万物简史 第121期:势不两立的科学(22)
英语课
Still, his altruism 1 in general toward his fellow man did not deflect 2 him from more personal rivalries 3. One of his last official acts was to lobby against a proposal to erect 4 a statue in memory of Charles Darwin. In this he failed—though he did achieve a certain belated, inadvertent triumph. Today his statue commands a masterly view from the staircase of the main hall in the Natural History Museum, while Darwin and T. H. Huxley are consigned 5 somewhat obscurely to the museum coffee shop, where they stare gravely over people snacking on cups of tea and jam doughnuts.
不过，他对人类的无私精神并没有使他忘记自己的对手。他最后一个正式举动是到处游说，反对一项关于修建纪念查尔斯·达尔文的雕像的建议。他的这次努力没有成功——虽然他无意之中为自己赢得了一个胜利，只是晚了一些。今天，他自己的雕像从自然史博物馆大厅的楼梯上像主人般地俯瞰着下面，而达尔文和赫胥黎的雕像却不大显著地放在博物馆的咖啡店里，以严肃的目光凝视着人们喝茶，吃果酱炸面包圈。
It would be reasonable to suppose that Richard Owen's petty rivalries marked the low point of nineteenth-century paleontology, but in fact worse was to come, this time from overseas. In America in the closing decades of the century there arose a rivalry 6 even more spectacularly venomous, if not quite as destructive. It was between two strange and ruthless men, Edward Drinker Cope and Othniel Charles Marsh 7.
有理由认为，理查德·欧文那心胸狭窄的对抗行为，标志着19世纪的地质学进入低谷，但更严重的对抗即又发生，这一次来自海外。在那个世纪的最后几十年里，美国也发生了一次对抗，其程度要恶毒得多，尽管破坏力没有那么大。这场对抗发生在两个古怪而又冷酷的人之间：爱德华·德林克·柯普和奥斯尼尔·查尔斯·马什。
They had much in common. Both were spoiled, driven, self-centered, quarrelsome, jealous, mistrustful, and ever unhappy. Between them they changed the world of paleontology.
他们有许多共同之处。两个人都已被宠坏，有紧迫感，以自我为中心，动辄吵架，妒忌心强，不信任别人，老是郁郁不乐。他俩一起改变了古生物学界。
n.利他主义，不自私
- An important feature of moral behaviour is altruism.道德行为一个重要特点就是利他主义。
- Altruism is crucial for social cohesion.利他主义对社会的凝聚是至关重要的。
v.(使)偏斜，(使)偏离，(使)转向
- Never let a little problem deflect you.决不要因一点小问题就半途而废。
- They decided to deflect from the original plan.他们决定改变原计划。
n.敌对，竞争，对抗( rivalry的名词复数 )
- The new government was torn by rivalries. 新政府由于各派对立而四分五裂。 来自辞典例句
- Rivalries could bring about pain and hatred or give rise to fighting. 竞争会带来痛苦、仇恨，或者引起争斗。 来自互联网
n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的
- She held her head erect and her back straight.她昂着头，把背挺得笔直。
- Soldiers are trained to stand erect.士兵们训练站得笔直。
v.把…置于（令人不快的境地）( consign的过去式和过去分词 )；把…托付给；把…托人代售；丟弃
- I consigned her letter to the waste basket. 我把她的信丢进了废纸篓。
- The father consigned the child to his sister's care. 那位父亲把孩子托付给他妹妹照看。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
n.竞争，竞赛，对抗
- The quarrel originated in rivalry between the two families.这次争吵是两家不和引起的。
- He had a lot of rivalry with his brothers and sisters.他和兄弟姐妹间经常较劲。
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