你是孤独的吗？（在这个宇宙中）：英语精读讲义

Are you alone in the universe?

你在宇宙中是孤独的吗？

Or are you connected to anything?

还是说你与万物皆有联系？

First of all, you're part of a group of mammals that's still very young, 表達脈絡

首先，你属于一个仍然非常年轻的哺乳动物群体，

but we can make YouTube videos already

但我们已经能制作 YouTube 视频了，

and build large hadron colliders.

还能建造大型强子对撞机。

We've also split the atom

我们也分裂了原子，

and invented Pokémon.

还发明了宝可梦。

We stem from an ancient life form 短語搭配

我们源自一种古老的生命形式，

that began living about 3 and 1/2 billion years ago.

大约在 35 亿年前就开始生存了。

We feel like we're in control of this planet, 語法

我们感觉自己掌控着这个星球，

but we aren't really.

但实际上并没有。

One little asteroid or one creative virus

一颗小行星或一种变异病毒，

is really all it would take to kill us off for good. 講解

就足以将我们彻底抹杀。

Humanity credits itself with being able to destroy the planet, 短語搭配

人类自以为有能力毁灭地球，

but even with all our nuclear toys, 習語

但即使动用我们所有的核玩具，

we would probably just cause a huge mass extinction at best. 短語搭配

顶多也就是引发一场巨大的生物大灭绝。

Maybe we could kill 90% of everything living on this planet.

也许我们能消灭地球上 90% 的生物。

Big deal. 語氣意圖

没什么大不了的。

A few million years later,

几百万年后，

life would be back everywhere.

生命又会重现生机，遍布各处。

Most microscopic life and life below the surface

大多数微观生命和地表以下的生命，

wouldn't even be disturbed that much, probably.

甚至可能都不会受到太大干扰。

On a geological time scale, 短語搭配

在地质时间尺度上，

our impact on Earth is kind of laughable. 語氣意圖

我们对地球的影响其实有些可笑。

We're actually not that powerful.

我们真的没有那么强大。

We live on this tiny wet rock

我们住在这个潮湿的小岩石上，

that speeds through space following a massive ball of burning plasma.

跟着一团巨大的燃烧等离子体在太空中飞驰。

One day, this ball of plasma will stop burning

总有一天，这团等离子体会停止燃烧，

and most likely kill us in the process. 短語搭配

并极有可能在这个过程中杀死我们。

If we survive the death of the Sun

如果我们能在太阳的消亡中幸存下来

and colonize the galaxy,

并在银河系中殖民，

theoretically, we could survive until the last star in the universe goes out. 短語動詞

理论上，我们可以一直活到宇宙中最后一颗恒星熄灭。

After that, life becomes pretty impossible.

在那之后，生命几乎就无法存在了。

Okay, so everything has an end.

好吧，万物皆有终结。

Where does this leave you as an individual? 習語

那么作为个体的你该何去何从呢？

At one point in your life, 短語搭配

在你生命中的某个时刻，

for about half an hour,

大约有半个小时的时间，

you were only one single cell inside your mother's womb,

你只是母亲子宫里的一个单细胞，

a creature just 0.1 mm in diameter.

一个直径仅 0.1 毫米的生物。

Today, you consist of about 50 trillion cells. 短語搭配

今天，你由大约 50 万亿个细胞组成。

50 trillion incredibly complex little biological machines

50 万亿个极其复杂的小型生物机器，

that are much bigger and more complex than the average bacteria. 語法

它们比一般的细菌要大得多，也复杂得多。

They operate by the laws of physics and chemistry

它们遵循物理和化学定律运作，

and use micro machines to build proteins,

使用微型机器来构建蛋白质、

make energy usable devour food, 語法

转化可用能量、吞噬食物、

transport resources,

运输资源、

transmit information,

传递信息，

or reproduce.

或者繁殖。

They communicate, duplicate, commit suicide,

它们交流、复制、自杀、

fight off intruders, 短語動詞

抵御入侵者，

and fulfill super specialized duties

并履行超级专业化的职责，

for the greater good of keeping you alive, 習語

为了让你活下去这个更伟大的利益，

so you can have babies.

这样你才能繁衍后代。

But where is the you part in this 表達脈絡

但如果你是由数万亿个小东西组成的，

if you're made of trillions of little things?

那“你”这部分到底在哪呢？

The basic information for you is stored in the DNA,

你的基本信息存储在 DNA 中，

a molecule that encodes the genetic instructions 語法

这是一种编码遗传指令的分子，

used in the development and functioning of all known living things.

用于所有已知生物的发育和运作。

If you were to unravel it, 語法

如果你把它解开，

it would be 2 m long.

它会有 2 米长。

If you combined all the little DNA strings in all your cells,

如果你把你所有细胞中的小 DNA 链连接起来，

you'd get a string so long that it would stretch to Pluto and back to Earth. 講解

你会得到一条极长的链条，足以从冥王星拉伸到地球再绕回去。

That's pretty long.

那可是相当长了。

And your DNA is a direct connection to your very first ancestor.

而且你的 DNA 与你最初的祖先有着直接的联系。

Take a second to think about this. 語氣意圖

花一秒钟想想这件事。

In every cell of your body,

在你身体的每个细胞里，

there's a little string of stuff that's been there in various forms 語法

都有一小串物质，它们以各种形式存在了

for 3.4 billion years.

34 亿年。

It evolved,

它进化，

it mutated,

它突变，

it duplicated trillions of times,

它复制了数万亿次，

but it directly connects you to the first living being on this planet. 短語搭配

但它将你与这个星球上的第一个生物直接联系在一起。

We could say you touched every living being that came before you 語氣意圖

我们甚至可以说，你的 DNA

with your DNA.

触碰过你之前出现的所有生物。

But you are more than your DNA. 表達脈絡

但你不仅仅是你的 DNA。

Your body is made of 7 octillion atoms.

你的身体由 7000 亿亿亿个原子组成。

That's 7 billion billion billions.

也就是 7 的后面跟着 27 个零。

Roughly 93% of the mass of the human body

人体质量的大约 93%

is made up of just three elements: 短語動詞

仅由三种元素组成：

oxygen, carbon, and hydrogen.

氧、碳和氢。

Oxygen and hydrogen are predominantly found in water,

氧和氢主要存在于水中，

which makes up about 60% of the body by weight. 用詞

水按重量算约占人体的 60%。

Carbon is maybe the most important element for life.

碳可能是对生命最重要的元素。

It can easily bond with other atoms,

它可以轻松地与其他原子结合，

which allows for the building of long complex chains of molecules, 短語搭配

从而构建出长而复杂的分子链，

which make up the solid part of you.

构成了你身体的固体部分。

The remaining 7% is a tour of the periodic table of elements. 習語

剩余的 7% 则是元素周期表的一次巡礼。

Nitrogen, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, sulfur,

氮、钙、磷、钾、硫、

sodium, chlorine, magnesium, iron, fluorine,

钠、氯、镁、铁、氟、

zinc, copper, iodine, selenium, chromium,

锌、铜、碘、硒、铬、

manganese, molybdenum, cobalt, lithium, strontium,

锰、钼、钴、锂、锶、

aluminum, silicon, lead, vanadium, arsenic, and bromine.

铝、硅、铅、钒、砷和溴。

Ooh.

噢。

By the way, 表達脈絡

顺便说一句，

this also means you're about 0.5% metal, 習語

这也意味着你身上大约有 0.5% 是金属，

no matter what your favorite music is. 語法

不管你最喜欢什么类型的音乐。

Anyway, these elements perform various functions 表達脈絡

总之，这些元素发挥着各种功能，

like enabling oxygen transport,

比如促进氧气运输、

building of bones and cell structures,

构建骨骼和细胞结构、

carrying signals,

传递信号、

driving chemical reactions,

驱动化学反应，

and a lot more.

以及许多其他功能。

Your body is in a constant state of transition. 短語搭配

你的身体处于一种不断的过渡状态中。

Every 16 days,

每 16 天，

75% of you has been replaced

你的 75% 就已经被替换掉了，

because a healthy human exchanges about 100% of their water 語法

因为一个健康的人在这段时间内

in that time period.

会交换掉大约 100% 的水分。

Each year,

每年，

about 98% of your atoms are replaced by new ones,

你大约 98% 的原子会被新的原子替换，

and every 5 years,

而每隔 5 年，

close to all of the atoms that make up your body 短語搭配

构成你身体的几乎所有原子

weren't there 5 years ago.

在 5 年前都不在那里。

So, you could call yourself a temporary collection of atoms. 語氣意圖

所以，你可以把自己称为原子的临时集合体。

But, where did these atoms come from? 表達脈絡

但是，这些原子是从哪里来的呢？

In the beginning of the universe,

在宇宙之初，

there were mostly hydrogen and helium atoms.

几乎全是氢原子和氦原子。

Enormous gas clouds formed over millennia

数千年来，巨大的气体云形成

and grew denser and denser until they collapsed under their own gravity, 講解

并变得越来越稠密，直到它们在自身重力下坍缩，

giving birth to the first stars. 習語

孕育出了第一批恒星。

In the cores of these stars,

在这些恒星的核心，

hydrogen was converted into helium under extreme conditions. 短語搭配

氢在极端条件下转化为氦。

After millions of years,

数百万年后，

the hydrogen became exhausted and the stars began dying. 用詞

氢被耗尽，恒星开始消亡。

Under super extreme conditions,

在超级极端的条件下，

all elements we know today were created

我们今天知道的所有元素

a fraction of a second before they died 短語搭配

都是在它们死亡并爆发成超新星前的

and exploded in supernovas.

几分之一秒内创造出来的。

They shot most of their contents into space 用詞

它们将大部分物质喷射到太空中，

while the cores collapsed and became black holes.

而核心坍缩成了黑洞。

All these elements traveled through space

所有这些元素在太空中穿梭了

for who knows how long until they arrived at a different cloud 語氣意圖

不知多久，直到它们抵达另一片云，

that was slowly forming a new star,

这片云正慢慢形成一颗新的恒星，

our Sun.

也就是我们的太阳。

These elements that once were the insides of a star

这些曾经是恒星内部的元素

formed planets and found their way onto Earth, 習語

形成了行星，并最终来到了地球上，

where they enabled life to begin. 語法

让生命的开始成为可能。

So, we are directly connected to the first stars 表達脈絡

所以，我们与宇宙中诞生的第一批恒星

ever born in the universe.

有着直接的联系。

We are part of the universe.

我们是宇宙的一部分。

The idea of being a deeply connected minuscule part

作为庞大结构中一个息息相关的微小部分，

of an enormous structure is really mind-blowing. 用詞

这个想法真的很让人震撼。

We don't know what all this means

我们不知道这一切意味着什么，

or if it means anything at all. 語法

或者它究竟有没有意义。

We know that we're made of little parts

我们知道我们是由微小的部分组成的，

that connect us to everything in the universe,

这些部分将我们与宇宙中的万物联系在一起，

to the beginning of everything.

与一切的开端联系在一起。

And this is kind of a nice thought.

这是一种非常美妙的想法。

You are not alone. 表達脈絡

你并不孤独。

You never were.

你从来都不孤独。

You never will be.

你也永远不会孤独。