万物简史 第644期:一个星球,一次实验(7)

It is a talent we have only barely¹ begun to grasp.

这样一种技巧，我们才刚刚开始掌握。

We have arrived at this position of eminence² in a stunningly³ short time.

在不太长的一段时间里，我们已经达到了一个优越的位置。

Behaviorally modern human beings—that is, people who can speak and make art and organize complex activities——have existed for only about 0.0001 percent of Earth's history.

从行为科学的意义上说——也就是能够说话，从事艺术，组织复杂而又丰富多彩的活动——现代人类存在的时间只占地球历史的万分之一——实在短得可怜。

But surviving for even that little while has required a nearly endless string of good fortune.

但是，即便是存在如此短暂的时间，也需要一连串差不多永无休止的好运。

We really are at the beginning of it all. The trick, of course, is to make sure we never find the end.

我们确实还处于起始阶段。当然，问题的关键是要确保我们一路走好，并且永无尽头。

And that, almost certainly, will require a good deal more than lucky breaks.

而这一切，几乎可以肯定的就是，仅仅有好运相伴是远远不够的。

1 barely   

adv.仅仅，几乎没有，几乎不

参考例句：

• The male bird is barely distinguishable from the female.雄鸟和雌鸟几乎无法辨别。
• He took barely enough money to keep the children in bread.他赚很少的钱仅够孩子们勉强糊口。

2 eminence   

n.卓越，显赫；高地，高处；名家

参考例句：

• He is a statesman of great eminence.他是个声名显赫的政治家。
• Many of the pilots were to achieve eminence in the aeronautical world.这些飞行员中很多人将会在航空界声名显赫。

3 stunningly   

ad.令人目瞪口呆地；惊人地

参考例句：

• The cooks, seamstresses and other small investors are stunningly vulnerable to reversals. 那些厨师、裁缝及其他的小投资者非常容易受到股市逆转的影响。
• The production cost of this huge passenger liner is stunningly high. 这艘船城造价之高令人惊叹。