万物简史 第545期:令人惊叹的细胞(9)

 The cell has been compared to many things, from "a complex chemical refinery¹" (by the physicist² James Trefil) 细胞被许多人比喻成许多事物，从“一个复杂的化学精炼厂（物理学家詹姆斯·特菲尔）”

to "a vast, teeming³ metropolis⁴" (the biochemist Guy Brown). 到“一个人口稠密的大都市”（生物学家盖伊·布朗）。

A cell is both of those things and neither. 细胞既是二者而又都不是。

It is like a refinery in that it is devoted⁵ to chemical activity on a grand scale, 说它像个精炼厂，是因为在其内部进行着规模巨大的化学活动；

and like a metropolis in that it is crowded and busy and filled with interactions that seem confused and random⁶ but clearly have some system to them. 说它像个大都市，是因为里面拥挤不堪，忙忙碌碌，充满互动，貌似纷繁混乱，却有着自成一体的结构。

But it is a much more nightmarish place than any city or factory that you have ever seen. 不过，它实质上比你所见过的庄何城市或工厂都要可怕得多。

To begin with there is no up or down inside the cell (gravity doesn't meaningfully apply at the cellular⁷ scale), 首先，在细胞内部没有上下之分（引力对细胞大小的东西几乎不起任何作用），

and not an atom's width of space is unused. 它的每一处原子大小的空间都被充分地利用。

There is activity every where and a ceaseless thrum of electrical energy. 活动到处存在，电流不停流动。

You may not feel terribly electrical, but you are. 你也许并不觉得自己带很多电，实际上是带的。

The food we eat and the oxygen we breathe are combined in the cells into electricity. 我们吃的东西、呼吸的氧气在细胞里被合成电流。

The reason we don't give each other massive shocks or scorch⁸ the sofa when we sit is that it is all happening on a tiny scale: 那么。我们为什么在相互接触时没有把对方击倒，或者我们坐在沙发上时又为什么没有将沙发烧焦呢？原因在于这一切都是在非常小的规模内发生的：

a mere⁹ 0.1 volts¹⁰ traveling distances measured in nanometers. 电压仅仅是0.1伏，传输的距离要以纳米来计算。

However, scale that up and it would translate as a jolt¹¹ of twenty million volts per meter, 然而，如果将其按比例扩大，它所产生的冲击力相当于每平方米2000万伏，

about the same as the charge carried by the main body of a thunderstorm. 与一次雷电核心区所产生的电荷一样多。

Whatever their size or shape, nearly all your cells are built to fundamentally the same plan: 不论其形状和大小如何，你身上所有细胞的构造大体相同：

they have an outer casing or membrane¹², a nucleus¹³ wherein resides the necessary genetic¹⁴ information to keep you going, 它们都有一层外壳或细胞膜。一个细胞核，里面存储着你正常运转所必需的基因信息。

and a busy space between the two called the cytoplasm. 两者之间有一层繁忙的空间，叫做细胞质。

 

1 refinery   

n.精炼厂，提炼厂

参考例句：

• They built a sugar refinery.他们建起了一座榨糖厂。
• The purpose of oil refinery is to refine crude petroleum.炼油厂的主要工作是提炼原油。

2 physicist   

n.物理学家，研究物理学的人

参考例句：

• He is a physicist of the first rank.他是一流的物理学家。
• The successful physicist never puts on airs.这位卓有成就的物理学家从不摆架子。

3 teeming   

adj.丰富的v.充满( teem的现在分词 )；到处都是；（指水、雨等）暴降；倾注

参考例句：

• The rain was teeming down. 大雨倾盆而下。
• the teeming streets of the city 熙熙攘攘的城市街道

4 metropolis   

n.首府；大城市

参考例句：

• Shanghai is a metropolis in China.上海是中国的大都市。
• He was dazzled by the gaiety and splendour of the metropolis.大都市的花花世界使他感到眼花缭乱。

5 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。

6 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。

7 cellular   

adj.移动的；细胞的，由细胞组成的

参考例句：

• She has a cellular telephone in her car.她的汽车里有一部无线通讯电话机。
• Many people use cellular materials as sensitive elements in hygrometers.很多人用蜂窝状的材料作为测量温度的传感元件。

8 scorch   

v.烧焦，烤焦；高速疾驶；n.烧焦处，焦痕

参考例句：

• I could not wash away the mark of the scorch.我洗不掉这焦痕。
• This material will scorch easily if it is too near the fire.这种材料如果太靠近炉火很容易烤焦。

9 mere   

adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过

参考例句：

• That is a mere repetition of what you said before.那不过是重复了你以前讲的话。
• It's a mere waste of time waiting any longer.再等下去纯粹是浪费时间。

10 volts   

n.（电压单位）伏特( volt的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The floating potential, Vf is usually only a few volts below ground. 浮置电势Vf通常只低于接地电位几伏。 来自辞典例句
• If gamma particles are present, potential differences of several thousand volts can be generated. 如果存在γ粒子，可能产生几千伏的电位差。 来自辞典例句

11 jolt   

v.（使）摇动，（使）震动，（使）颠簸

参考例句：

• We were worried that one tiny jolt could worsen her injuries.我们担心稍微颠簸一下就可能会使她的伤势恶化。
• They were working frantically in the fear that an aftershock would jolt the house again.他们拼命地干着，担心余震可能会使房子再次受到震动。

12 membrane   

n.薄膜，膜皮，羊皮纸

参考例句：

• A vibrating membrane in the ear helps to convey sounds to the brain.耳膜的振动帮助声音传送到大脑。
• A plastic membrane serves as selective diffusion barrier.一层塑料薄膜起着选择性渗透屏障的作用。

13 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。

14 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。