万物简史 第510期:丰富多彩的生命(6)

When a new moss¹ is found it must be compared with all other mosses² to make sure that it hasn't been recorded already. 要是发现了一种新的苔藓，就要把它和所有别的苔藓进行比较，看看是不是已经有过记录。

Then a formal description must be written and illustrations prepared and the result published in a respectable journal. 接着，你就要写出正确的描述，准备好插图，把结果刊登在体面的杂志上。

The whole process seldom takes less than six months. 对于苔藓分类学来说，

The twentieth century was not a great age for moss taxonomy. 20世纪算不上是个丰收时代。

Much of the century's work was devoted³ to untangling the confusions and duplications left behind by the nineteenth century. 该世纪昀许多工夫都花在清理l9世纪留下的混乱和重复的摊子上。

That was the golden age of moss collecting. 那是个采集苔藓的黄金时代。

(You may recall that Charles Lyell's father was a great moss man.) （你也许还记得，查尔斯·莱尔的父亲就是个研究苔藓的大人物。）

One aptly named Englishman, George Hunt, hunted British mosses so assiduously that he probably contributed to the extinction⁴ of several species. 有个名叫乔治·亨特的英国人孜孜不倦地寻找英国的苔藓，他很可能为几种苔藓的灭绝起了作用。

But it is thanks to such efforts that Len Ellis's collection is one of the world's most comprehensive. 但是。多亏了这样的努力，莱恩·埃利斯的收藏品才成为世界上最全的收藏品之一。

All 780,000 of his specimens⁵ are pressed into large folded sheets of heavy paper, some very old and covered with spidery Victorian script. 他总共有78万件标本，压在又大又厚的纸本里。有的非常古老，维多利亚时代的人在上面蛛丝般地写满了说明，

Some, for all we knew, might have been in the hand of Robert Brown, 就我们所知，有些可能是罗伯特·布朗的手迹。

the great Victorian botanist⁶, unveiler of Brownian motion and the nucleus⁷ of cells, 布朗是维多利亚时代伟大的植物学家，曾揭示布朗运动和细胞核。

who founded and ran the museum's botany department for its first thirty-one years until his death in 1858. 他创建了该博物馆的植物部，并在最初的31年里主持这个部门，直到他1858年去世。

All the specimens are kept in lustrous⁸ old mahogany cabinets so strikingly fine that I remarked upon them. 所有的标本都保存在油光光的旧红木框子里。这些柜子非常精美，我谈了几句看法。

Oh, those were Sir Joseph Banks's, from his house in Soho Square, Ellis said casually⁹, as if identifying a recent purchase from Ikea. “哦，那是约瑟夫·班克斯爵士的东西，是从他在索荷广场的家里搬来的。”埃利斯漫不经心地说，仿佛是在鉴定刚从宜家家居买来的家具，

"He had them built to hold his specimens from the Endeavour voyage." “他做这些柜子是为了存放从‘奋进’号航行中搜集来的标本。”

He regarded the cabinets thoughtfully, as if for the first time in a long while. 他若有所思地打量着那些柜子，好像是很长时间以来第一次看到，

"I don't know howwe ended up with them in bryology," he added. “我不知道我们最后怎么在苔藓学领域跟它们打上了交道。”他接着说。

 

1 moss   

n.苔，藓，地衣

参考例句：

• Moss grows on a rock.苔藓生在石头上。
• He was found asleep on a pillow of leaves and moss.有人看见他枕着树叶和苔藓睡着了。

2 mosses   

n. 藓类, 苔藓植物 名词moss的复数形式

参考例句：

• Ferns, mosses and fungi spread by means of spores. 蕨类植物、苔藓和真菌通过孢子传播蔓生。
• 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。

3 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

4 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。

5 specimens   

n.样品( specimen的名词复数 )；范例；（化验的）抽样；某种类型的人

参考例句：

• Astronauts have brought back specimens of rock from the moon. 宇航员从月球带回了岩石标本。
• The traveler brought back some specimens of the rocks from the mountains. 那位旅行者从山上带回了一些岩石标本。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 botanist   

n.植物学家

参考例句：

• The botanist introduced a new species of plant to the region.那位植物学家向该地区引入了一种新植物。
• I had never talked with a botanist before,and I found him fascinating.我从没有接触过植物学那一类的学者，我觉得他说话极有吸引力。

7 nucleus   

n.核，核心，原子核

参考例句：

• These young people formed the nucleus of the club.这些年轻人成了俱乐部的核心。
• These councils would form the nucleus of a future regime.这些委员会将成为一个未来政权的核心。

8 lustrous   

adj.有光泽的；光辉的

参考例句：

• Mary has a head of thick,lustrous,wavy brown hair.玛丽有一头浓密、富有光泽的褐色鬈发。
• This mask definitely makes the skin fair and lustrous.这款面膜可以异常有用的使肌肤变亮和有光泽。

9 casually   

adv.漠不关心地，无动于衷地，不负责任地

参考例句：

• She remarked casually that she was changing her job.她当时漫不经心地说要换工作。
• I casually mentioned that I might be interested in working abroad.我不经意地提到我可能会对出国工作感兴趣。