万物简史 第486期:多灾多难的生命进程(6)

 　　So competition was fierce. 于是，竞争很激烈。

　　There was also an omnivorous¹ and unsettling new type of predator² on the scene, 而且，出现了一种新的无所不吃的、令人不安的捕食者。

　　one so perfectly³ designed for attack that it has scarcely changed in all the long eons since its emergence⁴: the shark. 这种动物的体型完全适用于攻击。自出现以来，它在漫长的历史时期里几乎没有变化。它就是鲨鱼。

　　Never would there be a more propitious⁵ time to find an alternative environment to water. 因此，找一个取代水的环境的最佳时刻终于到了。

　　Plants began the process of land colonization⁶ about 450 million years ago, 大约45000万年以前，植物开始了占领陆地的进程。

　　accompanied of necessity by tiny mites⁷ and other organisms that they needed to break down and recycle dead organic matter on their behalf. 与其为伴的还有必不可少的小螨虫和其他动物。植物需要它们来为自己分解死去的有机物质。使之再循环。

　　Larger animals took a little longer to emerge, but by about 400 million years ago they were venturing out of the water, too. 大动物过了更长的时间才出现，但到了大约4亿年以前，它们也大胆地从水里爬了出来。

　　Popular illustrations have encouraged us to envision the first venturesome land dwellers⁸ as a kind of ambitious fish: 许多通俗插图给我们这样的一种印象：第一批冒险爬上陆地生活的是一种雄心勃勃的鱼：

　　something like the modern mudskipper, which can hop⁹ from puddle¹⁰ to puddle during droughts—or even as a fully¹¹ formed amphibian¹². 它的样子有点像现代的弹涂鱼。在旱季能从一个水塘跳到另一个水塘，或者甚至是一种完全成形的两栖动物。

　　In fact, the first visible mobile residents on dry land were probably much more like modern wood lice, sometimes also known as pillbugs or sow bugs¹³. 实际上，陆地上第一批可见的、能四处活动的居民很可能更像现代的潮虫，有时候也被称之为球潮虫或鼠妇。

　　These are the little bugs (crustaceans, in fact) that are commonly thrown into confusion when you upturn¹⁴ a rock or log. 这些都是小虫子（实际上是甲壳纲动物），要是你翻起一块岩石或一根木头，它们常常会惊恐万状。

　　For those that learned to breathe oxygen from the air, times were good. 对于那些学会了从空气中呼吸氧气的动物来说，日子是不错的。

　　Oxygen levels in the Devonian and Carboniferous periods, when terrestrial life first bloomed, were as high as 35 percent (as opposed to nearer 20 percent now). 在陆地生命大幅度增加的泥盆纪和石炭纪，空气中的氧的浓度高达35%（现在是将近20%）。

　　This allowed animals to grow remarkably¹⁵ large remarkably quickly. 因此，动物能以惊人的速度长到惊人的个儿。

1 omnivorous   

adj.杂食的

参考例句：

• Brown bears are omnivorous,eating anything that they can get their paws on.棕熊是杂食性动物，抓到什么吃什么。
• Man is an omnivorous animal.人是肉类与蔬菜均食用的动物。

2 predator   

n.捕食其它动物的动物；捕食者

参考例句：

• The final part of this chapter was devoted to a brief summary of predator species.本章最后部分简要总结了食肉动物。
• Komodo dragon is the largest living lizard and a fearsome predator.科摩多龙是目前存在的最大蜥蜴，它是一种令人恐惧的捕食性动物。

3 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

4 emergence   

n.浮现，显现，出现，（植物）突出体

参考例句：

• The last decade saw the emergence of a dynamic economy.最近10年见证了经济增长的姿态。
• Language emerges and develops with the emergence and development of society.语言是随着社会的产生而产生，随着社会的发展而发展的。

5 propitious   

adj.吉利的；顺利的

参考例句：

• The circumstances were not propitious for further expansion of the company.这些情况不利于公司的进一步发展。
• The cool days during this week are propitious for out trip.这种凉爽的天气对我们的行程很有好处。

6 colonization   

殖民地的开拓，殖民，殖民地化； 移殖

参考例句：

• Colonization took place during the Habsburg dynasty. 开拓殖民地在哈布斯堡王朝就进行过。
• These countries took part in the colonization of Africa. 这些国家参与非洲殖民地的开发。

7 mites   

n.（尤指令人怜悯的）小孩( mite的名词复数 )；一点点；一文钱；螨

参考例句：

• The only discovered animals are water bears, mites, microscopic rotifers. 能够发现的动物只有海蜘蛛、螨和微小的轮虫。 来自辞典例句
• Mites are frequently found on eggs. 螨会经常出现在蛋上。 来自辞典例句

8 dwellers   

n.居民，居住者( dweller的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes. 城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They have transformed themselves into permanent city dwellers. 他们已成为永久的城市居民。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 hop   

n.单脚跳，跳跃；vi.单脚跳，跳跃；着手做某事；vt.跳跃，跃过

参考例句：

• The children had a competition to see who could hop the fastest.孩子们举行比赛，看谁单足跳跃最快。
• How long can you hop on your right foot?你用右脚能跳多远？

10 puddle   

n.(雨)水坑，泥潭

参考例句：

• The boy hopped the mud puddle and ran down the walk.这个男孩跳过泥坑，沿着人行道跑了。
• She tripped over and landed in a puddle.她绊了一下，跌在水坑里。

11 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

12 amphibian   

n.两栖动物；水陆两用飞机和车辆

参考例句：

• The frog is an amphibian,which means it can live on land and in water.青蛙属于两栖动物，也就是说它既能生活在陆地上也能生活在水里。
• Amphibian is an important specie in ecosystem and has profound meaning in the ecotoxicology evaluation.两栖类是生态系统中的重要物种，并且对环境毒理评价有着深远意义。

13 bugs   

adj.疯狂的，发疯的n.窃听器( bug的名词复数 )；病菌；虫子；[计算机]（制作软件程序所产生的意料不到的）错误

参考例句：

• All programs have bugs and need endless refinement. 所有的程序都有漏洞，都需要不断改进。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The sacks of rice were swarming with bugs. 一袋袋的米里长满了虫子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 upturn   

n.情况好转

参考例句：

• Experts have forecast an upturn in the stock market.专家已预测股票市场价格有上升趋势。
• The economy is experiencing an upturn.经济正在好转。

15 remarkably   

ad.不同寻常地，相当地

参考例句：

• I thought she was remarkably restrained in the circumstances. 我认为她在那种情况下非常克制。
• He made a remarkably swift recovery. 他康复得相当快。