万物简史 第568期:达尔文的非凡见解(17)

 It was delicate work, 这是一项极为细致的工作。

requiring them to take the most exacting¹ pains to avoid accidental crossfertilization 为了防止意外受粉，

and to note every slight variation in the growth and appearance of seeds, pods, leaves, stems, and flowers. 他们必须不厌其烦地记录豌豆种子、豆荚、叶子、茎和花在生长过程中，以及在外表方面极细微的差别。

Mendel knew what he was doing. 对于他所做的事情的意义，孟德尔知道得很清楚。

He never used the word gene² — it wasn't coined until 1913, in an English medical dictionary — though he did invent the terms dominant³ and recessive⁴. 他从未用过“基因”这个词——这个词1913年才第一次出现于英国的一本医学词典——虽然发明了“显性的”和“劣性的”这样的概念。

What he established was that every seed contained two "factors" or "elemente," as he called them, 他的建树在于他发现每一颗种子都包含两个“遗传因子”或他所谓的“本分”，

a dominant one and a recessive one — and these factors, when combined, produced predictable patterns of inheritance. 一个是有时的，另一个是劣势的，这些因子一旦相互组合，就会产生可以预期的遗传形式。

The results he converted into precise mathematical formulae. 他把这种结果转换成了精确的数学公式。

Altogether Mendel spent eight years on the experiments, 孟德尔总共用了8年的时间从事这项研究，

then confirmed his results with similar experiments on flowers, corn, and other plants. 接着又在花卉、玉米和其他植物上进行了类似的实验。以检验他的结论的正确性。

If anything, Mendel was too scientific in his approach, 甚至还不如说，孟德尔的研究方法过于科学。

for when he presented his findings at the February and March meetings of the Natural History Society of Brno in 1865, 以致当他1865年在布尔诺自然史学会的2月和3月月度会议中宣读他的论文时，

the audience of about forty listened politely but was conspicuously⁵ unmoved, 大约40个听众很有礼貌地听了他的演讲，可是他们显然无动于衷，

even though the breeding of plants was a matter of great practical interest to many of the members. 即使对他们中的不少人来说，植物的培育实际上是他们极感兴趣的一件事。

When Mendel's report was published, 孟德尔的报告出版以后，

he eagerly sent a copy to the great Swiss botanist⁶ Karl-Wilhelm von Nageli, whose support was more or less vital for the theory's prospects⁷. 他迫不及待地给瑞士伟大的植物学家卡尔·威廉·冯·耐格里寄了一份。从某种意义上说，耐格里的支持对孟德尔理论的前途有着至关重要的作用。

 

1 exacting   

adj.苛求的，要求严格的

参考例句：

• He must remember the letters and symbols with exacting precision.他必须以严格的精度记住每个字母和符号。
• The public has been more exacting in its demands as time has passed.随着时间的推移，公众的要求更趋严格。

2 gene   

n.遗传因子，基因

参考例句：

• A single gene may have many effects.单一基因可能具有很多种效应。
• The targeting of gene therapy has been paid close attention.其中基因治疗的靶向性是值得密切关注的问题之一。

3 dominant   

adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因

参考例句：

• The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
• She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。

4 recessive   

adj.退行的，逆行的，后退的，隐性的

参考例句：

• Blue eyes are recessive and brown eyes are dominant.蓝眼睛是隐性的；而褐色眼睛是显性的。
• Sickle-cell anaemia is passed on through a recessive gene.镰状细胞贫血通过隐性基因遗传给后代。

5 conspicuously   

ad.明显地，惹人注目地

参考例句：

• France remained a conspicuously uneasy country. 法国依然是个明显不太平的国家。
• She figured conspicuously in the public debate on the issue. 她在该问题的公开辩论中很引人注目。

6 botanist   

n.植物学家

参考例句：

• The botanist introduced a new species of plant to the region.那位植物学家向该地区引入了一种新植物。
• I had never talked with a botanist before,and I found him fascinating.我从没有接触过植物学那一类的学者，我觉得他说话极有吸引力。

7 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。