TED演讲:为什么应该喜爱'恶心'的科学(2)

 　　And after a year and a half of making my show, I can tell you that very often when we explore the gross side of life, 从我制作节目以来的一年半中，我可以告诉各位，当我们探索生命中恶心的部分时，

　　we find insights that we never would have thought we'd find, and we even often reveal beauty that we didn't think was there. 我们经常会获得意料之外的洞察，甚至经常揭示一些出乎意料的美。

　　I think it's important for us to talk about gross things for a few reasons. 我认为谈论恶心的事物对我们来说很重要，有这么几个原因。

　　So, first of all, talking about gross stuff is a great tool for education, and it's an excellent way to preserve curiosity. 首先，谈论恶心的事物堪称教育的利器，也是保持好奇心的绝妙方法。

　　To explain what I mean, why don't I tell you a little bit about what I was like as a child? 为了解释我的意思，倒不如分享一点我小时候的经历。

　　So, I was what you might call a gross kid. 也许你们会称曾经的我为一名让人恶心的孩子。

　　In fact, my love of science itself began when my parents bought me a slime chemistry set 事实上，我对科学本身的热爱，开始于我的父母带给我的一套黏糊糊的化学实验工具，

　　and was then only enhanced by doing gross experiments in my sixth-grade biology class. 并通过我在六年级生物课上做的恶心的实验得到了进一步发展。

　　So we did things like, we swabbed surfaces around our classroom and cultured the bacteria we'd collected, 例如：我们在教室的各个角落收集细菌并进行培育，

　　and we dissected¹ owl² pellets, which are these balls of material that are undigested that owls³ barf up, 我们同样剖析了猫头鹰呕吐出的唾馀，包含着猫头鹰吞下去的一团团不消化的食物，

　　and it's really kind of gross and awesome⁴ and cool. 那确实有些恶心、怪异，但也很酷。

　　Now, the fact that I was obsessed⁵ with gross stuff as a kid is not so revolutionary. 实际上，我孩提时对恶心事物的痴迷，也算不上具有革命性的意义。

　　You know, lots of kids are really into gross things, like playing in dirt or collecting beetles⁶ or eating their boogers. 许多孩子们的生活都离不开恶心的事物，像玩泥巴、收集甲虫或吃鼻屎。

　　And why is that? I think really little kids are like little explorers. 为什么呢？我认为，小孩子就像小探险家一样。

　　They just want to experience as much as they can 他们只想尽他们所能地探索，

　　and don't have any idea about the relative acceptability of touching⁷ a ladybug versus⁸ a stinkbug. 但对相对接受性毫无概念，例如接触瓢虫或臭虫。

　　They just want to understand how everything works and experience as much of life as they can. 他们只想知道万物如何存在，并尽他们所能地一探究竟。

　　And that is pure curiosity. But then adults step in, 那是纯粹的好奇心。接着，成人逐渐涉足，

　　and we tell kids not to pick their noses and not to touch the slugs or toads¹⁰ or whatever else they find in the backyard, 我们告诉孩子们不要挖鼻孔，不要摸鼻涕虫或蟾蜍，或者其它一切他们在后院找到的，

　　because those things are gross. And we do that in part to keep kids safe, right? 因为那些东西很恶心。我们那样做部分是为了保证孩子们的安全，对吗？

　　Like, maybe picking your nose spreads germs and maybe touching that toad⁹ will give you warts¹¹, 例如，挖鼻孔也许会传播细菌，摸蟾蜍也可能会带来疣疾，

　　even though I don't actually think that's true. 虽然如此，我却不敢苟同。

　　You should feel free to touch as many toads as you want. 你们应该感到无拘无束，想摸多少蟾蜍就摸多少。

1 dissected   

adj.切开的，分割的，（叶子）多裂的v.解剖（动物等）( dissect的过去式和过去分词 )；仔细分析或研究

参考例句：

• Her latest novel was dissected by the critics. 评论家对她最近出版的一部小说作了详细剖析。
• He dissected the plan afterward to learn why it had failed. 他事后仔细剖析那项计划以便搞清它失败的原因。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 owl   

n.猫头鹰，枭

参考例句：

• Her new glasses make her look like an owl.她的新眼镜让她看上去像只猫头鹰。
• I'm a night owl and seldom go to bed until after midnight.我睡得很晚，经常半夜后才睡觉。

3 owls   

n.猫头鹰( owl的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• 'Clumsy fellows,'said I; 'they must still be drunk as owls.' “这些笨蛋，”我说，“他们大概还醉得像死猪一样。” 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛
• The great majority of barn owls are reared in captivity. 大多数仓鸮都是笼养的。 来自辞典例句

4 awesome   

adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的

参考例句：

• The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.

5 obsessed   

adj.心神不宁的,鬼迷心窍的,沉迷的

参考例句：

• He's obsessed by computers. 他迷上了电脑。
• The fear of death obsessed him throughout his old life. 他晚年一直受着死亡恐惧的困扰。

6 beetles   

n.甲虫( beetle的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Beetles bury pellets of dung and lay their eggs within them. 甲壳虫把粪粒埋起来，然后在里面产卵。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This kind of beetles have hard shell. 这类甲虫有坚硬的外壳。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

8 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

9 toad   

n.蟾蜍，癞蛤蟆

参考例句：

• Both the toad and frog are amphibian.蟾蜍和青蛙都是两栖动物。
• Many kinds of toad hibernate in winter.许多种蟾蜍在冬天都会冬眠。

10 toads   

n.蟾蜍，癞蛤蟆( toad的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• All toads blink when they swallow. 所有的癞蛤蟆吞食东西时都会眨眼皮。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Toads have shorter legs and are generally more clumsy than frogs. 蟾蜍比青蛙脚短，一般说来没有青蛙灵活。 来自辞典例句

11 warts   

n.疣( wart的名词复数 )；肉赘；树瘤；缺点

参考例句：

• You agreed to marry me, warts and all! 是你同意和我结婚的，我又没掩饰缺陷。 来自辞典例句
• Talk about trying to cure warts with spunk-water such a blame fool way as that! 用那样糊涂蛋的方法还谈什么仙水治疣子！ 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险