万物简史 第550期:令人惊叹的细胞(14)

 On average, humans suffer one fatal malignancy for each 100 million billion cell divisions. 平均来说，每10亿亿次细胞分裂中，人会得一次致命的疾病。

Cancer is bad luck in every possible sense of the term. 癌症无论从任何意义上说都是运气不好的表现。

The wonder of cells is not that things occasionally go wrong, 细胞的奇妙之处不在于事情偶尔会出问题，

but that they manage everything so smoothly¹ for decades at a stretch. 而在于它们在几十年的时间里使人体内的一切运转正常。

They do so by constantly sending and monitoring streams of messages—a cacophony² of messages—from all around the body: 为此，它们不停发送和监控来自全身各个部位的信息——滴滴答答的信息：

instructions, queries³, corrections, requests for assistance, updates, notices to divide or expire. 指令、质问、修正、救助、更新、分裂或死亡的通告。

Most of these signals arrive by means of couriers called hormones⁴, 所有这些信息大多数是通过名叫荷尔蒙的化学实体来传递的，

chemical entities⁵ such as insulin, adrenaline, estrogen, and testosterone that convey information from remote outposts like the thyroid and endocrine glands⁶. 如胰岛素、肾上腺素、甲状腺素、睾丸寒从甲状腺和内分泌腺。

Still other messages arrive by telegraph from the brain or from regional centers in a process called paracrine signaling. 还有一些信息是从大脑或区域中心传输过来的。这个过程叫做“发出旁分泌信号”。

Finally, cells communicate directly with their neighbors to make sure their actions are coordinated⁷. 最后，细胞直接和它的左邻右舍进行交流，以确保它们行动一致。

What is perhaps most remarkable⁸ is that it is all just random⁹ frantic¹⁰ action, 细胞最引人注目的特点是，它们总是以一种疯狂的速度处于漫无目的的运动

a sequence of endless encounters directed by nothing more than elemental rules of attraction and repulsion. 和无休无止的撞击状态中，而驱使它们这么做的无非是吸引和排斥的基本法则。

There is clearly no thinking presence behind any of the actions of the cells. 细胞的任何运动都无理性可言。

It all just happens, smoothly and repeatedly and so reliably that seldom are we even conscious of it, 所有的运动都平静地、重复地、可靠地发生着，因此我们甚至很少意识到。

yet somehow all this produces not just order within the cell but a perfect harmony right across the organism. 然而，这一切不仅很好地维持着细胞内的秩序，而且使得有机体保持在一种完美的和谐状态中。

 

1 smoothly   

adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地

参考例句：

• The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
• Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。

2 cacophony   

n.刺耳的声音

参考例句：

• All around was bubbling a cacophony of voices.周围人声嘈杂。
• The drivers behind him honked,and the cacophony grew louder.后面的司机还在按喇叭，且那刺耳的声音越来越大。

3 queries   

n.问题( query的名词复数 )；疑问；询问；问号v.质疑，对…表示疑问( query的第三人称单数 )；询问

参考例句：

• Our assistants will be happy to answer your queries. 我们的助理很乐意回答诸位的问题。
• Her queries were rhetorical,and best ignored. 她的质问只不过是说说而已，最好不予理睬。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 hormones   

n. 荷尔蒙，激素 名词hormone的复数形式

参考例句：

• This hormone interacts closely with other hormones in the body. 这种荷尔蒙与体內其他荷尔蒙紧密地相互作用。
• The adrenals produce a large per cent of a man's sex hormones. 肾上腺分泌人体的大部分性激素。

5 entities   

实体对像； 实体，独立存在体，实际存在物( entity的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Our newspaper and our printing business form separate corporate entities. 我们的报纸和印刷业形成相对独立的企业实体。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities. 北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

6 glands   

n.腺( gland的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a snake's poison glands 蛇的毒腺
• the sebaceous glands in the skin 皮脂腺

7 coordinated   

adj.协调的

参考例句：

• The sound has to be coordinated with the picture. 声音必须和画面协调一致。
• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

8 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

9 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。

10 frantic   

adj.狂乱的，错乱的，激昂的

参考例句：

• I've had a frantic rush to get my work done.我急急忙忙地赶完工作。
• He made frantic dash for the departing train.他发疯似地冲向正开出的火车。