Section outline

  • What you will learn
    ::你会学到什么

    • Darwin's theory of evolution
      ::达尔文的进化理论
    • Darwin's voyage on the HMS Beagle to the Galápagos Islands
      ::达尔文乘HMS Beagle号 前往加拉帕戈斯群岛的航行
    • What Darwin observed during his voyage
      ::达尔文在航行中观察到的

    A frigate bird resting with its large red pouch near the Galápagos Islands.

    What's that big red pouch?
    ::那个大红包是什么?

    The Frigate of the Galápagos Islands. This bird can be found throughout the Atlantic down to the Galápagos Islands and Ecuador, but not in Europe or South America, so Darwin may never have come across one until he landed on the Galápagos. Such a unique creature was bound to make a naturalist such as Darwin wonder why. Why do they look the way they do? What's that big red pouch? What are the advantages?
    ::加拉帕戈斯群岛的驱逐舰。这只鸟可以在整个大西洋到加拉帕戈斯群岛和厄瓜多尔,但在欧洲或南美洲都找不到,所以达尔文在降落加拉帕戈斯之前可能从未遇到过。这样一个独特的生物注定会成为像达尔文这样的自然学家,为什么呢?为什么它们看起来像它们那样?那个大红包有什么好处?

    Darwin’s Theory
    ::达尔文的理论

    The Englishman Charles Darwin is one of the most famous scientists who ever lived. His place in the history of science is well deserved. Darwin’s theory of evolution represents a giant leap in human understanding. It explains and unifies all of biology .
    ::英国人查尔斯·达尔文是有史以来最著名的科学家之一。 他在科学史上的地位是值得称道的。 达尔文的进化理论代表了人类理解的飞跃。 它解释并统一了所有生物学。

    Darwin’s theory of evolution actually contains two major ideas:
    ::达尔文的进化理论其实包含两大思想:

    1. One idea is that evolution occurs. In other words, organisms change over time. Life on Earth has changed as descendants diverged from common ancestors in the past.
      ::一种想法是进化会发生。 换句话说,生物会随时间而变化。 地球上的生命已经随着后代与过去共同祖先的分离而发生变化。
    2. The other idea is that evolution occurs by . Natural selection is the process that results in living things with beneficial traits producing more offspring than others. This results in changes in the traits of living things over time.
      ::另一个想法是进化由 . 自然选择是导致生活过程 , 其有益特性产生比其他人更多的后代。这导致生活特性随时间变化。

    In Darwin’s day, most people believed that all were created at the same time and remained unchanged thereafter. They also believed that Earth was only about 6,000 years old. Therefore, Darwin’s ideas revolutionized biology. How did Darwin come up with these important ideas? It all started when he went on a voyage.
    ::在达尔文时代,大多数人认为,一切都是同时创造的,此后没有变化。 他们还认为地球只有大约6000年的历史。 因此,达尔文的思想使生物学革命化了。 达尔文是如何提出这些重要思想的? 当他出海旅行时,这一切就已经开始了。

    The Voyage of the Beagle
    ::Beagle 的航行

    In 1831, when Darwin was just 22 years old, he set sail on a scientific expedition on a ship called the HMS Beagle . He was the naturalist on the voyage. As a naturalist, it was his job to observe and collect specimens of plants, , rocks, and wherever the expedition went ashore. The route the ship took and the stops they made are shown in the Figure . 
    ::1831年,达尔文刚刚22岁时,他在一艘名为HMS Beagle的船上进行科学考察航行,他是这次航行的自然学家。作为自然学家,他的任务是观察和收集植物、岩石和任何地点的标本。该船的航行路线和停靠地点在图中显示。

    Map showing the route of Darwin's HMS Beagle voyage with labeled stops and locations.
    Voyage of the Beagle. This map shows the route of Darwin’s 5-year voyage on the HMS Beagle. Each stop along the way is labeled. Darwin and the others on board eventually circled the globe.

    Darwin was fascinated by nature, so he loved his job on the Beagle . He spent more than 3 years of the 5-year trip exploring nature on distant continents and islands. While he was away, a former teacher published Darwin’s accounts of his observations . By the time Darwin finally returned to England, he had become famous as a naturalist.
    ::达尔文对大自然着迷,因此他热爱他在比格尔岛的工作。 他花了五年之久在遥远的大陆和岛屿上探索大自然。 当他离开时,一位前教师公布了达尔文的观察记录。 达尔文最终回到英国时,他成了一位自然主义者。

    Darwin’s Observations
    ::达尔文的观察

    During the long voyage, Darwin made many observations that helped him form his theory of evolution. For example:
    ::达尔文在长程航行期间 提出了许多意见 帮助他形成进化理论

    • He visited tropical rainforests and other new habitats where he saw many plants and animals he had never seen before. This impressed him with the great diversity of life.
      ::他访问了热带雨林和其他新的生境,在那里他看到了许多他从未见过的植物和动物,这给他留下了巨大的生命多样性的深刻印象。
    • He experienced an earthquake that lifted the ocean floor 2.7 meters (9 feet) above sea level. He also found rocks containing fossil sea shells in mountains high above sea level. These observations suggested that continents and oceans had changed dramatically over time and continue to change in dramatic ways.
      ::他还在海拔高的山上发现了含有化石海炮弹的岩石,这些观察显示,大陆和海洋随着时间的推移发生了巨大变化,并且继续发生巨大变化。
    • He visited rock ledges that had clearly once been beaches that had gradually built up over time. This suggested that slow, steady processes also change Earth’s surface.
      ::他造访了曾经显然曾经是随着时间的推移逐渐积累的海滩的岩壁。 这表明缓慢而稳定的过程也改变了地球的表面。
    • He dug up fossils of gigantic extinct mammals , such as the ground sloth. This was hard evidence that organisms looked very different in the past. It suggested that living things—like Earth’s surface—change over time.
      ::他挖掘了巨型灭绝哺乳动物的化石,如地洞。 这是生物体过去看起来截然不同的确凿证据。 它暗示生命 — — 像地球表面 — — 随时间而变化。

     

     

    The Galápagos Islands
    ::加拉帕戈斯群岛

    Darwin’s most important observations were made on the Galápagos Islands . This is a group of 16 small volcanic islands 966 kilometers (600 miles) off the west coast of Ecuador, South America. Individual Galápagos islands differ from one another in important ways. Some are rocky and dry. Others have better soil and more rainfall. Darwin noticed that the plants and animals on the different islands also differed. For example, the giant tortoises on one island had saddle-shaped shells, while those on another island had dome-shaped shells. People who lived on the islands could even tell the island a turtle came from by its shell. This started Darwin thinking about the . He wondered how each island came to have its own type of tortoise.
    ::达尔文最重要的观测是在加拉帕戈斯群岛上进行的,这是在南美洲厄瓜多尔西海岸外的16个小火山岛966公里(600英里)的一组。加拉帕戈斯个别岛屿在重要方面彼此不同。有些是岩石和干燥的。有些是岩石和干燥的。另一些则有更好的土壤和更多的降雨量。达尔文注意到不同岛屿上的动植物也不同。例如,一个岛上的巨型乌龟有马鞍形的贝壳,而另一个岛上的巨型乌龟有圆顶形的贝壳。居住在该群岛上的人甚至可以告诉岛上的海龟是用壳状来的。这引起了达尔文的思考。他想知道每个岛屿是如何出现自己的乌龟型的。

    • Galápagos tortoise grazing on land, showcasing its unique shell shape.
       
    • A giant tortoise on grass, highlighting variations among Galápagos Islands species.
    Galápagos Tortoises. Galápagos tortoises have differently shaped shells depending on which island they inhabit. Tortoises with saddle-shaped shells can reach up to eat plant leaves above their head. Tortoises with dome-shaped shells cannot reach up in this way. These two types of tortoises live on islands with different environments and food sources. How might this explain the differences in their shells?
    DID YOU KNOW?
    Due to their remote location, the Galápagos Islands have many unique animals found nowhere else in the world. These animals evolved over millions of years without the fear of natural predators or human activity. However, since their discovery in the 1500s, the impact of human activity on these islands has increased, threatening its fragile .
     

    The Farallon Islands – "California's Galápagos"
    ::法拉隆群岛——“卡利弗尼亚加拉帕戈斯群岛”

    One of the most productive food webs on the planet is located on the Farallon Islands, just 28 miles off the San Francisco, California coast. These islands also host the largest seabird breeding colony in the continental United States, with over 300,000 breeding seabirds. The islands are known as the Galápagos of California. Why? 
    ::地球上最具生产力的食物网之一位于离加利福尼亚州旧金山海岸仅28英里的法拉隆群岛,这些岛屿也是美国大陆最大的海鸟繁殖殖民地,有30多万只海鸟繁殖,这些岛屿被称为加利福尼亚的加拉帕戈。 为什么?

     

     

     

     

    Summary
    ::摘要

    • Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection states that living things with beneficial traits produce more offspring than others do. This produces changes in the traits of living things over time.
      ::达尔文的自然选择进化理论指出,有有益特性的生活比其他人产生更多后代。 这在时间上改变了生活特征。
    • During his voyage on the Beagle , Darwin made many observations that helped him develop his theory of evolution.
      ::达尔文在比格尔号航行期间 提出了许多意见 帮助他发展进化理论
    • Darwin's most important observations were made on the Galápagos Islands.
      ::达尔文最重要的观察 是在加拉帕戈斯群岛上

    Review
    ::回顾

    1. State the two main ideas in Darwin's theory.
      ::说明达尔文理论中的两个主要概念
    2. What was Darwin's role on the Beagle?
      ::达尔文在比格尔号上的角色是什么?
    3. Describe two observations Darwin made on his voyage on the Beagle that helped him develop his theory of evolution.
      ::描述达尔文在比格尔号上航行时的两点观察 帮助他发展进化理论
    4. Why did Darwin’s observations of Galápagos tortoises cause him to wonder how species originate?
      ::为什么达尔文对加拉帕戈斯海龟的观察让他想知道物种是如何起源的?