万物简史 第644期:永不安分的类人猿(17)

An academic writing in Nature had noted¹ how a paleontologist, asked by a colleague whether he thought an old skull² was varnished³ or not,

一位学者在《自然》杂志撰文说，有一位古生物学家的同事问那位古生物学家一个古人颅骨是否上了漆，他用舌头舔了舔骸骨的顶部，

had licked its top and announced that it was.

然后说是上了漆的。

"In the process," noted the Nature article, "large amounts of modern human DNA⁴ would have been transferred to the skull," rendering⁵ it useless for future study.

“在此过程中，” 《自然》杂志的文章写道，“有大量的现代人DNA会转到这个颅骨上。”这使得骸骨无法再用来进行研究。

I asked Harding about this. "Oh, it would almost certainly have been contaminated already," she said.

我就这件事咨询哈丁。“哎呀，几乎可以肯定它已经被污染了。”她说，

Just handling a bone will contaminate it. Breathing on it will contaminate it.

只要摸一下骨头，它就会被污染。向它哈一口气，它也会被污染。

Most of the water in our labs will contaminate it.

我的实验室里的水也会污染它。

We are all swimming in foreign DNA.

我们周围都是陌生的DNA。

In order to get a reliably clean specimen⁶ you have to excavate⁷ it in sterile⁸ conditions and do the tests on it at the site.

要想得到一个可靠的清洁的标本，你必须在消过毒的条件下将它们挖掘出来，并且在当场就做实验。

It is the trickiest⁹ thing in the world not to contaminate a specimen.

要想不污染标本，世上没有比这更困难的事了。

So should such claims be treated dubiously¹⁰? I asked. Harding nodded solemnly. "Very," she said.

那么，所有的这类结论都应该受到质疑吗？我问。哈丁严肃地点点头。“当然。”她说。

If you wish to understand at once why we know as little as we do about human origins, I have the place for you.

如果你想立即知道我们为什么对人类起源了解得这样少，我可以带你去一个地方。

It is to be found a little beyond the edge of the blue Ngong Hills in Kenya, to the south and west of Nairobi.

这个地方位于肯尼亚昂加山的边缘，内罗毕西南部。

Drive out of the city on the main highway to Uganda, and there comes a moment of startling glory when the ground falls away

要是你往东驶出内罗毕市，沿通向乌干达的快速干道前行，爬上一个高坡就看到一个无比壮丽的景象，

and you are presented with a hang glider's view of boundless¹¹, pale green African plain.

只见面前是望不到边的淡绿色的非洲平原。

This is the Great Rift¹² Valley, which arcs across three thousand miles of east Africa, marking the tectonic rupture¹³ that is setting Africa adrift from Asia.

这就是绵延东非达4800公里的东非大裂谷。非洲就从这条板块裂缝漂离亚洲。

Here, perhaps forty miles out of Nairobi, along the baking valley floor, is an ancient site called Olorgesailie,

这里距内罗毕约65公里，靠近谷底干枯的地带是一个被称为奥洛戛萨里的古老地方，

which once stood beside a large and pleasant lake.

这里一度濒临一个巨大的湖泊。

1 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。

2 skull   

n.头骨；颅骨

参考例句：

• The skull bones fuse between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five.头骨在15至25岁之间长合。
• He fell out of the window and cracked his skull.他从窗子摔了出去，跌裂了颅骨。

3 varnished   

浸渍过的，涂漆的

参考例句：

• The doors are then stained and varnished. 这些门还要染色涂清漆。
• He varnished the wooden table. 他给那张木桌涂了清漆。

4 DNA   

(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸

参考例句：

• DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。

5 rendering   

n.表现，描写

参考例句：

• She gave a splendid rendering of Beethoven's piano sonata.她精彩地演奏了贝多芬的钢琴奏鸣曲。
• His narrative is a super rendering of dialect speech and idiom.他的叙述是方言和土语最成功的运用。

6 specimen   

n.样本，标本

参考例句：

• You'll need tweezers to hold up the specimen.你要用镊子来夹这标本。
• This specimen is richly variegated in colour.这件标本上有很多颜色。

7 excavate   

vt.挖掘，挖出

参考例句：

• They plan to excavate a large hole.他们计划挖个大洞。
• A new Danish expedition is again excavating the site in annual summer digs.一支新的丹麦探险队又在那个遗址上进行一年一度的夏季挖掘。

8 sterile   

adj.不毛的，不孕的，无菌的，枯燥的，贫瘠的

参考例句：

• This top fits over the bottle and keeps the teat sterile.这个盖子严实地盖在奶瓶上，保持奶嘴无菌。
• The farmers turned the sterile land into high fields.农民们把不毛之地变成了高产田。

9 trickiest   

adj.狡猾的( tricky的最高级 )；（形势、工作等）复杂的；机警的；微妙的

参考例句：

• Many believe this is the trickiest area to navigate. 很多人认为这是最难驾驭的领域。 来自时文部分
• Establishing confidence in a new monetary system was the trickiest part. 建立对新货币体系的信心是其最棘手的部分。 来自互联网

10 dubiously   

adv.可疑地，怀疑地

参考例句：

• "What does he have to do?" queried Chin dubiously. “他有什么心事？”琴向觉民问道，她的脸上现出疑惑不解的神情。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）
• He walked out fast, leaving the head waiter staring dubiously at the flimsy blue paper. 他很快地走出去，撇下侍者头儿半信半疑地瞪着这张薄薄的蓝纸。 来自辞典例句

11 boundless   

adj.无限的；无边无际的；巨大的

参考例句：

• The boundless woods were sleeping in the deep repose of nature.无边无际的森林在大自然静寂的怀抱中酣睡着。
• His gratitude and devotion to the Party was boundless.他对党无限感激、无限忠诚。

12 rift   

n.裂口，隙缝，切口；v.裂开，割开，渗入

参考例句：

• He was anxious to mend the rift between the two men.他急于弥合这两个人之间的裂痕。
• The sun appeared through a rift in the clouds.太阳从云层间隙中冒出来。

13 rupture   

n.破裂；(关系的)决裂；v.(使)破裂

参考例句：

• I can rupture a rule for a friend.我可以为朋友破一次例。
• The rupture of a blood vessel usually cause the mark of a bruise.血管的突然破裂往往会造成外伤的痕迹。