万物简史 第439期:小生物的世界(10)

 When times are good, they exist as one-celled individuals, much like amoebas. 当年景好的时候，它们以单细胞的形式独立存在，很像是变形虫；

But when conditions grow tough, they crawl to a central gathering¹ place and become, almost miraculously², a slug. 而当条件变得恶劣的时候，它们就爬着集中到一个中心地方，几乎奇迹般地变成了一条蛞蝓。

The slug is not a thing of beauty and it doesn't go terribly far—usually just from the bottom of a pile of leaf litter to the top, 那条蛞蝓看上去并不漂亮，也移动不了多远——通常只是从一堆树叶的底部爬上顶上，

where it is in a slightly more exposed position—but for millions of years this may well have been the niftiest trick in the universe. 处于比较暴露的位置——但在几百万年时间里，这很可能一直是宇宙中最绝妙的把戏。

And it doesn't stop there. 事情并不到此为止。

Having hauled itself up to a more favorable locale, the slime mold transforms itself yet again, taking on the form of a plant. 黏性杆菌爬到上面一个比较有利的位置以后，再一次变换自己的面目，呈现出了植物的形态。

By some curious orderly process the cells reconfigure, like the members of a tiny marching band,  通过某种奇妙而有序的过程，那些细胞改变了外形，就像一支行进中的小乐队那样，

to make a stalk atop of which forms a bulb known as a fruiting body. 伸出了一根梗，顶上形成了一个花蕾，名叫“子实体”。

Inside the fruiting body are millions of spores³ that, 子实体里面有几百万个孢子。

at the appropriate moment, are released to the wind to blow away and become single-celled organisms that can start the process again. 到了适当的时刻，那些孢子随风而去，成为单细胞微生物，从而开始重复这一过程。

For years slime molds were claimed as protozoa by zoologists⁴ and as fungi⁵ by mycologists, 多年来，黏性杆菌被动物学家们称之为原生生物，被真菌学家们称之为真菌，

though most people could see they didn't really belong anywhere. 虽然大多数人都可以明白，它们其实不属于任何哪个群。

When genetic⁶ testing arrived, people in lab coats were surprised to find that slime molds were so distinctive⁷ and peculiar⁸ 发明基因检测法以后，实验室人员吃惊地发现，黏性杆菌如此与众不同，无比奇特，

that they weren't directly related to anything else in nature, and sometimes not even to each other. 与自然界的任何别的东西都没有直接关系，有时候连互相之间也毫无关系。

1 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

2 miraculously   

ad.奇迹般地

参考例句：

• He had been miraculously saved from almost certain death. 他奇迹般地从死亡线上获救。
• A schoolboy miraculously survived a 25 000-volt electric shock. 一名男学生在遭受2.5 万伏的电击后奇迹般地活了下来。

3 spores   

n.（细菌、苔藓、蕨类植物）孢子( spore的名词复数 )v.（细菌、苔藓、蕨类植物）孢子( spore的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Ferns, mosses and fungi spread by means of spores. 蕨类植物、苔藓和真菌通过孢子传播蔓生。
• Spores form a lipid membrane during the process of reproducing. 孢于在生殖过程中形成类脂膜。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 预防生物武器

4 zoologists   

动物学家( zoologist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Zoologists refer barnacles to Crustanceans. 动物学家把螺蛳归入甲壳类。
• It is now a source of growing interest for chemists and zoologists as well. 它现在也是化学家和动物学家愈感兴趣的一个所在。

5 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。

6 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

7 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。

8 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。