万物简史 第541期:令人惊叹的细胞(5)

 The first person to describe a cell was Robert Hooke, 最先描述细胞的是罗伯特·胡克，我们在前面提到过他。

whom we last encountered squabbling with Isaac Newton over credit for the invention of the inverse¹ square law. 他为行星运行平方反比律的发现权和艾萨克·牛顿产生过争执。

Hooke achieved many things in his sixty-eight years, 胡克活了68岁。一生中取得了许多成就，

he was both an accomplished² theoretician and a dab³ hand at making ingenious and useful instruments, 他不仅是一个颇有造诣的理论家，同时还是一位制作精密仪器的高手，

but nothing he did brought him greater admiration⁴ than his popular book 但是使他赢得最大声誉的还是他完成于1665年的畅销书

Microphagia: or Some Physiological⁵ Descriptions of Miniature Bodies Made by Magnifying Glasses, produced in 1665. 《显微图片：或关于使用放大镜对微小实体作生理学描述》。

It revealed to an enchanted⁶ public a universe of the very small that was far more diverse, 他向心驰神往的公众展示了一个微观世界，在这个世界中，其纷繁复杂的多样性，

crowded, and finely structured than anyone had ever come close to imagining. 其熙熙攘攘的热闹程度，其巧妙绝伦的结构方式，都远远超出了此前任何人的想像。

Among the microscopic⁷ features first identified by Hooke were little chambers⁸ in plants that he called "cells" 胡克最先发现了许多微观情景，其中有植物身上的小空洞。他给这些空洞取了一个名字：“细胞”，

because they reminded him of monks⁹' cells. 因为它们使他联想起修道士的单人小室。

Hooke calculated that a one-inch square of cork¹⁰ would contain 1,259,712,000 of these tiny chambers, 胡克计算出1平方厘米软木片大约包含195255750个这样的小空洞，

the first appearance of such a very large number anywhere in science. 如此巨大的数字在科学领域还是第一次出现。

Microscopes by this time had been around for a generation or so, but what set Hooke's apart were their technical supremacy¹¹. 显微镜的发明到这个时候已经有一代人左右的时间，但不同的是，胡克的显微镜达到了高超的水平。

They achieved magnifications of thirty times, making them the last word in seventeenth-century optical technology. 它们可以放大30倍，在17世纪的光学技术中鹤立鸡群。

So it came as something of a shock when just a decade later Hooke and the other members of London's Royal Society began to receive drawings and reports from an unlettered linen¹² draper in Holland employing magnifications of up to 275 times. 因此，仅仅10年以后，当胡克和伦敦皇家学会的其他成员收到由荷兰代尔夫特一个亚麻布料商寄来的用275倍率显微镜观察所得的图像和报告时，他们不免感到有些吃惊。

 

1 inverse   

adj.相反的，倒转的，反转的；n.相反之物；v.倒转

参考例句：

• Evil is the inverse of good.恶是善的反面。
• When the direct approach failed he tried the inverse.当直接方法失败时，他尝试相反的做法。

2 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。

3 dab   

v.轻触，轻拍，轻涂；n.(颜料等的)轻涂

参考例句：

• She returned wearing a dab of rouge on each cheekbone.她回来时，两边面颊上涂有一点淡淡的胭脂。
• She gave me a dab of potatoes with my supper.她给我晚饭时，还给了一点土豆。

4 admiration   

n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕

参考例句：

• He was lost in admiration of the beauty of the scene.他对风景之美赞不绝口。
• We have a great admiration for the gold medalists.我们对金牌获得者极为敬佩。

5 physiological   

adj.生理学的，生理学上的

参考例句：

• He bought a physiological book.他买了一本生理学方面的书。
• Every individual has a physiological requirement for each nutrient.每个人对每种营养成分都有一种生理上的需要。

6 enchanted   

adj. 被施魔法的，陶醉的，入迷的 动词enchant的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• She was enchanted by the flowers you sent her. 她非常喜欢你送给她的花。
• He was enchanted by the idea. 他为这个主意而欣喜若狂。

7 microscopic   

adj.微小的，细微的，极小的，显微的

参考例句：

• It's impossible to read his microscopic handwriting.不可能看清他那极小的书写字迹。
• A plant's lungs are the microscopic pores in its leaves.植物的肺就是其叶片上微细的气孔。

8 chambers   

n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅

参考例句：

• The body will be removed into one of the cold storage chambers. 尸体将被移到一个冷冻间里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mr Chambers's readable book concentrates on the middle passage: the time Ransome spent in Russia. Chambers先生的这本值得一看的书重点在中间：Ransome在俄国的那几年。 来自互联网

9 monks   

n.修道士，僧侣( monk的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The monks lived a very ascetic life. 僧侣过着很清苦的生活。
• He had been trained rigorously by the monks. 他接受过修道士的严格训练。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 cork   

n.软木，软木塞

参考例句：

• We heard the pop of a cork.我们听见瓶塞砰的一声打开。
• Cork is a very buoyant material.软木是极易浮起的材料。

11 supremacy   

n.至上；至高权力

参考例句：

• No one could challenge her supremacy in gymnastics.她是最优秀的体操运动员，无人能胜过她。
• Theoretically,she holds supremacy as the head of the state.从理论上说，她作为国家的最高元首拥有至高无上的权力。

12 linen   

n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的

参考例句：

• The worker is starching the linen.这名工人正在给亚麻布上浆。
• Fine linen and cotton fabrics were known as well as wool.精细的亚麻织品和棉织品像羊毛一样闻名遐迩。