万物简史 第424期:生命的起源(18)
英语课
Even we can tolerate it only up to a point. 连我们对氧的耐受力也是有限度的。
The oxygen level in our cells is only about a tenth the level found in the atmosphere. 我们细胞里的氧气浓度，只有大气里的大约十分之一。
The new oxygen-using organisms had two advantages. 新的会利用氧的细菌有两个优势。
Oxygen was a more efficient way to produce energy, and it vanquished 1 competitor organisms. 氧能提高产生能量的效力，它打垮了与之竞争地微生物。
Some retreated into the oozy 2, anaerobic 3 world of bogs 4 and lake bottoms. 有的撤退到厌氧而泥泞的沼泽和湖底世界里；
Others did likewise but then later (much later) migrated to the digestive tracts 5 of beings like you and me. 有的也照此办理，但后来（很久以后）又移居到了你和我这样的有消化力地地方。
Quite a number of these primeval entities 6 are alive inside your body right now, helping 7 to digest your food, but abhorring 8 even the tiniest hint of O2. 有相当数量的这类原始实体此时此刻就生活在你的体内，帮助消化你的食物，但厌恶哪怕是一丁点儿氧气。
Untold 9 numbers of others failed to adapt and died. 还有无数的其他细菌没有适应能力，最后死亡了。
The cyanobacteria were a runaway 10 success. 藻青菌逃跑并取得了成功。
At first, the extra oxygen they produced didn't accumulate in the atmosphere, 起初，它们所产生的额外的氧没有积聚在大气里，
but combined with iron to form ferric oxides, which sank to the bottom of primitive 11 seas. 而是与铁化合，成为氧化铁，沉入了原始的海底。
For millions of years, the world literally 12 rusted—a phenomenon vividly 13 recorded in the banded iron deposits that provide so much of the world's iron ore today. 有几百万年的时间，世界真的生锈了——这个现象由条形铁矿生动地记录了下来，今天却为世界提供了那么多的铁矿石。
For many tens of millions of years not a great deal more than this happened. 在几千万年时间里，发生的情况比这多不了多少。
If you went back to that early Proterozoic world you wouldn't find many signs of promise for Earth's future life. 要是你回到那个元古代初期的世界，你发现不了很多迹象，说明地球上未来的生命是很有前途的。
Perhaps here and there in sheltered pools you'd encounter a film of living scum 也许，你在这里和平那里隐蔽的水塘里会遇上薄薄的一层有生命的浮渣，
or a coating of glossy 14 greens and browns on shoreline rocks, but otherwise life remained invisible. 或者在海边的岩石上会看到一层亮闪闪的绿色和裼色的东西，但除此之外生命依然毫无踪影。
v.征服( vanquish的过去式和过去分词 )；战胜；克服；抑制
- She had fought many battles, vanquished many foes. 她身经百战，挫败过很多对手。 来自《简明英汉词典》
- I vanquished her coldness with my assiduity. 我对她关心照顾从而消除了她的冷淡。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
adj.厌氧的
- Anaerobic respiration occurs only in particularly active tissues such as muscles during severe exercise. 厌氧呼吸只有在处于剧烈运动状态的肌肉等特别活跃的组织中才会发生。
- Infection,especially anaerobic infection, is much more apt to occur.感染，特别是厌氧感染很容易发生。
n.沼泽，泥塘( bog的名词复数 )；厕所v.（使）陷入泥沼， （使）陷入困境( bog的第三人称单数 )；妨碍，阻碍
- Whenever It'shows its true nature, real life bogs to a standstill. 无论何时，只要它显示出它的本来面目，真正的生活就陷入停滞。 来自名作英译部分
- At Jitra we went wading through bogs. 在日得拉我们步行着从泥水塘里穿过去。 来自辞典例句
大片土地( tract的名词复数 )； 地带； （体内的）道； （尤指宣扬宗教、伦理或政治的）短文
- vast tracts of forest 大片大片的森林
- There are tracts of desert in Australia. 澳大利亚有大片沙漠。
实体对像； 实体，独立存在体，实际存在物( entity的名词复数 )
- Our newspaper and our printing business form separate corporate entities. 我们的报纸和印刷业形成相对独立的企业实体。
- The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities. 北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。
n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的
- The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
- By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。
v.憎恶( abhor的现在分词 )；（厌恶地）回避；拒绝；淘汰
- He is a very upright man, abhorring evil as a deadly foe. 他具有正义感，一向嫉恶如仇。 来自互联网
adj.数不清的，无数的
- She has done untold damage to our chances.她给我们的机遇造成了不可估量的损害。
- They suffered untold terrors in the dark and huddled together for comfort.他们遭受着黑暗中的难以言传的种种恐怖，因而只好挤在一堆互相壮胆。
n.逃走的人，逃亡，亡命者；adj.逃亡的，逃走的
- The police have not found the runaway to date.警察迄今没抓到逃犯。
- He was praised for bringing up the runaway horse.他勒住了脱缰之马受到了表扬。
adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物
- It is a primitive instinct to flee a place of danger.逃离危险的地方是一种原始本能。
- His book describes the march of the civilization of a primitive society.他的著作描述了一个原始社会的开化过程。
adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实
- He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
- Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。
adv.清楚地，鲜明地，生动地
- The speaker pictured the suffering of the poor vividly.演讲者很生动地描述了穷人的生活。
- The characters in the book are vividly presented.这本书里的人物写得栩栩如生。
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