万物简史 第557期:达尔文的非凡见解(6)

 The story as conventionally told (or at least as frequently remembered by many of us) is that Darwin, 通常的说法是（至少在我们许多人的记忆里通常是这样的），

while traveling from island to island, noticed that the finches' beaks¹ on each island were marvelously adapted for exploiting local resources, 当他一个岛一个岛旅行时，达尔文注意到每个岛上的效舌鸫都非常适宜利用当地的资源，

that on one island beaks were sturdy and short and good for cracking nuts, 一个岛上的效舌鸫的嘴又短又坚固，适宜啄开坚果；

while on the next island beaks were perhaps long and thin and well suited for winkling food out of crevices², 到了下一个岛屿，效舌鸫的嘴也许又长又尖，适宜在岩缝中啄玉黍螺，

and it was this that set him to thinking that perhaps the birds had not been created this way, but had in a sense created themselves. 正是这种现象使得他开始想到，也许这些鸟并不是生来就是这样，而是在某种程度上自己造成了这样。

In fact, the birds had created themselves, but it wasn't Darwin who noticed it. 事实上，确实是鸟类创造了它们自己，不过注意到这一点的并不是达尔文。

At the time of the Beagle voyage, 在随“贝格尔”号远航时，

Darwin was fresh out of college and not yet an accomplished³ naturalist⁴ and so failed to see that the Galapagos birds were all of a type. 达尔文是一个初出校园的学生，不是训练有素的博物学家，因此他并没有注意到加拉帕戈斯的鸟类全都属于同一类型。

It was his friend the ornithologist⁵ John Gould who realized that what Darwin had found was lots of finches with different talents. 是达尔文的朋友——鸟类学家约翰·古尔德意识到，达尔文发现的不过是具有不同本事的效舌鸫。

Unfortunately, in his inexperience Darwin had not noted⁶ which birds came from which islands. 不幸的是，由于没有经验，达尔文并没有注意到这些鸟分别来自加拉帕戈斯群岛的哪一个岛屿。

(He had made a similar error with tortoises.) （他在观察乌龟时犯了同样的错误。）

It took years to sort the muddles⁷ out. 清理这种混乱状态让他花费了好多年的时间。

Because of these oversights⁸, and the need to sort through crates⁹ and crates of other Beagle specimens¹⁰, 由于类似这样的种种疏忽，同时也由于需要将“贝格尔”号带回的成箱成箱的标本加以分门别类，

it wasn't until 1842, six years after his return to England, that Darwin finally began to sketch¹¹ out the rudiments¹² of his new theory. 直到l842年，在回到英国之后的第5年，达尔文才最终草拟出他的新理论的雏形。

These he expanded into a 230-page "sketch" two years later. 两年后，他将他的新理论进一步扩充成230页的“概要”。

 

1 beaks   

n.鸟嘴( beak的名词复数 )；鹰钩嘴；尖鼻子；掌权者

参考例句：

• Baby cockatoos will have black eyes and soft, almost flexible beaks. 雏鸟凤头鹦鹉黑色的眼睛是柔和的，嘴几乎是灵活的。 来自互联网
• Squid beaks are often found in the stomachs of sperm whales. 经常能在抹香鲸的胃里发现鱿鱼的嘴。 来自互联网

2 crevices   

n.（尤指岩石的）裂缝，缺口( crevice的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• It has bedded into the deepest crevices of the store. 它已钻进了店里最隐避的隙缝。 来自辞典例句
• The wind whistled through the crevices in the rock. 风呼啸着吹过岩石的缝隙。 来自辞典例句

3 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。

4 naturalist   

n.博物学家(尤指直接观察动植物者)

参考例句：

• He was a printer by trade and naturalist by avocation.他从事印刷业，同时是个博物学爱好者。
• The naturalist told us many stories about birds.博物学家给我们讲述了许多有关鸟儿的故事。

5 ornithologist   

n.鸟类学家

参考例句：

• That area is an ornithologist's paradise.那个地区是鸟类学家的天堂。
• Now I know how an ornithologist feels.现在我知道做为一个鸟类学家的感受了。

6 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

7 muddles   

v.弄乱，弄糟( muddle的第三人称单数 )；使糊涂；对付，混日子

参考例句：

• Translation muddles model concepts, which leads to destructive refactoring of code. 这些转换混淆了模型的概念，可能导致重构代码时的失败。 来自互联网
• A glass of whisky soon muddles him. 一杯威士忌很快就会把他醉得迷迷糊糊。 来自互联网

8 oversights   

n.疏忽( oversight的名词复数 )；忽略；失察；负责

参考例句：

• He saw shocking oversights and inefficiencies that made the Separatist invasion possible. 他看出在首都遭到分裂势力入侵的背后是惊人的疏漏与低效。 来自互联网
• Instead it means that the submitted code has no glaringly obvious oversights. 相反，它意味着所提交的代码没有突出的显而易见的疏忽或错漏。 来自互联网

9 crates   

n. 板条箱, 篓子, 旧汽车 vt. 装进纸条箱

参考例句：

• We were using crates as seats. 我们用大木箱作为座位。
• Thousands of crates compacted in a warehouse. 数以千计的板条箱堆放在仓库里。

10 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》

11 sketch   

n.草图；梗概；素描；v.素描；概述

参考例句：

• My sister often goes into the country to sketch. 我姐姐常到乡间去写生。
• I will send you a slight sketch of the house.我将给你寄去房屋的草图。

12 rudiments   

n.基础知识，入门

参考例句：

• He has just learned the rudiments of Chinese. 他学汉语刚刚入门。
• You do not seem to know the first rudiments of agriculture. 你似乎连农业上的一点最起码的常识也没有。