万物简史 第426期:生命的起源(20)

 　　This was most unexpected—so unexpected, in fact, that it was some years before scientists realized quite what they had found. 这完全是出乎意料的事——太出乎意料了，因此科学家们实际上过了几年才充分意识到自己的发现。

　　Today, however, Shark Bay is a tourist attraction, 然而，今天，沙春湾成了个旅游胜地，

　　or at least as much of a tourist attraction as a place hundreds of miles from anywhere much and dozens of miles from anywhere at all can ever be. 至少是一个不着边际的地方有可能成为的那种旅游胜地。

　　Boardwalks have been built out into the bay so that visitors can stroll over the water to get a good look at the stromatolites, quietly respiring just beneath the surface. 用木板架成的人行道伸进了海湾，游客们可以在不的上方漫步，好好看一眼叠层石就在水面之下静静地呼吸。

　　They are lusterless and gray and look, as I recorded in an earlier book, like very large cow-pats. 叠层石没有光泽，灰色，看上去很像个大团的牛屎。

　　But it is a curiously¹ giddying moment to find yourself staring at living remnants of Earth as it was 3.5 billion years ago. 但是，望着地球上35亿年前留下的生物，这是个令人眼花缭乱的时刻。

　　As Richard Fortey has put it: "This is truly time traveling, and if the world were attuned² to its real wonders this sight would be as well-known as the pyramids of Giza." 正如理查德·福泰说的：“这确实是跨越时间的旅行。要是世界与它真正的奇迹合拍的话，这个景致会和吉萨的金字塔一样知名。”

　　Although you'd never guess it, these dull rocks swarm³ with life, 虽然你根本不会去猜，但这些晦暗的岩石上充满了生命，

　　with an estimated (well, obviously estimated) three billion individual organisms on every square yard of rock. 据估计（哎呀，显然是估计），每平方米岩石上生活着36亿个微生物。

　　Sometimes when you look carefully you can see tiny strings⁴ of bubbles rising to the surface as they give up their oxygen. 要是你看得仔细的话，你有时候能看到一串串小气泡冒出水面。那是它们在释放氧气。

　　In two billion years such tiny exertions⁵ raised the level of oxygen in Earth's atmosphere to 20 percent, 在20亿年时间里，这咱小小的努力使地球大气里的氧增加到了20%，

　　preparing the way for the next, more complex chapter in life's history. 为生命史的下一章也是更复杂的一章铺平了道路。

1 curiously   

adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地

参考例句：

• He looked curiously at the people.他好奇地看着那些人。
• He took long stealthy strides. His hands were curiously cold.他迈着悄没声息的大步。他的双手出奇地冷。

2 attuned   

v.使协调( attune的过去式和过去分词 )；调音

参考例句：

• She wasn't yet attuned to her baby's needs. 她还没有熟悉她宝宝的需要。
• Women attuned to sensitive men found Vincent Lord attractive. 偏爱敏感男子的女人，觉得文森特·洛德具有魅力。 来自辞典例句

3 swarm   

n.(昆虫)等一大群；vi.成群飞舞；蜂拥而入

参考例句：

• There is a swarm of bees in the tree.这树上有一窝蜜蜂。
• A swarm of ants are moving busily.一群蚂蚁正在忙碌地搬家。

4 strings   

n.弦

参考例句：

• He sat on the bed,idly plucking the strings of his guitar.他坐在床上，随意地拨着吉他的弦。
• She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。

5 exertions   

n.努力( exertion的名词复数 )；费力；（能力、权力等的）运用；行使

参考例句：

• As long as they lived, exertions would not be necessary to her. 只要他们活着，是不需要她吃苦的。 来自辞典例句
• She failed to unlock the safe in spite of all her exertions. 她虽然费尽力气，仍未能将那保险箱的锁打开。 来自辞典例句