万物简史 第529期:丰富多彩的生命(25)

 Go out into a woods — any woods at all — bend down and scoop¹ up a handful of soil, 要是你走进森林——任何森林——俯下身去抓起一把土，

and you will be holding up to 10 billion bacteria, most of them unknown to science. 你就会抓起l00亿个细菌，其中大多数是科学界不知道的。

Your sample will also contain perhaps a million plump yeasts², 你的样品里还会有大约l00万个胖乎乎的酵母，

some 200,000 hairy little fungi³ known as molds, perhaps 10,000 protozoans (of which the most familiar is the amoeba), 大约20万个毛茸茸的名叫霉菌的小真菌，大约l万个原生动物（其中最熟悉的是变形虫），

and assorted⁴ rotifers, flatworms, roundworms, and other microscopic⁵ creatures known collectively as cryptozoa. 以及各种轮虫、扁虫、圆虫和其他微生物，总称潜隐体。

A large portion of these will also be unknown. 其中很大的一部分也还不清楚。

The most comprehensive handbook of microorganisms, Bergey's Manual of Systematic⁶ Bacteriology, lists about 4,000 types of bacteria. 最全面的微生物手册《伯吉氏系统化细菌学手册》列出了大约4000种细菌。

In the 1980s, a pair of Norwegian scientists, Jostein Goksoyr and Vigdis Torsvik, 20世纪80年代，在卑尔根·约斯泰因·戈克瑟尔和维格迪丝·托斯维克两位挪威科学家

collected a gram of random⁷ soil from a beech⁸ forest near their lab in Bergen and carefully analyzed⁹ its bacterial¹⁰ content. 在实验室附近的山毛榉林里随意采集了一克泥土，仔细分析了里面的细菌含量。

They found that this single small sample contained between 4,000 and 5,000 separate bacterial species, more than in the whole of Bergey's Manual. 他们发现，这个小小的样品里就有4000-5000种不同的细菌，比《伯吉氏手册》里收录的全部数量还要多。

They then traveled to a coastal¹¹ location a few miles away, 接着，他们来到几公里外的海边，

scooped¹² up another gram of earth, and found that it contained 4,000 to 5,000 other species. 又抓起一克泥土，发现里面有4000-5000种别的细菌。

As Edward O. Wilson observes: "If over 9,000 microbial types exist in two pinches of substrate from two localities in Norway, 正如爱德华·O·威尔逊说的：“要是9000多种细菌存在于挪威两个不同地方的两撮土里，

how many more await discovery in other, radically¹³ different habitats?" 那么别的完全不同的地方又有多少种有待发现呢？”

Well, according to one estimate, it could be as high as 400 million. 哎呀，据有人估计，很可能多达4亿种。

 

1 scoop   

n.铲子，舀取，独家新闻；v.汲取，舀取，抢先登出

参考例句：

• In the morning he must get his boy to scoop it out.早上一定得叫佣人把它剜出来。
• Uh,one scoop of coffee and one scoop of chocolate for me.我要一勺咖啡的和一勺巧克力的。

2 yeasts   

酵母( yeast的名词复数 )； 酵母菌； 发面饼； 发酵粉

参考例句：

• The basidiospores proliperate in a manner comparable to the multiplication of yeasts. 担孢子以一种可与酵母繁殖相比拟的方式进行增殖。
• Wine yeasts can grow in sweet wines even after bottling. 装瓶以后葡萄酒酵母也能在甜葡萄酒中生长。

3 fungi   

n.真菌，霉菌

参考例句：

• Students practice to apply the study of genetics to multicellular plants and fungi.学生们练习把基因学应用到多细胞植物和真菌中。
• The lawn was covered with fungi.草地上到处都是蘑菇。

4 assorted   

adj.各种各样的，各色俱备的

参考例句：

• There's a bag of assorted sweets on the table.桌子上有一袋什锦糖果。
• He has always assorted with men of his age.他总是与和他年令相仿的人交往。

5 microscopic   

adj.微小的，细微的，极小的，显微的

参考例句：

• It's impossible to read his microscopic handwriting.不可能看清他那极小的书写字迹。
• A plant's lungs are the microscopic pores in its leaves.植物的肺就是其叶片上微细的气孔。

6 systematic   

adj.有系统的，有计划的，有方法的

参考例句：

• The way he works isn't very systematic.他的工作不是很有条理。
• The teacher made a systematic work of teaching.这个教师进行系统的教学工作。

7 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。

8 beech   

n.山毛榉；adj.山毛榉的

参考例句：

• Autumn is the time to see the beech woods in all their glory.秋天是观赏山毛榉林的最佳时期。
• Exasperated,he leaped the stream,and strode towards beech clump.他满腔恼怒，跳过小河，大踏步向毛榉林子走去。

9 analyzed   

v.分析( analyze的过去式和过去分词 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析

参考例句：

• The doctors analyzed the blood sample for anemia. 医生们分析了贫血的血样。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The young man did not analyze the process of his captivation and enrapturement, for love to him was a mystery and could not be analyzed. 这年轻人没有分析自己蛊惑著迷的过程，因为对他来说，爱是个不可分析的迷。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 bacterial   

a.细菌的

参考例句：

• Bacterial reproduction is accelerated in weightless space. 在失重的空间，细菌繁殖加快了。
• Brain lesions can be caused by bacterial infections. 大脑损伤可能由细菌感染引起。

11 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

12 scooped   

v.抢先报道( scoop的过去式和过去分词 )；（敏捷地）抱起；抢先获得；用铲[勺]等挖（洞等）

参考例句：

• They scooped the other newspapers by revealing the matter. 他们抢先报道了这件事。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The wheels scooped up stones which hammered ominously under the car. 车轮搅起的石块，在车身下发出不吉祥的锤击声。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 radically   

ad.根本地，本质地

参考例句：

• I think we may have to rethink our policies fairly radically. 我认为我们可能要对我们的政策进行根本的反思。
• The health service must be radically reformed. 公共医疗卫生服务必须进行彻底改革。