万物简史 第481期:多灾多难的生命进程(1)

 　　22 Good-bye To All That 第二十二章 多灾多难的生命进程

　　When you consider it from a human perspective, and clearly it would be difficult for us to do otherwise, life is an odd thing. 要是你从人的角度去考虑生命这个问题，显然我们也很难不这么做，生命是个古怪的东西。

　　It couldn't wait to get going, but then, having gotten going, it seemed in very little hurry to move on. 它迫不及待地起步，但起步以后又似乎不大急着往前走。

　　Consider the lichen¹. Lichens² are just about the hardiest³ visible organisms on Earth, but among the least ambitious. 想一想地衣。地衣大概是地球上最坚强的可见生物，也是最没有雄心壮志的生物之一。

　　They will grow happily enough in a sunny churchyard, but they particularly thrive in environments where no other organism would go, 它们会很乐意生长在阳光明媚的教堂墓地里，但它们尤其乐意在别的生物都不愿意去的环境里茂盛生长，

　　on blowy mountaintops and arctic wastes, wherever there is little but rock and rain and cold, and almost no competition. 在风吹雨打的山顶上，在北极荒原，那里除了岩石、风雨和寒冷以外几乎什么也没有，也几乎没有竞争。

　　In areas of Antarctica where virtually nothing else will grow, 在南极洲的许多地区，那里实际上别的什么也不长。

　　you can find vast expanses of lichen—four hundred types of them—adhering devotedly⁴ to every wind-whipped rock. 你却可以看到大片大片的地衣——有400种——忠诚地依附在每一块风吹雨打的岩石上。

　　For a long time, people couldn't understand how they did it. 在很长时间里，人们无法理解它们是怎么办到的。

　　Because lichens grew on bare rock without evident nourishment⁵ or the production of seeds, 由于地衣长在光秃秃的岩石上，既没有明显的营养，也不结出种子，

　　many people—educated people—believed they were stones caught in the process of becoming plants. 许多人——许多受过教育的人——认为它们是变成植物过程中的石头。

　　"Spontaneously, inorganic⁶ stone becomes living plant!" rejoiced one observer, a Dr. Homschuch, in 1819. “无生命的石头自动变成了有生命的植物！”一位名叫霍恩舒克的博士观察者在1819年高兴地说。

　　Closer inspection⁷ showed that lichens were more interesting than magical. 要是更仔细地观察一下，你便会发现，地衣与其说是具有魔力，不如说是很有意思。

　　They are in fact a partnership⁸ between fungi⁹ and algae¹⁰. 它们实际上是真菌和藻类之间的一种伙伴关系。

　　The fungi excrete acids that dissolve the surface of the rock, freeing minerals that the algae convert into food sufficient to sustain both. 真菌分泌出酸，溶解岩石表面，把矿物质释放出来；藻类将矿物质转变成足够的食物来维持二者。

　　It is not a very exciting arrangement, but it is a conspicuously¹¹ successful one. 这不是个很激动人心的安排，但显然是个成功的安排。

　　The world has more than twenty thousand species of lichens. 世界上有2万多种地衣。

1 lichen   

n.地衣, 青苔

参考例句：

• The stone stairway was covered with lichen.那石级长满了地衣。
• There is carpet-like lichen all over the moist corner of the wall.潮湿的墙角上布满了地毯般的绿色苔藓。

2 lichens   

n.地衣( lichen的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The only plants to be found in Antarctica are algae, mosses, and lichens. 在南极洲所发现的植物只有藻类、苔藓和地衣。 来自辞典例句
• Litmus: Mixture of coloured organic compounds obtained from several species of lichens. 石蕊：从几种地衣类植物中获取的带色有机化合物的混合物。 来自互联网

3 hardiest   

能吃苦耐劳的，坚强的( hardy的最高级 )； （植物等）耐寒的

参考例句：

• This trip will season even the hardiest traveller. 这个旅行会让最坚硬的旅行者适应。

4 devotedly   

专心地； 恩爱地； 忠实地； 一心一意地

参考例句：

• He loved his wife devotedly. 他真诚地爱他的妻子。
• Millions of fans follow the TV soap operas devotedly. 千百万观众非常着迷地收看这部电视连续剧。

5 nourishment   

n.食物，营养品；营养情况

参考例句：

• Lack of proper nourishment reduces their power to resist disease.营养不良降低了他们抵抗疾病的能力。
• He ventured that plants draw part of their nourishment from the air.他大胆提出植物从空气中吸收部分养分的观点。

6 inorganic   

adj.无生物的；无机的

参考例句：

• The fundamentals of inorganic chemistry are very important.无机化学的基础很重要。
• This chemical plant recently bought a large quantity of inorganic salt.这家化工厂又买进了大量的无机盐。

7 inspection   

n.检查，审查，检阅

参考例句：

• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。
• The soldiers lined up for their daily inspection by their officers.士兵们列队接受军官的日常检阅。

8 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

9 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。

10 algae   

n.水藻，海藻

参考例句：

• Most algae live in water.多数藻类生长在水中。
• Algae grow and spread quickly in the lake.湖中水藻滋蔓。

11 conspicuously   

ad.明显地，惹人注目地

参考例句：

• France remained a conspicuously uneasy country. 法国依然是个明显不太平的国家。
• She figured conspicuously in the public debate on the issue. 她在该问题的公开辩论中很引人注目。