The Human Body: Life Story 生命物语-6

...is actually the result of immeasurable activity inside our bodies.

We are performing literally¹ thousands of different tasks every second of every day. Simply being is part of an intricately complicated balancing act, the mechanics of which are completely hidden from us. And just as our bodies hide from us the miracle of everyday life, so they hide from us an even bigger surprise.

It's the story of how we came to be the way we are. And it is an amazing story. It will change the way you think about your body, the way we live, the shape we are, even the way we think was decided² for us thousands, millions even billions of years ago, when the human body didn't even exist, and planet earth was almost unrecognizable.

Here we are. 8,000 feet above sea level, in America's Yellowstone National Park. If you'd been on the surface of the planet earth three billon years ago, it would have looked something like this. The earth would have been covered in volcanoes and billowing vents³ of steam and sulphurous water.

Had you been standing⁴ here, you'd have been present as the story of life was unfolding. And had you been standing here, you'd have been standing by the most advanced life form on the planet. In this almost boiling water, there are thousands of long thin strands⁵. They are actually colonies of tiny heat loving creatures, they are bacteria. Once, long ago, this was the most complex form of life anywhere on earth. What's so surprising is that it's still here today, just like it was three billion years ago. Whereas dinosaurs⁶ came and went, and literally millions of other species developed, withered and died out, this has survived practically unchanged.

words and expressions

billow:A great swell⁸, surge, or undulating mass, as of smoke or sound.
似巨浪翻腾：巨浪、波涛或波浪形团块，如烟雾或声音

sulphurous:[化]硫磺的, 含有硫磺的

wither: 消亡，衰退

1 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

2 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 vents   

（气体、液体等进出的）孔、口( vent的名词复数 )； （鸟、鱼、爬行动物或小哺乳动物的）肛门； 大衣等的)衩口； 开衩

参考例句：

• He always vents his anger on the dog. 他总是拿狗出气。
• The Dandelion Patch is the least developed of the four active vents. “蒲公英区”在这四个活裂口中是发育最差的一个。

4 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

5 strands   

n.（线、绳、金属线、毛发等的）股( strand的名词复数 )；缕；海洋、湖或河的)岸；（观点、计划、故事等的）部份v.使滞留，使搁浅( strand的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Twist a length of rope from strands of hemp. 用几股麻搓成了一段绳子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She laced strands into a braid. 她把几股线编织成一根穗带。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 dinosaurs   

n.恐龙( dinosaur的名词复数 )；守旧落伍的人，过时落后的东西

参考例句：

• The brontosaurus was one of the largest of all dinosaurs. 雷龙是所有恐龙中最大的一种。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Dinosaurs have been extinct for millions of years. 恐龙绝种已有几百万年了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 withered   

adj. 枯萎的，干瘪的，（人身体的部分器官）因病萎缩的或未发育良好的 动词wither的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The grass had withered in the warm sun. 这些草在温暖的阳光下枯死了。
• The leaves of this tree have become dry and withered. 这棵树下的叶子干枯了。

8 swell   

vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强

参考例句：

• The waves had taken on a deep swell.海浪汹涌。
• His injured wrist began to swell.他那受伤的手腕开始肿了。