纪录片《熟食造就了人类吗》 第40期：大肠道的不利

The results reveal the extraordinary effect

实验结果揭示 烹煮过的食品

that cooking food has on easing its way through the snake's body.

确实更易被蟒蛇吸收 并产生重大影响

So when we feed the python a ground, cooked steak

我们发现消化搅碎后的熟牛排

we find that the energy expended¹ on digestion² assimilation

所消耗的能量 比消化未加工的生牛排

has decreased by 24% compared to the intact, raw steak.

所消耗的能量少24%

The figure has huge significance.

这个数字非常重要

It shows that eating cooked food reduces by a quarter

它告诉我们 吃熟食比吃生食

the energy required to carry out the process of digestion.

消耗的能量要少四分之一

Professor Wrangham claims that this extra energy

朗汉教授称这些多余的能量

caused the dramatic adaptations in Homo erectus.

使直立人发生重大适应性变化

Cooking made our guts³ smaller.

烹饪使我们的肠道变小

Once we cooked our food,

我们烹饪食物后

we didn't need big guts,

就不需要大肠胃去消化

and big guts were a disadvantage...

大肠道对于我们很不利

they're costly⁴ in terms of energy.

它们消耗的能量较多

So those individuals that were born with small guts

那些生来具有小肠胃的个体

were able to save energy and therefore have more babies and survive better.

才能节约能量 从而生育更多后代并活得更好

1 expended   

v.花费( expend的过去式和过去分词 )；使用（钱等）做某事；用光；耗尽

参考例句：

• She expended all her efforts on the care of home and children. 她把所有精力都花在料理家务和照顾孩子上。
• The enemy had expended all their ammunition. 敌人已耗尽所有的弹药。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 digestion   

n.消化，吸收

参考例句：

• This kind of tea acts as an aid to digestion.这种茶可助消化。
• This food is easy of digestion.这食物容易消化。

3 guts   

v.狼吞虎咽，贪婪地吃，飞碟游戏（比赛双方每组5人，相距15码，互相掷接飞碟）；毁坏（建筑物等）的内部( gut的第三人称单数 )；取出…的内脏n.勇气( gut的名词复数 )；内脏；消化道的下段；肠

参考例句：

• I'll only cook fish if the guts have been removed. 鱼若已收拾干净，我只需烧一下即可。
• Barbara hasn't got the guts to leave her mother. 巴巴拉没有勇气离开她妈妈。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。