the rock and examined it microscopically³ would be the chemical residues⁴ that the organisms left behind, 要是我们把岩石敲碎，放在显微镜下面细看，只会看到微生物残留的化学物质，

　　carbon isotopes⁵ and a type of phosphate called apatite, which together provide strong evidence that the rock once contained colonies of living things. 碳同位素以及一种名叫磷灰石的磷酸盐。二者一块儿表明，那块岩石里过去存在过生物的小天地。

　　"We can only guess what the organism might have looked like," Bennett said. “至于那些生物是什么模样的，我们只能猜猜而已，”贝内特说，

　　"It was probably about as basic as life can get——but it was life nonetheless. It lived. It propagated." “它很可能是最基本生命——不过，它毕竟也是生命。它活过。它繁殖过。”

　　And eventually it led to us. 最后，就到了我们这一代。

　　If you are into very old rocks, and Bennett indubitably is, the ANU has long been a prime place to be. 要是你打算钻进非常古老的岩石——贝内特女士无疑是这么做的，澳大利亚国立大学长期以来是个首选去处。

　　This is largely thanks to the ingenuity⁶ of a man named Bill Compston, 这在很大程度上要归因于一位名叫比尔·康普斯顿的足智多谋的人。

　　who is now retired⁷ but in the 1970s built the world's first Sensitive High Resolution Ion Micro Probe, 他现在已经退休，但在20世纪70年代建立了世界上第一台“灵敏高清晰离子显微探测器”，

　　or SHRIMP⁸, as it is more affectionately known from its initial letters. 或者以它的开头字母更亲昵地被称之为小虾。

　　This is a machine that measures the decay rate of uranium in tiny minerals called zircons. 这种仪器用来测定名叫锆石的微小矿石里铀的衰变率。

　　Zircons appear in most rocks apart from basalts and are extremely durable⁹, surviving every natural process but subduction. 锆石存在于除玄武岩以外援大多数岩石，寿命极长，能够挺过除潜没以外的任何自然过程。

　　Most of the Earth's crust has been slipped back into the oven at some point, 绝大部分地壳已经在某个时刻滑回地球内部，

　　but just occasionally—in Western Australia and Greenland, for example—geologists have found outcrops of rocks that have remained always at the surface. 但偶尔——比如在澳大利亚西部和格陵兰——地质学家们会发现始终留在地表的岩石。

1 alas   

int.唉(表示悲伤、忧愁、恐惧等)

参考例句：

• Alas!The window is broken!哎呀！窗子破了！
• Alas,the truth is less romantic.然而，真理很少带有浪漫色彩。

2 crunched   

v.嘎吱嘎吱地咬嚼( crunch的过去式和过去分词 )；嘎吱作响；（快速大量地）处理信息；数字捣弄

参考例句：

• Our feet crunched on the frozen snow. 我们的脚嘎吱嘎吱地踩在冻雪上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He closed his jaws on the bones and crunched. 他咬紧骨头，使劲地嚼。 来自英汉文学 - 热爱生命

3 microscopically   

显微镜下

参考例句：

• Microscopically the ores are medium grained to amorphous. 显微镜下，矿石为中粒至非晶质。 来自辞典例句
• He studied microscopically the statistics of trade. 他极仔细地研究了贸易统计数字。 来自辞典例句

4 residues   

n.剩余，余渣( residue的名词复数 )；剩余财产；剩数

参考例句：

• pesticide residues in fruit and vegetables 残留在水果和蔬菜中的杀虫剂
• All organic and metallic residues on the wafers must be removed. 片子上所有的有机和金属残留物均必须清除。 来自辞典例句

5 isotopes   

n.同位素；同位素( isotope的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• the many isotopes of carbon 碳的诸多同位素
• Tritium is one of the mildest radioactive isotopes. 氚是最和缓的放射性同位素之一。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 ingenuity   

n.别出心裁；善于发明创造

参考例句：

• The boy showed ingenuity in making toys.那个小男孩做玩具很有创造力。
• I admire your ingenuity and perseverance.我钦佩你的别出心裁和毅力。

7 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

8 shrimp   

n.虾，小虾；矮小的人

参考例句：

• When the shrimp farm is built it will block the stream.一旦养虾场建起来，将会截断这条河流。
• When it comes to seafood,I like shrimp the best.说到海鲜，我最喜欢虾。

9 durable   

adj.持久的，耐久的

参考例句：

• This raincoat is made of very durable material.这件雨衣是用非常耐用的料子做的。
• They frequently require more major durable purchases.他们经常需要购买耐用消费品。