万物简史 第644期:一个星球,一次实验(4)

Remarkably¹, Rothschild's collecting efforts were neither the most extensive nor the most generously funded of the nineteenth century.

不可思议的是，在19世纪，无论从规模还是从投资方面来讲，罗特希尔德的标本收集都不是最大的。

That title almost certainly belongs to a slightly earlier but also very wealthy British collector named Hugh Cuming,

这项桂冠几乎肯定属于比他稍早而又同样十分富裕的英国收藏家休.康明。

who became so preoccupied² with accumulating objects that he built a large oceangoing ship and employed a crew to sail the world full-time³,

康明非常痴迷于标本收集，为此专门订造了一艘大型远洋船，并且雇佣了全职的船员到世界各地收集标本

picking up whatever they could find—birds, plants, animals of all types, and especially shells.

鸟类、植物，各种动物，尤其是贝壳。

It was his unrivaled collection of barnacles that passed to Darwin and served as the basis for his seminal⁴ study.

他们搜集了数量众多的藤壶后来转送给达尔文，作为他正在从事的有关生殖方面研究的基础。

However, Rothschild was easily the most scientific collector of his age, though also the most regrettably lethal⁵,

不过，罗特希尔德确实是那个时代最具有科学头脑的收集者，同时也是最可悲的杀戮者，

for in the 1890s he became interested in Hawaii, perhaps the most temptingly vulnerable environment Earth has yet produced.

因为到了19世纪90年代，他开始对夏威夷产生兴趣，那里也许是地球上最具吸引力而又是最容易遭受破坏的地方。

Millions of years of isolation⁶ had allowed Hawaii to evolve 8,800 unique species of animals and plants.

数百万年的与世隔绝使得8800种独特的动植物在夏威夷进化。

Of particular interest to Rothschild were the islands' colorful and distinctive⁷ birds,

尤其使罗特希尔德感兴趣的是那里五颜六色的珍稀鸟类，

often consisting of very small populations inhabiting extremely specific ranges.

这些鸟类数量往往都不多，活动的范围也十分狭窄。

The tragedy for many Hawaiian birds was that they were not only distinctive, desirable, and rare

对于夏威夷的许多鸟类来说，它们的可悲之处不仅在于它们特点鲜明，惹人喜爱，非常稀少

a dangerous combination in the best of circumstances—but also often heartbreakingly easy to take.

它们危险地集这些特点于一身，而且令人伤心的是，它们往往还十分容易被捕提到。

The greater koa finch⁸, an innocuous member of the honeycreeper family, lurked⁹ shyly in the canopies¹⁰ of koa trees,

体形较大的寇阿根思树雀科鸣鸟，美色食虫鸣鸟中的一种无害的鸟儿，经常怯生生地栖息，在寇阿相思树树阴中，

but if someone imitated its song it would abandon its cover at once and fly down in a show of welcome.

可是只要有人模仿它的叫声，它就会立即飞下来以示欢迎。

The last of the species vanished in 1896, killed by Rothschild's ace¹¹ collector Harry¹² Palmer,

最后一只雀科鸣鸟于1896年被罗特希尔德手下最得力的助手哈里.帕尔默杀害，从此销声匿迹。

1 remarkably   

ad.不同寻常地，相当地

参考例句：

• I thought she was remarkably restrained in the circumstances. 我认为她在那种情况下非常克制。
• He made a remarkably swift recovery. 他康复得相当快。

2 preoccupied   

adj.全神贯注的，入神的；被抢先占有的；心事重重的v.占据（某人）思想，使对…全神贯注，使专心于( preoccupy的过去式)

参考例句：

• He was too preoccupied with his own thoughts to notice anything wrong. 他只顾想着心事，没注意到有什么不对。
• The question of going to the Mount Tai preoccupied his mind. 去游泰山的问题盘踞在他心头。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 full-time   

adj.满工作日的或工作周的，全时间的

参考例句：

• A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
• I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作，我不知道她是如何对付的。

4 seminal   

adj.影响深远的；种子的

参考例句：

• The reforms have been a seminal event in the history of the NHS.这些改革已成为英国国民保健制度史上影响深远的一件大事。
• The emperor's importance as a seminal figure of history won't be diminished.做为一个开创性历史人物的重要性是不会减弱的。

5 lethal   

adj.致死的；毁灭性的

参考例句：

• A hammer can be a lethal weapon.铁锤可以是致命的武器。
• She took a lethal amount of poison and died.她服了致命剂量的毒药死了。

6 isolation   

n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离

参考例句：

• The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
• He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后，生活比较孤寂。

7 distinctive   

adj.特别的，有特色的，与众不同的

参考例句：

• She has a very distinctive way of walking.她走路的样子与别人很不相同。
• This bird has several distinctive features.这个鸟具有几种突出的特征。

8 finch   

n.雀科鸣禽(如燕雀，金丝雀等)

参考例句：

• This behaviour is commonly observed among several species of finch.这种行为常常可以在几种雀科鸣禽中看到。
• In Australia,it is predominantly called the Gouldian Finch.在澳大利亚，它主要还是被称之为胡锦雀。

9 lurked   

vi.潜伏，埋伏（lurk的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The murderers lurked behind the trees. 谋杀者埋伏在树后。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Treachery lurked behind his smooth manners. 他圆滑姿态的后面潜伏着奸计。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

10 canopies   

（宝座或床等上面的）华盖( canopy的名词复数 )； （飞行器上的）座舱罩； 任何悬于上空的覆盖物； 森林中天棚似的树荫

参考例句：

• Golf carts with bright canvas canopies wandered the raingreen fairways. 一场雨后显得愈加葱绿的高尔夫球场草地上，散放着一些带有色彩缤纷的帆布华盖的高尔夫小车。
• Rock permitted seven canopies, cornices floors, decorative glass, Ambilight, momentum magnificent, magnificent. 七檐佛殿背倚山岩，楼层飞檐翘角，殿顶琉璃装饰，流光溢彩，气势恢宏，蔚为壮观。

11 ace   

n.A牌；发球得分；佼佼者；adj.杰出的

参考例句：

• A good negotiator always has more than one ace in the hole.谈判高手总有数张王牌在手。
• He is an ace mechanic.He can repair any cars.他是一流的机械师,什么车都会修。

12 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。