2020年经济学人 被时间遗忘的虫子(1)

Far from the life-sustaining light of the sun, the deep sea floor appears barren and desolate¹.

远离能够维持生命的阳光，深海海底显得贫瘠荒凉。

Its appearance, however, belies² a thriving bacterial³ ecosystem⁴ that may contain as much as 45% of the world's biomass of microbes.

然而，它的表层掩盖了一个繁荣的细菌生态系统，其中可能包含了世界上45%的微生物生物量。

This ecosystem is fuelled by what is known as marine⁵ snow—

这种生态系统是由所谓的海雪堆积形成——

a steady shower of small, nutrient-rich particles that fall like manna from the ocean layers near the surface, where photosynthesis⁶ takes place.

一阵阵营养含量丰富的小颗粒，像甘露一样从发生光合作用的海面附近的海层中源源不断地飘落下来。

Not all of the snow is digestible, though. And the indigestible parts build up, layer upon layer, burying as they do so the bugs⁷ in the layer below.

不过，并不是所有的雪都能融化。无法融化的部分一层一层堆积起来，将虫子埋在了表层之下。

To look at how well these bacteria survive entombment

为了观察这些细菌被埋藏后的生存状况，

a group of researchers led by Morono Yuki of the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology

由日本海洋地球科学技术厅的Morono Yuki

and Steven D'Hondt of the University of Rhode Island studied samples collected in 2010 by the Integrated Ocean Drilling Programme,

以及罗德岛大学的Steven D'Hondt所带领的研究团队研究了2010年综合大洋钻探计划收集的样本，

a decade-long international expedition of which they were part. Their results, just published in Nature Communications, are extraordinary.

该计划是一项长达十年的国际探险的一部分。他们的结果（刚发表于《Nature Communications》）非常了不起。

They seem to have brought back to life bacteria that have been dormant⁸ for over 100m years.

他们似乎复活了一种已休眠1亿多年的细菌。

For many microbes, burial is an immediate⁹ death sentence. Some, however, are able to enter a state of dormancy¹⁰—

对很多细菌而言，被埋葬就等于直接被判了死刑。然而，一些细菌能够进入一种休眠状态——

slowing their metabolisms¹¹ down almost, but not quite, to zero.

将它们的新陈代谢速度降至趋于零。

They can remain in this state for considerable periods. But precisely¹² how long has been a subject of debate.

它们能够在这种状态中维持很长一段时期。但究竟能维持多久一直是有争议的话题。

The samples Dr Morono and Dr D'Hondt chose for examination came from a place in the Pacific Ocean

Morono博士和D'Hondt博士选择检查的样本来自太平洋的某个地方，

where the sea bed is nearly 6,000 metres below the surface. That made drilling a challenge.

那里的海床位于海面下近6000米处。这就给钻探带来了挑战。

But the expedition was able to recover sediment¹³ cores stretching all the way down to the underlying¹⁴ rock—a thickness of 100 metres in some cases.

但是这次探险能够恢复一直延伸到地下岩石的沉积物岩心，在某些情况下其厚度达了100米。

The oldest material in these cores dated back 101.5m years, to the middle of the Cretaceous period, the heyday¹⁵, on land, of the dinosaurs¹⁶.

这些岩心中最古老的物质能够追溯到1.015亿年前的白垩纪中期，也就是恐龙在陆地上的全盛时期。

Examination of the sediments¹⁷ showed that even the oldest still contained a few bacteria.

对沉积物的检查表明，即便是最古老的物质中也含有一些细菌。

The question was, were these organisms dead or alive? To find out, the researchers incubated the samples,

问题是，这些生物体是死是活？为了查明，研究人员培育了这些样本，

slowly feeding them compounds rich in carbon and nitrogen in order to coax¹⁸ any still-living microbes out of their dormancy.

慢慢地给它们喂食富含碳和氮的化合物，以诱使任何仍活着的微生物脱离休眠状态。

1 desolate   

adj.荒凉的，荒芜的；孤独的，凄凉的；v.使荒芜，使孤寂

参考例句：

• The city was burned into a desolate waste.那座城市被烧成一片废墟。
• We all felt absolutely desolate when she left.她走后，我们都觉得万分孤寂。

2 belies   

v.掩饰( belie的第三人称单数 )；证明（或显示）…为虚假；辜负；就…扯谎

参考例句：

• His appearance belies him. 他的外貌给人以假象。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The modesty of their home belies their great wealth. 他们简朴的家使人们看不出他们拥有巨额财富。 来自辞典例句

3 bacterial   

a.细菌的

参考例句：

• Bacterial reproduction is accelerated in weightless space. 在失重的空间，细菌繁殖加快了。
• Brain lesions can be caused by bacterial infections. 大脑损伤可能由细菌感染引起。

4 ecosystem   

n.生态系统

参考例句：

• This destroyed the ecosystem of the island.这样破坏了岛上的生态系统。
• We all have an interest in maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem.维持生态系统的完整是我们共同的利益。

5 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

6 photosynthesis   

n.光合作用

参考例句：

• In apple trees photosynthesis occurs almost exclusively in the leaves.苹果树的光合作用几乎只发生在叶内。
• Chloroplasts are the structures in which photosynthesis happens.叶绿体就是光合作用发生的地方。

7 bugs   

adj.疯狂的，发疯的n.窃听器( bug的名词复数 )；病菌；虫子；[计算机]（制作软件程序所产生的意料不到的）错误

参考例句：

• All programs have bugs and need endless refinement. 所有的程序都有漏洞，都需要不断改进。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The sacks of rice were swarming with bugs. 一袋袋的米里长满了虫子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 dormant   

adj.暂停活动的；休眠的；潜伏的

参考例句：

• Many animals are in a dormant state during winter.在冬天许多动物都处于睡眠状态。
• This dormant volcano suddenly fired up.这座休眠火山突然爆发了。

9 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

10 dormancy   

n.睡眠，冬眠，隐匿

参考例句：

• During dormancy the plants must be kept very dry. 在休眠期，植物必须保持非常干燥。 来自辞典例句
• It may also come to the point of virtual dormancy. 它也可以达到实际上的潜伏状态。 来自辞典例句

11 metabolisms   

n.新陈代谢( metabolism的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Garden snails are evolving slower metabolisms. 花园蜗牛新陈代谢进化缓慢。 来自互联网
• Elite swimmers tend to be born with certain advantages, such as superefficient metabolisms. 精华的游泳者趋于与某个优点出生，例如superefficient新陈代谢。 来自互联网

12 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

13 sediment   

n.沉淀，沉渣，沉积(物)

参考例句：

• The sediment settled and the water was clear.杂质沉淀后，水变清了。
• Sediment begins to choke the channel's opening.沉积物开始淤塞河道口。

14 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

15 heyday   

n.全盛时期，青春期

参考例句：

• The 19th century was the heyday of steam railways.19世纪是蒸汽机车鼎盛的时代。
• She was a great singer in her heyday.她在自己的黄金时代是个了不起的歌唱家。

16 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》

17 sediments   

沉淀物( sediment的名词复数 )； 沉积物

参考例句：

• When deposited, 70-80% of the volume of muddy sediments may be water. 泥质沉积物沉积后，体积的70-80％是水。
• Oligocene erosion had truncated the sediments draped over the dome. 覆盖于穹丘上的沉积岩为渐新世侵蚀所截削。

18 coax   

v.哄诱，劝诱，用诱哄得到，诱取

参考例句：

• I had to coax the information out of him.我得用好话套出他掌握的情况。
• He tried to coax the secret from me.他试图哄骗我说出秘方。