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万物简史(MP3+中英字幕) 第423期:生命的起源(17)

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Anniversaries were few and far between in the Archaean world. For two billion years bacterial organisms were the only forms of life. They lived, they reproduced, they swarmed, but they didn't show any particular inclination to move on to another, more challenging level of existence. At some point in the first billion years of life, cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae, learned to tap into a freely available resource—the hydrogen that exists in spectacular abundance in water. They absorbed water molecules, supped on the hydrogen, and released the oxygen as waste, and in so doing invented photosynthesis. As Margulis and Sagan note, photosynthesis is "undoubtedly the most important single metabolic innovation in the history of life on the planet"—and it was invented not by plants but by bacteria.

在太古代的世界里,结婚周年纪念日是完全没有的。在20亿年时间里,细菌是惟一的生命形式。它们活着,它们繁殖,它们数量增加,但没有表现出想发展展到另一个更富挑战性的生存层面的特别倾向。在生命的头10亿年的某个时候,藻青菌,或称蓝绿藻,学会了利用大量存在的资源——存在于水中的特别丰富的氢。它们吸叫水分子,吃掉了氢,排出了氧,在此过程中发明了光合作用。正如马古利斯和萨根指出的,“光合作用无疑是本星球的生命史上所创造的最重要的新陈代谢方法”——光合作用是由细菌而不是由植物发明的。
太古代

As cyanobacteria proliferated the world began to fill with O2 to the consternation of those organisms that found it poisonous—which in those days was all of them. In an anaerobic (or a non-oxygen-using) world, oxygen is extremely poisonous. Our white cells actually use oxygen to kill invading bacteria. That oxygen is fundamentally toxic often comes as a surprise to those of us who find it so convivial to our well-being, but that is only because we have evolved to exploit it. To other things it is a terror. It is what turns butter rancid and makes iron rust.

随着藻青菌的增多,世界开始充满氧气,发现氧是有毒的微生生深感吃惊——而在那个年代,那种微生物比比皆是。在一个厌氧的(或不使用氧的)世界里,氧是剧毒的。我们的白血球实际上就是氧来杀死入侵的细菌。氧从根本上说是很毒的,我们听了往往会大吃一惊,因为许多人觉得呼吸氧是很舒服的事,但那只是因为我们已经逐步进化到了能利用氧。对于别的东西来说,它是一种可怕的东西。它使黄油变质,使铁生锈。

重点单词   查看全部解释    
abundance [ə'bʌndəns]

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n. 丰富,充裕

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metabolic [.metə'bɔlik]

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adj. 新陈代谢的

 
toxic ['tɔksik]

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adj. 有毒的
n. 有毒物质

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rust [rʌst]

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n. 铁,锈
vi. 生锈,变成红棕色

 
inclination [.inkli'neiʃən]

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n. 倾向,意愿,倾斜度

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absorbed [əb'sɔ:bd]

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adj. 一心一意的;被吸收的 v. 吸收;使全神贯注(

 
consternation [.kɔnstə'neiʃən]

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n. 惊愕,恐怖,惊惶失措

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hydrogen ['haidridʒən]

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n. 氢

 
exploit [iks'plɔit]

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vt. 剥削,利用,开拓,开采,开发
n. 功

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challenging ['tʃælindʒiŋ]

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adj. 大胆的(复杂的,有前途的,挑战的) n. 复杂

 

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