万物简史 第515期:丰富多彩的生命(11)
The flowers' leaves serve as a bridal bed, which the Creator has so gloriously arranged, 花儿的叶子当做新婚之床，这一切造物主已经作好了极好的安排， adorned with such noble bed curtains, and perfumed with so many soft scen
万物简史 第516期:丰富多彩的生命(12)
The Linnaean system is so well established that we can hardly imagine an alternative, 林奈分类系统的地位已经牢固确立，我们很难想像还能有别的体系来取而代之。 but before Linnaeus, systems of classification were often
万物简史 第517期:丰富多彩的生命(13)
This was an amazing disclosure. 这句话里包含着丰富的历史内容。 Joseph Banks was England's greatest botanist, and the Endeavour voyage that is the one on which Captain Cook charted the 1769 transit of Venus 约瑟夫班克斯是英国最伟
万物简史 第518期:丰富多彩的生命(14)
The intention originally was to use the binomial system for everything rocks, minerals, diseases, winds, whatever existed in nature. 他本打算把双名体系用于自然界中的一切，如岩石、矿物质、疾病、风等等。 Not everyone e
万物简史 第519期:丰富多彩的生命(15)
Genus (pluralgenera) and species had been employed by naturalists for over a hundred years before Linnaeus, 属和种，博物学家们在林奈之前已经使用了100多年； and order, class, and family in their biological senses all came into us
万物简史 第520期:丰富多彩的生命(16)
In an attempt to reestablish order, the British in 1842 proclaimed a new set of rules called the Stricklandian Code, 为了重新统一步调，英国人于l842年宣布了一套新的规则，叫做斯特里克兰法则， but the French saw this as
万物简史 第521期:丰富多彩的生命(17)
Yet there is surprisingly little agreement on how many phyla there are or ought to be. 然而，令人吃惊的是，在关于有多少门或诙有多少门的问题上，人们的看法大相径庭。 Most biologists fix the total at about thirty, b
万物简史 第522期:丰富多彩的生命(18)
At intervals it hands down decrees, declaring that Zauschneria californica (a common plant in rock gardens) 它不时下达命令，宣布从今以后加州倒挂金钟（一种普通的假山庭园植物） is to be known henceforth as Epilobium can
万物简史 第523期:丰富多彩的生命(19)
Disputes and reorderings of much the same type can be found in all the other realms of the living, 同样的争吵，同样的重新分类，也发生在所有别的生物领域， so keeping an overall tally is not nearly as straightforward a matter
万物简史 第524期:丰富多彩的生命(20)
In principle you ought to be able to go to experts in each area of specialization, ask how many species there are in their fields, then add the totals. 原则上，我们可以去找一找每个专门领域的专家，问一问他们的领域里有多少
万物简史 第525期:丰富多彩的生命(21)
Goodness knows what the results would be if anyone attempted a similar exercise with the planet's estimated 20,000 types of lichens, 50,000 species of mollusk, or 400,000-plus beetles. 要是有人试图对这颗行星上的大约2万种地衣、5万多
万物简史 第526期:丰富多彩的生命(22)
According to the Wall Street Journal, the world has about 10,000 active taxonomists, 据《华尔街日报》说，世界上大约有l万名活跃的分类学家， not a great number when you consider how much there is to be recorded. 考虑到有那么
万物简史 第527期:丰富多彩的生命(23)
Moreover, much of taxonomists' time is taken up not with describing new species but simply with sorting out old ones. 而且，分类学家的许多时间不是用于描述新的物种，而是完全用于整理旧的物种。 Many, according to Godf
万物简史 第528期:丰富多彩的生命(24)
Most living things are small and easily overlooked. 大多数生物很小，容易被忽略。 In practical terms, this is not always a bad thing. 实际上，这不总是一件坏事。 You might not slumber quite so contentedly if you were aware th
万物简史 第529期:丰富多彩的生命(25)
Go out into a woods any woods at all bend down and scoop up a handful of soil, 要是你走进森林任何森林俯下身去抓起一把土， and you will be holding up to 10 billion bacteria, most of them unknown to science. 你就会抓起l00亿个细
