1、1.1 What is Biology? 1.2 The Origin of Life 1.3 The Significance of Biology in Your Life 1.4 The History of Biology Additional Reading Chapter 1 Biology 1 Biology is the study of life. Alongside physics and chemistry, biology is one of the largest and most important branches of science. At the highe

2、st level, biology is broken down based on the type of organism being studied: zoology, the study of animals; botany, of plants; and microbiology, of microorganisms. Each field has contributed to mankind or the Earths well- being in numerous ways. Most prominently: botany, to agriculture; zoology, to

3、 livestock and protection of ecologies; and microbiology, to the study of disease and ecosystems in general. 1.1 What is Biology? 2 Professional Words and Phrases biology baildi n. 生物学 organism :gnizm n. 生物体 zoology zuldi n. 动物学 botany btni n. 植物学 microbiology maikrubaildi n. 微生物学 microorganism maik

4、ru:gnizm n. 微生物 well-being welbi:i n. 健康，福利 agriculture griklt n. 农业 livestock laivstk n. 家畜，牲畜 ecology i:kldi n. 生态学 disease dizi:z n. 疾病 ecosystem ekusistm n. 生态系统 3 Besides classifications based on the category of organism being studied, biology contains many other specialized sub-disciplines, wh

5、ich may focus on just one category of organism or address organisms from different categories. This includes biochemistry, the interface between biology and chemistry; molecular biology, which looks at life on the molecular level; cellular biology, which studies different types of cells and how they

6、 work; physiology, which looks at organisms at the level of tissues and organs; ecology, which studies the interactions between organisms themselves; ethology, which studies the behavior of animals, especially complex animals; and genetics, overlapping with molecular biology, which studies the code

7、of life, DNA. 1.1 What is Biology? (Continued) 4 Professional Words and Phrases (Continued) classification klsifikein n. 分类，类别 biochemistry baiukemistri n. 生物化学 molecular biology 分子生物学 molecular level 分子水平 cellular biology 细胞生物学 physiology fizildi n. 生理学 tissue tisju: n.（生物的）组织 organ :gn n.（生物的）器官 i

8、nteraction intrkn n. 相互关系，相互作用 ethology i:ldi n. 动物行为学 genetics dinetiks n. 遗传学 overlap uvlp n. 重叠，重复 code kud n. 密码，法则 5 The foundations of modern biology include four components: cell theory; that life is made of fundamental units called cells; evolution, that life is not deliberately designed by

9、rather evolves incrementally through random mutations and natural selection; gene theory, that tiny molecular sequences of DNA dictate the entire structure of an organism and are passed from parents to offspring; and homeostasis, that each organisms body includes a complex suite of processes designe

10、d to preserve its biochemistry from the entropic effects of the external environment. 1.1 What is Biology? (Continued) 6 Professional Words and Phrases (Continued) cell theory n. 细胞理论 evolution i:vlu:n n. 进化 random mutation 随即突变 natural selection 自然选择 gene theory 基因理论 molecular sequence 分子序列 parent

11、prnt n. 亲本，母本 offspring :fspri n. 后代，子孙 homeostasis humisteisis n. 自动平衡，体内平衡 entropic effect 熵效应 7 The basic picture in biology has stayed roughly the same since DNA was first imaged using x-ray crystallography in the 1950s, although there are constant refinements to the details, and life is so comp

12、lex that it could be centuries or even millennia before we begin to understand it in its entirety. But it should be made clear that we are moving towards complete understanding: life, while complex, consists of a finite amount of complexity that only appreciably increases on relatively long timescal

13、es of hundreds of thousands or millions of years. Evolution, while creative, operates slowly. 1.1 What is Biology? (Continued) 8 In recent years, much excitement in biology has centered on the sequencing of genomes and their comparison, called genomics, and the creation of life ws are a far cry from

14、 self- replicating, metabolism-imbued microorganisms, but they at least give a suggestion as to how things might have gotten started. 1.2 The Origin of Life (Continued) 17 geological condition 地质条件 laboratory lbrt:ri n. 实验室 oxygenate ksidineit v. 以氧处理, 氧化 n. 氧化剂 methane meein n. 甲烷，沼气 ammonia munj n

15、. 氨 hydrogen haidrdn n. 氢 organic :gnik adj. 器官的, 有机的 monomer mnm n. 单体 amino acid 氨基酸 inorganic in:gnik adj. 无机的, 无生物的 self-replicate selfreplikeit v. 自我复制 metabolism metblizm n. 新陈代谢 Professional Words and Phrases (Continued) 18 In the large warm oceans of early Earth, quintillions of these molecu

16、les would randomly collide and combine, eventually making a rudimentary proto-genome of some sort. However, this hypothesis is confused by the fact that the environment created in the Miller-Urey experiment had high concentrations of chemicals that would have prevented the formation of complex polym

17、ers from the monomer building blocks. 1.2 The Origin of Life (Continued) 19 quintillion kwintiljn n. 百万的三次方 molecule mlikju:l n. 分子 rudimentary ru:dmentri: adj. 基本的, 初步的, 未充分发展的 proto-genome n. 原始的基因组 hypothesis haipsis n. 假说, 假设, 猜测 polymer plim n. 多聚体 Professional Words and Phrases (Continued) 20

18、In the 1950s and 1960s, another researcher, Sidney Fox, made an early-Earth-like environment in a lab and studied the dynamics. He observed the spontaneous formation of peptides from amino acid precursors, and saw these chemicals sometimes arranged themselves into microspheres, or closed spherical m

19、embranes, which he suggested were protocells. If certain microspheres formed which were capable of encouraging the growth of additional microspheres around them, it would amount to a primitive form of self-replication, and eventually Darwinian evolution would take over, creating effective self-repli

20、cators like todays cyanobacteria. 1.2 The Origin of Life (Continued) 21 dynamics dainmiks n. 力学, 动力学, 动态 peptide peptaid n. 肽 membrane membrein n. 薄膜，膜状物 proto-cell n. 细胞的原始状态 microsphere maikrsfi n. 微球体, 微滴 primitive primitiv adj. 原始的, 简陋的 self-replication n. 自我复制 Darwinian evolution 达尔文进化 cyanobac

21、teria sainubkti n. 蓝细菌 cyanobacterium 的复数形式 Professional Words and Phrases (Continued) 22 Because life preferentially uptakes the isotope Carbon-12, areas where life has existed contain a higher-than-normal ratio of Carbon-12 to its heavier isotope, Carbon-13. This is widely known, but the interpret

22、ation of sediments is less straightforward, and paleontologists do not always agree on their colleagues conclusions. Notes to the Difficult Sentences 因为生命优先吸收同位素碳-12，所以在生命存 在的地方含有比正常值更高的碳-12与更重的同 位素碳-13的比值。这是众所周知的，但是用沉 淀物来解释并不够直接，所以古生物学家们并 不完全认同他们同行的结论。 23 Using a highly reduced (non-oxygenated) mix

23、ture of gases such as methane, ammonia, and hydrogen, these scientists synthesized basic organic monomers, such as amino acids, in a completely inorganic environment. Now, free-floating amino acids are a far cry from self-replicating, metabolism -imbued microorganisms, but they at least give a sugge

24、stion as to how things might have gotten started. Notes to the Difficult Sentences (Continued) 这些科学家使用高度还原的（非氧化）甲烷、 氨和氢等的气体混合物，在一个绝对无机环境 中合成了氨基酸等基本的有机单体。尽管这些 游离氨基酸远不同于现在的自我复制并具有各 种新陈代谢的微生物，但是它们至少暗示生命 是怎样发生的。 24 1.2 Exercises - Matching 1). stromalites a). a scientist who studies paleontology, learning about the forms life that existed in former geologic periods, chiefly by studying fossils. 2). proto-genome b). a proposed explanation for a phenomenon. 3). paleontologist c). the primitive form of a genome 4). Proto-cell d). wavy geological formations 5). hypothesis e).