2007年VOA标准英语-Sweden Honors Linneaus, 'Father of Modern Taxon

By Kevin Billinghurst
Uppsala, Sweden
26 May 2007

Celebrations this week in Sweden marked the 300th anniversary of the birth of Carl Linnaeus, the 18th-century Swedish scientist known as the father of taxonomy. On Saturday, the University of Uppsala, Linneaus's alma mater, awarded honorary doctorates² in his name to prominent scientists, including primatologist Jane Goodall, who has spent decades studying chimpanzee social behavior in Africa. Kevin Billinghurst has more from Sweden.

The French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau said there is "no greater man on earth." The German writer Goethe compared him to Shakespeare and Spinoza. The Swedish author and playwright³ Strindberg described him as a poet who happened to become a naturalist⁴.

Carl Linnaeus, born May 23, 1707, was a physician, a fluent linguist⁵, an ethnologist before there was such a term and an amateur ecologist.

But he is best known to history as a botanist⁶, having invented the modern system of taxonomy, which gives each plant and animal a double name in Latin. It was Linnaeus who coined the term Homo sapiens, or man the rational, a species that he classified among primates⁷.

As revolutionary as was that pre-Darwin, pre-DNA⁸ leap, based solely⁹ on observation of physical characteristics, Linnaeus was most lauded¹⁰ for his life's work classifying thousands of plants and animals in his now familiar binomial system.

The week-long Swedish celebration of Linnaeus's 300th birthday included a visit this week by Japanese Emperor Akahito, himself an avid¹¹ botanist, and on Saturday Uppsala University awarded honorary doctorates to a constellation¹² of prominent scientists and public figures honored for their contributions to understanding and protecting nature, including the British primatologist Jane Goodall, whose achievements in groundbreaking studies of chimpanzee social and family life include debunking¹³ the earlier conventional wisdom that only humans make tools.

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British primatologist Jane Goodall poses for a picture after receiving an honorary doctorate at the Faculty of Education of Uppsala University, north of Stockholm, 26 May 2007

Following a well-attended lecture upon acceptance of her degree, Goodall explained why Linnaeus remains¹⁵ so important to modern science.

"I think that really, the importance of Linnaeus is the way he grasped the similarities in structure between so many different organisms and laid them out in a way that's still useful today, said Goodall. "I find it quite extraordinary that someone would know enough all those years ago."

Goodall said that Linnaeus, by classifying humans and primates together, laid the groundwork for efforts by herself and many others to understand the great apes and protect their habitats from encroaching civilization and environmental destruction.

"I think that that shows that, even from a superficial look at the anatomy¹⁶ and so forth¹⁷, it's very clear that we are part of the family of great apes," she said. "What I find so amazing is how long it's taken science to admit -- and even now not all scientists do admit -- that there are also these similarities in behavior, in emotions, in intellectual performance."

Other recipients¹⁸ of of honorary doctorates from Uppsala University in commemoration of Linnaeus include the documentary filmmaker David Attenborough, the co-discoverer of the DNA molecule¹⁹ James Watson, and former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan.

1 doctorate   

n.(大学授予的)博士学位

参考例句：

• He hasn't enough credits to get his doctorate.他的学分不够取得博士学位。
• Where did she do her doctorate?她在哪里攻读博士？

2 doctorates   

n.博士学位( doctorate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Nearly 1,000 specialized personnel with doctorates have settled in Shenzhen. 现已引进博士学位的专门人才近千名。 来自互联网
• John played the field academically, obtaining doctorates from several universities. 约翰的学术广博，他从几所大学拿到了博士学位。 来自互联网

3 playwright   

n.剧作家，编写剧本的人

参考例句：

• Gwyn Thomas was a famous playwright.格温·托马斯是著名的剧作家。
• The playwright was slaughtered by the press.这位剧作家受到新闻界的无情批判。

4 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。

5 linguist   

n.语言学家；精通数种外国语言者

参考例句：

• I used to be a linguist till I become a writer.过去我是个语言学家，后来成了作家。
• Professor Cui has a high reputation as a linguist.崔教授作为语言学家名声很高。

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 primates   

primate的复数

参考例句：

• Primates are alert, inquisitive animals. 灵长目动物是机灵、好奇的动物。
• Consciousness or cerebration has been said to have emerged in the evolution of higher primates. 据说意识或思考在较高级灵长类的进化中已出现。

8 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。

9 solely   

adv.仅仅，唯一地

参考例句：

• Success should not be measured solely by educational achievement.成功与否不应只用学业成绩来衡量。
• The town depends almost solely on the tourist trade.这座城市几乎完全靠旅游业维持。

10 lauded   

v.称赞，赞美( laud的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They lauded the former president as a hero. 他们颂扬前总统为英雄。 来自辞典例句
• The nervy feats of the mountaineers were lauded. 登山者有勇气的壮举受到赞美。 来自辞典例句

11 avid   

adj.热心的；贪婪的；渴望的；劲头十足的

参考例句：

• He is rich,but he is still avid of more money.他很富有,但他还想贪图更多的钱。
• She was avid for praise from her coach.那女孩渴望得到教练的称赞。

12 constellation   

n.星座n.灿烂的一群

参考例句：

• A constellation is a pattern of stars as seen from the earth. 一个星座只是从地球上看到的某些恒星的一种样子。
• The Big Dipper is not by itself a constellation. 北斗七星本身不是一个星座。

13 debunking   

v.揭穿真相，暴露( debunk的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The debunking of religion has been too successful. 对于宗教的揭露太成功了。 来自互联网

14 faculty   

n.才能；学院，系；(学院或系的)全体教学人员

参考例句：

• He has a great faculty for learning foreign languages.他有学习外语的天赋。
• He has the faculty of saying the right thing at the right time.他有在恰当的时候说恰当的话的才智。

15 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

16 anatomy   

n.解剖学，解剖；功能，结构，组织

参考例句：

• He found out a great deal about the anatomy of animals.在动物解剖学方面，他有过许多发现。
• The hurricane's anatomy was powerful and complex.对飓风的剖析是一项庞大而复杂的工作。

17 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。

18 recipients   

adj.接受的；受领的；容纳的；愿意接受的n.收件人；接受者；受领者；接受器

参考例句：

• The recipients of the prizes had their names printed in the paper. 获奖者的姓名登在报上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The recipients of prizes had their names printed in the paper. 获奖者名单登在报上。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

19 molecule   

n.分子，克分子

参考例句：

• A molecule of water is made up of two atoms of hygrogen and one atom of oxygen.一个水分子是由P妈̬f婘̬ 妈̬成的。
• This gives us the structural formula of the molecule.这种方式给出了分子的结构式。