史上最令人驚嘆的71項偉大創新：英語精讀講義

Perhaps the greatest ability possessed by humans is to innovate and create 文法

或許，人類擁有的最大能力，就是創新與創造，

in order to overcome obstacles and change the world around us. 文法

藉此克服障礙，改變我們周遭的世界。

Like the formation of language, for example,

以語言的形成為例，

which is still one of science's greatest mysteries

這至今仍是科學界最大的謎團之一，

with no consensus on its beginnings, 片語搭配

對於它的起源，目前仍沒有共識，

but undoubtedly changed the world of early hominin species

但它無疑改變了早期人族物種的世界；

that have existed for nearly 2.5 million years.

這些物種已存在將近250萬年。

Or the ability to control fire

掌控火的能力也是如此，

with evidence of cooked food

從熟食的證據來看，

as far back as 1.5 million years ago. 片語搭配

最早可追溯到150萬年前。

Around 200,000 years ago,

約20萬年前，

modern humans evolved,

現代人類演化出現，

but it wasn't until roughly 190,000 years later 文法

但又過了約19萬年，

that we changed from hunter-gatherer societies and created agriculture.

我們才從狩獵採集社會轉型，並發展出農業。

Gathering seeds, planting, and tending to them 用詞

採集種子、播種並悉心照料，

has shaped our modern civilization.

形塑了現代文明。

Shortly after,

不久之後，

the plow was created, transforming agriculture.

犁被發明出來，徹底改變了農業。

By 5000 BCE,

到了西元前5000年，

we got even more curious about our globe and created the sailboat, 片語搭配

我們對地球更加好奇，於是發明了帆船，

opening up the world of exploration. 片語動詞

開啟了探索世界的大門。

In 3500 BCE,

西元前3500年，

the first glass is created,

第一件玻璃製品問世，

and 100 years later comes the nail,

100年後，釘子也隨之出現，

found in ancient Egypt,

它是在古埃及發現的，

helping us create better structures,

幫助我們打造更好的建築結構，

which helps extend human life.

進而延長人類壽命。

A few centuries later,

再過幾個世紀，

and cement is created,

水泥問世了，

the foundation of our civilization, literally. 慣用語

它可說是文明的基礎，字面上也是如此。

Looking to further enhance transportation, 文法

為了進一步改善交通運輸，

the wheel is invented in 3000 BCE,

西元前3000年，輪子被發明出來，

followed by soap, 片語搭配

隨後是肥皂，

and then the original computer,

接著則是最早的電腦，

or abacus,

也就是算盤，

which helps augment human capabilities and shape our economy. 片語搭配

它增強了人類的能力，也形塑了我們的經濟。

And even though paper won't be created until 200 BCE, 文法

儘管紙要到西元前200年才問世，

and the printing press until 1430,

印刷機更要等到1430年，

the first libraries appear in 2600 BCE,

但第一批圖書館早在西元前2600年就已出現，

with records recorded onto stone tablets,

記錄刻寫在石板上，

making knowledge more accessible to all. 文法

讓所有人都更容易取得知識。

By 1500 BCE,

到了西元前1500年，

the alphabet becomes prevalent in some societies,

字母系統開始在某些社會中普及，

as opposed to ideographic letters, 片語搭配

有別於表意文字，

further shaping the transfer of knowledge.

進一步改變了知識傳播的方式。

And 700 years later,

再過700年，

our modern number system from zero to nine comes together,

從0到9的現代數字系統逐漸成形，

paving the way for mathematics. 慣用語

為數學鋪平了道路。

The first democracy begins in Greece in 508 BCE,

西元前508年，第一個民主制度在希臘誕生，

where all members have equal share to power.

所有成員都能平等享有權力。

And perhaps our favorite innovation,

而說到我們最喜愛的創新，

the scientific method,

那就是科學方法，

has origins in the time of Aristotle in 384 BCE, 片語搭配

它的起源可追溯到西元前384年的亞里斯多德時代，

a process to acquire information and investigate new phenomena.

這是一套用來取得資訊及研究新現象的程序。

We may be a bit biased. 語氣意圖

也許我們有點偏心。

And of course,

當然，

it's been further refined over time.

它也隨著時間不斷改進。

The Chinese invent the first compass in 300 BCE,

西元前300年，中國人發明了第一個指南針，

allowing mariners to navigate great distances.

讓航海家得以航行至遙遠之地。

At the same time,

同一時期，

the Archimedes screw is designed,

阿基米德螺旋也被設計出來，

which helps transfer water from low to high elevations,

可將水從低處輸送到高處，

shaping irrigation and farming.

改變了灌溉與耕作方式。

All of this before the common era. 文化背景

而這一切，全都發生在西元前。

Speaking of time, 表達脈絡

說到時間，

the first mechanical clock comes in 725,

第一座機械鐘於725年問世，

but it won't be until 1582 that the Gregorian calendar is created,

但直到1582年，格里曆才制定完成，

which syncs people all over the world.

讓世界各地人們的時間步調一致。

Eyeglasses come in the 13th century,

眼鏡於13世紀問世，

which may seem minimal, 文法

這看似微不足道，

but dramatically raised the collective human IQ.

卻大幅提升了人類整體的智商。

It was also a precursor to the telescope and microscope. 用詞

它也是望遠鏡與顯微鏡的前身。

Just prior to the telescope in 1542,

就在望遠鏡問世前不久的1542年，

the idea that Earth is not the center of the universe was groundbreaking, 用詞

「地球並非宇宙中心」的觀念極具突破性，

but the Copernican system put the Sun at the center of the solar system. 文化背景

而哥白尼體系則將太陽置於太陽系中心。

However,

然而，

this wouldn't be accepted for hundreds of years. 文法

這套理論歷經數百年才獲得接受。

The late 1600s brought the steam engine,

17世紀晚期，蒸汽機問世，

powering not only trains and boats, 文法

它不只為火車和船隻提供動力，

but factories,

也為工廠提供動力，

shaping the Industrial Revolution, 文化背景

進而推動工業革命，

which would later be replaced by the internal combustion engine.

而蒸汽機日後則被內燃機取代。

Around this same time,

大約同一時期，

binary numbers and Boolean logic,

二進位數字與布林邏輯，

which are at the heart of digital computing, 慣用語

也就是數位運算的核心，

are created,

被創造出來，

and Newton's laws of motion and universal gravitation help shape ideas of physics.

而牛頓運動定律與萬有引力定律，也形塑了物理學的觀念。

Though Einstein's theory of special and general relativity,

不過，愛因斯坦的狹義與廣義相對論，

as well as quantum theory,

還有量子理論，

would further build upon these ideas. 片語動詞

日後又在這些觀念上進一步發展。

Vaccines come in 1796,

疫苗於1796年問世，

which in the last 20 years alone have prevented 21 million hospitalizations 用詞

光在過去20年間，就已避免2,100萬人次住院，

and 732,000 deaths.

並避免73萬2千人死亡。

Water purification and food preservation have also saved millions of lives,

淨水技術與食物保存也挽救了數百萬條人命，

while the camera has allowed us to capture our past and communicate the events of our present. 表達脈絡

而相機讓我們能記錄過往，並傳達當下發生的事件。

The next few hundred years would see big advances in communication, 表達脈絡

接下來數百年間，通訊技術突飛猛進，

with the wireless telegraph,

從無線電報、

the telephone,

電話、

radio waves and radio,

無線電波與收音機，

and television all transforming our world and making it feel a little smaller. 慣用語

到電視，全都改變了我們的世界，讓世界感覺小了一些。

The world of medicine then changed drastically in 1846 with the advent of anesthesia and antiseptic, 片語搭配

接著，麻醉與消毒法於1846年問世，使醫學界產生巨變，

allowing for major surgeries that would previously be too painful, 片語搭配

讓過去因太過疼痛而無法進行的大型手術成為可能，

saving countless lives.

挽救了無數生命。

The sanitation system also improved the incidence of many diseases,

衛生系統也降低了許多疾病的發生率，

and refrigeration would later change how people eat around the world.

後來，冷藏技術更改變了全球人類的飲食方式。

The invention of the light bulb falls shortly after,

燈泡的發明也緊接其後，

though observations of static electricity were made in 600 BCE,

儘管早在西元前600年，就有人觀察到靜電現象，

and the invention of a simple capacitor in 1745,

而1745年也發明了簡易電容器，

as well as many other discoveries,

另外還有許多其他發現，

paved the way for using electricity.

共同為電力的應用鋪平了道路。

Transportation took another major step in 1885 with the modern car and later the airplane, 慣用語

1885年，現代汽車的問世讓交通運輸再度大幅躍進，之後飛機也隨之問世，

while semiconductors would help regulate the flow of electricity,

而半導體則有助於調節電流，

and eventually transistors,

後來更出現了電晶體，

without which modern electronic devices could not function. 文法

如果沒有電晶體，現代電子裝置將無法運作。

Many more scientific discoveries would follow,

此後，更多科學發現接踵而至，

starting with the electron, 表達脈絡

首先是電子，

which would help Niels Bohr create his model of the atom.

它幫助尼爾斯・波耳建立了原子模型。

Although the atom was actually first theorized 2300 years earlier.

不過，其實早在那之前2300年，原子的概念就已首次被提出。

Nitrogen fixation and plant breeding help sustain our population and are credited with saving 1 billion lives, 片語搭配

固氮技術與植物育種有助於養活全球人口，據信拯救了10億條人命，

along with antibiotics such as penicillin,

此外，還有青黴素等抗生素，

an accidental discovery which fights bacterial infections.

青黴素是意外發現的，能對抗細菌感染。

Birth control has also reduced the number of children women have,

避孕措施也讓女性減少生育子女，

allowing for higher quality of life.

使生活品質得以提升。

And polyethylene or other plastics are all around us,

聚乙烯及其他塑膠也遍布我們四周，

affecting so many products we make.

影響著我們製造的眾多產品。

The discovery of DNA in the 1950s unleashed so much of what we now know about humanity through heredity and genetics, 講解

1950年代發現DNA後，遺傳與基因學讓我們對人類有了大量嶄新的認識，

which would also lead to genetic engineering and genome sequencing in the '70s.

而這也在1970年代催生了基因工程與基因體定序。

And in the last 80 years,

而在過去80年間，

communication has taken leaps and bounds forward, 慣用語

通訊技術有了突飛猛進的發展，

starting with satellite communications in the '40s for TV,

首先是1940年代出現的衛星通訊，應用包括電視、

weather forecasting,

天氣預報，

and defense,

以及國防，

to the beginnings of the Internet in the '60s,

接著是1960年代萌芽的網際網路，

and the personal computer and GPS in the '70s.

以及1970年代的個人電腦與GPS。

Not to mention the device that's likely in your hands or your pocket right now, 表達脈絡

更別提現在很可能就在你手中或口袋裡的裝置：

the smartphone,

智慧型手機，

which was first invented by IBM in 1994.

它最早由IBM於1994年發明。

And as technology continues forward here on Earth,

隨著地球上的科技持續進步，

space exploration continues to intrigue us with the first successful orbital launch in 1957,

太空探索也持續令我們著迷：1957年首次成功進行軌道發射，

the first moon landing in 1969,

1969年人類首度登月，

and the Hubble telescope in the '90s,

以及1990年代的哈伯太空望遠鏡，

which is both a spacecraft and a telescope that orbits Earth every 97 minutes.

它既是太空船也是望遠鏡，每97分鐘繞地球一圈。

But as we look to the universe and the future,

但當我們把目光投向宇宙與未來，

what comes next? 表達脈絡

接下來會是什麼？

While sometimes it may seem like the world is getting darker, 文法

雖然有時世界似乎正變得更加黑暗，

these innovations show that people live longer,

但這些創新顯示，人們的壽命更長，

healthier, and happier lives.

也活得更健康、更快樂。

And one of the best ways to make sure we keep innovating is to support leaders that recognize the importance of public research programs 文法

而確保我們持續創新的最佳方式之一，就是支持重視公共研究計畫的領導者，

from global health,

這些計畫涵蓋全球衛生、

agriculture,

農業、

information technology,

資訊科技，

or energy.

或能源等領域。

You can read more about innovations on Bill Gates's amazing blog,

你可以在比爾・蓋茲精彩的部落格上，閱讀更多關於創新的內容，

who's sponsored this episode.

本集影片正是由他贊助。

To learn more about what we can do to make sure the world continues getting better for everyone,

若想進一步了解我們能如何確保世界持續為所有人變得更美好，

there's a link in the description to his blog.

說明欄中有他部落格的連結。

And subscribe for more weekly science videos.

也別忘了訂閱，收看每週更新的科學影片。