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LaurenSallan_2019T-_对过去_40_亿年的短暂巡礼（不含恐龙）_-
Paleontology , a science geared towards small children, focused on digging up dinosaurs while sporting a " Jurassic Park" costume . 古生物学, 一门面向小孩子的科学, 专注于挖掘恐龙时, 身着“侏罗纪公园”服饰。
Paleontology:n.古生物学; geared:adj.齿轮传动的,变速螺旋桨; v.用齿轮连接; Jurassic:adj.侏罗系的;侏罗纪的;n.侏罗纪; costume:n.服装;装束;戏装,服装;v.给(某人)穿上特殊服装;
Skulls are popped out of the ground and put on display for public gawking . 从地里刨出骷髅头, 展示出来供公众围观。
Skulls:n.头骨(skull的复数);v.击中…的头颅(skull的第三人称单数); on display:展览,公开展出; gawking:v.无礼地瞪眼看;呆头呆脑地盯着(gawk的现在分词)
The relevance of this, beyond clickbait, coloring books and monster movies is unknown. 除了与骗取点击量、填色绘本 和怪兽电影的关联, 似乎再无其他。
relevance:n.关联;适当;中肯; monster:n.怪物;恶魔;庞然大物;adj.巨大的;
No ... 不对……
Wait. 等等。
That's not paleontology at all. 那才不是古生物学呢。
Paleontology is nothing less than the study of past life. 古生物学就是研究过去生命的学科。
nothing less than:完全是;不亚于;与…一模一样;
All past life. 所有过去的生命。
From ancestors to alien forms. 从始祖到异形。
It involves fundamental questions like "Who are we?" 它涵盖了一些最基本的问题, 比如“我们是谁？”,
involves:v.包含;需要;牵涉;牵连;影响;(使)参加,加入(involve的第三人称单数) fundamental:n.基础; adj.十分重大的;
And "How did we get here?" -- using the broadest possible definition of "we": life itself. “我们如何有了今天？” 这里的“我们”使用了 覆盖面最广的定义: 生命本身。
definition:n.定义;清晰度;(尤指词典里的词或短语的)释义;解释;
Dinosaurs, a category of birds, are just a small percentage of that. 恐龙,鸟类的一种, 只占了其中的一小部分。
category:n.种类,分类;[数]范畴; percentage:n.百分比;百分率;利润的分成;提成;
(Laughter) （笑声）
Yet they get the most media attention. 但它们却能吸引最多媒体关注。
media:n.媒体;媒质(medium的复数);血管中层;浊塞音;中脉;
[The incredible diversity of ancient life, Dinosaurs, Paleontology] 【左:“古生物惊人的多样性”; 右:“恐龙”;下:“古生物学”】
incredible:adj.难以置信的,惊人的; diversity:n.差异(性):多样性:多样化:
It's a very accurate meme; I didn't even make this one. 这是个很准确的表情包, 甚至不是我做的图。
accurate:adj.精确的;
This is just the truth. 这不过是真相。
Anyway, most of us paleontologists consider dinosaurs to be a gateway drug. 话说回来,我们大多数古生物学家 都把恐龙视为入门级“毒品”。
paleontologists:n.古生物学家;古生物学者;(paleontologist的复数)
There is so much cooler stuff in the fossil record, and we know so much about it. 化石记录中有那么多 令人惊叹的东西, 我们也很了解其中奥义。
stuff:n.东西:物品:基本特征:v.填满:装满:标本: fossil:n.化石;老人;老古董;adj.从地下发掘出来的;化石的;属于旧时代的;陈腐的;
Let's go on a brief, dinosaur-free tour of the last four billion years. 那么就让我们踏上一场没有恐龙的, 关于过去 40 亿年的短途旅行。
(Laughter) （笑声）
First up, genetic material. （笑声）
genetic:adj.基因的;遗传学的;
Viruses, basically , started producing proteins and wrecking their environment. 病毒开始制造蛋白质, 在周遭环境里大搞破坏,
basically:adv.主要地,基本上; proteins:n.[生化]蛋白质(protein复数); wrecking:v.破坏; n.破坏; (wreck的现在分词)
The Earth was infected with life. 地球便“感染”上了生命。
infected:adj.带菌的; v.传染; (infect的过去分词和过去式)
Some of these new bacteria learned how to eat sunshine , producing oxygen, pulling in carbon from the air and destroying the iron food of other microbes by turning it into rust . 一些新的细菌学会了分解阳光, 生产氧气, 从空气中吸取碳, 通过让铁生锈, 摧毁其他以铁为食的 微生物的口粮。
bacteria:n.[微]细菌; sunshine:n.阳光;日光;欢乐;幸福 carbon:n.[化学]碳;碳棒;复写纸;adj.碳的;碳处理的; microbes:n.细菌,[微]微生物;微生物类(microbe的复数形式); rust:n.锈;铁锈;v.(使)生锈;
This went on for billions of years. 这个过程持续了几十亿年。
Some bacteria consumed other bacteria, gaining their power to turn oxygen into energy, becoming the precursors of animals and plants. 一些细菌摄食别的细菌, 获得了将氧转化成能量的能力, 成为了动物与植物的前身。
consumed:adj.沉迷…的; v.消耗,耗费; (consume的过去分词和过去式) precursors:n.前体细胞(precursor的复数);先驱者(precursor的复数);
But as a result , there were climate shocks, from hot to cold and back again, which ended up turning the Earth into a snowball covered with glaciers . 而结果造成了气候冲击, 从热变冷又变热, 最后把地球变成了 冰川覆盖的雪球。
as a result:结果; glaciers:n.[地理][水文]冰川(glacier的复数);[地理][水文]冰河;
The technical term for this time period is "Snowball Earth." 地球在这个时期的术语 就是“雪地球”。
technical:adj.工艺的,科技的;技术上的;专门的;
(Laughter) （笑声）
Seven hundred, eight hundred million years ago. 大约七、八亿年前,
Anyway, microbes banded together, creating multicellular life. 总而言之,微生物集结在一起, 创造出了多细胞生命。
banded:adj.有带子的;v.绑扎(band的过去式); multicellular:adj.[生物]多细胞的;多空隙的;
Six hundred million years ago, geometric colonies appeared, sucking microbes from the water. 六亿年前, 几何形态的群体【注:如团藻】 出现了,从水中摄取微生物。
geometric:adj.几何学的;[数]几何学图形的; sucking:adj.吮吸的;没有断奶的;v.吮吸;吸;咂;抽取;(suck的现在分词)
These were soon replaced by the ancestors of modern animals. 它们很快就被现代动物 的祖先所取代。
The Cambrian explosion . 寒武纪生命大爆发。
explosion:n.爆炸;爆发;激增;
Lobster relatives ate other animals, capturing them using their grasping arms. 龙虾的亲戚挥舞捉臂 【注:奇虾】 捕获其它动物吃掉。
Lobster:n.龙虾;(供食用的)龙虾肉; relatives:n.亲戚;亲属;同类事物;(relative的复数) capturing:v.俘虏;捕获;攻占;夺得;(capture的现在分词) grasping:adj.贪婪的;紧紧抓住的;v.理解,领会;抓紧,抓牢;(grasp的现在分词形式)
Armored wriggling clam worms crawled across the seafloor and into it, creating new ecosystems . 身披铠甲蠕动的沙蚕 在海底爬行并钻进泥沙, 创造出崭新的生态系统。
Armored:adj.装甲的; wriggling:v.扭动身体;蠕动;蜿蜒行进;(wriggle的现在分词) clam:n.蛤;蛤蜊;蚌;v.挖蛤;保持沉默;嘴紧; worms:n.蠕虫;寄生虫;幼虫;v.蠕动,曲折行进;(worm的第三人称单数和复数) crawled:v.爬;爬行;(昆虫)爬行;缓慢行进(crawl的过去分词和过去式) seafloor:n.海底; ecosystems:n.生态系统(ecosystem的复数);
Our tadpole-like ancestors flitted along ancient coastlines , while their eel-like relatives with gnashing throat teeth swam above the ice-cream cone corals of the first reefs , dodging school-bus-sized krakens and hungry sea scorpions . 我们蝌蚪般的先祖【注:如昆明鱼】 游过古老的海岸线, 它们的亲戚形似鳗鱼, 咽部长有牙齿【注:如华夏鳗】, 在最初的礁石, 即甜筒般的珊瑚上游过, 躲过校车大小的克拉肯（大鱿鱼） 和饥饿的海蝎。
flitted:vi.掠过;轻快地飞;移居;n.轻快的飞行;搬家; coastlines:n.[海洋]海岸线(coastline的复数); eel-like:似鳗的; gnashing:n.气得咬牙;v.气得咬牙(gnash的现在分词); cone:n.圆锥体,圆锥形;[植]球果;v.使成锥形; corals:n.[无脊椎]珊瑚(coral的复数); reefs:n.礁石(reef的复数形式); v.收帆; dodging:v.闪开;躲开;避开;(dodge的现在分词) krakens:n.相传在挪威海中出现的怪物;挪威传说中的北海巨妖; scorpions:n.蝎子;蝎形弩(scorpion的复数形式);
Plant fungus came onto land. 菌类植物上了岸。
fungus:n.真菌,霉菌;菌类;
But then the glaciers returned, killing pretty much everything. 然而冰川卷土重来, 几乎抹杀了一切。
But mass extinctions open opportunities. 但大灭绝也开拓了机遇。
mass:n.块,团; adj.群众的,民众的; v.聚集起来,聚集; extinctions:n.[生物]灭绝(extinction的复数);消失;废除;
Jawless fishes invaded the ocean, sporting points, prongs , and finally , fins. 无颌鱼类入侵了海洋, 它们长有尖角、突刺以及鱼鳍。
Jawless:无颚的; invaded:v.入侵;拥入;遍布(invade的过去分词);adj.被侵入的; prongs:n.尖头叉子;岩心采取器的弹簧(prong的复数); finally:adv.终于;最终;(用于列举)最后;彻底地;
Spiders , scorpions, snails and worms came onto land. 蜘蛛、蝎子、蜗牛和蠕虫纷纷上岸。
Spiders:n.蜘蛛(spider的复数) snails:n.[无脊椎]蜗牛; v.使成蜗纹;
Somewhere around China, a fish developed jaws, and its descendants drove jawless fishes, sea scorpions and branching plankton to extinction. 在中国某地,一条鱼长出了下颌, 它的后代便把无颌鱼、 海蝎和树状浮游生物 赶尽杀绝。
descendants:n.后裔;后代;子孙;派生物;(descendant的复数) plankton:n.浮游生物(总称);
Some of these fishes, which had arm bones in their fins, sprouted fingers, seven or eight per flipper . 有些鱼类 鱼鳍里长有前肢骨头, 它们生出了指头, 每条鳍状肢上有七八个指头。
sprouted:adj.萌芽的;已发芽的;发了芽的;v.发芽;迅速生长(sprout的过去分词); flipper:n.鳍状肢;鳍;烤饼;胖听罐头;vi.靠鳍足(或鸭甲板)行动;adj.无礼的;
On land, plants became trees, growing massive or spreading their spores only once before dying. 在陆地上,植物成为了树, 变成庞然大物, 或是在死前仅仅播撒一次孢子。
massive:adj.大量的;巨大的,厚重的;魁伟的; spores:n.[生物]孢子(spore的复数);v.形成芽孢(spore的三单形式);
But then the glaciers came back again, and it was mass extinction number two. 然而冰川再度回归, 这是第二次生物大灭绝。
It was the age of weird fishes and plated sea lilies . 这是古怪的鱼和 身披护甲的海百合的时代。
weird:adj.奇怪的;奇异的;离奇的;n.命运;宿命;命运女神; lilies:n.百合花;(lily的复数)
Sharks with wings. 长翅的鲨鱼。
Sharks with buzz saw jaws. 有锯齿牙的鲨鱼。
buzz saw:n.[机]圆锯;
Sharks with fins covered in tiny teeth. 鳍上长满小锯齿的鲨鱼。
Sharks with crushing tooth plates. 牙板能碾碎外物的鲨鱼。
crushing:adj.惨重的,毁坏性的;v.压碎;压坏;压伤;挤压变形;(crush的现在分词)
Bony fishes that looked like modern angelfish and eels for the first time. 类似现代神仙鱼和 鳗鱼的硬骨鱼 首次登场。
Bony:adj.骨的;多骨的;瘦骨嶙峋的;似骨的; angelfish:n.扁鲨;神仙鱼(一种观赏用热带鱼); eels:n.鳗鱼;鳗;鳗鲡;(eel的复数)
Wetlands developed, sporting ten-foot-long millipedes and giant dragon flies. 湿地形成, 其中生活着三米长的多足类动物 和巨大的蜻蜓。
Wetlands:n.湿地(wetland的复数形式);沼泽地;塘地; millipedes:n.多足类(millipede的复数); giant:n.巨人;伟人;巨兽;adj.巨大的;特大的 dragon:n.龙;悍妇;母夜叉;
These spread across the supercontinent of Pangaea and died, creating coal, leading to a 100-million-year Ice Age. 它们在盘古大陆上分布广泛, 【注:古时所有大陆为一个整体】 死亡后形成煤炭, 导致了长达一亿年的冰川期。
supercontinent:n.超大陆; Pangaea:n.[海洋]泛大陆;盘古大陆;
Finally, vertebrates made it onto land on a permanent basis, leading to alligator-like amphibians and saber-toothed protomammals. 最后,脊椎动物永久地移居陆地, 诞生了形似短吻鳄的两栖类 和长着剑齿的合弓纲。 【注:似哺乳动物的爬行动物】
vertebrates:n.[脊椎]脊椎动物(vertebrate的复数); permanent:adj.永久的,永恒的;n.烫发; amphibians:n.两栖动物;[古生]两栖类; saber-toothed:adj.上犬齿的;有军刀形的;
But then, volcanoes erupted all over Siberia , everything almost died and it was mass extinction number three. 但随后西伯利亚全境火山爆发, 几乎一切都灭亡了, 这是第三次生物大灭绝。
volcanoes:n.火山爆发,火山;火山群(volcano复数); erupted:v.爆发;长出(erupt的过去分词); Siberia:n.西伯利亚;
(Laughter) （笑声）
The day life nearly died. 这一天,生命几乎消亡。
A single, lonely tusked mammal survived and thrived , but it was soon replaced by galloping crocodiles . 唯有一种长着獠牙的哺乳类 幸存并繁盛【注:水龙兽】, 但它很快就被奔跑的鳄鱼所取代。
tusked:n.(象,猪等的)长牙;獠牙;尖物;v.用长牙齿掘(刺,咬); mammal:n.哺乳动物; thrived:v.兴盛,繁荣(thrive的过去式和过去分词形式); galloping:adj.迅速增加(或蔓延)的;v.飞奔,奔驰;奔跑;(gallop的现在分词) crocodiles:n.鳄类,鳄鱼(crocodile的复数形式);
In the ocean, marine reptiles , giant rafts made of the living relatives of sea urchins and armored squids , ammonoids, of every kind and form. 在海里,海洋爬行类, 现在海胆的亲戚,巨大的筏型鱼, 身披盔甲的鱿鱼和菊石, 种类形态五花八门。
marine:adj.海的;海产的;海生的;海船的;n.(尤指美国或英国皇家)海军陆战队士兵; reptiles:n.爬行动物(reptile的复数);[脊椎]爬行类;爬虫类; rafts:n.救生艇(raft的复数形式);皮筏;竹排;v.乘筏;划筏(raft的三单形式); urchins:n.海胆(urchin的复数);顽童; squids:n.鱿鱼(squid的复数);
But then, Pangaea started to split apart, forming a sea of lava that would one day become the Atlantic Ocean, spewing toxic gas into the atmosphere and mass extinction number four. 然而,盘古大陆开始裂开, 形成了未来成为 大西洋的岩浆海洋, 将有毒气体喷进大气, 于是有了第四次生物大灭绝。
split:v.分离;使分离;劈开;离开;分解;n.劈开;裂缝;adj.劈开的; lava:n.火山岩浆;火山所喷出的熔岩; Atlantic:adj.大西洋的;巨人阿特拉斯的;n.大西洋; spewing:v.(使)喷出,涌出;呕吐(spew的现在分词) toxic:adj.有毒的;中毒的; atmosphere:n.大气;气氛;气压;风格;
(Laughter) （笑声）
Yeah, there's actually a lot more than these five, these are the big ones. 没错,灭绝次数远不止五次, 这些是最大的几次。
(Laughter) （笑声）
So, finally, there were whale-sized fishes, and modern fishes mobbed corals, made gigantic by using their captured algae to eat sunshine. 最后,出现了鲸一般大小的鱼, 现代鱼类在珊瑚礁聚众, 用捕获的藻类摄食阳光, 从而变成庞然大物。
mobbed:v.围攻;成群围住(mob的过去式); gigantic:adj.巨大的,庞大的; captured:adj.捕获的;被俘的;v.捕获;占领;引起;(capture的过去式和过去分词) algae:n.[植]藻类;[植]海藻;
Crabs , stingrays and other fishes with crushing teeth appeared, smashing shells and leading to an arms race between predators and prey . 螃蟹、魟鱼和其它 有强力牙齿的鱼类出现, 咬碎贝壳, 导致了掠食者与猎物 之间的军备竞赛。
Crabs:n.蟹类;吊钳;脾气坏的人(crab的复数);v.捕蟹;抱怨;侧航(crab的三单形式); stingrays:n.黄貂鱼(stingray复数); smashing:adj.了不起的,极好的;粉碎性的,猛烈的;v.粉碎(smash的现在分词); shells:n.壳;壳状物;炮弹;v.炮击;给…去壳(shell的第三人称单数和复数) arms race:n.军备竞赛; predators:n.捕食性动物;实行弱肉强食的人(或机构);掠夺者;(predator的复数) prey:n.猎物;受害者;受骗者;v.折磨;掠夺;捕食(on,upon);损害(on,upon);
There was an explosion of marine biodiversity . 海洋生物多样性呈爆发式增加。
biodiversity:n.生物多样性;
Mammals climbed trees, flew and did a lot of other things that are seemingly sort of modern. 哺乳类爬树或飞行, 做了许多看上去很现代的事。
Mammals:n.哺乳动物;(mammal的复数) seemingly:adv.看来似乎;表面上看来;
They were feeding on the first flowers pollinated by the first bees. 它们食用由最早的蜜蜂 授粉的最初的花朵。
pollinated:vt.对...授粉;
There were ecological revolutions on land and at sea, leading to the modern world. 陆地与海洋中都发生了生态变革, 形成了现代的世界。
ecological:adj.生态的,生态学的; revolutions:n.革命,转数(revolution的复数形式);
Except that an asteroid hit Mexico, and then that triggered volcanoes on the other side of the world in India, and everything almost died again. 只不过一颗陨石撞击墨西哥, 触发了世界另一边印度的火山群, 一切几乎再次死亡。
asteroid:n.[天]小行星;[无脊椎]海盘车;小游星;adj.星状的; triggered:v.发动;引起;触发;开动;起动;(trigger的过去分词和过去式) on the other side:另一面;在另一边;
(Laughter) （笑声）
But -- there's always a but, because we're still here -- mammals arose from the ashes, became small under extreme heat and then ever larger. 但是——总有一个“但是”, 因为我们还在这里—— 哺乳动物从灰烬中崛起, 在极端酷热下体型变小, 之后则一路变大。
arose:vi.出现(arise的过去式);引发; extreme:adj.极端的;极度的;偏激的;尽头的;n.极端;末端;最大程度;极端的事物;
There were palm trees and snakes in the Arctic . 北极有棕榈树和蛇。
palm:n.手掌;手心;棕榈树;v.把…藏在手中(尤指玩戏法); Arctic:adj.北极的;北极地区的;极冷的;严寒的;n.北极;北极地区;
Predatory deer dogs frolicked along ancient rivers, while their relatives returned to the ocean to become the first otter-like whales. 肉食性鹿狗在古老的河畔嬉闹, 【注:中爪兽】 它们的亲属则返回海洋, 成为最初的形似海獭的鲸鱼。
Predatory:adj.掠夺的,掠夺成性的;食肉的;捕食生物的; frolicked:frolicked是frolic的过去分词;n.嬉戏;狂欢的聚会;v.嬉戏;adj.快乐的;
Not hyenas and other sort of carnivores were chased off by giant long-necked rhinos . 类鬣狗和其他类似食肉类的动物, 被巨大的长颈犀牛撵跑。
hyenas:n.土狼(hyena的复数形式); carnivores:n.[动]食肉动物;食虫植物(carnivore的复数); rhinos:n.(非正式)犀牛;[俚]钱;现金;
Everything at this point seems kind of familiar but not really. 此刻的一切看上去都挺熟悉, 事实并非如此。
familiar:adj.熟悉的;常见的;亲近的;n.常客;密友;
In Antarctica, an ice age started, forming the first permanent polar ice cap in two hundred million years. 在南极洲,冰川时期开始, 形成了两亿年内 第一个永久南极冰盖。
polar:adj.极地的;南极(或北极)的;n.极线;极面;
This dried out the rest of the world, but it allowed the rise of grasses, of rodents , of cats. 世界其他地区因此变得干燥, 但这促成了草类、啮齿动物 和猫科的兴盛。
rodents:n.啮齿动物,啮齿类;
Somewhere in Africa, an ape started walking across the new savannah . 在非洲的某处, 一只猿开始在新生的草原上行走。
ape:n.[脊椎]猿;傻瓜;模仿者;vt.模仿;抢台词;adj.狂热的; savannah:n.大草原,热带草原(等于savanna);
Oh, and there were giant saber-toothed salmon , 哦对了,还有巨大的剑齿三文鱼,
salmon:n.鲑鱼;大马哈鱼;鲑肉色;鲑鱼肉;橙红色,粉橙色;adj.浅澄色的;
I just have to mention that. 这个我必须提一下。
(Laughter) （笑声）
So, we know all of this happened and so much more. 我们知道这些都发生过, 而且还知道更多。
How? 如何知道的？
Why? 为什么？
Paleontology is a thriving science at the intersection of multiple other fields and technologies . 古生物学正蓬勃发展, 并与其他学科和科技交融。
thriving:v.兴旺发达;繁荣;旺盛;茁壮成长;(thrive的现在分词) intersection:n.交叉;十字路口;交集;交叉点; multiple:adj.数量多的;多种多样的;n.倍数; technologies:n.技术;科技(technology的复数);
There is no bigger data than the fossil record, and we mine every bit of it. 没有数据比化石的记录更全面, 我们充分发掘了其中的信息。
We use CAT scans, we use isotopes , we use genomes , we use robots, we use mathematical simulations and all kinds of analytics . 我们使用电脑断层扫描（CAT）, 同位素（测年法）, 基因测序, 机器人, 数学模拟, 以及各种数据分析方法。
isotopes:n.[核]同位素(isotope的复数);核素; genomes:n.[遗]基因组(genome复数); mathematical:adj.数学的,数学上的;精确的; simulations:n.[计]模拟(simulation的复数);[计]仿真; analytics:n.[化学][数]分析学;解析学;
We maximize all of it so that we can understand the past and how evolution works. 我们充分利用所有方法, 以便了解过去, 研究进化运作。
maximize:vt.取…最大值;对…极为重视;vi.尽可能广义地解释;达到最大值;
It also lets us make predictions for the future. 它让我们能预测未来。
predictions:n.预测,预言(prediction复数形式);
What will happen after the next mass extinction? 下一次生物大灭绝后会发生什么？
What weird things will show up? 会出现什么奇怪的东西？
Will mammals get smaller again? 哺乳动物会再次变小吗？
Will there even be mammals? 还会有哺乳动物存在吗？
In sum, we have learned a lot about dinosaurs. 总而言之, 我们已经对恐龙了解甚多。
But there's so much left to learn from the other 99.9 percent of things that have ever lived. 但剩下 99.9% 曾经存在的物种里, 还有许多知识仍待探究。
And that's paleontology. 而这就是古生物学。
Thank you. 谢谢。
(Applause and cheers) （掌声与喝彩）