第6章 红牙利爪的科学 Science Red in Tooth and Claw · 第1讲S2

1. 讲稿里提到 Buffon 说美洲的水是 stagnant 的，这个词除了指水不流动，还强调了什么特征？为什么这种环境会导致动物‘体格虚弱’？
2. 老师，为什么哥伦布到达的地方明明是美洲，却把当地原住民叫作 Indians（印度人）？我们在阅读时怎么区分这个 Indians 到底指哪里的？
3. 文中提到了 productive 和 reproductive 这两个词，它们长得好像，但意思完全不同。能帮我辨析一下它们的具体区别和用法吗？
4. 为什么很多其他作家明明对美洲并不熟悉（unfamiliar），却还‘急切地’支持 Buffon 的观点？这种‘回声效应’说明了什么？
5. 讲稿最后说这种错误观点持续了很长时间（durability），直到19世纪末还有人相信。你觉得为什么在科学不发达的过去，人们会轻易相信这种毫无根据的偏见？

1. The script mentions that Buffon described America's water as 'stagnant'. Besides meaning not flowing, what other characteristic does it emphasize? Why did this environment lead to animals having weak constitutions?
2. Teacher, why did Columbus call the native people 'Indians' even though he was in America? How can we distinguish whether 'Indians' refers to people from India or the Americas when reading?
3. The text mentions both 'productive' and 'reproductive'. They look similar but mean completely different things. Could you help me differentiate their specific meanings and usages?
4. Why did many other writers, who were unfamiliar with America, 'eagerly' support Buffon's views? What does this 'echo effect' imply?
5. The script says this wrong view had 'durability' and lasted until the end of the 19th century. Why do you think people in the past easily believed such baseless prejudices despite the lack of scientific evidence?

1 00:00:09,040 --> 00:00:12,780 Americ a Buff on wrote in his vast and much esteemed 2 00:00:12,780 --> 00:00:16,560 Histoire on Durham 这个是法语, 3 00:00:16,660 --> 00:00:19,980 所以我读的也不好你就干脆把它读作 Natural History 4 00:00:20,440 --> 00:00:25,620 因为它的意思就是自然史这是不分自己的著作这是一 5 00:00:25,620 --> 00:00:29,960 部 vast,一部红篇巨著而且是 much respected, 6 00:00:30,400 --> 00:00:32,000 颇有声望的 7 00:00:32,520 --> 00:00:37,180 他在书中是这么写的他说 America was the land where 8 00:00:37,180 --> 00:00:38,800 the water was stagnant, 9 00:00:38,800 --> 00:00:40,580 the soil unproductive, 10 00:00:40,760 --> 00:00:43,200 and the animals without size or vigor, 11 00:00:43,380 --> 00:00:46,960 their constitutions weakened by the noxious vapors 12 00:00:46,960 --> 00:00:50,560 that rose from its rotting swamps and sunless forests. 13 00:00:53,390 --> 00:00:55,410 Stagnant means not moving, 14 00:00:55,610 --> 00:00:59,330 stagnant water or air does not move or flow, 15 00:00:59,430 --> 00:01:01,010 and often smells very bad, 16 00:01:01,250 --> 00:01:03,850 就是静止不动的,不流动的, 17 00:01:03,910 --> 00:01:05,870 然后就很臭,腐臭的。 18 00:01:06,370 --> 00:01:08,360 The soil unproductive. 19 00:01:08,900 --> 00:01:12,980 Productive means being able to produce a lot of crops, 20 00:01:13,380 --> 00:01:16,340 fruits,etc.It's a bit like fertile, 21 00:01:16,740 --> 00:01:18,500 就是肥沃富饶的。 22 00:01:18,860 --> 00:01:21,320 他说这里的水呢,也不流动, 23 00:01:21,400 --> 00:01:23,500 土壤非常的贫瘠。 24 00:01:23,980 --> 00:01:27,300 And the animals without size or vigor.Vigor, 25 00:01:27,480 --> 00:01:29,020 见过多次,it means energy. 26 00:01:29,860 --> 00:01:31,760 这里的动物个头也不大, 27 00:01:31,860 --> 00:01:33,140 而且精力也不行。 28 00:01:48,740 --> 00:01:55,200 她体格比较好,我相信她很快会恢复过来的。 29 00:01:55,580 --> 00:01:58,160 所以 constitution 指的是健康状况, 30 00:01:58,220 --> 00:01:59,140 体格的意思。 31 00:01:59,140 --> 00:02:03,280 有这里的动物体格也不行 weakened by the noxious 32 00:02:03,280 --> 00:02:08,780 vaporsnoxious means poisonous or harmfulvapors 就是 33 00:02:08,780 --> 00:02:14,220 蒸汽水蒸汽 that rose from its rotting swamps 这就是 34 00:02:14,220 --> 00:02:19,500 swamp 就是沼泽 rotting swamp 因为它沼泽就是 35 00:02:19,500 --> 00:02:24,440 stagnant 不流动所以就是 rotting 都散发着一股腐臭 36 00:02:24,440 --> 00:02:30,320 味所以他说这里的沼泽还有这个不见天日的森林争腾 37 00:02:30,320 --> 00:02:38,240 起的这种蒸汽是有毒有害的损害了当地生物的健康 In 38 00:02:38,680 --> 00:02:41,680 such an environment even the native Indians lacked 39 00:02:41,680 --> 00:02:43,500 virility 在 40 00:02:43,700 --> 00:02:48,780 这样恶劣的环境下即便是当地的印第安人 lacked 41 00:02:48,780 --> 00:02:55,600 virilityvirility 我们看它的形容词 virile it means 42 00:02:55,600 --> 00:03:00,500 manly Having traditionally men's qualities such as 43 00:03:00,500 --> 00:03:01,760 strength,courage, 44 00:03:02,140 --> 00:03:04,780 or being highly capable of having sex, 45 00:03:04,880 --> 00:03:06,960 or making a woman,having babies. 46 00:03:07,540 --> 00:03:12,760 Variety 就是说当地的这个印第安人毫无男子气概, 47 00:03:12,860 --> 00:03:14,300 毫无男子雄风。 48 00:03:15,020 --> 00:03:18,760 Indians 在美洲指的是印第安人, 49 00:03:18,900 --> 00:03:21,160 不要把它想成是印度人。 50 00:03:21,160 --> 00:03:24,640 That is because when Columbus arrived in America, 51 00:03:24,880 --> 00:03:27,280 he thought he had arrived in India, 52 00:03:27,500 --> 00:03:29,840 so he called the native people Indians, 53 00:03:30,240 --> 00:03:34,700 but in fact they were not.实际上他到达的只是美洲, 54 00:03:34,840 --> 00:03:36,600 但他以为自己到了印度了, 55 00:03:36,700 --> 00:03:39,940 所以就把那当地的人叫做 Indians, 56 00:03:40,220 --> 00:03:44,380 所以我们看英文的时候要注意这个 Indians 到底是哪 57 00:03:44,380 --> 00:03:46,040 一个州的,如果是亚洲的, 58 00:03:46,120 --> 00:03:47,480 才是指印度人。 59 00:04:02,730 --> 00:04:05,410 就是智者很 60 00:04:05,480 --> 00:04:11,100 智慧的人 confide to confide in someone means to tell a 61 00:04:11,100 --> 00:04:15,680 secret to someone 其实我们以前是学过这个 confide 在 62 00:04:15,680 --> 00:04:21,120 学到牛顿那个部分的时候说到牛顿有一个 confident 63 00:04:21,120 --> 00:04:25,600 有一个知心密友 confident means someone he tells 64 00:04:25,600 --> 00:04:30,860 everything to yousagely confided 意思是他好像自己 65 00:04:30,860 --> 00:04:36,600 很懂的样子很智慧无所不知的样子下有介事的说 and 66 00:04:36,600 --> 00:04:41,380 no passion for the femaleodder means passion it means a 67 00:04:41,380 --> 00:04:45,600 great love a strong love for somethingexc itement for 68 00:04:45,600 --> 00:04:49,000 something no passion for the female It means that they 69 00:04:49,000 --> 00:04:52,120 were not attracted to the female 就是 70 00:04:52,410 --> 00:04:56,870 他们对女人也没有兴趣这里就是指他们性能力低下 71 00:04:56,870 --> 00:05:00,470 Their reproductive organs were small and feeble 72 00:05:00,470 --> 00:05:05,510 Reproductive 我们之前刚刚才见过 productive 这个词 73 00:05:05,510 --> 00:05:10,150 指的是土地肥沃富饶多产的那现在这个是 74 00:05:10,150 --> 00:05:15,450 reproductive 我们先要知道它的动词 reproduce If 75 00:05:16,060 --> 00:05:20,400 an animal or plant reproduces it produces young plants 76 00:05:20,400 --> 00:05:24,720 or animals 所以这个是繁殖的意思 the turtles return 77 00:05:24,720 --> 00:05:26,640 to the coast to reproduce 78 00:05:27,380 --> 00:05:33,840 海龟要回到海滩进行繁殖那么 reproductive organs 指 79 00:05:33,840 --> 00:05:40,400 的就是生殖器官它们的生殖器官又小又 feeblefeeble 80 00:05:40,400 --> 00:05:42,360 means weak 说 81 00:05:42,490 --> 00:05:47,030 到这里要提醒大家一下如果大家使用木课在学习这个 82 00:05:47,030 --> 00:05:53,670 课程要知道木课里边提供的中文的译文并不是我做的 83 00:05:53,670 --> 00:05:58,410 那个是木课为了方便大家给大家参考的里边有很多的 84 00:05:58,410 --> 00:06:02,810 错误像这一句它就完全翻译错了所以大家其实平时不 85 00:06:02,810 --> 00:06:07,210 一定要看你的译文但是如果你看到发现它解释跟我这 86 00:06:07,210 --> 00:06:13,030 边的不一样大家要以这个课程的解释为准 Bouff on's 87 00:06:13,030 --> 00:06:16,650 observations found surprisingly eager support among 88 00:06:16,650 --> 00:06:17,510 other writers, 89 00:06:17,790 --> 00:06:20,630 especially those whose conclusions were not 90 00:06:20,630 --> 00:06:23,830 complicated by actual familiarity with the country. 91 00:06:24,250 --> 00:06:27,630 Bouff on's observations means his opinions. 92 00:06:28,210 --> 00:06:29,490 Sur prisingly, 93 00:06:29,710 --> 00:06:33,190 many other writers su ……（后略，完整文稿见视频页字幕）