26 · 地球上的昔日生命
The Past Life of the Earth
区分观点、依据、例子与限制，用自己的话准确重建论述。
课文精读整篇课文
点选一句，句末即可听读；连起意思，大声读一遍。
It is animals and plants which lived in or near water whose remains are most likely to be preserved, for one of the necessary conditions of preservation is quick burial, and it is only in the seas and rivers, and sometimes lakes, where mud and silt have been continuously deposited, that bodies and the like can be rapidly covered over and preserved.
But even in the most favourable circumstances only a small fraction of the creatures that die are preserved in this way before decay sets in or, even more likely, before scavengers eat them. After all, all living creatures live by feeding on something else, whether it be plant or animal, dead or alive, and it is only by chance that such a fate is avoided. The remains of plants and animals that lived on land are much more rarely preserved, for there is seldom anything to cover them over. When you think of the innumerable birds that one sees flying about, not to mention the equally numerous small animals like field mice and voles which you do not see, it is very rarely that one comes across a dead body, except, of course, on the roads. They decompose and are quickly destroyed by the weather or eaten by some other creature.
It is almost always due to some very special circumstances that traces of land animals survive, as by falling into inaccessible caves, or into an ice crevasse, like the Siberian mammoths, when the whole animal is sometimes preserved, as in a refrigerator. This is what happened to the famous Beresovka mammoth which was found preserved and in good condition. In his mouth were the remains of fir trees— the last meal that he had before he fell into the crevasse and broke his back. The mammoth has now been restored in the Paleontological Museum in St. Petersburg. Other animals were trapped in tar pits, like the elephants, sabre-toothed cats, and numerous other creatures that are found at Rancho la Brea, which is now just a suburb of Los Angeles. Apparently what happened was that water collected on these tar pits, and the bigger animals like the elephants ventured out on to the apparently firm surface to drink, and were promptly bogged in the tar. And then, when they were dead, the carnivores, like the sabre-toothed cats and the giant wolves, came out to feed and suffered exactly the same fate. There are also endless numbers of birds in the tar as well.
本课原文与译文
展开完整文本 · 便于查阅与检索
整篇课文
It is animals and plants which lived in or near water whose remains are most likely to be preserved, for one of the necessary conditions of preservation is quick burial, and it is only in the seas and rivers, and sometimes lakes, where mud and silt have been continuously deposited, that bodies and the like can be rapidly covered over and preserved.
But even in the most favourable circumstances only a small fraction of the creatures that die are preserved in this way before decay sets in or, even more likely, before scavengers eat them. After all, all living creatures live by feeding on something else, whether it be plant or animal, dead or alive, and it is only by chance that such a fate is avoided. The remains of plants and animals that lived on land are much more rarely preserved, for there is seldom anything to cover them over. When you think of the innumerable birds that one sees flying about, not to mention the equally numerous small animals like field mice and voles which you do not see, it is very rarely that one comes across a dead body, except, of course, on the roads. They decompose and are quickly destroyed by the weather or eaten by some other creature.
It is almost always due to some very special circumstances that traces of land animals survive, as by falling into inaccessible caves, or into an ice crevasse, like the Siberian mammoths, when the whole animal is sometimes preserved, as in a refrigerator. This is what happened to the famous Beresovka mammoth which was found preserved and in good condition. In his mouth were the remains of fir trees— the last meal that he had before he fell into the crevasse and broke his back. The mammoth has now been restored in the Paleontological Museum in St. Petersburg. Other animals were trapped in tar pits, like the elephants, sabre-toothed cats, and numerous other creatures that are found at Rancho la Brea, which is now just a suburb of Los Angeles. Apparently what happened was that water collected on these tar pits, and the bigger animals like the elephants ventured out on to the apparently firm surface to drink, and were promptly bogged in the tar. And then, when they were dead, the carnivores, like the sabre-toothed cats and the giant wolves, came out to feed and suffered exactly the same fate. There are also endless numbers of birds in the tar as well.
生活在水中或水边的动植物，其遗骸最有可能保存下来，因为保存遗骸的必要条件之一，是迅速被掩埋。只有在泥沙不断沉积的海洋、河流，有时也包括湖泊中，遗体之类的东西才有可能很快被覆盖并保存。
不过，即使条件最有利，死去的生物也只有极少数能在开始腐烂之前，或者更可能是在被食腐动物吃掉之前，以这种方式保存下来。毕竟，一切生物都靠其他东西维生，不管那是植物还是动物，是死的还是活的；能避开被吃掉的命运，只能靠偶然。陆生动植物的遗体更难保存，因为通常没有什么东西能把它们覆盖起来。想想空中那些数不清的鸟，再想想同样众多、只是你看不见的田鼠等小动物：除了道路上，我们却极少遇到它们的尸体。尸体会腐烂，很快被风雨侵蚀，或者被其他生物吃掉。
陆生动物的遗骸能留存下来，几乎总是因为某些极特殊的情形，例如掉进人迹难至的洞穴，或者跌入冰隙。西伯利亚猛犸象就是如此，有时整只动物会像放进冰箱一样保存下来。著名的别列佐夫卡猛犸象就是这样，发现时仍保存完好。它嘴里还有冷杉的残余，那是它跌进冰隙、摔断脊背之前吃的最后一餐。这只猛犸象如今已在圣彼得堡的古生物学博物馆复原展示。还有些动物陷进天然沥青坑，例如在兰乔拉布雷亚发现的大象、剑齿猫和许多其他动物；那里现在只是洛杉矶的一片郊区。事情大概是这样的：沥青坑上积了水，大象等大型动物以为表面坚实，便走上去喝水，立刻陷入沥青。等它们死后，剑齿猫、巨狼等食肉动物又赶来进食，也遭到同样的命运。沥青中还保存着数不清的鸟。
学完这一课
说明一种现象容易出现的环境，再补一句概率限制。
译文依据整理稿，由本站按中文表达重新校订；解析据吴应时整理资料及首轮审校稿；词伙与练习提示为本站学习设计。原PDF第104—107页，2022年2月第2版。