万物简史 第438期:小生物的世界(9)

 Many organisms in the visible world were also poorly served by the traditional division. 传统的分类法也不大适用于可见世界里的许多微生物。

Fungi¹, the group that includes mushrooms, molds, mildews², yeasts³, and puffballs, were nearly always treated as botanical objects, 真菌这个群涵盖了蘑菇、霉、霉菌、酵母和马勃菌，几乎总是被看做是植物体，

though in fact almost nothing about them—how they reproduce and respire, how they build themselves—matches anything in the plant world. 而实际上，它们身上几乎没有任何特点——它们的繁殖方式、呼吸方式、成长方式——是与植物界相吻合的。

Structurally⁴ they have more in common with animals in that they build their cells from chitin, 从结构上说，它们与动物有着更多的共同点，因为它们是几丁质构建自己的细胞的。

a material that gives them their distinctive⁵ texture⁶. 那种材料使用其质地与众不同。

The same substance is used to make the shells of insects and the claws of mammals, 昆虫的外壳和哺乳动物的爪子都是由那种材料构成的，

though it isn't nearly so tasty in a stag beetle⁷ as in a Portobello mushroom. 虽然鹿角锹甲的味道远不如蘑菇那么鲜美。

Above all, unlike all plants, fungi don't photosynthesize, so they have no chlorophyll and thus are not green. 尤其，真菌不像所有的植物那样会产生光合作用，所以它们没有叶绿素，因此不是绿色的。

Instead they grow directly on their food source, which can be almost anything. 恰恰相反，它们是直接吃东西长大的。它们几乎什么东西都吃。

Fungi will eat the sulfur⁸ off a concrete wall or the decaying matter between your toes—two things no plant will do. 真菌会侵蚀混凝土墙上的硫或你脚趾间的腐败物质——这两件事植物都干不了。

Almost the only plantlike quality they have is that they root. 它们差不多只有一种植物特性，那就是它们有根。

Even less comfortably susceptible⁹ to categorization was the peculiar¹⁰ group of organisms formally called myxomycetes but more commonly known as slime molds. 那种分类法更不适用于一种特殊的微生物群，那种微生物过去被叫做黏菌，现在更常常被称之为黏性杆菌。

The name no doubt has much to do with their obscurity. 它们的默默无闻无疑与这个名字有关。

An appellation¹¹ that sounded a little more dynamic— "ambulant self-activating protoplasm," say, 要是那个名字听上去更有活力——比如，“流动自我激活原生质”，

and less like the stuff you find when you reach deep into a clogged¹² drain would almost certainly have earned these extraordinary entities¹³ a more immediate¹⁴ share of the attention they deserve, 而不大像是你把手伸到阴沟深处会发现的那种东西，那种非同寻常的实体几乎肯定会马上受到应该受到的那份重视，

for slime molds are, make no mistake, among the most interesting organisms in nature. 因为黏性杆菌无疑属于自然界最有意思的微生物。

1 fungi   

n.真菌，霉菌

参考例句：

• Students practice to apply the study of genetics to multicellular plants and fungi.学生们练习把基因学应用到多细胞植物和真菌中。
• The lawn was covered with fungi.草地上到处都是蘑菇。

2 mildews   

v.（使）发霉，（使）长霉( mildew的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The downy mildews of medical and poisonous plants in Xinjiang grassland were systematically classified. 对新疆草地药用植物及有毒有害植物的霜霉菌进行了系统的分类研究。 来自互联网

3 yeasts   

酵母( yeast的名词复数 )； 酵母菌； 发面饼； 发酵粉

参考例句：

• The basidiospores proliperate in a manner comparable to the multiplication of yeasts. 担孢子以一种可与酵母繁殖相比拟的方式进行增殖。
• Wine yeasts can grow in sweet wines even after bottling. 装瓶以后葡萄酒酵母也能在甜葡萄酒中生长。

4 structurally   

在结构上

参考例句：

• The house roof was (structurally) unsound. 这屋顶（结构）不牢固。
• Pinhole on shot-hole damage is never structurally significant. 针孔和蛀洞所造成的危害对结构的影响不大。

5 distinctive   

adj.特别的，有特色的，与众不同的

参考例句：

• She has a very distinctive way of walking.她走路的样子与别人很不相同。
• This bird has several distinctive features.这个鸟具有几种突出的特征。

6 texture   

n.(织物)质地；(材料)构造；结构；肌理

参考例句：

• We could feel the smooth texture of silk.我们能感觉出丝绸的光滑质地。
• Her skin has a fine texture.她的皮肤细腻。

7 beetle   

n.甲虫，近视眼的人

参考例句：

• A firefly is a type of beetle.萤火虫是一种甲虫。
• He saw a shiny green beetle on a leaf.我看见树叶上有一只闪闪发光的绿色甲虫。

8 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。

9 susceptible   

adj.过敏的，敏感的；易动感情的，易受感动的

参考例句：

• Children are more susceptible than adults.孩子比成人易受感动。
• We are all susceptible to advertising.我们都易受广告的影响。

10 peculiar   

adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的

参考例句：

• He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
• He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。

11 appellation   

n.名称，称呼

参考例句：

• The emperor of Russia Peter I was given the appellation " the Great ".俄皇彼得一世被加上了“大帝”的称号。
• Kinsfolk appellation is the kinfolks system reflection in language.亲属称谓是亲属制度在语言中的反应。

12 clogged   

（使）阻碍( clog的过去式和过去分词 )； 淤滞

参考例句：

• The narrow streets were clogged with traffic. 狭窄的街道上交通堵塞。
• The intake of gasoline was stopped by a clogged fuel line. 汽油的注入由于管道阻塞而停止了。

13 entities   

实体对像； 实体，独立存在体，实际存在物( entity的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Our newspaper and our printing business form separate corporate entities. 我们的报纸和印刷业形成相对独立的企业实体。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities. 北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

14 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。