万物简史 第567期:达尔文的非凡见解(16)

 Thus Darwin's theory was not a recipe for change, but for constancy. 因此从动态的观点来看，达尔文的理论显然是站不住脚的，它只能解释静态的事物。

Lucky flukes might arise from time to time, but they would soon vanish under the general impulse to bring everything back to a stable mediocrity. 在进化过程中，特异现象时有发生但是它们很快就会消失，因为生物体总是倾向于使一切都回归于平常。

If natural selection were to work, some alternative, unconsidered mechanism¹ was required. 如果自然选择要起作用的话，就得需要某种尚未发现的替代机制。

Unknown to Darwin and everyone else, 达尔文和其他所有人都不知道的是，

eight hundred miles away in a tranquil² corner of Middle Europe a retiring monk³ named Gregor Mendel was coming up with the solution. 关于这个问题，远在1200公里外的欧洲中部的一个不起眼的角落，一个名为格列高利·孟德尔的离群索居的修道士将会提供一个答案。

Mendel was born in 1822 to a humble⁴ farming family in a backwater of the Austrian empire in what is now the Czech Republic. 孟德尔1822年出生于奥地利帝国的一个偏僻小镇（现属捷克共和国）的一个贫苦农民家庭。

Schoolbooks once portrayed⁵ him as a simple but observant provincial⁶ monk whose discoveries were largely serendipitous⁷, 中学课本曾将他描述为一个单纯的乡下修道士，有比较敏锐的观察力，他的很多发现很大程度上都带有偶然的成分，

the result of noticing some interesting traits of inheritance while pottering about with pea plants in the monastery⁸'s kitchen garden. 他在修道院的菜园里种植豌豆的时候发现了一些很有意思的遗传特点。

In fact, Mendel was a trained scientist 事实上，孟德尔是一个训练有素的科学家，

he had studied physics and mathematics at the Olmutz Philosophical⁹ Institute and the University of Vienna — and he brought scientific discipline to all he did. 他曾经在奥尔慕茨哲学研究所和维也纳大学攻读过物理学和数学——他对他所研究的一切进行了非常科学的整理和归纳。

Moreover, the monastery at Brno where he lived from 1843 was known as a learned institution. 不仅如此，从l843年起，他所供职的修道院成了一个非常有名的学术中心。

It had a library of twenty thousand books and a tradition of careful scientific investigation¹⁰. 修道院有个拥有2万册藏书的图书馆，具有严谨的科学研究的传统。

Before embarking¹¹ on his experiments, Mendel spent two years preparing his control specimens¹², seven varieties of pea, to make sure they bred true. 在着手他的实验之前，孟德尔花了两年时间培育研究所需的标本。他选择了七种不同的豌豆，在确保它们繁殖纯种之后，

Then, helped by two full-time¹³ assistants, he repeatedly bred and crossbred hybrids¹⁴ from thirty thousand pea plants. 他在两个全职助手的帮助下开始反复种植这些豌豆并将其中的30000株进行杂交。

 

1 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

2 tranquil   

adj. 安静的, 宁静的, 稳定的, 不变的

参考例句：

• The boy disturbed the tranquil surface of the pond with a stick. 那男孩用棍子打破了平静的池面。
• The tranquil beauty of the village scenery is unique. 这乡村景色的宁静是绝无仅有的。

3 monk   

n.和尚，僧侣，修道士

参考例句：

• The man was a monk from Emei Mountain.那人是峨眉山下来的和尚。
• Buddhist monk sat with folded palms.和尚合掌打坐。

4 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。

5 portrayed   

v.画像( portray的过去式和过去分词 )；描述；描绘；描画

参考例句：

• Throughout the trial, he portrayed himself as the victim. 在审讯过程中，他始终把自己说成是受害者。
• The author portrayed his father as a vicious drunkard. 作者把他父亲描绘成一个可恶的酒鬼。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

7 serendipitous   

adj.偶然发现的

参考例句：

• There was a serendipitous second advantage working with a library of equations. 利用方程库有个意外收获的附带好处。 来自互联网
• Strategic networking prepares us for serendipitous moments. 战略性人际交往让我们为不时之需做好准备。 来自互联网

8 monastery   

n.修道院，僧院，寺院

参考例句：

• They found an icon in the monastery.他们在修道院中发现了一个圣像。
• She was appointed the superior of the monastery two years ago.两年前她被任命为这个修道院的院长。

9 philosophical   

adj.哲学家的，哲学上的，达观的

参考例句：

• The teacher couldn't answer the philosophical problem.老师不能解答这个哲学问题。
• She is very philosophical about her bad luck.她对自己的不幸看得很开。

10 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

11 embarking   

乘船( embark的现在分词 )； 装载； 从事

参考例句：

• He's embarking on a new career as a writer. 他即将开始新的职业生涯——当一名作家。
• The campaign on which were embarking was backed up by such intricate and detailed maintenance arrangemets. 我们实施的战争，须要如此复杂及详细的维护准备。

12 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》

13 full-time   

adj.满工作日的或工作周的，全时间的

参考例句：

• A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
• I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作，我不知道她是如何对付的。

14 hybrids   

n.杂交生成的生物体( hybrid的名词复数 )；杂交植物（或动物）；杂种；（不同事物的）混合物

参考例句：

• All these brightly coloured hybrids are so lovely in the garden. 花园里所有这些色彩鲜艳的杂交花真美丽。 来自辞典例句
• The notion that interspecific hybrids are rare is ill-founded. 有一种看法认为种间杂种是罕见的，这种看法是无根据的。 来自辞典例句