时差N小时 动物之间也会互相帮助(下)

But evolutionists suggest that when animals help animals who are their genetic¹ relatives, or who are likely to return the favor later on, they are actually helping² their species to survive the process of natural selection.

但进化论者认为，当动物们在帮助那些遗传亲属，或可能会在稍后回报其所提供的这种帮助时，它们实际上是在帮助它们的种群能够在自然选择的过程中存活下来。

Some animals will even sacrifice their own lives to insure the survival of the larger group.

某些动物甚至会牺牲自己的生命以保全更大种群的存活。

The worker honeybee, for example, will die defending her hive if necessary.

比如说工蜂，在保护蜂巢的过程中就会不惜牺牲生命。

Even acts that seem selfish may end up helping the group in the long run.

甚至，某些看上去貌似自私的行为实际长远看来也有助于种群存活。

For instance, when there isn't enough food to go around, wasps³ and termites⁴ will cannibalize their nest-mates.

比如说，当附近没有足够的食物时，黄蜂和白蚁就会对它们同族的伙伴进行蚕食。

Gruesome as this may seem, it insures the colony's survival through tough times.

也许听上去很可怕，但实际上这保证了艰难时期种群的存活。

Although here at A Moment of Science, we don't condone⁵ human cannibalism⁶, we still hope that these examples of altruism⁷ in animals will give you some food for thought.

我们《科学一刻》栏目虽然不能宽恕人类自相残杀的行为，但我们希望，这些存在于动物之间的利他主义将会带给大家一些发人深省的思想。

1 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

2 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

3 wasps   

黄蜂( wasp的名词复数 )； 胡蜂； 易动怒的人； 刻毒的人

参考例句：

• There's a wasps' nest in that old tree. 那棵老树上有一个黄蜂巢。
• We live in dread not only of unpleasant insects like spiders or wasps, but of quite harmless ones like moths. 我们不仅生活在对象蜘蛛或黄蜂这样的小虫的惧怕中，而且生活在对诸如飞蛾这样无害昆虫的惧怕中

4 termites   

n.白蚁( termite的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Termites are principally tropical in distribution. 白蚁主要分布在热带地区。 来自辞典例句
• This spray will exterminate the termites. 这种喷剂能消灭白蚁。 来自辞典例句

5 condone   

v.宽恕；原谅

参考例句：

• I cannot condone the use of violence.我不能宽恕使用暴力的行为。
• I will not condone a course of action that will lead us to war.我绝不允许任何导致战争的行为。

6 cannibalism   

n.同类相食；吃人肉

参考例句：

• The war is just like the cannibalism of animals.战争就如同动物之间的互相残。
• They were forced to practise cannibalism in order to survive.他们被迫人吃人以求活下去。

7 altruism   

n.利他主义，不自私

参考例句：

• An important feature of moral behaviour is altruism.道德行为一个重要特点就是利他主义。
• Altruism is crucial for social cohesion.利他主义对社会的凝聚是至关重要的。