韋恩食記

在開始聽這篇文章前，先了解一下鯨魚的演化過程 https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%AF%A8

Narrator:
Listen to part of a lecture in a Marine Biology Class. 聽海洋生物學課程中的部分講課。(旁白的內容要注意聽，通常都會直接講整篇文章的主題)

Professor:
We know whales are mammals and that they evolved from land creatures. 我們知道鯨魚是哺乳動物，而且他們從陸地生物演化而來。 (語調變化處是重點)
So the mystery is figuring out how they became ocean dwellers. 所以需要解開的謎團是他們如何變成海洋的居住者。(語調變化處是重點)
Because until recently there was no fossil record of what we call "the missing link", that is evidence of species that show the transition between land-dwelling mammals and today's whales. 因為至今為止，我們還沒有發現稱為"缺失環節"的化石證據，這是很重要的證據來證明陸上哺乳動物與鯨魚之間的過渡。
Fortunately, some recent fossil discoveries have made the picture a little bit clearly. 幸運的是，最近的一些化石證據使這個“進化圖”稍顯清晰了。(Fortunately算轉折，所以這句要注意聽)
For example, a few years back in Pakistan, they found a skull of a wolf-like creature. 舉例來說，幾年前在巴基斯坦發現了一具像狼一樣的頭蓋骨。(舉例的東西大概抓重點即可)
It's about fifty million years old. 距今約五千萬年了。
Scientists had seen this wolf-like creature before, but this skull was different. 科學家以前見過這種類似狼的生物，但這個頭骨卻不一樣。(but後面要注意聽)
The ear area of the skull had characteristics seen only in aquatic mammals, specifically whales. 頭骨的耳朵區域是水生哺乳動物僅有的特徵，特別是鯨魚。
Err... Well, then also in Pakistan they found a fossil of another creature, which we call Ambulocetus natans. 呃...一樣在巴基斯坦，他們找到了另一俱生物化石 ，我們稱之為陸行鯨。(這種很難的字，後面都會給解釋，所以只要聽怎麼發音就好，這樣後面做題目會比較好判斷)
That's a mouthful, eh? 這很難唸，對吧？
The name Ambulocetus natans comes from Latin of course, and means "walking whale that swims". 陸行鯨這個名字來自於拉丁語，意思是能行走的游泳鯨。
It clearly had four limbs that could have been used for walking. 它很明顯有四肢可以用來行走。
It also had a long thin tail, typical of mammals, something we don't see in today's whales. 它還有和典型哺乳動物一樣的細長尾巴，這是現代鯨魚所沒有的。(語速放慢的地方要注意聽)
But it also had a long skeletal structure, and that long skeletal structure suggests that it was aquatic. 但它還有一副修長的骨架結構，且這個骨架結構表明它是水生生物。(But轉折語氣，要注意聽)
And very recently, in Egypt, they found skeleton of Basilosaurus. 而且最近在埃及，他們發現了龍王鯨的骨架。(很難的字記住發音就好，後面會說明這個單字是什麼意思)
Basilosaurus was a creature that we've already known about for over a hundred years. 龍王鯨是我們已經知道超過一百年的生物了。
And it has been linked to modern whales because of its long whale-like body. 而且它與鯨有關係，因為它有著和鯨一樣長的身體。
But this new fossil find showed a full set of leg bones, something we didn't have before. 但這具新發現的化石有完整的腿骨，這是之前所沒有過的。
The legs were too small to be useful. 腿太小以至於無法使用。
They weren't even connected to its pelvis and couldn't have supported its weight. 它們甚至沒有連接到骨盆，也無法支撐其重量。(聽懂上一句就可以判斷出這句的意思)
But it clearly shows Basilosaurus's evolution from land creatures. 但很清楚的證明龍王鯨是由陸地生物進化而來。(land creatures那邊有加強語氣，所以是重點)
So that's a giant step in the right direction. 所以這是在正確研究方向上的重大進步。
Even better, it establishes Ambulocetus as a clear link between the wolf-like creature and Basilosaurus. 更棒的是，這指明了陸行鯨這樣的狼型生物與龍王鯨之間的關係。
Now these discoveries don't completely solve the mystery. 但這些發現還不能完全將這個謎團解開。
I mean, Ambulocetus is a mammal that shows a sort of bridge between walking on land and swimming. 我的意思是，陸行鯨這種哺乳動物指明了路上行走動物和水中游泳動物的某種連結。
But it also is very different from the whales we know today. 但陸行鯨與現今的鯨魚仍有很大不同。(前面有聽懂的話就已經知道這句了)
So, really we are working with just a few pieces of a big puzzle. 因此，我們只解決了大難題中的一小部分。(puzzle語氣有加重)
Emm... A related debate involved some recent DNA studies. 嗯...有一項最近有關DNA的研究。(語氣停頓，代表後面要說重點)
Remember, DNA is the genetic code for any organism, and when the DNA from two different species is similar, it suggests that those two species are related. 記住，DNA是任何生物的遺傳密碼，當兩個不同物種的DNA相似時，說明這兩個物種是有關聯的。 (DNA一直重複，這邊要很仔細聽)
And when we compared some whale's DNA from some other species, we got quite a surpise. 當我們比較鯨魚和其他一些物種的DNA作比對時，我們感到非常驚訝。
The DNA suggests that whales are descendants of the hippopotamus. DNA證明鯨魚是河馬的後代。
Yes, the hippopotamus! 對，河馬！(重複的字要記下來)
Well, that came as a bit of shock. 這讓人大吃一驚。
I mean that a four-legged land and river dweller could be the evolutionary source of a completely aquatic creature up to twenty five times its size. 我的意思是，一個在河裡生活有四條腿的陸生生物能演化為比自己大25倍的水生生物。(I mean that用來解釋前面的意思)
Unfortunately, this revelation about the hippopotamus apparently contradicts the fossil record, which suggests that the hippopotamus is only a very distant relative of the whale, not an ancestor. 不幸的是，河馬的發現與化石紀錄是有衝突的，化石紀錄表明河馬只是鯨魚的一個遠親，並不是祖先。
And of course as I mentioned that the whales are descendant not from hippos but from that distant wolf-like creature. 當然，正如我提到那樣，鯨魚並不是河馬的後代，而是那個久遠的狼型生物的後代。
So we have contradictory evidence. 所以我們有了互相矛盾的證據。
And more research might just raise more questions and create more controversies. 隨著更多的研究可能只會衍生出更多的問題，並引發更多的爭論。
At any rate, we have a choice. 無論如何，我們都有選擇。
We can believe the molecular data, the DNA, or we can believe the skeleton trail. 我們可以相信分子數據 — DNA理論，或者也可以相信骨架結構踪跡理論。
But unfortunately, probably not both. 但不幸的是，可能兩者都不是。(not both，代表後面真正的原因要出現了)
Um... And there have been some other interesting findings from DNA research. 嗯... 在DNA研究中還有其他有趣的發現。
For a long time, we assumed that all whales that had teeth, including sperm whales and killer whales were closely related to one another, and the same for the toothless whales, like the blue whale and other baleen whales. 長期以來，我們推測所有有牙齒的鯨魚，包括抹香鯨和殺人鯨之間密切相關，而無齒鯨魚也是如此，例如藍鯨和鬚鯨。
We assumed that they be closely related. 我們推測它們關係密切。(重複第二次，要記下來)
But recent DNA studies suggest that's not the case at all. 但是最近的DNA研究表示事實並非如此。
The sperm whale is actually closely related to the baleen whale, and it's only distantly related to the toothed-whales. 抹香鯨確實與鬚鯨有密切的關係，但跟有齒鯨只有遙遠的關係。(closely related to 跟 distantly related to 呈對比關係)
So that was the real surprise to all of us. 因此這讓我們都很驚訝。

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