万物简史 第469期:生命在前进(11)

 　　What was most surprising, however, was that there were so many body designs that had failed to make the cut, so to speak, and left no descendants. 然而，最令人吃惊的是，如此之多的体形，打个比方说，却缺少深度、没有留下后代。

　　Altogether, according to Gould, at least fifteen and perhaps as many as twenty of the Burgess animals belonged to no recognized phylum. 据古尔德说，在布尔吉斯动物群当中，总共至少有15种，也许多达20种，不属于任何已经确认的门。

　　(The number soon grew in some popular accounts to as many as one hundred—far more than the Cambridge scientists ever actually claimed.) （在有的通俗读物中，这个数字很快增加到100种之多——远远超过了剑桥大学的科学家们实际宣布的数字。）

　　"The history of life," wrote Gould, "is a story of massive removal followed by differentiation¹ within a few surviving stocks, “生命史，”古尔德写道，“是一个大规模淘汰的故事，接着是少数幸存的品种的分化，

　　not the conventional tale of steadily² increasing excellence³, complexity⁴, and diversity." 而不是个通常认为的不断优化、不断复杂化、不断多样化的故事。”

　　Evolutionary⁵ success, it appeared, was a lottery⁶. 看来，进化的成功真是像玩彩票。

　　One creature that did manage to slip through, a small wormlike being called Pikaia gracilens, 然而，有一种动物确实成功地溜过了关。那是一种蠕虫状的小家伙，名叫Pikaia gracilens。

　　was found to have a primitive⁷ spinal⁸ column, making it the earliest known ancestor of all later vertebrates, including us. 据发现，它有一根原始的脊柱，从而成了包括我们在内的所有后来脊椎动物的已知的最早祖先。

　　Pikaia were by no means abundant among the Burgess fossils, so goodness knows how close they may have come to extinction⁹. Pikaia在布尔吉斯化石中根本不多，因此天知道它们是差多么一点儿走向灭绝。

　　Gould, in a famous quotation¹⁰, leaves no doubt that he sees our lineal success as a fortunate fluke: 吉尔德有一句名言，明确说明他认为我们家系的成功是一件十分侥幸的事：

　　"Wind back the tape of life to the early days of the Burgess Shale¹¹; “要是把生命的磁带倒回到布尔吉斯页岩的早期，

　　let it play again from an identical starting point, and the chance becomes vanishingly small that anything like human intelligence would grace the replay." 从同一起点把它再放一遍，任何像人类智慧这样的东西会使其重放异彩的司能性极小。”

1 differentiation   

n.区别，区分

参考例句：

• There can be no differentiation without contrast. 有比较才有差别。
• The operation that is the inverse of differentiation is called integration. 与微分相反的运算叫做积分。

2 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

3 excellence   

n.优秀，杰出，(pl.)优点，美德

参考例句：

• His art has reached a high degree of excellence.他的艺术已达到炉火纯青的地步。
• My performance is far below excellence.我的表演离优秀还差得远呢。

4 complexity   

n.复杂(性)，复杂的事物

参考例句：

• Only now did he understand the full complexity of the problem.直到现在他才明白这一问题的全部复杂性。
• The complexity of the road map puzzled me.错综复杂的公路图把我搞糊涂了。

5 evolutionary   

adj.进化的；演化的，演变的；[生]进化论的

参考例句：

• Life has its own evolutionary process.生命有其自身的进化过程。
• These are fascinating questions to be resolved by the evolutionary studies of plants.这些十分吸引人的问题将在研究植物进化过程中得以解决。

6 lottery   

n.抽彩；碰运气的事，难于算计的事

参考例句：

• He won no less than ￡5000 in the lottery.他居然中了5000英镑的奖券。
• They thought themselves lucky in the lottery of life.他们认为自己是变幻莫测的人生中的幸运者。

7 primitive   

adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物

参考例句：

• It is a primitive instinct to flee a place of danger.逃离危险的地方是一种原始本能。
• His book describes the march of the civilization of a primitive society.他的著作描述了一个原始社会的开化过程。

8 spinal   

adj.针的，尖刺的，尖刺状突起的；adj.脊骨的，脊髓的

参考例句：

• After three days in Japan,the spinal column becomes extraordinarily flexible.在日本三天，就已经使脊椎骨变得富有弹性了。
• Your spinal column is made up of 24 movable vertebrae.你的脊柱由24个活动的脊椎骨构成。

9 extinction   

n.熄灭，消亡，消灭，灭绝，绝种

参考例句：

• The plant is now in danger of extinction.这种植物现在有绝种的危险。
• The island's way of life is doomed to extinction.这个岛上的生活方式注定要消失。

10 quotation   

n.引文，引语，语录；报价，牌价，行情

参考例句：

• He finished his speech with a quotation from Shakespeare.他讲话结束时引用了莎士比亚的语录。
• The quotation is omitted here.此处引文从略。

11 shale   

n.页岩，泥板岩

参考例句：

• We can extract oil from shale.我们可以从页岩中提取石油。
• Most of the rock in this mountain is shale.这座山上大部分的岩石都是页岩。