万物简史 第501期:多灾多难的生命进程(21)

 Indeed, with the world dark and hostile, it was a perfect time to be small, warm-blooded, nocturnal, flexible in diet, and cautious by nature, 当世界一片滚黑、布满危险的时候，对于出没于夜间、不挑食物、生性谨慎的小恒温动物来说，它们确实是适得其所。

the very qualities that distinguished¹ our mammalian forebears. 这一些正是我们的哺乳动物祖先所具备的高招。

Had our evolution been more advanced, we would probably have been wiped out. 假如我们进化得更加先进，我们很可能已经不复存在。

Instead, mammals found themselves in a world to which they were as well suited as anything alive. 然而，与任何活着的生物一样，哺乳动物觉得自己非常适应那个环境。

However, it wasn't as if mammals swarmed² forward to fill every niche³. 不过，情况似乎不像是哺乳动物一哄而上去抢占每一块地盘。

"Evolution may abhor⁴ a vacuum," wrote the paleobiologist Steven M. Stanley, "but it often takes a long time to fill it." “进化可能讨厌出现空缺，”古生物学家斯蒂芬·M·斯坦利写道，“但空缺往往要花长时间才能填补。”

For perhaps as many as ten million years mammals remained cautiously small. 在可能长达l000万年的时间里，哺乳动物小心翼翼，保持很小的体形。

In the early Tertiary, if you were the size of a bobcat you could be king. 在第三纪，要是你有红猫的个儿那么大，你就可以称王称霸了。

But once they got going, mammals expanded prodigiously⁵ — sometimes to an almost preposterous⁶ degree. 但是，一旦起步，哺乳动物就大大地增大了自己的个儿——有时候大到了荒唐的地步。

For a time, there were guinea pigs the size of rhinos⁷ and rhinos the size of a two-story house. 一时之间，出现了犀牛大的豚鼠和二层楼房大的犀牛。

Wherever there was a vacancy⁸ in the predatory chain, mammals rose (often literally) to fill it. 食肉动物链里哪里有空缺，哺乳动物马上挺身而出去填补。

Early members of the raccoon family migrated to South America, discovered a vacancy, and evolved into creatures the size and ferocity of bears. 早年的浣熊家族成员迁移到南美，发现了一个空缺，便演变成熊一般大小和凶猛的动物。

Birds, too, prospered⁹ disproportionately. 鸟类的样子也长得大得失去了比例。

For millions of years, a gigantic, flightless, carnivorous bird called Titanis was possibly the most ferocious¹⁰ creature in North America. 有几百万年时间，一种名叫“巨鸟”的不会飞的食肉大鸟可能是北美最凶猛的动物。

Certainly it was the most daunting¹¹ bird that ever lived. 它肯定是存在过的最威武的鸟。

 

1 distinguished   

adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的

参考例句：

• Elephants are distinguished from other animals by their long noses.大象以其长长的鼻子显示出与其他动物的不同。
• A banquet was given in honor of the distinguished guests.宴会是为了向贵宾们致敬而举行的。

2 swarmed   

密集( swarm的过去式和过去分词 )； 云集； 成群地移动； 蜜蜂或其他飞行昆虫成群地飞来飞去

参考例句：

• When the bell rang, the children swarmed out of the school. 铃声一响，孩子们蜂拥而出离开了学校。
• When the rain started the crowd swarmed back into the hotel. 雨一开始下，人群就蜂拥回了旅社。

3 niche   

n.壁龛；合适的职务(环境、位置等)

参考例句：

• Madeleine placed it carefully in the rocky niche. 玛德琳小心翼翼地把它放在岩石壁龛里。
• The really talented among women would always make their own niche.妇女中真正有才能的人总是各得其所。

4 abhor   

v.憎恶；痛恨

参考例句：

• They abhor all forms of racial discrimination.他们憎恶任何形式的种族歧视。
• They abhor all the nations who have different ideology and regime.他们仇视所有意识形态和制度与他们不同的国家。

5 prodigiously   

adv.异常地，惊人地，巨大地

参考例句：

• Such remarks, though, hardly begin to explain that prodigiously gifted author Henry James. 然而这样的说法，一点也不能解释这个得天独厚的作家亨利·詹姆斯的情况。 来自辞典例句
• The prices of farms rose prodigiously. 农场的价格飞快上涨。 来自互联网

6 preposterous   

adj.荒谬的，可笑的

参考例句：

• The whole idea was preposterous.整个想法都荒唐透顶。
• It would be preposterous to shovel coal with a teaspoon.用茶匙铲煤是荒谬的。

7 rhinos   

n.犀牛（rhino的复数形式）

参考例句：

• There are many reports of people taming and even training Indian rhinos. 有许多关于人们驯养甚至训练印度犀牛的记载。 来自辞典例句
• The rhinos had fed during the night in the rice fields of these villagers. 犀牛夜里在这些村民的庄稼地里也已吃饱了。 来自辞典例句

8 vacancy   

n.（旅馆的）空位，空房，（职务的）空缺

参考例句：

• Her going on maternity leave will create a temporary vacancy.她休产假时将会有一个临时空缺。
• The vacancy of her expression made me doubt if she was listening.她茫然的神情让我怀疑她是否在听。

9 prospered   

成功，兴旺( prosper的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The organization certainly prospered under his stewardship. 不可否认，这个组织在他的管理下兴旺了起来。
• Mr. Black prospered from his wise investments. 布莱克先生由于巧妙的投资赚了不少钱。

10 ferocious   

adj.凶猛的，残暴的，极度的，十分强烈的

参考例句：

• The ferocious winds seemed about to tear the ship to pieces.狂风仿佛要把船撕成碎片似的。
• The ferocious panther is chasing a rabbit.那只凶猛的豹子正追赶一只兔子。

11 daunting   

adj.使人畏缩的

参考例句：

• They were faced with the daunting task of restoring the house.他们面临着修复房子的艰巨任务。
• Starting a new job can be a daunting prospect.开始一项新工作有时会让人望而却步。