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PaulSereno_2005-_深度剖析恐龙_
65 million years ago, a very important and catastrophic event changed the course of life on land. 6500万年前,一场非常重要的 大灾难 改变了陆地生命的进化历程。
catastrophic:adj.灾难的;悲惨的;灾难性的,毁灭性的;
And although we know that the land animals I'm going to talk about are just the scum of the earth on the land -- the little bits of land floating around -- but they are important to us because they're sort of in our scale of experience from millimeters to meters. 下面我要讲到的陆地动物 虽然只是在漫长的进化历程中昙花一现, 对我们来说,却有着深远的意义。 因为它们是我们经验逐步累积中的一部分。
scum:n.浮渣;泡沫;糟粕;v.产生泡沫;被浮渣覆盖;将浮渣去除掉; scale:n.规模;比例;鳞;刻度;天平;数值范围;v.衡量;攀登;剥落;生水垢; millimeters:n.毫米;(millimeter的复数)
And these animals disappeared , and a separate life, mammals , radiated out to take their place. And so, we know this, in extraordinary detail. And so this is a core 然而这些动物突然都消失了, 另一种新的生命形式,哺乳动物 逐渐繁荣起来,并取代了它们。我们对这一点 非常了解。因此,这是揭开谜团的重要线索。
disappeared:adj.消失的;消失了的;v.消失,失踪;(disappear的过去式和过去分词) mammals:n.哺乳动物;(mammal的复数) radiated:adj.辐射的; v.辐射; extraordinary:adj.非凡的;特别的;离奇的;临时的;特派的; core:n.核心;要点;果心;[计]磁心;vt.挖...的核;
from near Bermuda . We know that the tsunamis , the earthquakes, and the things that we've experienced in the entire record of humankind history can't really quite get around the kind of disaster that this represented for the Earth. 我们知道像海啸、地震 和我们整个人类历史上 所经历的其他一切灾难 在我们居住的地球上 都是不可避免的。
Bermuda:n.百慕大群岛(北大西洋西部群岛); tsunamis:n.海啸;津波(tsunami的复数); humankind:n.人类(总称); get around:到处走走;逃避;说服;传开来(等于getround);有办法应付;有办法应付局面; disaster:n.灾难,灾祸;不幸; represented:v.代表; (represent的过去式和过去分词)
So even before that impact was known, even before scientists in general came to an agreement over the theory of evolution , scientists and natural historians of all kinds of stripes actually had divided Earth's life's history into these two episodes : 所以,在提出慧地大碰撞理论之前, 甚至在大多数科学家承认 进化论之前, 不同领域的科学家和自然学家们 事实上早就把地球的历史 划分为以下两个阶段:
impact:n.影响;效果;碰撞;冲击力;v.挤入,压紧;撞击;对…产生影响; in general:总之,通常;一般而言; evolution:n.演变;进化;发展;渐进; stripes:n.条子布;条纹布(stripe复数形式);v.给…加条纹(stripe的三单形式); episodes:n.一段经历;片段,插曲;一集;(episode的复数)
Mesozoic, the middle life, and the Cenozoic , the recent life. 中生代和新生代。
Cenozoic:adj.[地质学]新生代的;n.新生代;
And as it turns out, it actually corresponds really nicely with geologic history. 而事实则很好的证明了这样的划分 和我们的地质历史相当吻合。
corresponds:v.相一致;符合;类似于;相当于;通信;(correspond的第三人称单数) nicely:adv.细致地;有吸引力;令人满意;令人愉快;adj.强健的; geologic:adj.地质的;地质学上的;
So we have a Mesozoic period, an age of fragmentation , and a Cenozoic period, an age of reconnection -- 中生代是各大地质板块 分裂的时期, 而新生代则是各板块合并的时期--
fragmentation:n.破碎;分裂;[计]存储残片; reconnection:n.重新连接;
South America to North America , India to Asia. 像南美和北美,印度和亚洲的合并。
South America:n.南美洲; North America:n.北美洲;
And so my work, really, is trying to understand the character of that Mesozoic radiation compared to the Cenozoic radiation to see what mysteries we can understand from dinosaurs and from other animals about what life on drifting continents really can tell us about evolution. 所以我的工作是试着找出 中生代和新生代时期 各生活着什么样的生物, 然后看看是否能从恐龙和其它动物上 找到关于大陆漂移过程中 生物进化的奥秘。
radiation:n.辐射;放射线;放射疗法; compared:adj.比较的,对照的; v.相比; (compare的过去式和过去分词) drifting:v.漂流;漂移;缓慢行走;顺其自然地做;(drift的现在分词) continents:n.[地理]大陆,大洲(continent复数);
The work immediately begs the question, "Why didn't they go into the waters?" 但问题很快就来了, “为什么恐龙们不生活在水里呢？”
I mean, certainly mammals did. This is one example. 举个例子,哺乳动物过去是生活在水中的。
You can go outside -- see many other examples. 你可以到外面看看,有很多这样的例子。
Within five, 10 million years of the bolide impact we had a whole variety of animals going into the water. Why didn't they do that? 被火流星攻击了500到1000万年, 我们有大量的动物改为去水中生活了。而恐龙为什么不这样做呢？
variety:n.多样;种类;杂耍;变化,多样化;
Why didn't they hang around in trees at good size, and why didn't they burrow ? 为什么恐龙都没有生活在树上呢？ 为什么它们不去挖洞？
hang around:闲荡;徘徊; burrow:n.地洞,洞穴v.挖掘;穴居;潜伏;
Why didn't they do all these things, and if they didn't do all these things, what kinds of animals were in those spaces? 为什么它们都不做我提到的这些事呢？如果它们不生活在这些地方, 有哪些动物会生活在那里呢？
And if there were no animals in those spaces, what does that tell us about, you know, how evolution works on land? 如果没有动物生活在除了水之外的其它地方,这能告诉我们 关于生物进化的什么秘密呢？
Really interesting questions. I think a lot of it has to do with body size. 这是非常有趣的问题。我认为这许多跟体型有关。
In fact, I think that most of it has to do with body size -- the size you are when you inherit a vacant ecospace from whatever natural disaster. 事实上,大多数都跟体型有一定的关系-- 无论何种自然灾害之后, 那空荡的自然环境 决定了它们的体型。
inherit:v.继承;接替(责任等);继任; vacant:adj.空虚的;空闲的;茫然的;
Looking at dinosaur evolution and studying it, digging it up, for many years, 深入研究恐龙进化史 并亲自参与现场挖掘很多年之后,
I end up looking at the mammal radiation, and it seems as though everything is quick time, just like technology , advancing by an order of magnitude . 我转向了对哺乳动物种类的研究, 结果似乎是所有的事物都转瞬即逝, 就像技术要朝着更先进的方向发展一样。
technology:n.技术;工艺;术语; order of magnitude:n.数量级(量度物理量大小的标准,用以10为底的指数表达);
Dinosaur evolution proceeded at a stately pace, an order of magnitude slower on any way you want to measure it. 但恐龙却迈着庄严谨慎的进化脚步前进, 这样的进化方式比我们想象得要慢很多。
proceeded:v.继续做;接着做;继而做;行进;前往;(proceed的过去分词和过去式) stately:adj.庄严的;堂皇的,宏伟的;
You want to measure it by diversity ? 你要以生物多样性来测量吗？
diversity:n.差异(性):多样性:多样化:
You want to measure it by the time it took to reach maximum body size? 或者你要以 它们进化到最大体型所需的时间来衡量？
maximum:n.最大限度;最大量;最高限度;adj.最高的;最多的;最大极限的;
Yes, they do have larger body size, but many of them are smaller, but we're interested in the time it took them to achieve that. 是的,它们有过比较大的体型, 但绝大多数体型是比较小的, 然而我们感兴趣的是这些恐龙用了多长时间才变得这么大的。
50 million years to achieve this maximum body size. 5000万年。
And that is 10 times longer than it took the mammals to achieve maximum body size and invade all those habitats . 而哺乳动物只花了500万年就 进化到了最大的体型 并且在恐龙原栖息上繁衍生息。
invade:v.侵犯;侵略;侵袭;干扰; habitats:n.[生态]栖息地;(动植物的)[经]产地(habitat的复数形式);
So there's lessons to learn, and there's lessons to learn from the exception , the exception that we know very well today from the discoveries we've made, and many other scholars have made around the world. 所以我们要吸取很多教训, 而这些教训都来自于一个特例。 这个特例我们今天很熟悉,是因为世界各地的学者和我们 到目前为止所做的各种发现。
exception:n.例外;异议;
This slide was shown before. This is the famous Jurassic bird Archaeopteryx . 这张幻灯片以前也展示过,是著名的侏罗纪始祖鸟。
Jurassic:adj.侏罗系的;侏罗纪的;n.侏罗纪; Archaeopteryx:n.始祖鸟;
We now know this transition is the one time that dinosaurs actually went below that body size -- we're going to see where they began in a minute -- and it is the one time that they rapidly invaded all the habitats 我们现在知道这个转变 是在恐龙逐渐变小的过程中 开始的。 接下去我们要讨论它们是从哪里开始的。 正是那个时期,它们迅速地 繁衍生息。
transition:n.过渡;转变;变革;变迁;v.经历转变过程;过渡; invaded:v.入侵;拥入;遍布(invade的过去分词);adj.被侵入的;
I just told you that dinosaurs weren't in. 我刚才说过恐龙们是不去水中生活的。
They became marine . We now know them today from the ice caps. 这些鸟转移到了海洋里。我们今天是从 冰盖研究中得知的。
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;
There's burrowing birds. 这些是穴居鸟。
burrowing:v.挖掘(burrow的现在分词);[古生]掘穴;
They inhabit the trees at all body sizes, and, of course, they inhabit the land. 不管何种体型,它们都可以呆在树上, 当然,也生活在陆地上。
inhabit:v.居住在;栖居于;
So we were the first to actually name that later exploded onto the pages of Science and Nature. 事实上,后来在《科学》和《自然》杂志上 频繁刊登的这种鸟是我们命名的。
exploded:adj.分解的; v.爆炸; (explode的过去分词和过去式)
We called this bird Sinornis. It's a little bit more advanced than Archaeopteryx, and if you go to different layers , you find things that are less advanced than Archaeopteryx, and every grade in between, 我们叫它中国鸟。它比始祖鸟要更高等一些。 如果你分析不同的地层,就会发现 每往下一层,生物就更低等。
advanced:adj.先进的; v.前进; (advance的过去式和过去分词形式) layers:n.层;表层;层次;阶层;v.把…分层堆放;(layer的第三人称单数和复数)
so that if you find something today, we're usually splitting hairs -- or, more appropriately , feathers -- as to decide whether it's actually a non-avian or an avian . 所以今天如果你发现了新的化石,我们通常是去分析它的毛发, 或更恰当地说是羽毛 来决定它是否属于鸟类。
appropriately:adj.适当地;合适地;相称地; avian:adj.鸟的;鸟类的;n.鸟;
It is the greatest transition that we have, actually, on land from one habitat to another, bar none, to understand how a bony , fairly heavy, kilogram or a couple-of-kilogram animal could make such a transition. 这事实上是陆地上从一个栖息地到另一个上的 最重要的转变, 无一例外, 这也为有骨架的, 有厚重羽毛的,几公斤重的动物是怎样进化的 提供了一定的线索。
bony:adj.骨的;多骨的;瘦骨嶙峋的;似骨的; fairly:adv.相当地;公平地;简直;
It is really our greatest -- one of our greatest -- evolutionary sequences . 这是我们进化历程上最重要的事件之一。
evolutionary:adj.进化的;发展的;渐进的; sequences:n.[数][计]序列,顺序;继起的事(sequence的复数形式);
Now, my work began at the beginning . 现在,我的工作是从头开始。
at the beginning:首先;从一开始;起初;从头开始;
I thought if I'm going to understand dinosaur evolution, 我想如果我要去了解恐龙是怎样进化的,
I'd have to go back to those beds where they had picked up fragments , go back to a time and a place where the earliest dinosaurs existed. 我不得不回到那些远古地层, 因为古生物学家在那里发现了恐龙的碎片,那是恐龙 曾经生活过的时代和地方。
fragments:n.碎片(fragment的复数);片断;[计]分段;v.破碎(fragment的三单形式);打碎;
I'd like to call for this little video clip to give you some idea of, sort of, what we face. Normally , we get asked a lot of questions: "Well, how do you find fossils in areas that look like this?" 我想在这里给大家放一小段录像, 让大家对我们所面对的东西有一点了解。通常,大家会问很多问题, 例如,“你们是怎样在这片地区找到化石的？”
clip:v.剪辑;修剪;削减;固定;n.夹;夹子;速度;钳; Normally:adv.正常地;通常地,一般地; fossils:n.[古生]化石(fossil复数形式);
If we could roll that first video clip. 我们回放一下第一段录像。
This is sort of a nice helicopter ride through those early beds, and they're located in Northeastern Argentina . 这架看起来不错的直升机 自由穿行在那些古老的峡谷中, 这个地方是阿根廷的东北地区。
located:adj.位于; v.确定…的准确地点; (locate的过去分词和过去式) Northeastern:adj.在东北的;东北方的;来自东北的; Argentina:n.阿根廷(位于拉丁美洲);
And we're coming over a cliff , and at the top of that cliff , dinosaurs had basically taken over. 我们正经过峡谷的上方,这些峡谷的顶端 是恐龙曾经生活过的地方。
cliff:n.悬崖;绝壁; basically:adv.主要地,基本上;
at the bottom of the cliff, we find that they're rare as hens' teeth. 在峡谷的底部,我们几乎发现不了恐龙化石。
That's where dinosaur origins is to be found: at the bottom of the cliff. 而在那里我们发现了最原始的恐龙化石。
origins:n.起源; (origin的复数)
You go into an area like this, you get a geologic map, you get a topographic map, and the best, most-inspired team you can bring to the area. 在这样的地区你需要一张地质图, 或者说一张地形图, 最重要的是有一支最棒的队伍跟着你。
topographic:adj.地形测量的;地志的;地形学上的;
And the rest is up to you. You've got to find fossils. 最后就靠我们自己了。我们得找到恐龙化石。
You've got to dig a hole that's usually quite a bit bigger than that to get it out; you've got to climb those cliffs and find, really, everything that existed -- 你得挖一个比这稍大一点的洞 才能把它挖出来;你还得爬上这些峡谷 挖出任何一样有研究价值的东西,
cliffs:n.(常指海洋边的)悬崖,峭壁;(cliff的复数)
not just the dinosaurs, but the entire story. If you're lucky, and you dig a place like that, you actually find the ash bed to dig it, and we did. 不仅仅是恐龙化石,而是整个史前故事。如果你够幸运, 并且找到了这样的一个地方, 你就去挖吧,事实上,我们就是这么做的。
228 million years old, we found what really is the most primitive dinosaur: that's the Ur-dinosaur. 我们发现了一具有2亿2800万年的 最原始的恐龙骨架: 这就是尔恐龙.
primitive:adj.原始的,远古的;简单的,粗糙的;n.原始人;
A three-and-a-half foot thing, beautiful skull , predator , meat-eater, a two-legged animal. 3英尺半高（1米左右）, 有着一个迷人头骨的掠食者, 也就是食肉恐龙,两足行走。
skull:n.头盖骨,脑壳; predator:n.[动]捕食者;[动]食肉动物;掠夺者; two-legged:有两条腿的;
So, all the other dinosaurs that you know, or your kids know, at least, on four legs. 然而,你或你的孩子记忆当中的其它恐龙 至少是有四条腿的。
This is sort of a look at the skull, and it's an absolutely fantastic thing about five or six inches long. 来看一下这个头骨, 5到6英寸长,非常漂亮。
absolutely:adv.绝对地;完全地; fantastic:奇异的,空想的
It looks rather bird-like because it is. 它看起来像鸟的头骨,事实上的确这样。
It's bird-like and hollow . 它有着像鸟一样的头骨,并且是空心的。
hollow:n.孔; v.挖; adj.中空的; v.彻底;
A predator. Maybe 25 pounds, or 10 kilograms. 它是掠食者,大概有25磅, 也就是10公斤。
That's where dinosaurs began. That's where the radiation began. 这就是恐龙的起源,然后逐渐地分散到各个地方去。
That is 10 times larger than the mammal radiation, which was a four-legged radiation. 这比哺乳动物,也就是四足动物 要大10倍。
four-legged:adj.四足的;有四根桅樯的;
We are extremely dinosaur-like, and unusual in our two-legged approach to life. 我们和恐龙是非常相像的, 只不过我们是两足动物。
extremely:adv.非常,极其;极端地; approach:n.方法;路径;v.接近;建议;着手处理;
Now, if you want to understand what happened then when the continents broke apart, and dinosaurs found -- landlubbers , as they are -- found themselves adrift . There's some missing puzzle pieces. 如果你想知道远古大陆分裂后 发生了什么, 为什么恐龙被发现时是 四分五裂的,我们还需要其他一些关键证据。
landlubbers:n.新水手;不习惯航海的人; adrift:adj.漂泊的;漂浮着的;adv.随波逐流地;漂浮着; puzzle:n.谜;疑问;智力游戏;不解之谜;v.迷惑;使困惑;
Most of those missing puzzle pieces are southern continents because it was those continents that are least explored . 而大都数这些证据在南半球的大陆上, 那里人类的足迹几乎没有。
explored:v.探索;勘探;考察;探险;(explore的过去式和过去分词)
If you want to add to this picture and try and sketch it globally, you really have to force yourself to go down to the four corners of the Earth -- 如果你想为这个画增添些什么,为了使它更完美一点, 你就必须走遍 地球的各个角落--
sketch:n.素描;草图;速写;概述;v.概述;简述;画素描;画速写;
Africa, India, Antarctica, Australia -- and start putting together some of these pieces. 非洲、印度、南极洲、澳大利亚-- 并且试着开始找出最终答案。
I've been to some of those continents, but Africa was, in the words of Steven Pinker, was a blank slate , largely . 我曾经到过其中的一些大陆,只是非洲在 史蒂芬·品克的描述中,很大程度上是一块白板,
slate:n.石板;板岩;候选人名单;v.批评;抨击;预定;计划;安排;选定; largely:adv.主要地;大部分;大量地;
But one with an immense chalkboard in the middle, with lots of little areas of dinosaur rock if you could survive an expedition . 但中间是一大块黑板, 那里有很多埋藏恐龙化石的一片片地区, 条件是你能在探险后幸存下来。
immense:adj.巨大的,广大的;无边无际的;非常好的; chalkboard:n.黑板; expedition:n.远征;探险队;迅速;
There's no roads into the Sahara. It's an enormous place. 没有路通往沙哈拉沙漠,那是个无边无际的地方。
enormous:adj.庞大的,巨大的;凶暴的,极恶的;
To be able to excavate the 80 tons of dinosaurs that we have in the Sahara and take them out, you really have to put together an expedition team that can handle the conditions. 如果要把 80吨重的沙哈拉沙漠恐龙化石 搬出去,你就必须有一支能 克服任何困难的探险队伍。
excavate:vt.挖掘;开凿;vi.发掘;细查; put together:..放在一起;组合;装配; handle:n.[建]把手;柄;手感;口实;v.处理;操作;运用;买卖;触摸;
Some of them are political. Many of them are physical . 这些困难当中,其中一些是政治原因,很多是身体上的,
physical:adj.[物]物理的;身体的;物质的;符合自然法则的;n.体格检查;
Some of them -- the most important -- are mental . 再有一些,也是最重要的,是精神上的。
mental:adj.精神的;脑力的;疯的;n.精神病患者;
And you really have to be able to withstand conditions -- you have to drive into the desert, you will see landscapes in many cases -- you can see from what we've discovered -- that nobody else has ever seen. 你要能承受各种各样的恶劣条件-- 你不得不驱车进入沙漠腹地, 那里你可以看到形态各异的沙漠景观-- 你可以见到我们所发现的各种化石-- 而其他人却不能。
withstand:vt.抵挡;禁得起;反抗;vi.反抗; landscapes:n.风景; v.从事庭园设计;
And the kinds of teams they bring in? 有人会问你们的队伍是由哪些人组成的？
Well, they're composed of people who understand science as adventure with a purpose. 他们是有 一群 懂得科学精神的人组成,而这个精神就是有目的性的探险。
composed:adj.由…组成的; v.组成; (compose的过去分词和过去式) adventure:n.冒险;奇遇;经历;冒险游戏;v.探险;以…冒险;大胆进行;闯;
They're usually students who've never seen a desert. 队伍成员通常是一群没有去过沙漠的学生。
Some of them are more experienced. 其中一些学生则相对经验丰富些。
Your job as a leader -- this is definitely a team sport -- your job as a leader is to try to inspire them to do more work than they've every done in their life under conditions that they can't imagine. 作为领队--这可以说是一个团队运动-- 你必须试图激励他们 在这样的严酷条件下 做比生活中所能承受的更多的事。
definitely:adv.清楚地,当然;明确地,肯定地; inspire:v.激发;鼓舞;启示;产生;使生灵感;
So, 125 degrees is normal. 所以,125华氏度（52摄氏度）很正常。
The ground surface at 150 -- typical . 而地表通常可以达到66摄氏度。
typical:adj.典型的;特有的;象征性的;
So, you can't leave your normal metal tools out because you'll get a first-degree burn if you grab them sometimes. 因此,你最好不要把金属工具放在太阳底下, 否则如果不小心碰到它们,就会被烫得很严重。
first-degree:adj.最轻度的;最低级的;第一度的; grab:v.攫取;霸占;将…深深吸引;n.攫取;霸占;夺取之物;
So, you are finding yourself also in an amazing cultural milieu . 你也会发现自己正沉浸在某一文化环境之中,
cultural:adj.与文化有关的;文化的;与艺术、文学、音乐等有关的; milieu:n.环境;周围;出身背景;
You're really rubbing shoulders with the world's last great nomadic people. 和世界上仅存的 伟大游牧民族打交道。
rubbing:v.擦;磨;搓;(使)相互摩擦;摩擦;(rub的现在分词) nomadic:adj.游牧的;流浪的;游动的;
These are the Tuareg nomads , and they're living their lives much as they have for centuries. 他们是图阿雷格游牧民族,在撒哈拉地区 生活了几百年。
nomads:n.游牧民,牧游者(nomad的复数形式);流浪者;
Your job is to excavate things like this in the foreground , and make them enter the pages of history. 你的工作就是把这些挖掘出来, 然后把它记录在册。
foreground:n.前景;最显著的位置;
To do that, you've got to actually transport them thousands of miles out of the desert. 要做到这一点,你需要把这些从沙漠运到 几千英里之外的另一个地方。
transport:n.运输;输送;运送;运输机;v.输送;传播;使产生身临其境的感觉;(旧时)流放;
We're talking about Ethiopia , but let's talk about Niger -- or Niger, in our English language -- north of Nigeria -- that's where this photograph was taken. 我们现在说的是埃塞俄比亚,但接下来要谈的是-- 尼日尔--尼日尔北部地区-- 在那里我们拍到了这张照片。
Ethiopia:n.埃塞俄比亚;
Basically you're talking about a country that, when we started working there, did not have container traffic. 当我们开始工作时, 尼日尔基本上没有集装箱运输车。
You transported the bones out yourself to the coast of Africa, onto a boat, if you wanted to get them out of the middle of the Sahara. 你得自己把这些化石运到 非洲海岸, 然后再搬上船,才能把它们运出沙哈拉中部地区。
transported:v.(用交通工具)运输,运送,输送;(transport的过去分词和过去式)
That's a 2,000 mile journey . 这有2000英里的路程。
journey:n.旅行;行程;vi.旅行;
So enormous excavations and a lot of work, and out of essentially a partial herd of dinosaurs that you saw buried there -- 20 tons of material -- we erect Jobaria, a sauropod dinosaur like we haven't seen on some other continents. 在大量的挖掘工作之后, 我们利用埋藏在那里的 一部分重要恐龙骨架--大约有20吨-- 安装了约巴龙, 这是一种我们在其他大陆上没有见到过的蜥脚类龙,
excavations:n.挖掘,发掘; essentially:adv.本质上;本来; partial:adj.部分的;不完整的;片面的;有偏见的; herd:n.兽群,畜群;放牧人;vi.成群,聚在一起;vt.放牧;使成群; erect:vt.使竖立;建造;安装;adj.竖立的;笔直的;因性刺激而勃起的;vi.直立;勃起; sauropod:n.蜥脚类动物;adj.蜥脚类动物的;
It really is a little bit out of place temporally . 看起来暂时跟周围环境有点不搭。
out of place:adj.不合适的;不相称的;不在适当的位置; temporally:现世地;暂时地;
It looks nothing like what we would find if we dug in contemporary beds in North America. 它和我们如今在北美岩层中 所找到的化石一点也不同。
contemporary:n.同时代的人;同时期的东西;adj.当代的;同时代的;属于同一时期的;
Here's the animal that was causing it trouble. 这是一头给食草恐龙带来惊慌的恐龙。
And, you know, on and on -- a whole menagerie . When you pick up something like this -- and some of you have had the chance to touch it -- this is a piece of history. You're touching something that's 110 millions years old. 你知道,逐渐地我们就有了这么一个 庞大的动物园。当你捡起这样的东西时-- 一些人曾经可能接触过类似的东西-- 这就是一段历史,距今已有1亿1000万年了。
on and on:继续不停地; menagerie:n.动物园;动物展览;(马戏团豢养的)兽群;
This is a thumb claw . There it was, moments after it was discovered. 这是拇指爪,在这个恐龙化石发现后不久就发现了它。
thumb:v.翻阅;以拇指拨弄;作搭车手势;笨拙地摆弄;n.拇指; claw:n.爪;螯,钳;爪形器具;v.用爪抓(或挖);
It is an incredible view of life, and it really began when we began to understand the depth of time. 多么不可思议的生命, 当我们开始思考时间深度时 它就开始了。
incredible:adj.难以置信的,惊人的;
It's only been with us for less than a century, and in that time, that fourth dimension , when radioactive dating came about, less than a century ago, and we could actually tell how old some of these things were, is probably the most profound transformation , because it changes the way we look at ourselves and the world dramatically . 它的历史不超过百年, 在那时, 不到一个世纪之前,放射性测年技术的发明 使我们能测得这些化石的年龄, 这是一项深远的变革, 它改变了我们看待自己和世界的 方式方法。
fourth dimension:n.第四维;非常人的体验; radioactive:adj.[核]放射性的;有辐射的; profound:adj.深厚的;意义深远的;渊博的; transformation:n.转变;(用于南非)民主改革; dramatically:adv.戏剧地;引人注目地;adv.显著地,剧烈地;
When you pick up a piece of history like that, 当你了解这些化石的背后故事后,
I think it can transform kids that are possibly interested in science. 我想这些历史能转变 对科学有可能产生兴趣学生的态度。
That's the animal that thumb claw came from: Suchamimus. 这是似鳄龙的拇指爪。
Here's some others. 这还有其它一些。
This is something we found in Morocco, an immense animal. 这是我们在摩洛哥发现的庞然大物。
We prototyped by CAT-scanning the brain out of this animal. 我们用CAT扫描了它的头骨,并制作了头骨原型。
prototyped:n.原型; (prototype的过去分词)
It turns out to have a forebrain one-fifteenth the size of a human. 它的前脑容量 只有人类的十五分之一。
forebrain:n.前脑;
This was the cover of Science, because they thought that humans were more intelligent than these animals, but we can see by some in our administration that despite the enormous advantage in brain volume some of the attitudes remain the same. Anyway, smaller raptors . 这是《科学》杂志的封面,有人认为 人类比这些动物更有智慧, 但我们从行政机构的一些例子中可以看出 尽管 人类在脑容量上占上风, 但是我们和它们的一些态度相似。总之, 我们人类是小型掠食者。
intelligent:adj.有才智的;悟性强的;聪明的;有智力的 despite:prep.尽管,不管;n.轻视;憎恨;侮辱; advantage:n.有利条件:优势:优点: volume:n.体积;容积;音量;响度;一册;合订本 attitudes:n.态度,看法(attitude复数); raptors:n.猛龙队;猛禽类;
All the stuff from Jurassic Park that you know of -- all those small animals -- they all come from northern continents. 《侏罗纪公园》这部电影中你所知道的一切-- 所有的那些小型动物-- 它们都生活在各个大陆的北部地区。
stuff:n.东西:物品:基本特征:v.填满:装满:标本:
This is the first skeleton from a southern continent, and guess what? You start preparing it. 这是第一具来自某个大陆南方的骨架, 猜怎么着？
skeleton:n.骨架,骨骼;纲要;骨瘦如柴的人;adj.骨骼的;骨瘦如柴的;概略的;
It has no big claw on its hind foot. It doesn't look like a Velociraptor . 它的后脚没有大型爪子,看起来不像迅猛龙。
hind:adj.后部的;n.雌鹿; Velociraptor:n.迅猛龙;
It's really a wholly separate radiation. 很明显,它是一个新的种类。
wholly:adv.完全地;全部;统统;
So what we're trying to piece together here is a story. 所以我们正在尽力还原当初的情况,
piece together:拼凑;
It involves flying reptiles like this Pterosaur that we reconstructed from Africa. 包括会飞的爬行动物, 像这只我们在非洲重新复原的翼龙。
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) reptiles:n.爬行动物(reptile的复数);[脊椎]爬行类;爬虫类; Pterosaur:n.翼龙; reconstructed:adj.重建的;改造的;v.重建;改造(reconstruct的过去式);
Crocodiles , of course, and that's a nasty one we haven't named yet. 当然还有鳄鱼。 我们还没有给这条可怕的鳄鱼取个名字,
Crocodiles:n.鳄类,鳄鱼(crocodile的复数形式); nasty:adj.极差的:令人厌恶的:不友好的:n.令人不愉快的事物:
And huge things -- I mean, this is a lower jaw just laying there in the desert of this enormous crocodile. 然人惊叹的是 这条巨鳄的下颌骨 正躺在沙漠之中。
The crocodile is technically called Sarcosuchus. 学术上我们称它为帝王鳄。
That's an adult Orinoco crocodile in its jaws. 从颌骨来看,这是一条成年奥里诺科鳄鱼。
We had to try and reconstruct this. 我们竭尽全力想把它复原,
We had to actually look at recent crocodiles to understand how crocodiles scale. 所以只有和现在的鳄鱼作比较之后, 才能知道鳄鱼身体的比例是怎样的。
Could I have the second little video clip? 马上来放一下第二个短片。
Now, this field is just -- and, of course, science in general -- is just -- adventure. 一般来说,这是一种科学,但更确切地说是探险。
We had to find and measure the largest crocodiles living today. 我们得找出当今体型最大的鳄鱼, 并测量它的一些数据。
Narrator : ... as long as their boat. 旁白:只要他们的船......
Narrator:n.讲述者;(电视节目中的)幕后解说员;旁白员; as long as:conj.只要;长达;如果;既然;
Man: Look at that set of choppers ! Yeah, he's a big one. 第一个人:快看那排牙齿！它可真大。
choppers:n.直升机(chopper的复数); v.乘直升机飞行;
Narrator: If they can just land it, this croc will provide useful data, helping Paul in his quest to understand Sarcosuchus. 旁白:如果他们能把它拖上岸, 这条鳄鱼就能提供一些有用的数据 来帮助保罗能更好地复原帝王鳄。
quest:n.追求;寻找;vi.追求;寻找;vt.探索;
Man: OK, hand me some more here. Man 2: OK. 第一个人:我需要更多的人手。第二个人:我来了。
Narrator: It falls to Paul to cover its eyes. 旁白:由保罗来盖住它的眼睛。
Man: Watch out! Watch out! No, no, no, no. You're going to have to get on the back legs. 第一个人:小心！小心！不,不,不,你去把它的后腿按住。
Man: I got the back legs. 第一个人:我按住了。
Man 2: You have the back legs? No, you have the front legs, my friend. 第二个人:你真的按住了吗？不,你压的是前腿,我的老兄。
I've got it. I've got the back legs. 现在好了,肯定没错。
Somebody get the front legs. 快来人把前腿按住。
Paul Sereno: Let's get this tape measure on him. Put it right there. 保罗·塞雷诺:我们来量一下它。放在那里。
tape measure:n.卷尺;皮尺;
Wow. 哇塞。
65. Wow. 65英寸（1.6米）,不可思议！
That's a big skull. 它头可真大。
Narrator: Big, but less than half the size of supercroc's skull. 旁白:大吗？大也不会超过 帝王鳄头骨的一半。
Man: Enormous. PS: You've got a ... 14-foot croc. 第一个人:真大。保罗·塞雷诺:有14英尺长（4.3米）。
Man: I knew it was big. 第一个人:我就知道它很大。
PS: Don't get off. You don't get off, but don't worry about me. 保罗·塞雷诺:按住！千万要按住它！不用为我担心。
Narrator: Paul has his data, so they decide to release the animal back into the river. 旁白:保罗得到了他要的数据,所以他们决定 重新把它放回到河里。
release:v.释放;发射;让与;允许发表;n.释放;发布;让与;
PS: Don't get off! Don't get off! Don't get off! 保罗:使劲！使劲按住！呆在上面别动！
Narrator: Paul has never seen a fossil do that. 旁白:保罗从来没有见过一具“化石”会这样做。
PS: Okay, when I say three, we move. 保罗:我数到三,咱们一起放开。
One, two, three! 一,二,三！
Whoa! 哇！
So -- there were -- 所以......
(Applause) （掌声）
Well, you know, the -- the fossil record is truly amazing because it really forces you to look at living animals in a new way. 你知道,化石记录非常地有意义, 因为它逼迫你用新的方式去了解现在的动物。
We proved with those measurements that crocodiles scaled isometrically. 我们用那些数据已经证明了 所有的鳄鱼身体比例都是一样的。
measurements:n.测量值,尺寸(measurement的复数); scaled:adj.有鳞的; v.刮去鳞片;
It depended on the shape of their skull, though, so we had to actually get those measurements to be sure that we had reconstructed and could prove to the scientific world that supercroc in fact is a 40-foot crocodile, probably a male. 然而,身体的比例是由头骨决定的, 所以我们要用那些数据来 衡量我们重新复原的骨架,然后才向科学界公布 这条巨型鳄鱼具体情况,长40英尺（12米）,很可能是条公鳄。
to be sure:诚然;的确;哎呀(表惊奇); scientific:adj.科学的,系统的;
Anyway, you find other things, too. 无论如何,你还会找到其它的东西。
I'm going to lead an expedition to the Sahara to dig up Africa's largest neolithic site . 我将要带领一队伍去沙哈拉沙漠 挖掘非洲最大的新石器遗址。
neolithic:adj.[古]新石器时代的;早先的; site:n.地点;位置;场所;v.设置;为…选址;
We found this last year. 去年我们发现了这个,
200 skeletons , tools, jewelry. 骨架,工具,珠宝,共有200件。
skeletons:n.骷髅;[解剖]骨骼(skeleton的复数);流言(歌曲名);
This is a ceremonial disk. 这是一个仪式盘,
ceremonial:adj.仪式的;正式的,礼仪的;n.仪式,礼节;
An amazing record of the colonization of the Sahara 5,000 years ago is been sitting out there waiting for us to go back. So, really exciting. 是沙哈拉部落化的重要证明。 它在那里呆了5000年, 一直等着我们回去。所以,我们非常兴奋。
colonization:n.殖民;殖民地化;
And then work later is going to take us to Tibet. 接下来由于工作原因,我们去了西藏。
Now, we normally think of Tibet as a highland . 现在,我们通常认为西藏是一片高地。
highland:n.高地;高原;苏格兰高地;adj.高地的;高原的;苏格兰高地的;
It's really an island continent. 然而它是一块岛内大陆。
It was a precursor to India, a messenger from Gondwana -- a lost paradise of dinosaurs isolated for millions of years. 它是印度的先导, 是来自冈瓦纳-- --恐龙失乐园--的信使, 与世隔绝了几百万年。
precursor:n.先驱,前导; messenger:n.报信者,送信者;先驱; paradise:n.天堂;至福境地; isolated:adj.偏远的; v.隔离,孤立,脱离;
No one's found them. We know where they are, and we're going to go and get them next year. 过去一直没有人知道它们的下落。现在我们知道在哪里, 并且计划明年去那儿。
They're only between 13 and 14,000 feet, but if you go in the warm part of the year, it's OK. 那里海拔有1万3千到1万4千英尺（3962~4267米）, 但是如果春秋季节去那里,没什么大问题。
Now, I tried to suture together a dinosaur evolutionary history so that we can try to understand some basic patterns of evolution. 现在,我要把这些片段连接成一段恐龙的进化史。 以此来更好地了解恐龙的 一些基本进化模式。
suture:n.缝合;缝合处;缝合用的线;vt.缝合;
I've talked about a few of them. We really need to take that further. 我已经谈到了一些,但我们要做更深入的探讨。
We need to delve into this mass of anatomy that we've been compiling to understand where the changes are occurring and what this means. 我们需要研究这些 我们一直在复原的解剖结构 来理解什么时候发生了变化,这些变化又意味着什么。
delve:vi.钻研;探究;挖;vt.钻研;探究;挖;n.穴;洞; mass:n.块,团; adj.群众的,民众的; v.聚集起来,聚集; anatomy:n.解剖;解剖学;剖析;解析; compiling:n.[计]编译;v.编辑;收集(compile的ing形式); occurring:n.事件;事故;事变;
We can't predict , necessarily , what will happen in evolution, but we can learn some of the rules of the game, and that's really what we're trying to do. 我们不一定能预测进化的走向, 但是我们能了解一些进化的规则, 这就是我们正在努力做得的事。
predict:v.预报;预言;预告; necessarily:adv.必要地;必定地,必然地;
With regard to the biogeographic question, the Earth is dividing. 关于生物地理学这个问题, 地球正在分裂。
biogeographic:adj.生物地理的;
These are all landlubbing animals. There's a couple of choices. 这些都是在陆地上生活的动物。这里存在很多选择。
landlubbing:陆上生活;＝land-lubberly;
You get divided, and a continent's ="Black "> division corresponds to a fork in the evolutionary tree, or you're crafty, and you manage to es cape from one to the other and erase that division, or you're living ="Black "> peacefully on each side, and on one side you just go extinct, and you survive ="Black "> on the other side and create a difference. 陆生动物被分开,每一个分开后的大陆板块 对应着进化树的一个分叉, 如果你够厉害,成功地 从一个板块跳到另一个板块,也就是说你消除了这种隔离, 要么你在两边都生活很好, 要么你在一个板块上灭绝了, 要么你在另外的板块活下来,并且发生了一些变化。
division:n.师;分配;分开;分歧; peacefully:adv.平静地;和平地;
And the fourth thing is that you actually did one or the other of those three things, but the paleontologist never found you. 第四种可能是,你的情况属于 这三者之一,但是古生物学家还没发现你。
paleontologist:n.古生物学家;古生物学者;
And you take those four instances and you realize you have a complex problem. 考虑了这四种可能, 你发现这是一个复杂的问题。
instances:n.相依物体,例子; v.举例说明(instance的第三人称单数形式); complex:adj.复杂的;合成的;n.复合体;综合设施;
And so, in addition to digging, I think we have some answers from the dinosaur record. I think these dinosaurs migrated -- we call it dispersal -- around the globe, with the slightest land bridge. 因此,除了挖掘之外,我认为我们能从 恐龙的记录上得到一些答案。我觉得恐龙曾经有过迁移-- 我们称之为分散--在全球范围内,通过最狭窄的大陆连接地带。
in addition to:除…之外; migrated:v.(随季节变化)迁徙;移居;迁移;移动;转移;(migrate的过去分词和过去式) dispersal:n.分散;传播;散布;疏散;消失; slightest:adj.极不重要的,最少的;
They did it within two or three degrees of the pole , to maintain similarity between continents. 它们通过两个或三个连接 来保持不同大陆之间物种的相似性。
pole:n.磁极;电极;柱子;杆子;v.用篙撑船;摆船; maintain:v.维持;保持;维修;保养;坚持(意见); similarity:n.类似;相似点;
But when they were divided, indeed they were divided, and we do see the continents carving differences among dinosaurs. 但是有时候它们真正地被隔离了, 我们也确实看到不同的大陆 在恐龙身上留下了不同的痕迹。
carving:n.雕刻品;雕刻图案;雕像;雕刻术;v.雕刻;把(熟肉)切成块;(carve的现在分词)
But there's one thing that's even more important, and I think that's extinction . 但是我觉得有一件事更加重要,那就是灭绝。
extinction:n.绝种;
We have downgraded this factor . 我们忽略了这件事。
downgraded:v.信用等级下降(downgrade的过去式);adj.降级的;受鄙视的; factor:n.因素;要素;[物]因数;代理人;v.做代理商;v.把…作为因素计入;
It carves up the history of life, and gives us the differences that we see in the dinosaur world towards the end, right before the bolide impact. 灭绝这个因素在生命历史留下深刻的印记, 而且造成了我们所看到的在 恐龙世界的差异性,一直持续到恐龙的消失, 持续到彗星撞击地球之前。
carves:v.雕刻(carve的第三人称单数);
The best way to test this is to actually create a model. 验证这个理论的最好方法是建立模型。
So if we move back, this is a two-dimensional typical tree of life. 如果我们往回看,这是一个二维的生命树。
two-dimensional:adj.二维的;缺乏深度的;
I want to give you three dimensions . 我要向你们展示三维的生命树。
dimensions:n.规模,大小;
So you see the tree of life, but now I've added the dimension of area. 这是一棵生命树, 现在我区域作为一个维度加上去。
So the tree of life is normally divergence over time. 生命树随着时间的流逝形成分叉。
divergence:n.分歧;
Now we have divergence over time, but we've created the third dimension of area. 在看到时间产生的分叉之后,我们又添加了第三个维度--区域。
This is a computer program which has three knobs . 这是一个计算机程序, 它由三部分组成。
knobs:n.把手(knob的复数);凸岩;
We can control those things that we're worried about: extinction, sampling, dispersal -- going from one area to another. 我们控制我们关心的参数: 灭绝,抽样,分散-- 从一个区域移动到另一个区域。
And ultimately we can control the branching to mimic what we think the continents were like, and run it a thousand times, so we can estimate the parameters , 最终我们可以通过控制这些分支 来模拟曾经这些大陆的样子, 通过一千次的运行,我们可以估计这些参数,
ultimately:adv.最终;最后;归根结底;终究; mimic:vt.模仿,摹拟;n.效颦者,模仿者;仿制品;小丑;adj.模仿的,模拟的;假装的; estimate:v.估计;估算;估价;n.估价;(对大小、数量、成本等的)估计;估计的成本; parameters:n.决定因素;规范;范围;(parameter的复数)
to answer the question whether we are on the mark or not, at least to know the barriers of the problems. So that's a little bit about the science. 这样我们就能知道我们的工作是否在正确的方向上进行, 至少能知道问题的难点。这是关于科学的一点东西。
barriers:n.障碍;栅栏;篱笆墙(barrier的复数形式);
Today I'm going to spend the rest of my few minutes up here talking about the other stuff that I do in Chicago, which is related to the fact that I never -- and actually, in talking to a lot of TEDsters, 今天我要利用剩下的时间 谈谈我在芝加哥做的事, 这关系到一个事实-- 其实我在之前的TED演讲中谈到过,
there's a number of you out there -- I don't know that I'd get an answer honestly, if I asked you to raise your hand, but there are a number of you out there that started your scientific, technical , entertainment career as failures, by society's standards , as failures by schools. 你们中的很多人当时在哪儿--我不知道我会得到一个答案 老实说,如果我让你们举手, 会发现你们中很多人在 科学、技术和娱乐等领域的最初尝试 是一个失败,不管从社会的标准,还是从学校的标准来说。
technical:adj.工艺的,科技的;技术上的;专门的; career:n.职业;事业;生涯;经历; standards:n.标准,水平,规格(standard的复数)
I was one of those. I was failed by my school -- my school failed me. 我就是一个失败的例子。我在学校学习差劲--学校对我没了信心。
Who's pointing fingers? 谁在指我？
Several teachers nearly killed me. 一些老师几乎要把我杀了。
I found myself in art. 我发现我喜欢艺术。
I was a total failure in school, not really headed to graduate high school. 在学校,我是一个彻底的失败者,高中都没毕业。
And I went on -- that's my first painting on canvas . 我继续朝我的方向走--那是我的第一幅画。
canvas:n.帆布;(帆布)画布;油画;vt.用帆布覆盖;
I read a dictionary. I got into college. 我读了一本字典。我进了学院。
I became an artist. OK, and started drawing. 我成为了画家,开始画画。
It became abstract . 我变得抽象。
abstract:n.摘要; adj.抽象的; vt.摘要; vi.做摘要;
I worked up a portfolio , and I was headed to New York. 我做了一个文件夹,去了纽约。
portfolio:n.公文包;文件夹;证券投资组合;部长职务;
Sometimes I would see bones when there was a body there. 有时候看见一具身体,我就会研究它的骨骼。
Something was going on in the background. I headed to New York to a studio . 一些事发生后,我去了纽约的一个工作室。
studio:n.工作室;[广播][电视]演播室;画室;电影制片厂;
I took a side trip to the American Museum, and I never recovered. 我顺便去了美国博物馆,从来没有回过神来。
But really it's the same discipline -- they're kindred disciplines . 但这真的是同样的学科--它们是同源学科。
kindred:adj.同类的;血缘的;同族的;n.家族;相似;亲属关系; disciplines:n.[管理]纪律(discipline的复数); v.训导;
I mean, is there anything that is not visualizing what can't be seen, in terms of discovering this dinosaur bone from a small piece of it that's out there, or seeing the distortion that we try to see as evolutionary distortion in one animal to another? 我的意思是,所有的东西 都能在某种程度上把我们肉眼看不见的东西展示出来, 就恐龙挖掘而言,通过恐龙的一小部分的骨骼可以发现恐龙 观察那些 我们希望看到的扭曲, 这些是进化的扭曲,从一种动物到另一种动物。
visualizing:v.使形象化;想象;构思;设想;(visualize的现在分词) distortion:n.变形;[物]失真;扭曲;曲解;
This is a very extraordinarily visual. 这是非常奇特的视觉。
extraordinarily:adv.非常;格外地;非凡地;
I give you a human face because you're experts at that. 我先给你们看人脸,因为人脸是最熟悉不过了。
It takes us years to understand how to do that with dinosaurs. 经过很好几年的研究,我们知道了如何把这运用到恐龙身上。
They're really kindred disciplines. 这其实是很相似的学科。
But what we're trying to create in Chicago is a way to get, collect together, those students who are least represented in our science and technology spheres . 但我在芝加哥所做的 是把 这些学生聚集在一起,这些学生 从科学技术方面是失败者。
spheres:n.[数]球体(sphere的复数); v.把…放在球体内(sphere的第三人称单数形式);
We all know, and there's been several allusions to it, that we are failing in our ability to produce enough scientists, engineers and technicians . 我们都知道这些失败意味着 我们的社会不能产生 足够的科学家,工程师和技术人员的的能力。
allusions:暗指;间接提到;典故;引喻(allusion的名词复数); technicians:n.[劳经]技术员(technician的复数);工作人员;
We've known that for a long time. We've gone through the Sputnik phase , and now, as you see the increase in the pace of what we're doing, it becomes even more prominent .Where are all these people going to come from? 我们对此认同已就。我们经过了初期探索阶段, 现在你可以看到 社会的发展越来越快。 这个问题变得更加显著。我们社会需要的人才将从哪里来？
Sputnik:n.人造卫星(前苏联制造); phase:n.阶段;时期;月相;(月亮的)盈亏;v.分阶段进行;逐步做; prominent:adj.突出的,显著的;杰出的;卓越的;
And a more general question for our society is, 一个更加普遍的问题是,
What's going to happen to all the rest that are left behind? 对于那些落后的孩子,
all the rest:其他所有相关信息;
What about all the kids like me that were in school -- kids like some of you out there -- that were in school and didn't get a chance and will never get a chance to participate in science and technology? 那学孩子就像曾经在学校读书的我-- 像你们中的一些孩子-- 在学校从来没有机会 参加科学技术活动,他们该怎么办？
participate:v.参加;参与;
Those are the questions I ask. And we talk about Ethiopia, and it's very important. 这是我要问的问题。我要谈谈埃塞俄比亚,这非常重要。
Niger is equally important, and I'm trying desperately to do something in Niger. 尼日尔也同样重要,我非常想 在那里做一些事。
desperately:adv.拼命地;绝望地;不顾一切地;极度地;
They have an AIDS problem. I asked -- the U.S. State Department asked the government recently , 他们有很严重的艾滋病问题。 最近美国国务院对当地政府提出一个问题,
State Department:n.(美国)国务院; recently:adv.最近;新近;
What do you want to do? And they gave them two problems. 你们将怎么做？他们给出了两个问题。
Dinosaurs was one of them. 其中一个问题和恐龙有关。
Give us a museum of dinosaurs, and we will attract tourists, which is our number two industry. 给我们一个恐龙博物馆, 这样我们就可以吸引更多游客,旅游是我们的第二大支柱产业。
And I hope to god the United States government, me, or TED, or somebody helps us do that, because that would be an incredible thing for their country. 我希望美国政府,我,抑或是TED 或者其他人能办到这一点,因为这对他们的国家是在太重要了。
United:adj.联合的; v.联合,团结; (unite的过去分词和过去式)
But when we look back at our own country, we're looking back at our cities, the cities where most of you come from -- certainly the city I come from -- there's legions of kids out there like these. 但是当我们把视线移回到我们的国家,我们审视我们城市, 这些养育我们的城市--当然也养育了我-- 有大批的孩子在哪儿 诸如此类的孩子。
legions:n.罗马军团;军队(legion的复数);万马千军;
And the question is -- and we started to address this question for centuries -- as to how we get these kids involved in science. 问题是--我们从几个世纪前就开始着手解决这个问题-- 如何让这些孩子参入到科学中去。
involved:adj.有关的; v.涉及; (involve的过去式和过去分词)
We've started in Chicago an organization -- a non-profit organization -- called Project Exploration . 我们从芝加哥开始 创办了一个非营利性组织-- 叫做“探索工程”。
organization:n.组织;机构;体制;团体; non-profit:adj.非营利的; Exploration:n.探索;勘探;探险;[医]探查术;
These are two kids from Project Exploration. 这是两个来自“探索工程”的孩子。
We met them in their early stages in high school. They were -- failing to poor students, and they are now -- one at the University of Chicago, another in Illinois . 我们在他们刚上高中时认识他们。他们 是差等生, 现在他们一个在芝加哥大学,另一个在伊利诺伊。
Illinois:n.伊利诺斯州(美国州名);
We've got students at Harvard . We're six years old. 我们有去哈佛的学生。我们的机构已经有6年的历史。
Harvard:n.哈佛大学;哈佛大学学生;
And we created a track record . 我们创造了成绩记录。
track record:n.径赛成绩记录;过去的成绩或成就;
Because when you go out there as a scholar, and you try to find out longitudinal studies, track records like that, there essentially are very few, if none. 因为一旦你成为一个学者,你会试图去进行纵向研究, 比如成绩记录之类的,这些记录本身很少。
longitudinal:adj.长度的,纵向的;经线的;
So, we've created an incredible track record of 100 percent graduation, 90 percent going to college, many first-generation , 90 percent of those choosing science as a career. 我们创造了惊人的成绩记录,百分之百的毕业率。 百分之九十进了大学,很多是应届, 百分之九十选择了科学研究作为职业。
first-generation:adj.出生在美国的;原件第一代;
It's an impressive track record, and so we look back and we say, well, we didn't really exactly work this out theoretically from the start, but when we look back, there are theoretical movements in science education. 这是令人影响深刻的成绩记录,所以回过来看我们说, 我们不是从理论开始的, 但我们回头看,发现有理论支持我们的科学教育。
impressive:adj.感人的;令人钦佩的;给人以深刻印象的; theoretically:adv.理论地;理论上;
It's gone through science as an inquiry , which was a big advance, and Dewey back at Chicago -- you learn by doing. 探索中贯穿着科学, 这是很大的进步, 在芝加哥杜威说-- 你通过实践学习。
inquiry:n.询问;查询;打听;调查;
To -- you learn by envisioning yourself as a scientist, and then you learn to envision yourself as a scientist. 你通过想象你 成为科学家的样子来学习, 然后你学会如何把自己想象成一位科学家。
envisioning:想像,展望(envision的现在分词);
The next step is to learn the capability to make yourself a scientist. 下一步是学习 成为科学家的必备本领。
capability:n.才能,能力;性能,容量;
You have to have those steps. If you have -- 你学要有这些步骤。如果你有--
It's easy to get kids interested in science. 就能很容易地让孩子们对科学产生兴趣。
It's hard to get them to envision themselves as a scientist, which involves standing up in front of people like we're doing here at this symposium and presenting something as a knowledgeable person, 让他们把自己想象成科学家这一点很难, 这涉及到站在大家面前,就像我现在做的一样, 以有学之士的身份去展示一些东西,
symposium:n.讨论会,座谈会;专题论文集;酒宴,宴会; knowledgeable:adj.知识渊博的,有知识的;有见识的;聪明的;
and then seeing yourself in the role as a scientist and giving yourself the tools to pursue that. 然后就能看到你自己是作为一位科学家出现的 同时给你自己追求科学家这个梦想的能力。
pursue:v.继续;从事;追赶;纠缠;
And so, that's what we're going to do. We're planning a permanent home in Chicago. 那就是我们要做的事。我们计划在芝加哥建立一个永久的家。
permanent:adj.永久的,永恒的;n.烫发;
We have lots of ideas, but I guarantee you this one thing -- and I've talked to some people here at TED -- it's not going to look like anything you've seen before. 我们有很多想法,但我向你们保证一件事-- 这点我也在TED跟一些人谈到过-- 我要说的是你们从来没有见过的。
guarantee:n.保证;担保;保证人;保证书;抵押品;v.保证;担保;
It's going to be part-school, part-museum hall, part-conservatory, part-zoo, and part of an answer to the problem of how you interest kids in science. 我们要建立的是一个既像学校,又像博物馆的场所, 它还像温室和动物园, 它将部分上解决 如何让孩子们对科学产生兴趣的问题。
Thank you very much. 谢谢大家。