第6章 红牙利爪的科学 Science Red in Tooth and Claw · 第2讲
课程：《万物简史》慕课教程(WANWUJS001)主讲：余俊英副教授(数字人)词汇 38 条句型 8 条要点 0 条
二、核心词汇（38）
| 词条 | 释义 / 讲解 |
|---|
| extinctions | 灭绝。指物种或群体的完全消失。 |
| landmark | 里程碑。指具有重大历史意义或科学影响的发现。 |
| imply | 暗示。指未直接说明但隐含的意思。 |
| providence | 天意/上帝旨意。宗教语境中指上帝对世界的照料。 |
| the great chain of being | 存在巨链。中世纪观念，认为万物由上帝规定等级。 |
| vanish | 消失/灭绝。指生物彻底不复存在。 |
| intrepid | 无畏的。形容冒险者勇敢、不畏惧危险。 |
| herds of | 群（动物）。herd指大型哺乳动物的群，如牛、象、鹿等。 |
| litter of | 一窝（幼崽）。特指狗、猪等哺乳动物一次出生的幼崽群体。 |
| expedition | 考察队；远征。指为特定目的（如科学考察、探险）组成的团体。 |
| chief naturalist | 首席博物学家。考察队中负责研究动植物及自然现象的专家。 |
| none other than | 恰恰是；正是。用于强调某人或某物身份出人意料或重要。 |
| insight | 洞察力；见解。指对事物本质的深刻理解或突然的领悟。 |
| lasting ramifications | 深远的影响/后果。ramification指复杂行动带来的连锁反应或结果。 |
| jotted down | 匆匆记下；草草记录。指快速、随意地写下想法或笔记。 |
| correlation | 相关性；联系。指两个或多个事物之间相互关联的关系。 |
| stratum | 地层；层。地质学术语，单数；复数为strata。 |
| rock strata | 岩层。指地质学中分层排列的岩石层。 |
| cornerstone | 基石；奠基石。比喻事物的基础或最重要的部分。 |
| comprehensively | 全面地；详尽地。指涵盖所有方面，无遗漏地描述或报道。 |
| strata | n. 地层（stratum的复数）。地质学中指岩石的层状结构。 |
| content oneself with | v. 满足于……。此处指Smith仅满足于知道现象，不探究原因。 |
| province | n. 领域，范围。此处指矿场勘探员的专业职责范围，非行政区划。 |
| awkward | adj. 尴尬的，难堪的。指灭绝理论在道德上让信徒感到不适。 |
| unimpeded | adj. 未被阻碍的。impede意为阻碍，unimpeded指物种顺利延续。 |
| accounted for | phr. 解释，说明。account for sth. 指对某事提供理由或解释。 |
| fossil | n. 化石。古生物遗体或遗迹在地下矿化后的残留物。 |
| take on | phr. 呈现，获得。take on importance 意为“变得重要”。 |
| significance | n. 意义，重要性。指事物背后隐含的价值或深远影响。 |
| turn up | phr. 出现，被发现。常指意外或偶然地找到某物。 |
| literally | adv. 字面上地，确实地。此处强调事实如此，并非夸张修辞。 |
| trip over | phr. 被……绊倒。形象地描述化石之多，以至于走路都能碰到。 |
| embed | v. 嵌入，深埋。be embedded in rock 指化石被包裹在岩石中。 |
| spy | v. 瞥见，发现。此处非间谍义，指敏锐地注意到隐蔽的事物。 |
| ledge | n. 壁架，突出的岩石部分。如 window ledge (窗台), rock ledge (岩架)。 |
| immortality | n. 不朽，永生。mortal (必死的) 的反义词，指名声长存。 |
| Purist | n. 纯粹主义者。指在语言、艺术等方面极力主张严格规范的人。 |
| pure | adj. 纯洁的，纯粹的。Purist 的词根，强调不掺杂其他成分。 |
三、句型与语法点（8）
| 要点 | 说明 |
|---|
| leap at the idea | 欣然采纳。leap原型为leap，形容迅速且热情地接受建议。 |
| look out for | 留意；关注。指集中注意力观察周围，以便发现特定的人或事物。 |
| inconveniently necessary | 搭配：既必要又不便。指科学发现迫使学者解释难题，虽必要但令人困扰。 |
| not so much A as B | 句型：与其说A不如说B。否定A，肯定B。例：not so much angry as disappointed. |
| take on a certain importance | 结构：take on + 抽象名词。表示事物逐渐显现出某种性质或状态。 |
| make something of | phr. 理解，重视，利用。fail to make anything of it 意为没看出其价值。 |
| name A after B | 结构：以B的名字命名A。如 name a shrub after him (以他的名字命名灌木)。 |
| 被动语态 | be named after... 以……命名。此处用被动语态强调植物命名的来源。 |
四、课堂讨论题
1. 讲稿里提到居维叶的灭绝理论让宗教人士感到'不舒服'(uncomfortable)，这具体是因为该理论暗示了上帝行事有什么样的'暗示'(implication)吗？
2. 为什么讲稿特别强调把'Great Chain of Being'翻译成'存在巨链'而不是直译成'生物链'？这里的'being'到底包含哪些非生物的成分？
3. 杰斐逊为什么对去密西西比河以西探险的想法'立刻扑上去'(leapt at the idea)？这和他坚信物种不会灭绝、也不会进化有什么关系？
4. 同一年里，法国居维叶在巴黎提出灭绝理论，而英国威廉·史密斯在搞煤矿建设，这两个人在'英吉利海峡彼岸'(other side of the English Channel)做的事有什么对比意味？
5. 杰斐逊派了刘易斯去探险，又专门找了卡斯帕·威斯特来提供咨询，威斯特被选派去'留意'(look out for)什么具体的东西，这和当时流行的博物学观念有关吗？
五、Discussion Questions (English)
1. The transcript mentions that Cuvier's extinction theory made religious people feel 'uncomfortable'; specifically, what kind of 'implication' about God's actions did the theory suggest that caused this discomfort?
2. Why does the lecture insist on translating 'Great Chain of Being' as 'Chain of Existence' rather than 'Chain of Living Beings'? What non-biological elements does 'being' include in this context?
3. Why did Jefferson 'leap at the idea' of exploring west of the Mississippi, and how does this relate to his belief that species do not go extinct or evolve?
4. In the same year, Cuvier was in Paris proposing extinction theories while William Smith was working on coal canals in England; what is the significance of contrasting these two figures on the 'other side of the English Channel'?
5. Jefferson sent Lewis on the expedition but also hired Casper Wister for advice; what specific things was Wister selected to 'look out for', and how does this connect to the naturalist concepts of the time?
六、听力 / 讲稿全文
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在我们之前的课程中,
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我们谈论了现在消失的马斯特多姆们的证明和美国有
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多大动物的争论。
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在 1796 年的争论中,古菲尔写了一篇特别的文章,
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关于生命和核心猴子的种族 in which he put forward for
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the first time a formal theory of extinctions Here,
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a landmark means an important discovery that
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influences the scientific worldan event marking an
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important development in history
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在这场争论的启发之下居维叶 1996 年写了一篇具有化
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石代意义的论文关于活着的大象以及已经变成化石的
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大象的物种问题在这篇论文里面他首次也就是率先提
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出了关于物种灭绝的正式理论
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他相信每过一段时间地球就会遭遇全球的大灾难
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那时候各种生物全部灭绝
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Religious people,
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宗教人士在这里主要指的是信仰基督教的人士,
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基督徒对于基督徒来说,
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包括居维耶自己 The idea raised uncomfortable
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implications.
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Implication 的动词是 implied.
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To imply means to suggest that something is true,
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without saying this directly.
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What are you implying by that remark?
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你这样说到底是什么意思?
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So implication means something that is implied.
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It means a suggestion.是一种暗示,
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没有直说的。
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那这个理论包含的暗示让人感觉很不舒服
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尤其是对宗教界人士来说感觉很不舒服原因是 sins 表
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示原因 It suggested an unaccountable casualness on
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the part of providenceunaccountable means
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unexplainablebecause account to account for
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something means to explain somethingprovidence
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means God 因为这个理论暗示上帝的旨意难以琢磨而且
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漫不经心因为基督教认为一切都是在上帝的安排之中
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上帝做所有的这些事情都是有一定的目的的可是这样
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的不断发生的灭绝却显得非常的 casual 好像很随意这
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就很难解释了
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上帝创造了种种物种然后再让他们全部灭绝这到底是
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为了什么
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To be contrary to means to be opposite to The
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great chain of being was first proposed by some Greek
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philosophers including Aristotle and then further
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developed in the Middle Ages 中
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文可以翻译成存在剧链他们相信一切的物质和生物都
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存在着一种由上帝规定的等级结构这个等级结构基本
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是这样的最高等级的是 God 然后是 Angels
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所以这个理论跟存在剧烈的信仰是完全相反的存
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在剧烈主张世界是经过小心的安排的其中每一个生命
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都有各自的位置和目的而且永远如此不会改变在
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这呢提醒一下大家这本书的中文译本就是万物简史的
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中文译本把这个 being 翻译成生物 great chain of being
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翻译成大生物链这不太准确因为 being 虽然有生物的
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意思但是在 great chain of being 里边这个 being 还包括
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minerals 其他的物质不一定是生物还有 god angels 也
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不能说是生物所以呢翻译成存在聚链
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还有就是生物链揭示的是生物之间什么吃什么这样的
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关系但在这里呢它指的是一种等级结构当然我们不能
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说 God eats angels,
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angels eat humans 不是这样的所以翻译成生物链是不
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合适的
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to evolvecouldn't abide means couldn't bearcouldn't
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stand the thought 无法忍受这样的想法 for
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one 加在这里的意思是有许多人都无法忍受这样的想
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法 Jefferson 便是其中之一他算是一个 that
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the whole species would ever be permitted to vanish to
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vanish means to disappear to die out to be extinct or
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come to that to evolve come to that means what's more in
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fact to indicate an afterthought
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就是在讲述一件事情的时候突然想起不仅如此还有一
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件事所以加上去补充进去这个 evolve
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再举个例子 You owe me
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20 for dinner last night Come to that You owe me another
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10 for the taxi ride home So come to that 往往都是临时想
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起来再加进去的一个信息那这里呢 Be committed 是被
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动语态如果我们在翻译的时候想把它改成主动语态就
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要加上动作的执行者在这里可以想见执行者应该是
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God
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就是上帝所以 Jefferson 他就无法容忍这样的理念说
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是上帝准许整个物种消失不见还有呢准许物种进化因
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为根据前面所说的存在剧烈所有的生物它的位置是不
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会变动的它既不会消亡既不会灭绝也不会进化所以他
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们无法接受这个理念
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后面这个 that 所带的整个从句其实就是 it 指的是这个
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问题被放到了他的面前被摆在他面前由他来做决定其
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实也就是说呢有人向他提出如果我们派 a party a party
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means a group of people 如果我们派一批人 to explore
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the interior of America 是不是会有一些 scientific
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and political value 是不是有一些科学和政治的价值
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呢当
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这个问题摆到他面前的时候呢他马上就 leapt at the
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idealeapt 原型是 leap 就是跳跃扑到这个想法上意思
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就是他马上就同意了就赞成了这个想法
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那这个 suggestion 这个提议是什么呢是 send a p
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