2017考研英语阅读理解下载 英语阅读理解150篇(35)

　　全文翻译

　　在距今约五十亿和四十亿年之间地球形成。到了三十亿年以前生命早已兴起，我们有用显微镜可见的像细菌一样的生物化石来证明这一点。在这两个时间之间的某个时候——独立的分子证据显示大约是在四十亿年前——神秘的事件，即生命的起源肯定已经开始了。([G])没人知道发生了什么，但是理论家认为关键是自我复制实体(也就是一般意义上的“基因”)的自然出现。

　　原始地球大气或许包含了今天在太阳系的其他行星上仍然含量丰富的气体。化学家已经用实验的方法在实验室里重建这些原始的情况。如果类似的各种气体在装有水的一个细颈瓶中被混合，而且通过放电来加入能源(模拟了原始的闪电),有机的物质就自然地被合成了。这些有机物中包括 RNA 和 DNA 的砌块。看起来类似的事情曾经发生在原始地球上。结果是，原始海洋可能变成了生命起源以前的有机化合物汇集的“一锅汤”。 当然，仅仅在“原始汤”里出现有机分子是不够的。正如以上所说的，决定性的步骤是自我复制分子的起源，即能够复制自身特征的分子。([C])

　　今天最有名的自我复制分子是 DNA(脱氧核糖核酸)，但人们广泛认为 DNA本身在生命起源之初不可能存在，因为它的复制太依赖专门的机制的支持，这在进化本身开始之前是不可能存在的。DNA 已经被描述为可能是在生命自身起源之后某个时间出现的“高科技”分子。也许仍然在有生命的细胞中扮演各种不同重要角色的相关分子 RNA才是最初的自我复制分子;亦或许原始的复制者是一种完全不同类型的分子。一旦自我复制分子偶然形成，达尔文自然选择之类的法则可能就开始发挥作用了：群体中会因为复制时的偶然错误而产生变异。([B])特别擅长复制的变异种类会自动地在原始汤中占主导地位。那些不复制的变种或不能精确复制的变种会相对地变得比较少。一种分子的自然淘汰导致复制分子的效率不断提高。 当复制分子之间的竞争升温时，胜利一定属于那些刚好使用特别伎俩或装备来实现自我保存和迅速自我复制的分子。

　　余下的进化过程可能被视为复制分子(现在称为基因)借助为自我保存和复制建立有效设备(细胞和多细胞体)的能力进行自然选择的继续。三十亿年是一段很长的时间，而且似乎已经足够长来产生如有椎骨的身体和昆虫的身体这样令人惊异的复杂的发明。([F])

　　化石直到近六亿年以前的寒武纪的时代才被确定小有规模。依照1999 年在中国发现的化石证据——原始的无颚鱼，它有鳍、腮和像鱼一样的肌肉模式——第一批脊椎动物可追述到五亿三千万年前。在三、四亿年之间脊椎动物大量地出现在化石床中。在脊椎动物之中，土地首先被大约在二亿五千万年以前出现的长有圆形鳍和肺的鱼所占领，然后被两栖动物和更笼统地被我们称为“爬行动物”的各种不同类型的动物所占领。([A])哺乳动物，稍后是鸟类，从爬行动物的两个不同部门中分化出来。哺乳动物的迅速分支，形成了我们今天见到的丰富的类型，负鼠到大象，从食蚁兽到猴子，似乎瞬间充满了六千五百万年以前由于恐龙的悲惨灭绝而留下的真空世界。

　　备注：1999年我国科学家陈均远等人在昆明郊区发现的“海口鱼”化石，距今5.3亿年，它不但是地球上最早出现的鱼，而且是包括人类在内所有地球脊椎动物的最早祖先。比起原先被认为是脊椎动物鼻祖的文昌鱼，中国“海口鱼”把脊椎动物的起源时间向前推进了整整5000万年。美国一名学者将这一发现描述为“人类重塑地球生命史的一项惊人成就”。

　　Part C

　　Directions:

　　Read the following passage carefully and then translate the underlined segments into Chinese. Your translation must be

　　written clearly on ANSWER SHEET 2. (10 points)

　　The future of business lies not in selling products but in selling dreams and emotions, according to Rolf Jensen, director of the Copenhagen Institute for Future Studies. In his new book, The Dream Society, Jensen profiles six distinct “emotional markets” and invites businesses to consider how best to profit from them:

　　The market for Adventures offers customers safaris, theme parks, sports, and action/adventure TV shows and movies.

　　Nike ' s ties to the “ Adventure ” market made it willing to pay a reported $ 400 million simply for the right to sponsor Brazil ' s outstanding national soccer team, thereby boosting the brand s image as the footwear of champions. (26) Such an investment makes sense in a market where consumers find many products with comparable features and quality and must find some reason to choose one over the others.

　　The market for Love, Friendship, and Togetherness has such offerings as perfume, gifts, home photography, restaurants, and entertainment. (27)Tapping the “ Togetherness ” market, Guinness Brewery has teamed with an Irish firm to establish a chain of “ authentic ” Irish pubs in cities around the world — where Irish charm and British beer sell briskly in each other ' s company.

　　In France, a growing number of local bistros known as “ Cafes Philos ” now employ a trained philosopher to lead and moderate long (and thirst - producing) debates among the customers on complex questions of morality, the nature of time, or humanity ' s relationship to nature.

　　The market for Care recently offered a product that captured children ' s desire to nurture and care for pets. The Tamagotchi is a demanding little electronic puppy (or kitten or even an alien) that beeps for attention from its owner. Real pets are becoming hotel amenities in some places.

　　The Who - Am - I market offers products that proclaim their owner ' s identity, like fashion, automobiles, and accessories.

　　(28) Louis Vuitton suitcases, for instance, tell a story that their owners want told to the world: “ I am an exciting person, gliding with perfect ease through posh hotels all over the world, and I do it in style.”

　　The Peace of Mind market features nostalgia, history, and antiques.

　　(29) In rapidly changing times, many people seek the serenity of the familiar, be it the bistros of Paris or small town life in the United States . For instance, First National Bank in Brookings proclaims, “ We strive to maintain the small town banking atmosphere while growing and changing with the technological age.”

　　The Conviction market, last of the six markets includes “green” products, humane testing, and worker welfare.

　　(30) While many companies may be reluctant to become overly political, they can highlight their involvement in the community and market to their customers need to make purchases that are in line with their convictions . Trend analyst John Naisbitt referred to this trend as cause related marketing; among companies taking this approach are British Petroleum, which uses its Web site to report on the company s Community Development Program, and Mobil, which accentuates its concern for local populations of countries in which it does business. “ They see themselves as pillars of society ” , says Jensen. [ 515 words ]