猿猴不是人类祖先? 达尔文遭质疑

    The Noah's Ark Zoo Farm in the UK has a presentation about 30 reasons why man is not descended¹ from apes. Given the establishment believes in creationism, that presentation is no surprise. But that school children would attend the place has some educators alarmed. Noah's Ark Zoo Farm, near Bristol, was recently awarded a "quality badge" by the Council for Learning Outside the Classroom。
    英国诺亚方舟动物园农场日前发表声明，称人类并非由猿猴进化而来，并罗列出30大理由。考虑到他们相信创世说，这样的言论也就不足为怪。然而一想到上学的孩子们也会领教到这种新型学说，教育者忧心忡忡。这个在布里斯托尔附近的农场日前被“课外学习”委员会授予了“优质徽章”。
    The council's deputy chief executive defended the decision, the Guardian² reports: "An important aim of learning outside the classroom is allowing children and young people access to education that challenges assumptions and allows them to experience a range of viewpoints."英国《卫报》刊登了该委员会副经理对这一决定的辩词：“课外学习的一个重要目的便是让青少年走近挑战已有设想的教育内容，并拥有发散思维。”
    That's a tactic³ known as "teaching the controversy⁴" - a controversy scientists say does not exist. Evolution is a well-founded theory - among the most solid and important theories in all of science, and among scientists there simply is no controversy。
    这便是所谓的“争论教育”策略——事实上科学家称这种争论根本就不存在。进化论是个论据充足的理论——进化论身居所有门类科学中最为可靠也最为重要的理论之列，也是科学家所说的毫无争议的理论之一。
    Among the teachings of Noah's Ark Zoo Farm is that scientists use "faith" to explain Darwinian evolution. That's just bogus. Scientists use evidence, from the fossil record, from DNA⁵ comparisons, and from studies in a host of different fields to conclude that evolution is at work and that humans and apes share common ancestry⁶. The disingenuous⁷ materials suggest that gaps in the fossil record require leaps of faith to tie Darwinian evolution together。
    诺亚方舟动物园农场在教育人们时说，科学家只是用“相信”来解释达尔文的进化论。这简直是胡言乱语。科学家们通过研究化石、DNA比照、跨领域探索得出，进化论确实在发挥作用，而且人类和猿猴拥有共同的祖先。而只有那些不可靠的资料才会指出，出土的断代化石要用达尔文的进化论解释，只有靠“相信”才行得通。
    The farm also promotes a view that Earth is not 4.5 billion years old, as science says, while keeping arms-length from the ludicrous belief of the most staunch creationists that Earth is just a few thousand years old and humans co-existed with dinosaurs⁸. "We believe the earth is much older than 6,000 years but much younger than 4.5 billion years," the farm's web site states。
    这个农场还宣称地球并不像科学家所说的有45亿年那么老，并且借用那些最为忠诚的创始论者的荒唐信仰大言不惭道，地球只有几万年那么大，而且人类和恐龙共存。“我们认为地球要比6000年老，但要比45亿年小得多，”农场的官方网站如是说道。
   

1 descended   

a.为...后裔的，出身于...的

参考例句：

• A mood of melancholy descended on us. 一种悲伤的情绪袭上我们的心头。
• The path descended the hill in a series of zigzags. 小路呈连续的之字形顺着山坡蜿蜒而下。

2 guardian   

n.监护人；守卫者，保护者

参考例句：

• The form must be signed by the child's parents or guardian. 这张表格须由孩子的家长或监护人签字。
• The press is a guardian of the public weal. 报刊是公共福利的卫护者。

3 tactic   

n.战略，策略；adj.战术的，有策略的

参考例句：

• Reducing prices is a common sales tactic.降价是常用的销售策略。
• She had often used the tactic of threatening to resign.她惯用以辞职相威胁的手法。

4 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

5 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。

6 ancestry   

n.祖先，家世

参考例句：

• Their ancestry settled the land in 1856.他们的祖辈1856年在这块土地上定居下来。
• He is an American of French ancestry.他是法国血统的美国人。

7 disingenuous   

adj.不诚恳的，虚伪的

参考例句：

• It is disingenuous of him to flatter me.他对我阿谀奉承，是居心叵测。
• His brother Shura with staring disingenuous eyes was plotting to master the world.他那长着一对狡诈眼睛的哥哥瑞拉，处心积虑图谋征服整个世界。

8 dinosaurs   

n.恐龙( dinosaur的名词复数 )；守旧落伍的人，过时落后的东西

参考例句：

• The brontosaurus was one of the largest of all dinosaurs. 雷龙是所有恐龙中最大的一种。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Dinosaurs have been extinct for millions of years. 恐龙绝种已有几百万年了。 来自《简明英汉词典》