VOA标准英语2015--研究者回忆露西骨架的发现

Discovery of Lucy Skeleton Continues to be Relevant 研究者回忆露西骨架的发现

LOS ANGELES—

It has been more than 40 years since the discovery in Ethiopia of the early human skeleton named Lucy. She is one of the most famous finds of the 20th century and helped researchers better understand the history of humans.

What visitors find at a natural history museum may seem far removed from the present, but the man who discovered the famous Lucy skeleton, Don Johanson, said the knowledge found in old bones is still relevant today.

“There is a single common origin for humanity. No matter the shape of our eyes, no matter the color of our skin, no matter the shape of our hair, no matter what kind of culture we live in, we all carry those same genes¹ in our body. We are united by our past. We are united by this common beginning,” said Johanson.

In 1974, Johanson discovered 40 percent of Lucy’s skeleton in Ethiopia. At 3.2 million years old, she was at the time the oldest human ancestor yet found. 

“And that was a defining moment for me and for paleoanthropology, because for Lucy while she was found so many years ago, still remains² terribly important for understanding our earliest beginnings and occupies a very important place on the human family tree as a bridge between more ape-like and more human-like creatures,” he said.

Johanson said Lucy was just over a meter tall, with an ape-like face and a small brain.  She had long arms and short legs. She also possessed³ an important human feature: the ability to walk upright. Johanson said finding Lucy advanced the field of paleoanthropology.

“Lucy’s discovery in 1974 in Ethiopia really sparked and ignited a whole series of expeditions in Ethiopia that helped us flesh out the human family tree and we find out there were many more species on that tree than we had ever known before,” said Johanson.

Johanson said the idea that humans originated from Africa is a relatively⁴ recent one.

“Through much of the 20th century, there was this very Eurocentric view that we all evolved in Europe, that that was the finishing school for humanity, but now there’s almost complete consensus⁵ among scholars who study human origins that Africa was the place, just as Darwin had predicted way back in the middle 1800s,” he said.

Discoveries such as Lucy not only led scholars to understand the common origins of all humans; it also highlights the uniqueness of the modern man. Today’s human has a complex brain, language and culture. Johanson said these traits allow humans to adapt and overcome the environmental challenges that have occurred and will continue to occur over time.

1 genes   

n.基因( gene的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• You have good genes from your parents, so you should live a long time. 你从父母那儿获得优良的基因，所以能够活得很长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Differences will help to reveal the functions of the genes. 它们间的差异将会帮助我们揭开基因多种功能。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 生物技术的世纪

2 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。

3 possessed   

adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的

参考例句：

• He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。
• He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。

4 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

5 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？