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LukasRieppel_BoneWars_2021E-_化石战争：历史上最为有名的的科学世仇_
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| After the California Gold Rush of 1848, white settlers streamed west to strike it rich. |
在 1848 年的加州淘金潮之后, 白人拓荒者向西方涌进, 希望能大捞一笔。 |
| In addition to precious metals, they unearthed another treasure: dinosaur bones. |
除了贵金属之外, 他们还挖到了另一种宝藏: 恐龙骨头。 |
| Two wealthy scientists in particular— |
其中有两位富有的科学家 |
| Othniel Charles Marsh and Edward Drinker Cope— competed to uncover these prehistoric monsters. |
——奥斯尼尔查尔斯马许 及艾德华德里克柯普—— 互相较劲去发掘这些史前的怪兽。 |
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Gold Rush:n.淘金热; settlers:n.移民;殖民者;(settler的复数) In addition to:除…之外; precious:adj.宝贵的;珍贵的;矫揉造作的; unearthed:adj.采掘出的;未接地的;v.发掘;破获(unearth的过去分词); Marsh:n.沼泽;湿地;adj.沼泽的;生长在沼泽地的; Drinker:n.酒徒;喝的人;酒豪; competed:v.竞争,对抗(compete的过去分词); uncover:v.揭开盖子;发现;揭露;揭发; prehistoric:adj.史前的;陈旧的;
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| Marsh and Cope were first to describe iconic creatures like Brontosaurus , Triceratops , and Stegosaurus . |
马许和柯普是最早对于 雷龙、三角龙,以及剑龙等 代表性生物做出描述的人, |
| But they also showcased the destructive whirlwind of profiteering and ambition that fueled American science during the late 1800s. |
但他们也激起了 牟取暴利与野心的毁灭性旋风, 1800 年代末期,就是这股旋风 在推动美国的科学。 |
| Their rivalry , one of the most notorious scientific feuds in history, became known as the Bone Wars. |
这两人的对抗是历史上 最恶名昭彰的科学争斗之一, 后来被称为「化石战争」。 |
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Cope:v.处理;n.大圆衣; describe:v.描述;形容;把…称为;画出…图形; iconic:adj.图标的,形象的; creatures:n.生物;动物;(具有某种特征的)人(creature的复数) Brontosaurus:n.雷龙; Triceratops:n.三角恐龙; Stegosaurus:n.剑龙; showcased:vt.showcase的过去式; destructive:adj.破坏的;毁灭性的;有害的,消极的; whirlwind:n.旋风;旋风般的快速行动;adj.旋风般的; profiteering:n.暴利;不正当利益;adj.牟取暴利的;v.获暴利(profiteer的ing形式); ambition:n.追求的目标;野心;志向;抱负; rivalry:n.竞争;对抗;竞赛; notorious:adj.声名狼藉的,臭名昭著的; scientific:adj.科学的,系统的; feuds:n.不和;争执;封地;vi.长期不和;长期争斗;
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| Marsh was ill-tempered and had a knack for debunking falsehoods . |
马许的脾气很糟,很善于揭发谎言。 |
| One woman said that getting to know him was “like running against a pitchfork .” |
一名女子说,认识他 就像是「扑向干草叉」; |
| Cope, on the other hand , was charismatic and given to bold theorizing . |
另一方面,柯普则很迷人, |
| But he was also sarcastic and temperamental . |
但他也很会酸人且喜怒无常。 |
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ill-tempered:adj.脾气暴躁的;坏脾气的; knack:n.诀窍;本领;熟练技术;巧妙手法; debunking:揭露(debunk的现在分词); falsehoods:n.说谎;假话;不真实;错误的信仰; pitchfork:n.干草叉;长柄草耙;音叉;vt.骤然把…塞进;骤然把…抛入; on the other hand:另一方面; charismatic:adj.超凡魅力的;神赐能力的; bold:adj.大胆的,英勇的;黑体的;厚颜无耻的;险峻的; theorizing:v.从理论上说明;形成理论;理论化;(theorize的现在分词) sarcastic:adj.挖苦的;尖刻的,辛辣的; temperamental:adj.喜怒无常的;性情的;易兴奋的;
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| By his own admission , he wasn’t “constructed for getting along comfortably with the general run of people.” |
他自己承认,他并非 「天生能够和一般人自在地相处」。 |
| When Marsh and Cope first met in 1864, they were friendly, and each named a new species in the other’s honor. |
马许和柯普在 1864 年 初次见面时还很友善, 还分别命名一个新物种向对方致敬。 |
| But their relationship soon soured. |
但他们的关系很快就变质了。 |
| In 1868, Cope took Marsh to a quarry near his home in New Jersey where one of the most complete dinosaur skeletons to date had recently been discovered. |
1868 年,柯普带马许到 他在纽泽西的家附近的采石场, 至今最完整的恐龙骨骼 才刚在那里出土。 |
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admission:n.入场费;进入权;招供;门票费; species:n.[生物]物种;种类; quarry:n.采石场;猎物;来源;vi.费力地找;vt.挖出;努力挖掘; skeletons:n.骷髅;[解剖]骨骼(skeleton的复数);流言(歌曲名); recently:adv.最近;新近;
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| Sensing an opportunity, Marsh paid the mine operators to send him the most interesting new finds. |
为了抓住机会, 马许买通了矿场作業员, 把最有趣的新发现寄给他。 |
| Outraged , Cope accused Marsh of bribery . |
盛怒之下,柯普控诉马许贿赂。 |
| That same year, Cope showed Marsh his reconstruction of a new marine reptile called Elasmosaurus. |
同年,柯普向马许展示了 他重组出来的新海洋爬虫类, 薄片龙。 |
| Marsh immediately noticed that something was wrong: |
马许马上察觉到不对劲: |
| Cope had mistaken the creature’s long neck for its tail. |
柯普误把长颈当作尾巴了。 |
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Outraged:adj.义愤填膺的;愤慨的,气愤的;v.使愤怒(outrage的过去式,过去分词); accused:v.控告;控诉;谴责;(accuse的过去分词和过去式) bribery:n.[法]贿赂;受贿;行贿; reconstruction:n.再建,重建;改造;复兴; 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; reptile:adj.爬虫类的;卑鄙的;n.爬行动物;卑鄙的人; mistaken:adj.错误;不正确;被误解的;v.弄错;误解;误会;(mistake的过去分词)
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| When Cope's mentor sided with Marsh, Cope was mortified . |
柯普的导师也站到马许这一边, 让柯普颜面尽失。 |
| He tried to buy and destroy every copy of the article containing his blunder , but to no avail . |
他试图买下并销毁每份报导他出漏子的文章, 却徒劳无功。 |
| Their mutual resentment blossomed . |
他们对彼此的怨恨越演越烈。 |
| After the transcontinental railroad was completed the following year, |
在隔年横贯大陆的铁路完工之后, |
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mentor:n.指导者,良师益友;vt.指导; mortified:adj.感到屈辱的;惭愧的;v.使难堪;使羞愧;(mortify的过去分词和过去式) blunder:v.跌跌撞撞地走;犯大错;n.大错; to no avail:无效,完全无用; mutual:adj.共同的;相互的,彼此的; resentment:n.愤恨,怨恨; blossomed:v.开花;变得更加健康(或自信、成功);(blossom的过去分词和过去式) transcontinental:adj.横贯大陆的;大陆那边的;
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| Cope and Marsh began scouring the American West for fossils . |
柯普和马许开始搜遍 美国西部,寻找化石。 |
| They found riches the likes of which neither had dreamed. |
他们所找到的财富 是两人都梦想不到的。 |
| Relying on the help of Native American guides, |
靠着美国原住民向导的协助, |
| Marsh made some especially significant discoveries, like ancient birds with teeth that are still celebrated as a missing link between dinosaurs and modern birds. |
马许有一些特别重大的发现, 比如有牙齿的远古鸟类, 这个发现至今仍然备受赞誉, 因为牠为恐龙和现代鸟类之间 遗失的连结搭起桥樑。 |
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scouring:v.搜寻,搜查;擦净;冲刷成;(scour的现在分词) fossils:n.[古生]化石(fossil复数形式); Relying:v.依赖;信任;指望(rely的现在分词); Native American:n.美洲土著居民; especially:adv.尤其;特别;格外;十分; significant:adj.重大的;有效的;有意义的;值得注意的;意味深长的;n.象征;有意义的事物; missing link:n.(理解问题或使事物完整的)必要的环节;
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| Cope made important discoveries, too, but Marsh successfully invalidated many of them, showing them to be redundant with other known species. |
柯普也有重要的发现, 但马许成功让他的许多发现 都被认定为无效, 证明牠们和许多已知的物种重复。 |
| Enraged , Cope tried to secure priority for new findings by announcing them via telegram . |
被触怒的柯普 试着用电报抢在马许之前 公布他的新发现。 |
| He even purchased a respected journal so future publications could be rushed into print. |
他甚至买下一份受敬重的期刊, 这么一来,将来在必要时 就可以赶着印刷出版。 |
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invalidated:v.使无效(invalidate的过去分词); redundant:adj.多余的,过剩的;被解雇的,失业的;冗长的,累赘的; Enraged:v.使异常愤怒;激怒;触怒;(enrage的过去分词和过去式) priority:n.优先;优先权;[数]优先次序;优先考虑的事; findings:n.调查发现;判决;裁决;(finding的复数) via:prep.通过;经由;n.道路;[医]管道; telegram:n.电报;v.用电报发送;v.发电报; purchased:v.买;购买;采购;(purchase的过去式和过去分词) journal:n.杂志;日记;日志;(用于报纸名)…报; publications:n.出版物(publication的复数);
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| But Marsh used his personal fortune to gain the upper hand , hiring a small army of fossil hunters to out-compete his rival. |
马许则用他个人的财产来取得优势, 他雇用一小群化石猎人 以打败他的对手。 |
| In 1878, Marsh bought an especially promising quarry in Como Bluff , Wyoming , from two frontier collectors . |
1878 年,马许在怀俄明州的科摩崖 买下了一座特别被看好的采石场, 卖家是两位专在偏远地区 探索的收集者。 |
| It yielded tons of fossils, including the near-complete skeleton of a gigantic dinosaur that Marsh named Brontosaurus. |
这个采石场产出数公吨的化石, 包括一种巨大恐龙近乎完整的骨骼, 马许将牠命名为雷龙。 |
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personal:adj.个人的;身体的;亲自的;n.人事消息栏;人称代名词; fortune:n.财富;命运;运气;v.给予财富,偶然发生 upper hand:上风;优势;先手;占上风; Bluff:v.虚张声势;唬人;吹牛;n.虚张声势的做法;唬人;峭壁;adj.直率豪爽的 Wyoming:n.美国怀俄明州; collectors:n.收藏家;收集者;聚集剂;[电子]集电极(collector的复数); yielded:v.出产(作物);提供;屈服;让步;放弃;(yield的过去分词和过去式) gigantic:adj.巨大的,庞大的;
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| Over the next 10 years, his men shipped him more than 480 boxes of dinosaur bones from Como alone. |
在接下来十年,他的人光是从科摩崖就寄了 四百八十箱的恐龙骨头给他。 |
| Marsh named dozens of new species. |
有数十种新发现的恐龙 都是马许命名的。 |
| But his assistants could be ruthless in their quest to further Marsh’s scientific ambitions . |
但他的助理为了满足马许 在科学上的野心, 时而会使用无情的手段。 |
| They sometimes destroyed fossils just to prevent them from falling into Cope’s hands. |
有时,他们为了避免化石 落入科普手中 而将之破坏。 |
| Desperate to catch up with Marsh, |
因为急着想要赶上马许, |
| Cope invested his dwindling fortune into silver mining. |
柯普把他越来越少的财产 投入银矿开采。 |
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ruthless:adj.无情的,残忍的; quest:n.追求;寻找;vi.追求;寻找;vt.探索; ambitions:n.追求的目标;野心;志向;抱负;(ambition的复数) Desperate:adj.不顾一切的;令人绝望的;极度渴望的; catch up with:赶上,追上;逮捕;处罚; invested:v.投资;投入;(invest的过去分词和过去式) dwindling:减少;变小;退化;使减少(dwindle的现在分词); silver:n.银; v.给…镀(或包)银; adj.银色的;
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| The gamble failed, and he was left nearly destitute . |
他押错了赌注, 落到几乎赤贫的下场。 |
| While Cope contemplated selling his precious collection, |
当柯普考虑要卖掉 他珍贵的收藏品时, |
| Marsh was named lead paleontologist for the US Geological Survey . |
马许被任命为美国地质调查局 首席古生物学家。 |
| This well-funded branch of the government often sponsored Westward expeditions , giving Marsh even more resources to vanquish his rival. |
这个资金充足的政府部门, 让马许有更多资源击败他的对手。 |
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gamble:vi.赌博; vt.赌博; n.赌博; destitute:adj.穷困的;无的;缺乏的;n.赤贫者;vt.使穷困;夺去; contemplated:v.考虑;思量;深思熟虑;沉思;(contemplate的过去式和过去分词) paleontologist:n.古生物学家;古生物学者; Geological:adj.地质的,地质学的; Survey:n.调查;测量;审视;纵览;vt.调查;勘测;俯瞰;vi.测量土地; sponsored:adj.(活动或比赛)为慈善筹款而举办的; v.赞助(活动、节目等); (sponsor的过去式和过去分词) Westward:adj.向西的;西方的;n.西部;西方;adv.向西; expeditions:n.探险(expedition的复数);远征; resources:n.[计][环境]资源; v.向…提供资金(resource的第三人称单数); vanquish:vt.征服;击败;克服;抑制(感情等);
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| The Bone Wars spilled into public view when Cope had a tabloid newspaper publish an article accusing Marsh of plagiarism , fraud , and corruption . |
柯普找上小报,刊出一篇文章, 指控马许抄袭、诈欺、腐败, 化石战争就此被揭露,遭大众檢视。 |
| Marsh fired back and the two further tarnished each other’s reputations. |
马许反击,两人更进一步 诋毁彼此的名声。 |
| Neither ever relented . |
两人始终都不退让。 |
| When Cope died, he donated his skull to science, hoping to prove that his brain was larger than that of his enemy. |
柯普死时将自己的头骨 捐赠做科学研究, 希望能证明他的大脑 比他的敌人更大。 |
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spilled:v.(使)洒出,泼出:涌出:蜂拥而出;(spill的过去分词和过去式) tabloid:n.小报;药片;文摘;小型画报;adj.小报式的;缩略的;轰动性的;扼要的; publish:v.出版;发表;公布; accusing:adj.谴责的;指责的;v.控告;控诉;谴责;(accuse的现在分词) plagiarism:n.剽窃;剽窃物; fraud:n.欺骗;骗子;诡计; corruption:n.贪污,腐败;堕落; tarnished:v.使生锈;沾污;n.生锈;晦暗;污点; relented:v.变宽厚;减弱(风力);怜悯(relent的过去式); donated:v.捐赠,赠送;献(血);捐献(器官);(donate的过去分词和过去式) skull:n.头盖骨,脑壳;
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| Marsh never accepted the challenge. |
马许始终没有接受这个挑战。 |
| Although Marsh named more species than Cope, both men greatly expanded our understanding of evolution . |
虽然马许命名的物种比柯普多, 两个人都大大拓展了 我们对于演化的了解。 |
| But their egotistical one-upmanship reminds us that, in spite of its ideals, science is a personal enterprise conducted by individual— and at times deeply flawed— human beings. |
但他们那种自许高人一等的自大作风 给了我们一个警惕: 尽管目的在实践理想, 科学仍然是个人的志業, 而从事的是个体的、时而充满瑕疵的人类。 |
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greatly:adv.很,大大地;非常; expanded:adj.扩充的;展开的;vt.扩大(expand的过去式); evolution:n.演变;进化;发展;渐进; egotistical:adj.任性的;自我本位的;傲慢自尊的; one-upmanship:n.胜人一筹;能胜人一筹的办法; reminds:v.提醒;使想起;(remind的第三人称单数) in spite of:尽管;不管,不顾; conducted:v.组织;安排;实施;执行;指挥;带领;引导;(conduct的过去分词和过去式)
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