万物简史 第494期:多灾多难的生命进程(14)

 Earth has seen five major extinction¹ episodes in its time — the Ordovician, Devonian, Permian, Triassic, and Cretaceous, in that order — and many smaller ones. 地球已经目睹了5次大的灭绝事件——依次在奥陶纪、泥盆纪、二叠纪、三叠纪和白垩纪——以及许多小的灭绝事件。

The Ordovician (440 million years ago) and Devonian (365 million) each wiped out about 80 to 85 percent of species. 奥陶纪（44000万年以前）和泥盆纪（36500万年以前）分别消灭了大约80%——85%的物种。

The Triassic (210 million years ago) and Cretaceous (65 million years) each wiped out 70 to 75 percent of species. 三叠纪（2l000万年以前）和自垩纪（6500万年以前）分别消灭了70%-75%的物种。

But the real whopper was the Permian extinction of about 245 million years ago, which raised the curtain on the long age of the dinosaurs². 但是，真正厉害的是大约24500万年前的二叠纪灭绝，它为漫长的恐龙时代揭开了序幕。

In the Permian, at least 95 percent of animals known from the fossil record check out, never to return. 在二叠纪，至少95%从化石记录中得知的动物退了场，再也没有回来。

Even about a third of insect species went — the only occasion on which they were lost en masse. 连大约三分之一的昆虫物种也消失了——这是它们惟一损失最惨重的一次。

It is as close as we have ever come to total obliteration³. 这也是我们最接近全军覆没的一次。

It was, truly, a mass extinction, a carnage of a magnitude that had never troubled the Earth before, says Richard Fortey. “这确实是一次大规模的灭绝，一次大屠杀。是地球上以前从来没有发生过的。”理查德·福泰说。

The Permian event was particularly devastating⁴ to sea creatures. 二叠纪事件对海洋动物的破坏性尤其严重。

Trilobites vanished altogether. 三叶虫完全消失了。

Clams⁵ and sea urchins⁶ nearly went. 蛤蜊和海胆几乎灭绝。

Virtually all other marine⁷ organisms were staggered. 实际上，所有的海生动物都七零八落。

Altogether, on land and in the water, it is thought that Earth lost 52 percent of its families, 据认为，总起来说，在陆地和水里，地球损失了52%的“科”，

that's the level above genus and below order on the grand scale of life (the subject of the next chapter) — and perhaps as many as 96 percent of all its species. 那个层次在生命的大等级表上高于“属”，低于“目”（这是下一章的题材）——以及大约多达96%的全部物种。

It would be a long time — as much as eighty million years by one reckoning — before species totals recovered. 要过很长时间——有人估计，要过长达8000万年。物种的总量才会得以恢复。

 

1 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。

2 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》

3 obliteration   

n.涂去，删除；管腔闭合

参考例句：

• The policy is obliteration, openly acknowledged. 政策是彻底毁灭，公开承认的政策。 来自演讲部分
• "Obliteration is not a justifiable act of war" “彻底消灭并不是有理的战争行为” 来自演讲部分

4 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

5 clams   

n.蛤；蚌，蛤( clam的名词复数 )v.（在沙滩上）挖蛤( clam的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The restaurant's specialities are fried clams. 这个餐厅的特色菜是炸蚌。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We dug clams in the flats et low tide. 退潮时我们在浅滩挖蛤蜊。 来自辞典例句

6 urchins   

n.顽童( urchin的名词复数 )；淘气鬼；猬；海胆

参考例句：

• Some dozen barefooted urchins ganged in from the riverside. 几十个赤足的顽童从河边成群结队而来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• People said that he had jaundice and urchins nicknamed him "Yellow Fellow." 别人说他是黄胆病，孩子们也就叫他“黄胖”了。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

7 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。