万物简史 第551期:令人惊叹的细胞(15)

 In ways that we have barely begun to understand, trillions upon trillions of reflexive chemical reactions add up to a mobile, thinking, decision-making you, 几万亿几万亿个反射性的化学反应，以我们才刚刚开始知道的方式，加起来形成能行动、有思想、有主见的你

or, come to that, a rather less reflective but still incredibly organized dung beetle¹. 或者形成一个不大有思想而又依然结构有序的金龟子。

Every living thing, never forget, is a wonder of atomic engineering. 千万不要忘记，每个生物都是一个原子工程方面的奇迹。

Indeed, some organisms that we think of as primitive² enjoy a level of cellular³ organization that makes our own look carelessly pedestrian. 有一些我们认为是很原始的生物有着某种层面的细胞组织，使得我们自己的细胞组织看上去马虎潦草，平淡无奇。

Disassemble the cells of a sponge (by passing them through a sieve⁴, for instance), 将海绵的细胞分解开（比如通过过滤器过滤），

then dump them into a solution, and they will find their way back together and build themselves into a sponge again. 然后把它们倒进溶液中，它们会很快重新聚合，再次形成海绵。

You can do this to them over and over, and they will doggedly⁵ reassemble because, like you and me and every other living thing, 你可以反复做这种实验，它们总会顽固地重新聚合在一起。这是因为，就像你和我，以及所有别的生物那样，

they have one overwhelming impulse: to continue to be. 它们有一种不可抗拒的冲动：继续活下去。

And that's because of a curious, determined⁶, barely understood molecule⁷ that is itself not alive and for the most part doesn't do anything at all. 而这一切都是因为存在一种非常古怪、坚定不移、我们所知甚少的分子。这种分子本身没有生命，它们中的绝大多数根本不做任阿事情。

We call it DNA⁸, and to begin to understand its supreme⁹ importance to science and to us we need to go back 160 years or so to Victorian England 它的名字叫DNA。在开始了解它对于科学和对于我们所具有的极端重要性之前，我们有必要先回到大约160年前维多利亚时代的英国，

and to the moment when the naturalist¹⁰ Charles Darwin had what has been called "the single best idea that anyone has ever had", 即博物学家查尔斯·达尔文所生活的时期。当时，达尔文提出了一种“有史以来最好的理论”，

and then, for reasons that take a little explaining, locked it away in a drawer for the next fifteen years. 可是在随后的15年里却被锁在抽屉里。其中原因，我们得花费一些笔墨才能解释清楚。

 

1 beetle   

n.甲虫，近视眼的人

参考例句：

• A firefly is a type of beetle.萤火虫是一种甲虫。
• He saw a shiny green beetle on a leaf.我看见树叶上有一只闪闪发光的绿色甲虫。

2 primitive   

adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物

参考例句：

• It is a primitive instinct to flee a place of danger.逃离危险的地方是一种原始本能。
• His book describes the march of the civilization of a primitive society.他的著作描述了一个原始社会的开化过程。

3 cellular   

adj.移动的；细胞的，由细胞组成的

参考例句：

• She has a cellular telephone in her car.她的汽车里有一部无线通讯电话机。
• Many people use cellular materials as sensitive elements in hygrometers.很多人用蜂窝状的材料作为测量温度的传感元件。

4 sieve   

n.筛，滤器，漏勺

参考例句：

• We often shake flour through a sieve.我们经常用筛子筛面粉。
• Finally,it is like drawing water with a sieve.到头来，竹篮打水一场空。

5 doggedly   

adv.顽强地，固执地

参考例句：

• He was still doggedly pursuing his studies.他仍然顽强地进行着自己的研究。
• He trudged doggedly on until he reached the flat.他顽强地、步履艰难地走着，一直走回了公寓。

6 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

7 molecule   

n.分子，克分子

参考例句：

• A molecule of water is made up of two atoms of hygrogen and one atom of oxygen.一个水分子是由P妈̬f婘̬ 妈̬成的。
• This gives us the structural formula of the molecule.这种方式给出了分子的结构式。

8 DNA   

(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸

参考例句：

• DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。

9 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

10 naturalist   

n.博物学家(尤指直接观察动植物者)

参考例句：

• He was a printer by trade and naturalist by avocation.他从事印刷业，同时是个博物学爱好者。
• The naturalist told us many stories about birds.博物学家给我们讲述了许多有关鸟儿的故事。