Unit 11
Unit 11
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Text&Translation
A bird that eats feathers, a mammal that never drinks, a fish that grows a fishing line and worm on its head to catch other fish. Creatures in a nightmare? No, they are very much with us as co-inhabitants of this earth.
一种以羽毛为食的鸟，一种从不饮水的哺乳动物，一种头上长着钓线、末端还缀着蠕虫般诱饵，以此捕食其他鱼类的鱼。莫非是噩梦中的怪物？不，它们真实地与我们共存于这颗星球。
Nature has fashioned most animals to fit the many faces of the land²—moose to marshes, squirrels to trees, camels to deserts, frogs to lily pads. Give nature an environment or situation, and she will evolve a creature, adapting a toe here, an eye there, until the being fits the niche³. As a result of this hammering and fitting⁴, however, some really unbelievable creatures circle the sun with us⁵.
大自然塑造了大多数动物，以适应陆地的万千景象——麋鹿栖于沼泽，松鼠攀于林木，骆驼行于大漠，青蛙伏于荷叶。你赋予大自然一种环境或境遇，她便能进化出一种生灵，此处调整趾爪，彼处改变眼目，直至其完美融入相应的生态位。然而，正是经过这番精雕细琢，一些着实令人难以置信的生灵，便与我们一同围绕着太阳旋转，生息于此。
One summer in Maine⁶ I saw a sleek mother horned grebe herding her three bobbing young to supper among the green pickerelweed. Suddenly I noticed through my binoculars that she was feeding her babies quantities of feathers from a deserted duck's nest. As she stuffed the dry feathers into the gaping mouths, she made two or three pokes to get each one down. Finally she worked a dozen or so down her own throat; then, sailing low on the water, she vanished contentedly among the plants.
在缅因州的一个夏日，我曾目睹一只毛羽光滑的角䴙䴘母亲，引领着三只随波起伏的幼雏，在青葱的梭鱼草丛中觅食。蓦然间，我透过望远镜察觉，它竟从一个废弃的鸭巢中捡取大量羽毛喂给雏鸟。它将干羽塞入雏鸟嗷嗷待哺的口中，每喂一根，总要轻啄两三下方能使其咽下。末了，它自己也吞食了十余根羽毛，随后便心满意足地贴着水面滑行，消失在萋萋水草之间。
I later learned that 60 percent of the grebe's diet is feathers. When I asked why, a biologist from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service⁸ answered, "Because nature finds a use for everything. Feathers seem to act as a strainer to prevent fish-bones from entering and damaging the intestines."
我后来得知，䴙䴘的食物中竟有六成是羽毛。当我探询缘由时，一位供职于美国鱼类及野生动物管理局的生物学家答道：“因为大自然总能物尽其用。羽毛似乎扮演着滤网的角色，能够阻止鱼骨进入并损伤鸟的肠道。”
Australia has many strange beasts, one of the oddest of which is the koala. Perfectly adapted to one specific tree⁹, the eucalyptus, this living teddy bear¹⁰ does not need anything else, not even a drink! The moisture in the leaves is just right for the koala, making it the only land animal that doesn't need water to supplement its food.
澳大利亚栖息着诸多奇兽，其中考拉堪称最为古怪的代表之一。这种宛若“活泰迪熊”的动物，完美地适应了桉树这一特定树种，除桉叶外别无所求，甚至连水都不必饮用！桉叶中所含的水分对考拉而言恰到好处，使其成为唯一无需额外饮水来补充食物的陆地动物。
The creature with the fishing line on its head was created for the dark canyons of the sea. Here food is so scarce that the deep-sea fish, which preys on smaller fish, grew a line, and an appendage on the end that wiggles like a worm. This catches the attention of the occasional passerby. A fish approaches the bait, and the toothy angler swirls up and swallows him.
那种头上生有“钓线”的生物，乃是为幽暗的深海峡谷而造。此处食物匮乏至极，这种以小型鱼类为食的深海鱼，便进化出了一条钓线，其末端更附有一个蠕虫般扭动的突起。这足以吸引偶尔过路的小鱼。一旦有鱼靠近这诱饵，那长着利齿的垂钓者便会猛然上扑，将其一口吞下。
The gigantic ocean bottom creates other problems. A male angler fish could swim for years without meeting a female of his own species. Nature's solution to this problem is for the female to carry a dwarfed husband tightly fused to her body. Marine biologists believe that this nuptial begins when the eggs first hatch and there are many fry of both sexes. A male then grabs hold of a female with his mouth and hangs on until he has literally become a part of her. His mouth becomes fused to her stomach, and for the rest of his life the male remains attached to his mate, marking the most amazing union on earth.
广袤的海底亦带来了其他难题。一条雄性琵琶鱼可能游弋数年也难觅同类雌鱼的芳踪。对此，大自然的妙解是：让雌鱼携带着一位与其身体紧密相融的矮小“夫婿”。海洋生物学家认为，这场奇特的“婚配”始于鱼卵初孵、雌雄鱼苗尚多之际。雄鱼一旦用口攫住雌鱼，便会紧附其上，直至完全融入雌鱼的身体。它的口部与雌鱼的胃部融合，从此终生附于伴侣之身，成就了地球上最为奇特的结合。
Sound has shaped the bodies of many beasts. Noise tapped away at the bullfrog² until his ears became bigger than his eyes. How he hears so well that at the slightest sound of danger he quickly plops to safety¹³ under a sunken leaf. The rabbit has long ears to hear the quiet "whoosh" of the owl's wings, while the grasshopper's ears are on the base of his abdomen, the lowest point of his body, where he can detect the tread of a crow's foot or the stealthy approach of a shrew.
声音塑造了许多动物的体态。喧嚣声不断“雕琢”着牛蛙，直至其双耳变得比眼睛还大。它的听觉何其敏锐，稍闻险情便会迅速“扑通”一声，潜入水下叶片寻求庇护。兔子生有长耳，能捕捉到猫头鹰翅膀掠过的微弱“呼呼”声；而蚱蜢的耳朵则位于腹部底端，即身体的最低点，使其能够察觉乌鸦落地的脚步声或是鼩鼱悄然来袭的动静。
Sometimes food will determine an animal's appearance. Earthworms have shaped the woodcock, a snipe-like bird of the forest floor. This creature has a long narrow bill that looks like a pencil and fits neatly into the burrows of the worms. But the bill has its disadvantages; with it buried deep in a worm hole, the woodcock is vulnerable to attack from above. To counteract this danger the woodcock has eyes near the top of his head. This singular device permits him to scan the trees for danger even when his beak is buried. A successful arrangement for longevity—but it certainly creates an odd-looking creature.
食物有时也会决定动物的容貌。蚯蚓便塑造了丘鹬——一种栖息于林地，形似沙锥的鸟类。此鸟喙部长而窄，宛如铅笔，恰好能探入蚯蚓的洞穴。但这长喙亦有其弊：一旦深埋洞中，丘鹬便易受上方袭击。为应对此险，丘鹬的双眼生于头顶附近。这一独特构造，使其即便在喙深插泥土之时，也能环顾林间，警惕危情。此乃确保长寿的成功设计，却也造就了一副奇特的相貌。
The need to catch elusive prey had evolved some staggering biological tricks. The sea anemone, a flower-like animal of the tidemark, is usually riveted to one spot, yet it feeds on darting fish. A diabolically clever trap was necessary to catch them, so the anemone developed tentacles with bombs in the end of each. When a fish forages into these tentacles, the ends shoot a thin thread into the fish's body. The thread in turn explodes a paralyzing poison. The stunned fish is hauled in by the tentacles and shoved into the anemone's gullet.
为了捕获行踪诡秘的猎物，一些生物进化出了令人瞠目的技巧。海葵，一种栖息于潮间带、貌似花朵的动物，通常固着一处，却以游速迅捷的鱼类为食。要捕捉它们，非有精妙绝伦的陷阱不可，于是海葵的每根触手末端都演化出了“炸弹”。当鱼儿游入这些触手间觅食时，触手末端便会射出一根细丝刺入鱼体。这细丝随即释放出麻痹性的毒液。被击晕的鱼儿便被触手拖拽过来，塞进海葵的食道之中。
Nature seems to have gone all out in creating¹⁴ preposterous gadgets for self-defense. The jacana, a bird of the American tropics, for instance, is endowed with spurs which unfold like a switchblade at the bend of the bird's wings and with which he can slash his enemies to shreds.
为了自我防卫，大自然似乎不遗余力地创造出各种看似荒诞不经的“装备”。例如，生活在美洲热带地区的水雉，其翅膀的关节处天生带有骨刺，能像弹簧刀一般展开，用以将敌人撕成碎片。
Lizards are professionals in the art of warding off attack. The two-headed skink, whose tail is shaped like his head, confuses his enemy. A hawk, upon attacking this fellow, anticipates that he will run in the direction of the lifted head and makes allowance for the movement¹⁵. However, the bird usually strikes nothing, for he is aiming at the tail. The real head took off the other way.¹⁶
蜥蜴乃是抵御攻击的行家里手。“双头”石龙子，其尾酷似头部，常令天敌迷惑。老鹰在攻击这种小家伙时，会预判它朝抬起的“头”的方向逃窜，并为此留出扑击的余地。然而，猛禽往往扑空，因为它瞄准的不过是尾巴，而真正的头颅早已朝相反方向溜之大吉了。
In order to travel in a hostile world, the Portuguese man-of-war first mastered the art of floating. To do this it evolved a purple bag and inflated it with gas from a special gland. As a crowning idea¹⁷ it also grew a sail! Launched, the man-of-war can blow away from enemies or approach food by putting its sail up and down. When severely threatened, it forces the gas out of the float¹⁸ and submerges.
为了在危机四伏的汪洋中遨游，僧帽水母首先掌握了漂浮的技艺。为此，它进化出一个紫色的气囊，并利用一个特殊的腺体为其充气。更为锦上添花的是，它还长出了一面“帆”！一旦启航，僧帽水母便能通过升降帆面来顺风远遁敌害，或乘风接近食物。当遭遇严重威胁时，它会排出气囊中的气体，沉入水下。
There is hardly any environment, however hostile, that some creature has not mastered. Land is, of course, the nemesis¹⁹ of the fish. If they flop out on it they die. If their ponds dry up, they are helpless. Given this situation, it was almost certain that some fish would evolve a way to beat it; and so there is a lungfish. It is an air breather and must come to the surface every 20 minutes or so; otherwise it drowns. When the ponds of Africa dry up in the arid season, the lungfish wrap themselves in mud and wait it out, sometimes for years. When the rains finally return, they resume their water life.
无论环境何其恶劣，几乎总有某种生物能够征服它。陆地，对鱼类而言，无疑是它们的克星。一旦离水上岸，它们便会死亡；倘若池塘干涸，它们亦将束手待毙。面对此等困境，几乎可以断言，必有某种鱼会进化出求存之道；于是，肺鱼便应运而生。它用肺呼吸，大约每二十分钟便需浮出水面换气，否则便会溺亡。当非洲的池塘在旱季枯竭时，肺鱼便将自己裹在泥茧之中，静待甘霖，有时甚至长达数年。待雨季终临，它们便重返水中生活。
Just as nature adds things on creatures that need them, so she occasionally takes things away from those that don't. The adult Mayfly, for example, has no mouth or stomach. Last year, by a northern New York lake, I found myself amid hundreds of thousands of these insects. I told the conservation officer whom I was with that I was glad they didn't bite. He replied that they have no mouths to bite with. "An adult Mayfly lives but one day," he explained, "and that day is devoted entirely to pleasure. They do nothing but dance and mate all their short life, and so they do not need a mouth."
正如大自然会赋予生物所需之物，她偶尔也会剥夺那些它们不再需要的东西。例如，成年蜉蝣既无口也无胃。去年，在纽约州北部的一个湖畔，我发现自己置身于成千上万只蜉蝣之中。我对我同行的那位自然保护官员说，幸好它们不叮咬人。他答道，它们根本没有嘴可以用来叮咬。“成年蜉蝣的生命只有一天，”他解释说，“而这一天完全用于寻欢作乐。它们短暂的一生除了翩跹起舞和交配繁衍，别无他事，因此它们根本不需要嘴巴。”
With all this elaborate evolution, it is not surprising that some of nature's inventions got out of hand²⁰. Into this category falls the speedometer of reindeer. A tendon snaps back and forth over a bone in the reindeer's foot, noisily tapping out the speed of his gait. Useless. And so is the nose on the stomach of the scorpion and the feather-like tongue of the toucan, a bird of Africa.
经历了如此精巧繁复的进化，大自然的某些“发明”变得有些“失控”也就不足为奇了。驯鹿的“速度计”便属此类。它足部的一根肌腱在一块骨头上反复弹动，发出清晰的“咔嗒”声，标示着其行进步伐的快慢。然而，这并无实际用处。蝎子腹部的“鼻子”以及非洲巨嘴鸟那羽毛般的舌头，亦是如此。
But probably the most dumbfounding of nature's extraordinary creations is the horned toad of our Southwest²¹. A herpetologist once invited me to observe one of these lizards right after it had molted. In a sand-filled glass cage I saw a large male. Beside him lay his old skin. The herpetologist began to annoy the beast with mock attacks, and the old man of the desert²² with his vulnerable new suit became frightened. Suddenly his eyeballs reddened. A final fast lunge from my friend at the beast and I froze in astonishment—a fine spray of blood shot from the lizard's eye, like fire from a dragon! The beast had struck back with a weapon so shocking that it terrifies even the fiercest enemy.
然而，在大自然诸多非凡的创造中，最令人瞠目结舌的，或许当属美国西南部的角蜥。一位爬行动物学家曾邀我观察一只刚刚蜕皮的角蜥。在一个盛满沙土的玻璃缸中，我见到一只体型颇大的雄性角蜥，身旁便是它蜕下的旧皮囊。那位学者开始用模拟攻击来挑逗这只小兽，只见这身披脆弱“新衣”的“沙漠老者”惊恐万状。突然，它的眼球泛红。当我的朋友对它发起最后一次迅猛的佯攻时，我惊得呆若木鸡——一股殷红的血雾从蜥蜴眼中喷射而出，宛如火龙喷焰！这只小兽竟以如此骇人的武器反击，足以震慑最凶残的敌人。
Later I walked home, pondering the bizarre methods for survival with which evolution has endowed earth's creatures, sometimes comical, sometimes pathetic. I knew the biologists were right: If any adaptation is possible, nature has tried it.
归途中，我一路沉思，感叹进化赋予地球生灵的种种奇异生存之道，它们时而滑稽可笑，时而又令人唏嘘。我深知生物学家所言不虚：任何可能的适应方式，大自然都已一一尝试。
Summary&Mindmap
English Summary This article explores the incredible diversity of animal adaptations, showcasing how nature has fashioned creatures, sometimes in bizarre and unexpected ways, to fit specific environmental niches and ensure their survival. It provides numerous examples, from feather-eating birds and non-drinking mammals to fish with built-in fishing rods, highlighting the ingenious, and occasionally outlandish, solutions evolution has produced to address the challenges of various habitats, diets, predation, and reproduction.
中文概括 本文探讨了动物适应性的惊人多样性，展示了自然如何以有时奇异和出乎意料的方式塑造生物，以适应特定的生态位并确保其生存。文章列举了许多例子，从食羽毛的鸟类、从不饮水的哺乳动物到头上长着“钓竿”的鱼类，突出了进化为应对不同栖息地、食性、捕食和繁殖等挑战所产生的巧妙，甚至偶尔古怪的解决方案。
Analysis
Original Sentence: "As a result of this hammering and fitting⁴, however, some really unbelievable creatures circle the sun with us⁵."
- 中文解释:
- 核心词汇与表达:
this hammering and fitting: 这是一个隐喻。"hammering" (锤打) 和 "fitting" (装配、适应) 指的是前文提到的自然进化过程中，生物体不断被环境“雕琢”和“塑造”以适应生态位的过程（"adapting a toe here, an eye there, until the being fits the niche"）。它形象地比喻了自然选择对生物进行塑造和改造的、有时甚至是“粗暴”的过程，如同工匠锤炼和装配部件一样，使生物逐渐完美适应环境。circle the sun with us: 这是一个富有诗意的表达，字面意思是“和我们一起围绕太阳旋转”，实际含义是“和我们一起生活在地球上”。
- 句子结构:
As a result of...(状语，表示结果),however(转折),some really unbelievable creatures(主语),circle the sun with us(谓语动词短语). - 详尽解析: 这句话的意思是，由于自然界这种持续不断的“锤炼”和“塑造”的进化过程（即生物为适应环境而发生的形态、结构和功能上的改变），一些真正令人难以置信的生物得以和我们人类一样，共同生活在这个地球上。它强调了进化过程的塑造力量以及由此产生的生物多样性的奇特性和不可思议性。
- 核心词汇与表达:
- 中文解释:
Original Sentence: "Perfectly adapted to one specific tree⁹, the eucalyptus, this living teddy bear¹⁰ does not need anything else, not even a drink!"
- 中文解释:
- 核心词汇与表达:
Perfectly adapted to one specific tree, the eucalyptus: 这是一个过去分词短语作定语，修饰句子的主语。其中the eucalyptus(桉树) 是one specific tree(一种特定的树) 的同位语，对其进行解释说明。表明考拉对桉树的适应达到了完美的程度。this living teddy bear: 这是一个隐喻，指的就是考拉。因为它外形酷似泰迪熊玩具，所以被称为“活的泰迪熊”，形象生动。
- 句子结构:
Perfectly adapted...eucalyptus(分词短语作定语/原因状语),this living teddy bear(主语),does not need(谓语),anything else, not even a drink!(宾语和强调部分). - 详尽解析: 这句话描述了考拉的独特习性。它完美地适应了一种特定的树木——桉树，这种“活的泰迪熊”（指考拉）除了桉树叶之外，什么都不需要，甚至连水都不用喝（因为桉树叶提供了足够的水分）。这里的“活的泰迪熊”生动地描绘了考拉憨态可掬的形象，而整个句子强调了考拉对其生存环境高度特化的适应性以及由此带来的独特生理需求。
- 核心词汇与表达:
- 中文解释:
Original Sentence: "Nature seems to have gone all out in creating¹⁴ preposterous gadgets for self-defense."
- 中文解释:
- 核心词汇与表达:
gone all out: 这是一个习语，意思是“竭尽全力”、“全力以赴”、“不遗余力”。preposterous gadgets:preposterous意为“荒谬的”、“非常古怪的”、“不合情理的”。gadgets指“小器具”、“小装置”。合起来指那些为了自卫而进化出来的、看起来非常奇怪甚至荒唐的生理构造或行为机制。
- 句子结构:
Nature(主语),seems to have gone all out(谓语),in creating preposterous gadgets for self-defense(介词短语作状语，说明在哪个方面“全力以赴”). - 详尽解析: 这句话的意思是，在为生物创造用于自卫的“装置”方面，大自然似乎已经使出了浑身解数，创造出了一些看起来非常荒谬古怪的“工具”。它用拟人化的手法，强调了自然界中生物自卫机制的多样性和奇特性，有时这些机制的设计和功能看起来超乎常规想象，显得极为特别甚至滑稽。
- 核心词汇与表达:
- 中文解释:
Original Sentence: "There is hardly any environment, however hostile, that some creature has not mastered."
- 中文解释:
- 核心词汇与表达:
hardly any... that... not mastered: 这是一个理解上的难点。hardly any(几乎没有任何) 和not mastered(没有征服/掌握) 结合在一起，形成了类似双重否定的效果，表达了肯定的意思，即“几乎所有……都被征服/掌握了”。however hostile: 这是一个让步状语从句的省略形式 (however hostile it may be)，意思是“无论多么恶劣”或“不管多么不适宜生存”。它用来强调环境的艰苦程度。
- 句子结构: 这是一个
There be句型，environment是其逻辑主语。that some creature has not mastered是一个定语从句，修饰environment。插入语however hostile进一步修饰environment。 - 详尽解析: 这句话可以理解为：“几乎不存在任何一种环境，无论它多么恶劣，是没有某种生物能够征服并生存下来的。” 更简洁地说，就是“几乎所有环境，无论多么恶劣，都有生物成功地适应了它并主宰了其中。” 这句话强调了生命适应能力的普遍性和强大性，表明在地球上各种极端条件下，总有生物能找到生存和繁衍之道。
- 核心词汇与表达:
- 中文解释:
Original Sentence: "With all this elaborate evolution, it is not surprising that some of nature's inventions got out of hand²⁰."
- 中文解释:
- 核心词汇与表达:
elaborate evolution: 指复杂而精巧的进化过程。elaborate强调了其精心设计和复杂性。got out of hand: 这是一个习语，意思是“失控”、“变得无法收拾”或“发展得过火/过度”。在这里，它暗示自然界的一些“发明”（即进化出来的特征）似乎发展到了一个极端，超出了最初的实用目的，甚至显得有些多余、怪异或不再完全服务于生存。
- 句子结构:
With all this elaborate evolution(介词短语作原因/背景状语),it is not surprising(主句，it是形式主语),that some of nature's inventions got out of hand(主语从句，是it的实际内容). - 详尽解析: 这句话的意思是：鉴于进化过程如此复杂和精细（即自然界为了生物适应而发展出各种各样的特征），那么其中一些自然的“创造物”（即某些生物特征或器官）会发展得有些“失控”或“过火”，这并不令人感到惊讶。它暗示了进化并非总是朝着完美和高效的方向，有时也会产生一些看起来多余、怪异甚至功能不再明确的副产品。
- 核心词汇与表达:
- 中文解释:
Original Sentence: "Into this category falls the speedometer of reindeer."
- 中文解释:
- 核心词汇与表达:
this category: 指上文提到的“got out of hand”的那些自然发明，即那些看起来失控、过度发展或用途不明的进化产物。speedometer of reindeer: 指驯鹿脚上的一种特殊结构（肌腱在骨头上弹动发出咔嗒声），作者将其比喻为“速度计”，并在下文评价其为“Useless”（无用的）。
- 句子结构: 这是一个完全倒装句 (Subject-Verb Inversion)。正常的语序应该是
The speedometer of reindeer falls into this category.(驯鹿的速度计属于这一类)。为了强调“属于这一类”（Into this category），或者为了使行文更流畅地承接上文所描述的“失控的发明”这一类别，作者将地点状语Into this category提到了句首，导致了主谓倒装 (falls在主语the speedometer of reindeer之前)。 - 详尽解析: 这句话的意思是：驯鹿的“速度计”（指其行走时脚部肌腱在骨头上弹动发出的声音）就属于这种“失控”或“多余”的自然发明类别。它紧接上文“some of nature's inventions got out of hand”，给出了一个具体的例子，说明有些进化特征并不具备明显的实用价值，或者其进化方向显得有些“过头”。
- 核心词汇与表达:
- 中文解释: