万物简史 第459期:生命在前进(1)

 21 Life Goes On 第二十一章 生命在前进

It isn't easy to become a fossil. 要变成化石可不容易。

The fate of nearly all living organisms—over 99.9 percent of them—is to compost down to nothingness. 几乎所有的生物——其中的99.9%以上——的命运是化为乌有。

When your spark is gone, every molecule¹ you own will be nibbled² off you or sluiced³ away to be put to use in some other system. 你的生命火花一旦熄灭，你曾拥有的每个分子都将被啃掉或被冲走，用来形成另一个体系。

That's just the way it is. 事情就是那样。

Even if you make it into the small pool of organisms, the less than 0.1 percent, that don't get devoured⁴, the chances of being fossilized are very small. 即使你把那个不足千分之一的部分变成一小摊微生物而没有被吃掉的话，变成化石的可能性也很小。

In order to become a fossil, several things must happen. 若要变成化石，必须具备几个条件。

First, you must die in the right place. 首先，你得死在恰当的地方。

Only about 15 percent of rocks can preserve fossils, so it's no good keeling over on a future site of granite⁵. 只有大约l5%的岩石能够保存化石，因此倒在一个未来的花岗岩所在地是没有用处的。

In practical terms the deceased must become buried in sediment⁶, where it can leave an impression, like a leaf in wet mud, 实际上，死者必须埋在沉积物里，在那里留下个印子，就像泥泞里的一片叶子那样，

or decompose⁷ without exposure to oxygen, permitting the molecules⁸ in its bones and hard parts(and very occasionally softer parts) 或者在不接触氧气的情况下腐烂，让骨头和坚硬的部分（在极少数情况下还有较软的部分）

to be replaced by dissolved minerals, creating a petrified⁹ copy of the original. 里的分子由溶解的矿物质取而代之，按原件创造出一个石化的版本。

Then as the sediments¹⁰ in which the fossil lies are carelessly pressed and folded and pushed about by Earth's processes, 接着，在化石所在的沉积物经受地球运动的随意挤压、折叠和推动的过程中，

the fossil must somehow maintain an identifiable shape. 化石必须设法保持一种可以识别的形状。

Finally, but above all, after tens of millions or perhaps hundreds of millions of years hidden away, it must be found and recognized as something worth keeping. 最后，尤其重要的是，在藏匿几千万或几亿年以后，还得有人发现，认为这是值得收藏的东西。

1 molecule   

n.分子，克分子

参考例句：

• A molecule of water is made up of two atoms of hygrogen and one atom of oxygen.一个水分子是由P妈̬f婘̬ 妈̬成的。
• This gives us the structural formula of the molecule.这种方式给出了分子的结构式。

2 nibbled   

v.啃，一点一点地咬（吃）( nibble的过去式和过去分词 )；啃出（洞），一点一点咬出（洞）；慢慢减少；小口咬

参考例句：

• She nibbled daintily at her cake. 她优雅地一点一点地吃着自己的蛋糕。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Several companies have nibbled at our offer. 若干公司表示对我们的出价有兴趣。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 sluiced   

v.冲洗( sluice的过去式和过去分词 )；（指水）喷涌而出；漂净；给…安装水闸

参考例句：

• The sailors sluiced the deck with hoses. 水手们用水龙带冲洗甲板。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• He sluiced the bath and filled it with water. 他冲洗了浴缸，然后放满了一缸水。 来自辞典例句

4 devoured   

吞没( devour的过去式和过去分词 )； 耗尽； 津津有味地看； 狼吞虎咽地吃光

参考例句：

• She devoured everything she could lay her hands on: books, magazines and newspapers. 无论是书、杂志，还是报纸，只要能弄得到，她都看得津津有味。
• The lions devoured a zebra in a short time. 狮子一会儿就吃掉了一匹斑马。

5 granite   

adj.花岗岩，花岗石

参考例句：

• They squared a block of granite.他们把一块花岗岩加工成四方形。
• The granite overlies the older rocks.花岗岩躺在磨损的岩石上面。

6 sediment   

n.沉淀，沉渣，沉积(物)

参考例句：

• The sediment settled and the water was clear.杂质沉淀后，水变清了。
• Sediment begins to choke the channel's opening.沉积物开始淤塞河道口。

7 decompose   

vi.分解；vt.（使）腐败，（使）腐烂

参考例句：

• The eggs began to decompose after a day in the sun.鸡蛋在太阳下放了一天后开始变坏。
• Most animals decompose very quickly after death.大多数动物死后很快腐烂。

8 molecules   

分子( molecule的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The structure of molecules can be seen under an electron microscope. 分子的结构可在电子显微镜下观察到。
• Inside the reactor the large molecules are cracked into smaller molecules. 在反应堆里，大分子裂变为小分子。

9 petrified   

adj.惊呆的；目瞪口呆的v.使吓呆，使惊呆；变僵硬；使石化(petrify的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• I'm petrified of snakes. 我特别怕蛇。
• The poor child was petrified with fear. 这可怜的孩子被吓呆了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 sediments   

沉淀物( sediment的名词复数 )； 沉积物

参考例句：

• When deposited, 70-80% of the volume of muddy sediments may be water. 泥质沉积物沉积后，体积的70-80％是水。
• Oligocene erosion had truncated the sediments draped over the dome. 覆盖于穹丘上的沉积岩为渐新世侵蚀所截削。