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ArmandoAzuaBustos_2017U-_地球上与火星最相似的地方_
This is a picture of a sunset on Mars taken by NASA's Curiosity rover in 2013. 这张是火星上的日落照片, 由美国太空总署「好奇号」 于 2013 年拍摄的。
sunset:adj.霞红色的; n.日落(时分); v.(使)定期届满废止; Mars:n.火星 Curiosity:n.好奇,好奇心;珍品,古董,古玩; rover:n.漫游者; n.(Rover)人名; n.罗孚(汽车品牌);
Mars is a very cold planet, flooded with high levels of UV radiation and extremely dry. 火星是个非常寒冷的星球, 受强烈紫外线覆盖, 而且极为干燥。
radiation:n.辐射;放射线;放射疗法; extremely:adv.非常,极其;极端地;
In fact, Mars is considered to be too dry for life as we know it. 事实上,我们认为 火星太干燥,没有生物存在。
I'm an astrobiologist . 我是天体生物学家,
astrobiologist:天体生物学家;
I try to understand the origin of life on Earth and the possibilities of finding life elsewhere in the universe. 尝试去了解地球上生物的起源, 以及在宇宙中其他地方 找寻到生物的可能性。
origin:n.起源;起因;源头;出身; elsewhere:adv.在别处;到别处;
People sometimes ask me, how can you be an astrobiologist if you don't have your own spaceship? 有时候,大家会问我, 如果你没有自己的太空船, 又怎算是天体生物学家呢？
Well, what I do is that I study life in those environments on Earth that most closely resemble other interesting places in the universe. 其实,我专注在地球寻找 与其他星球相似的环境, 并研究该自然环境的生物。
resemble:v.看起来像;显得像;像;
All life on Earth requires water, so in my case I focus on the intimate relationship between water and life in order to understand if we could find life in a planet as dry as Mars. 地球上所有生物赖以水为生, 因此我专于研究 水和生命密切的关系, 从而去了解 我们能否在像火星般
intimate:n.知己; v.暗示; adj.亲密的;
But since I do not have the 2.5 billion dollars to send my own robot to Mars, 由于我没有 25 亿美元资金 把自己的机械人送到火星,
I study the most Martian place on Earth, the Atacama Desert. 因此研究地球上与火星最似的地方: 阿他加马沙漠。
Martian:adj.火星的;n.火星人;
Located in northern Chile, it is the oldest and driest desert on Earth. 位于智利北部, 是地球上最古老和干旱的沙漠。
Located:adj.位于; v.确定…的准确地点; (locate的过去分词和过去式)
To give you an idea of how dry it is, consider here in Vancouver it rains over 1,000 millimeters of rain every year. 给你一个例子,就明白有多干燥。 试想,温哥华这里 年降雨量超过 1000 毫米;
Vancouver:n.温哥华(加拿大主要港市); millimeters:n.毫米;(millimeter的复数)
In the Atacama, there are places with no reported rains in the last 400 years. 过去四百年,阿他加马有些地方
How do I know this? 为什麽我会知道？
Well, because I was born and raised in the Atacama -- 因为我在阿他加马出生和长大。
(Laughter) （笑声）
So I had a unique advantage when I started studying this desert. 因此,当我对沙漠展开研究时, 有得天独厚的优势。
unique:adj.独特的,稀罕的;[数]唯一的;n.独一无二的人或物; advantage:n.有利条件:优势:优点:
So let me tell you guys a few fantastic examples he has found on how life has adapted to live with almost no water at all. 就让我向各位分享 「他」所找到的惊人发现, 即生物在干旱地方如何能完全适应。
fantastic:奇异的,空想的 adapted:adj.适于…的; v.使适应,使适合; (adapt的过去分词和过去式)
One of my first findings was in the entrance of a cave facing the Pacific Ocean. 我的早期发现之一 是在某个洞穴的入口, 该洞穴面向太平洋。
findings:n.调查发现;判决;裁决;(finding的复数)
In this place, we reported a new type of microalgae that grew only on top of the spiderwebs that covered the cave entrance. 在这里,我们发现一类新型微藻, 只长在覆盖洞穴入口的蜘蛛网上。
microalgae:n.微藻类; spiderwebs:n.蜘蛛网;vt.用蛛网或蛛网物盖住;adj.蛛网形的;
Have you ever seen a spiderweb early in the morning? 你有否在大清早见过蜘蛛网？
It's covered with dew , so this microalgae learned that in order to carry photosynthesis in the coast of the driest desert on Earth, they could use the spiderwebs. 蜘蛛网被露水覆盖。 因此微藻为了 在地球上最干旱的沙漠 进行光合作用, 学会借蜘蛛网。
dew:n.珠,滴;露水;清新;vt.(露水等)弄湿;vi.结露水; photosynthesis:n.光合作用;
So here they may access the water from the fogs that regularly cover these areas in the morning. 微藻透过每清早落在 蜘蛛网上的露水吸取水份。
regularly:adv.经常地;有规律地;定期的
In another cave, we found a different type of microalgae. 我们在另一个洞穴发现别种微藻,
This one is able to use ocean mist as a source of water, and strikingly lives in the very bottom of a cave, so it has adapted to live with less than 0.1 percent of the amount of light that regular plants need. 这种微藻以海洋带来的雾气为水源, 而且很惊人地生长于洞穴底处, 因此它习惯生存在光源只有 普通植物所需光源 0.1% 的地方。
mist:n.薄雾; v.(使)结满雾气(模糊不清); source:n.来源;水源;原始资料; strikingly:adv.显著地;突出地,引人注目地;
These type of findings suggest to me that on Mars, we may find even photosynthetic life inside caves. 这些研究结果意味着在火星 也可能在洞穴找到植物。
photosynthetic:adj.[生化]光合的;光合作用的;
And by the way , that's me. 顺带一提,这个是我。
by the way:顺便说一下;
(Laughter) （笑声）
Now, for almost 15 years this region of Yungay, discovered by NASA, was thought to be the driest place of this desert, but I knew that it was not. 美国太空总署发现位于秘鲁 永盖的这个区域至今已有 15 年, 原被视为这片沙漠中最干旱的地方。 但以我所知,这里并不最为干旱。
region:n.地区;范围;部位;
How? You already know the answer. 我怎会知道？你已经知道答案:
Because I was born and raised in this desert. 因为我在这沙漠出生和成长。
So I remembered that I usually see fogs in Yungay, so after setting sensors in a number of places, where I remember never seeing fogs or clouds, 我记得经常在永盖看到雾。 后来我在别的地方设置感应器, 因为我从未在那里见过雾和云,
sensors:n.[自]传感器,感应器;感测器(sensor的复数);
I reported four other sites much drier than Yungay, with this one, María Elena South, being the truly driest place on Earth, as dry as Mars, and amazingly, just a 15-minute ride from the small mining town where I was born. 我发现四个比永盖还要干旱的地方。 这里,玛莉亚埃琳娜南区 是地球上真正最干旱的地方, 跟火星一样干旱。 惊喜的是,这里 距离我出生的煤矿小镇 只有十五分钟路程。
sites:n.网站(site的复数);遗址,举办地点;v.使...位于(site的单三形式);
Now, in this search, we were trying to actually find the dry limit for life on Earth, a place so dry that nothing was able to survive in it. 在研究中,我们尝试找出 地球上生物耐旱的极限。 在这个干旱到寸草不生的地方。
But even here, well hidden underground, we found a number of different microorganisms , which suggested to me that similarly dry places, like Mars, may be in inhabited . 尽管如此, 我们在地底发现到多种微生物, 这个结果提醒我, 即使干旱如火星的地方, 也可能住着生物。
microorganisms:n.[微]微生物,微生虫(microorganism的复数); similarly:adv.同样地;类似于; inhabited:adj.有人居住的;v.占据(inhabit的过去分词);居住于;
We even have some preliminary evidences that these microorganisms may still be active in the desiccated state, like walking mummies all around us, and that they may be using UV radiation as a source of energy. 我们甚至已有初步证据, 证明微生物在干旱情况下仍活跃, 就像木乃伊在我们身边走动一样。 微藻有可能以紫外线作为能源。
preliminary:n.准备;预赛;初步措施;adj.初步的;开始的;预备的; evidences:n.凭证(evidence复数形式);v.使明显;证实(evidence的第三人称单数形式); desiccated:adj.干的(等于desiccate);粉状的;v.使干燥(desiccate的过去式);变干; mummies:木乃伊(mummy的名词复数);
If confirmed, this would have a huge impact on our definition of life, on how we look for life elsewhere in the universe. 假如得到证实, 将改变我们对生物的定义, 以及在其他星球寻找生物的看法。
impact:n.影响;效果;碰撞;冲击力;v.挤入,压紧;撞击;对…产生影响; definition:n.定义;清晰度;(尤指词典里的词或短语的)释义;解释;
Due to its clear skies, by 2020, 60 percent of the biggest telescopes on Earth will be located in the Atacama, and while everyone else will be looking among the stars to answer the question, "Are we alone?" 由于这里天气晴朗, 到了 2020 年, 地球上百分六十的大型望远镜 将会设于阿他加马。 当每个人在望着星星, 问:「地球是唯一有生物的地方吗？」
telescopes:n.望远镜; v.套叠; (telescope的第三人称单数)
I will be looking down to the ground searching for this same answer in my own backyard . 我会在家中后院,望着地下, 寻找同一答案。
backyard:n.后院;后庭;
Thank you. 谢谢。
(Applause) （拍掌）