走进剑桥大学 第20期:物种起源与达尔文

 Origin of Species and Darwin

物种起源与达尔文

Charles Darwin was the British naturalist¹ who became famous for his theories of evolution and natural selection. Like several scientists before him, Darwin believed all the life on earth evolved over millions of years from a few common ancestors.

查尔斯达尔文是英国博物学者，因提出进化论和自然选择学说而闻名于世。和科学界前辈一样，达尔文相信地球上的所有生命都是由少数共同的祖先历经数百万年进化而来的。

Born in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England, on February 12, 1809，Darwin was the fifth child of a wealthy family. After graduating from the elite² school at Shrewsbury in 1825, young Darwin went to the University of Edinburgh Medical School to study medicine. In 1827 he dropped out of medical school and entered the Christ’s College, Cambridge, in preparation for becoming a clergyman of the Church of England. There he met two stellar figures: Adam Sedgwick, a geologist³, and John Stevens Henslow, a naturalist. Henslow not only helped build Darwin’s self-confidence but also taught him to be a meticulous⁴ and painstaking⁵ observer of natural phenomena⁶ and collector of specimens⁷. After graduating from Cambridge in 1831，the 22-year-old Darwin was taken aboard the English survey ship Beagle, largely on Henslow's recommendation, as an unpaid⁸ naturalist on a scientific expedition around the world.

达尔文于1809年2月12日出生在英格兰希施罗普郡什鲁斯伯里的一个富裕家庭，在家中排行第五。1825年毕业于什鲁斯伯里的一个精英学校后，年轻的达尔文考入爱丁堡大学医学院学习医学。1827年他从医学院辍学并进入剑桥大学基督学院学习，准备成为英国国教牧师。在剑桥达尔文遇见了两位一流的人物：地质学者亚当塞奇威克和博物学者约翰斯蒂文亨斯楼。亨斯楼不仅帮助达尔文建立自信，还教导他要一丝不苟、不辞辛劳地观察自然现象和收集标本。1831年从剑桥大学毕业后，在亨斯楼的大力推荐下，22岁的达尔文作为一名不收报酬的博物学者开始了他环游世界的科学探

In South America Darwin found fossils of extinct animals that were similar to modern species. On the Galapagos Islands in the Pacific Ocean he noticed many variations among plants and animals of the same general type as those in South America. The expedition visited places around the world, and Darwin studied plants and animals everywhere he went, collecting specimens for further study.

达尔文在南美洲发现了和现代物种相似的灭绝动物的化石。在太平洋的加拉帕哥斯群岛，他注意到和南美洲的情况一样，同一个大类的动植物的很多变种都是相似的。达尔文随探险队拜访了世界 上的许多地方，每到一处，他就开始研究当地的动植物，收集标本以备更深一步的研究。

Upon his return to London in 1836，Darwin conducted thorough research of his notes and specimens. Out of this study grew several theories: one, evolution did occur; two, evolutionary⁹ change was gradual, requiring thousands to millions of years; three, the primary mechanism¹⁰ for evolution was a process called natural selection; and four, the millions of species alive today arose from a single original life form through a process called “sperfation."

1836年回到伦敦后，达尔文对他的笔记和标本就行了深入的研究。他的研究衍生出一些学说： 第一，进化的确发生了；第二，进化对于物种的改变是渐进的，需要上千甚至上百万年的时间：第三，产生进化的最主要机制是一种被称为自然选择的进程；第四，当今世上的数百万物种是由一个单一的初级生命形式通过“物种形成”衍生出来的。

Darwin’s theory of evolutionary selection holds that variation within species occurs randomly¹¹ and that the survival or extinction¹² of each organism is determined¹³ by that organism's ability to adapt to its environment. He set these theories forth¹⁴ in his book called The Origin of Species (1859). After publication of Origin of Species, Darwin continued to write on botany, geology, and zoology¹⁵ until his death in 1882.

达尔文的进化选择学说认为物种的变异是随机发生的，每一个生物体的存活或灭绝是由那个生物体适应环境的能力决定的。1859年，他在自己的著作《物种起源》中 提出了这些学说。《物种起源》出版后，达尔文继续在植物学、地质学和动物学等方面著书立作，一直到1882年辞世。

1 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。

2 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

3 geologist   

n.地质学家

参考例句：

• The geologist found many uncovered fossils in the valley.在那山谷里，地质学家发现了许多裸露的化石。
• He was a geologist,rated by his cronies as the best in the business.他是一位地质学家，被他的老朋友们看做是这门行当中最好的一位。

4 meticulous   

adj.极其仔细的，一丝不苟的

参考例句：

• We'll have to handle the matter with meticulous care.这事一点不能含糊。
• She is meticulous in her presentation of facts.她介绍事实十分详细。

5 painstaking   

adj.苦干的；艰苦的，费力的，刻苦的

参考例句：

• She is not very clever but she is painstaking.她并不很聪明，但肯下苦功夫。
• Through years of our painstaking efforts,we have at last achieved what we have today.大家经过多少年的努力，才取得今天的成绩。

6 phenomena   

n.现象

参考例句：

• Ade couldn't relate the phenomena with any theory he knew.艾德无法用他所知道的任何理论来解释这种现象。
• The object of these experiments was to find the connection,if any,between the two phenomena.这些实验的目的就是探索这两种现象之间的联系，如果存在着任何联系的话。

7 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》

8 unpaid   

adj.未付款的，无报酬的

参考例句：

• Doctors work excessive unpaid overtime.医生过度加班却无报酬。
• He's doing a month's unpaid work experience with an engineering firm.他正在一家工程公司无偿工作一个月以获得工作经验。

9 evolutionary   

adj.进化的；演化的，演变的；[生]进化论的

参考例句：

• Life has its own evolutionary process.生命有其自身的进化过程。
• These are fascinating questions to be resolved by the evolutionary studies of plants.这些十分吸引人的问题将在研究植物进化过程中得以解决。

10 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。

11 randomly   

adv.随便地，未加计划地

参考例句：

• Within the hot gas chamber, molecules are moving randomly in all directions. 在灼热的气体燃烧室内，分子在各个方向上作无规运动。 来自辞典例句
• Transformed cells are loosely attached, rounded and randomly oriented. 转化细胞则不大贴壁、圆缩并呈杂乱分布。 来自辞典例句

12 extinction   

n.熄灭，消亡，消灭，灭绝，绝种

参考例句：

• The plant is now in danger of extinction.这种植物现在有绝种的危险。
• The island's way of life is doomed to extinction.这个岛上的生活方式注定要消失。

13 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

14 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

15 zoology   

n.动物学，生态

参考例句：

• I would like to brush up my zoology.我想重新温习一下动物学。
• The library didn't stock zoology textbooks.这家图书馆没有动物学教科书。