国家地理 水母为何如此迷人(2)

Scary, squishy, cool, brainless, mesmerizing¹ -- jellyfish are all of these and a whole lot more. Anatomically they're relatively² simple animals; they lack not just brains, but also blood and bones, and possess only rudimentary sense organs. Despite their name, jellyfish aren't, of course, fish. In fact they aren't any one thing.

可怕、黏糊、酷炫、无脑、迷人--水母综合了所有这些特点，而且远不只如此。从身体构造来看，它们是相对简单的动物；它们不只没有脑，也没有血液和骨骼，只有基本的感觉器官。水母的英文是jellyfish，尽管如此，它们并不是鱼。事实上，水母在分类学上无法分类成单一群体。

Many of the creatures lumped together as jellyfish are no more closely related than, say, horseflies are to horses. Not only do they occupy disparate branches of the animal family tree, but they also live in different habitats; some like the ocean surface, others the depths, and a few prefer freshwater. What unites them is that they've converged³ on a similarly successful strategy for floating through life: Their bodies are gelatinous.

许多被笼统归类成水母的动物，它们之间的亲缘关系其实就跟马蝇和马一样，并不密切。它们不但在动物系谱树里占据不同的分支，也生活在不同的栖地里：有些喜欢海洋表面，有些喜欢深海，少数偏好淡水。这些动物的共同点，是它们都趋同演化出类似且成功的漂浮式生命策略：它们都有胶质状的身体。

Not surprisingly, given their diverse evolutionary⁴ history, jellies exhibit a fantastic range of shapes, sizes, and behaviors. When it comes to reproduction, they're some of the most versatile⁵ creatures on the planet. Jellyfish can produce offspring both sexually and asexually; depending on the species, they may be able to create copies of themselves by dividing in two, or laying down little pods of cells, or spinning off tiny snowflake-shaped clones in a process known as strobilation. Most astonishing of all, some jellies seem able to reproduce from beyond the grave.

可以想见，由于水母的演化史各异，它们也呈现出形形色色的外形、大小和行为。在繁殖方面，它们可以说是地球上最多才多艺的生物。水母可以行有性生殖与无性生殖；按物种不同，有的可以一分为二变出另外一个自己、有的会在水里产下精子或卵子，有的能透过称为断裂生殖的过程，释放出许多微小的、雪花状的无性繁殖系。最令人惊讶的是，有些水母似乎在死后还可以繁殖。

The so-called immortal⁶ jellyfish resembles a tiny, hairy thimble and lives in the Mediterranean⁷ Sea and also off Japan. Members of the species can reverse the aging process so that instead of expiring, they reconstitute themselves as juveniles⁹. The juvenile⁸ then starts the jellyfish's life cycle all over again. It's as if a frog, say, were to revert¹⁰ to a tadpole¹¹ or a butterfly to a caterpillar¹². Scientists call the near-miraculous process transdifferentiation.

有永生水母之称的灯塔水母，看起来就像是毛茸茸的迷你顶针，生活在地中海与日本沿海。这种水母可以逆转老化过程，因此不会死亡，反而能返老还童，回到幼体期，重新开始生命周期。这就好比一只青蛙重新变成蝌蚪，或是蝴蝶重新回到毛毛虫的阶段。科学家将这种堪称奇迹的过程称为转分化。

1 mesmerizing   

adj.有吸引力的，有魅力的v.使入迷( mesmerize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• I think you must be mesmerizing me, Charles. 查尔斯，我想你一定在对我施催眠术啦。 来自辞典例句
• The attendant one-dimensional wave equation has mesmerizing harmonic properties. 伴生的一元波平衡具有迷人的和谐特性。 来自电影对白

2 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。

3 converged   

v.（线条、运动的物体等）会于一点( converge的过去式 )；（趋于）相似或相同；人或车辆汇集；聚集

参考例句：

• Thousands of supporters converged on London for the rally. 成千上万的支持者从四面八方汇聚伦敦举行集会。
• People converged on the political meeting from all parts of the city. 人们从城市的四面八方涌向这次政治集会。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 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。

5 versatile   

adj.通用的，万用的；多才多艺的，多方面的

参考例句：

• A versatile person is often good at a number of different things.多才多艺的人通常擅长许多种不同的事情。
• He had been one of the game's most versatile athletes.他是这项运动中技术最全面的运动员之一。

6 immortal   

adj.不朽的；永生的，不死的；神的

参考例句：

• The wild cocoa tree is effectively immortal.野生可可树实际上是不会死的。
• The heroes of the people are immortal!人民英雄永垂不朽！

7 Mediterranean   

adj.地中海的；地中海沿岸的

参考例句：

• The houses are Mediterranean in character.这些房子都属地中海风格。
• Gibraltar is the key to the Mediterranean.直布罗陀是地中海的要冲。

8 juvenile   

n.青少年，少年读物；adj.青少年的，幼稚的

参考例句：

• For a grown man he acted in a very juvenile manner.身为成年人，他的行为举止显得十分幼稚。
• Juvenile crime is increasing at a terrifying rate.青少年犯罪正在以惊人的速度增长。

9 juveniles   

n.青少年( juvenile的名词复数 )；扮演少年角色的演员；未成年人

参考例句：

• Do you think that punishment for violent crimes should be the same for juveniles and adults? 你对暴力犯罪的惩罚对于青少年和成人应一样吗？ 来自生活英语口语25天快训
• Juveniles Should we not exactly in need of such strength and conviction? 少年的我们难道不正是需要这种力量和信念吗？ 来自互联网

10 revert   

v.恢复，复归，回到

参考例句：

• Let us revert to the earlier part of the chapter.让我们回到本章的前面部分。
• Shall we revert to the matter we talked about yesterday?我们接着昨天谈过的问题谈，好吗？

11 tadpole   

n.[动]蝌蚪

参考例句：

• As a tadpole changes into a frog,its tail is gradually absorbed.蝌蚪变成蛙，它的尾巴就逐渐被吸收掉。
• It was a tadpole.Now it is a frog.它过去是蝌蚪，现在是一只青蛙。

12 caterpillar   

n.毛虫，蝴蝶的幼虫

参考例句：

• A butterfly is produced by metamorphosis from a caterpillar.蝴蝶是由毛虫脱胎变成的。
• A caterpillar must pass through the cocoon stage to become a butterfly.毛毛虫必须经过茧的阶段才能变成蝴蝶。