万物简史 第492期:多灾多难的生命进程(12)

 　　Unfortunately for the therapsids, their cousins the diapsids were also productively evolving, 兽孔目爬行动物的运气不佳，它们的表亲双孔亚纲在进化过程中也繁殖力很强，

　　in their case into dinosaurs¹ (among other things), which gradually proved too much for the therapsids. 有的进化成了恐龙。兽孔目爬行动物渐渐被证明不是恐龙的对手。

　　Unable to compete head to head with these aggressive new creatures, the therapsids by and large vanished from the record. 它们无力与这种凶猛的新动物展开势均力敢的竞争，总的来说从记录中消失了。

　　A very few, however, evolved into small, furry², burrowing³ beings that bided⁴ their time for a very long while as little mammals. 然而，少量进化成了毛茸茸的穴居小动物，在很长时间里作为小型哺乳动物存在，等待合适时机的到来。

　　The biggest of them grew no larger than a house cat, and most were no bigger than mice. 其中最大的也长不到家猫的大小，大多数的个儿不超过老鼠。

　　Eventually, this would prove their salvation⁵, 最后，这将证明是一条活路。

　　but they would have to wait nearly 150 million years for Megadynasty 3, the Age of Dinosaurs, 但是，它们还得等待将近，l5000万年，等着第三大王朝即恐龙时代突然告一段落，

　　to come to an abrupt⁶ end and make room for Megadynasty 4 and our own Age of Mammals. 为第四大王朝和我们自己的哺乳动物时代让路。

　　Each of these massive transformations⁷, as well as many smaller ones between and since, 每一次大规模的转化，以及其间和其后的许多较小规模的转化，

　　was dependent on that paradoxically important motor of progress: extinction⁸. 都取决于那个说来矛盾的重要原动力：灭绝。

　　It is a curious fact that on Earth species death is, in the most literal sense, a way of life. 在地球上，说句实在话，物种死亡是一种生活方式。这是个很有意思的事实。

　　No one knows how many species of organisms have existed since life began. 谁也不清楚自生命起步以来究竟存在过多少种生物。

　　Thirty billion is a commonly cited figure, but the number has been put as high as 4,000 billion. 一般引用的数字是300亿种，但是有人估计那个数字高达4万亿种。

　　Whatever the actual total, 99.99 percent of all species that have ever lived are no longer with us. 不论其总数是多少，99，9%存在过的物种已经不再和我们在一起。

　　"To a first approximation," as David Raup of the University of Chicago likes to say, "all species are extinct." “基本的估计是，”芝加哥大学的戴维·劳普喜欢说，“所有的物种都已灭绝。”

1 dinosaurs   

n.恐龙( dinosaur的名词复数 )；守旧落伍的人，过时落后的东西

参考例句：

• The brontosaurus was one of the largest of all dinosaurs. 雷龙是所有恐龙中最大的一种。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Dinosaurs have been extinct for millions of years. 恐龙绝种已有几百万年了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 furry   

adj.毛皮的；似毛皮的；毛皮制的

参考例句：

• This furry material will make a warm coat for the winter.这件毛皮料在冬天会是一件保暖的大衣。
• Mugsy is a big furry brown dog,who wiggles when she is happy.马格斯是一只棕色大长毛狗，当她高兴得时候她会摇尾巴。

3 burrowing   

v.挖掘（洞穴），挖洞( burrow的现在分词 )；翻寻

参考例句：

• What are you burrowing around in my drawer for? 你在我抽屉里乱翻什么？ 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The forepaws are also used for burrowing and for dragging heavier logs. 它们的前爪还可以用来打洞和拖拽较重的树干。 来自辞典例句

4 bided   

v.等待，停留( bide的过去式 )；居住；等待；面临

参考例句：

• Jack was hurt deeply, and he bided his time for revenge. 杰克受了很深的伤害，他等待着报仇的时机。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Their ready answer suggested that they had long bided that. 他们很爽快的回答表明他们已经等待这个（要求）很久了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

5 salvation   

n.（尤指基督）救世，超度，拯救，解困

参考例句：

• Salvation lay in political reform.解救办法在于政治改革。
• Christians hope and pray for salvation.基督教徒希望并祈祷灵魂得救。

6 abrupt   

adj.突然的，意外的；唐突的，鲁莽的

参考例句：

• The river takes an abrupt bend to the west.这河突然向西转弯。
• His abrupt reply hurt our feelings.他粗鲁的回答伤了我们的感情。

7 transformations   

n.变化( transformation的名词复数 )；转换；转换；变换

参考例句：

• Energy transformations go on constantly, all about us. 在我们周围，能量始终在不停地转换着。 来自辞典例句
• On the average, such transformations balance out. 平均起来，这种转化可以互相抵消。 来自辞典例句

8 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。