万物简史 第474期:生命在前进(16)

 　　"From the first there were a number of scientists who doubted the account that Steve Gould had presented, “从一开始，许多科学家就对斯蒂芬·杰伊·古尔德的陈说表示怀疑，

　　however much they admired the manner of its delivery," Fortey wrote in Life. 尽管他们对他陈述的方法表示赞赏。”福泰在《生活》杂志中写道。

　　That is putting it mildly. 这是一种婉转的说法。

　　If only Stephen Gould could think as clearly as he writes! “要是斯蒂芬·古尔德想的像他写的一样清楚就好了！”

　　barked the Oxford¹ academic Richard Dawkins in the opening line of a review (in the London Sunday Telegraph) of Wonderful Life. 牛津大学学者理查德·道金斯在一篇评《奇异的生命》的文章（刊登于《星期日电讯报》）的开头一行中就说。

　　Dawkins acknowledged that the book was "unputdownable" and a "literary tour-de-force," 道金斯承认那本书“令人爱不释手”，是一部“精心杰作”，

　　but accused Gould of engaging in a "grandiloquent² and near-disingenuous" misrepresentation of the facts 但指责古尔德在“夸夸其谈，以极不恳切的言辞”歪曲事实，

　　by suggesting that the Burgess revisions had stunned³ the paleontological community. 认为布尔吉斯重新分类震惊了古生物学界。

　　"The view that he is attacking—that evolution marches inexorably toward a pinnacle⁴ such as man—has not been believed for 50 years," Dawkins fumed⁵. “他所攻击的那个观点——即进化不可阻挡地朝着顶峰前进，比如人类——50年来无人相信。”道金斯气呼呼她说。

　　And yet that was exactly the conclusion to which many general reviewers were drawn⁶.' 许多普通的评论员就是那样不大注意分寸。

　　One, writing in the New York Times Book Reviewer, cheerfully suggested  有一位给《纽约时报》的《书评周刊》写文章的人兴高采烈地认为，

　　that as a result of Gould's book scientists "have been throwing out some preconceptions that they had not examined for generations. 由于古尔德的作品，科学家们“正抛弃多少代人以来未经仔细审度的先入之见。

　　They are, reluctantly or enthusiastically, accepting the idea that humans are as much an accident of nature as a product of orderly development." 他们像接受关于人类是有序发展的产物那样，勉勉强强地或热情洋溢地接受关于人类是大自然中的偶然事件的观点”。

　　But the real heat directed at Gould arose from the belief that many of his conclusions were simply mistaken or carelessly inflated⁷. 但是，对于古尔德的真正批评出于这样的信念：他的许多结论是完全错误的或者是随心所欲地夸大的。

1 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

2 grandiloquent   

adj.夸张的

参考例句：

• He preferred,in his grandiloquent way,to call a spade a spade.他喜欢夸夸其谈地谈出事实的真相来。
• He was a performer who loved making grandiloquent gesture.他是一个喜欢打夸张手势的演员。

3 stunned   

adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The fall stunned me for a moment. 那一下摔得我昏迷了片刻。
• The leaders of the Kopper Company were then stunned speechless. 科伯公司的领导们当时被惊得目瞪口呆。

4 pinnacle   

n.尖塔，尖顶，山峰；(喻)顶峰

参考例句：

• Now he is at the very pinnacle of his career.现在他正值事业中的顶峰时期。
• It represents the pinnacle of intellectual capability.它代表了智能的顶峰。

5 fumed   

愤怒( fume的过去式和过去分词 )； 大怒； 发怒； 冒烟

参考例句：

• He fumed with rage because she did not appear. 因为她没出现，所以他大发雷霆。
• He fumed and fretted and did not know what was the matter. 他烦躁，气恼，不知是怎么回事。

6 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

7 inflated   

adj.（价格）飞涨的；（通货）膨胀的；言过其实的；充了气的v.使充气（于轮胎、气球等）( inflate的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）膨胀；（使）通货膨胀；物价上涨

参考例句：

• He has an inflated sense of his own importance. 他自视过高。
• They all seem to take an inflated view of their collective identity. 他们对自己的集体身份似乎都持有一种夸大的看法。 来自《简明英汉词典》