– 英语/中文 双语歌词

歌词与翻译

[中文]

生命与无生命的本质区别究竟是什么？

物理学家埃尔温·薛定谔这样定义生命：

活着的生物体能够避免衰败，远离混乱和平衡。

这到底意味着什么呢？

我们假设你的下载文件夹就是整个宇宙。

它最初井然有序，但随着时间推移变得越来越混乱。

通过投入能量，你可以创造秩序并清理它。

这就是生物体所做的事情。

但是，什么是生命呢？

这个星球上的每一种生物都由细胞构成。

基本上，细胞是一个基于蛋白质的微型机器人，小到无法感知或体验任何事物。

它具备我们刚刚赋予生命的特性：

它有一道壁，将自身与周围环境隔离开来，创造秩序；

它自我调节并维持恒定状态；

它摄取物质来维持生命；

它生长和发育；

它对环境做出反应；

并且它会进化；

以及它能够自我复制。

但是，构成细胞的所有物质中，没有一部分是活着的。

物质通过化学反应与其他物质相互作用，

引发更多的反应，进而引发更多的反应。

在单个细胞中，每秒钟会发生数百万个化学反应，

形成一个复杂的交响乐团。

一个细胞可以构建数千种类型的蛋白质：

有些非常简单，有些是复杂的微型机器。

想象一下，以每小时100公里的速度驾驶汽车，同时不断地用从街上收集的材料重建每一个零件。

这就是细胞所做的事情。

但是，细胞的任何一部分都不是活着的；一切都是死去的物质

But no part of the cell is alive; everything is dead matter

受宇宙规律的支配。

那么，生命仅仅是所有这些正在发生的反应过程的总和吗？

最终，每一种生物都会死亡。

整个过程的目标是防止这种情况发生，通过产生新的个体；

而我们所说的个体，指的是DNA。

从某种意义上说，生命只是携带遗传信息的一堆物质。

每一种生物都受到进化的影响，

而最适合周围环境的DNA将会存活下来。

那么，DNA就是生命吗？

如果你把DNA从它的外壳中取出，它确实是一种非常复杂的分子，

但它本身什么也做不了。

这时，病毒让一切变得更加复杂。

它们基本上是RNA或DNA的链条，包裹在一个小的外壳中，

需要细胞才能发挥作用。

我们不确定它们是否应该被认为是活的或死的。

而且，地球上仍然有2.25亿立方米病毒。

它们似乎并不在意我们对它们的看法。

甚至有病毒会侵入死细胞并使其复活，

以便它们可以成为宿主，这进一步模糊了界限。

或者线粒体。

它们是大多数复杂细胞的发电厂，

曾经是自由生活的细菌，与更大的细胞建立了合作关系。

它们仍然拥有自己的DNA并可以自行繁殖，但

它们不再是活的；它们是死的。

所以它们用自己的生命换取了DNA的生存，

这意味着生物体可以进化成死去的生物，只要这对它们的遗传密码有益。

所以，也许生命是信息，它能够确保自身的持续存在。

So, maybe life is information that manages to ensure its continued existence.

但是，人工智能（AI）呢？

根据我们最常见的定义，我们非常接近在计算机中创造人工生命。

这只是一个时间问题，在我们构建的技术达到那个水平之前。

而且，这也不是科幻小说；

And this is not science fiction, either;

有很多聪明人在积极地研究这个问题。

你甚至可以认为计算机病毒是活的。

嗯，好吧。那么，生命到底是什么呢？

事物、过程、DNA、信息？

这很快就变得令人困惑了。

有一件事是肯定的：

生命与非生命事物本质上不同的观点，

因为它们包含一些非物理元素，

或者受与无生命物体不同的原理支配，

已经被证明是错误的。

在查尔斯·达尔文之前，人类在自己与其余生物之间划了一条界限；

我们身上有一些神奇的东西使我们与众不同。

一旦我们不得不接受我们像每一种生物一样，是进化的产物，

我们就划出了一条不同的界限。

但是，我们对计算机能够做什么以及生命如何运作了解得越多，

我们越接近创造第一台符合我们生命描述的机器，

我们的自我形象就再次面临危险。

而且，这迟早会发生。

还有另一个问题留给你思考：

如果宇宙中的一切都由相同的物质构成，

这是否意味着宇宙中的一切都是死的，

或者宇宙中的一切都是活的？

这仅仅是一个复杂程度的问题吗？

这是否意味着我们永远不会死亡，

因为我们一开始就从未活着过？

生命和死亡是否是一个无关紧要的问题，而我们还没有意识到？

有没有可能我们比我们想象的更融入周围的宇宙？

别看着我们；我们没有答案给你。

只是给你一些思考的问题。

毕竟，思考像这些问题，

这让我们感到活着，并给我们带来一些安慰。

字幕由Amara.org社区提供

[英语]

Life is fundamentally different from dead stuff—or is it?

Physicist Erwin Schrödinger defined life this way:

Living things avoid decay into disorder and equilibrium.

What does this mean?

Let’s pretend that your download folder is the universe.

It started orderly and got more and more chaotic over time.

By investing energy, you can create order and clean it up.

This is what living things do.

But what is life?

Every living thing on this planet is made of cells.

Basically, a cell is a protein-based robot too small to feel or experience anything.

It has the properties we just assign to life:

it has a wall that separates it from the surroundings, creating order;

it regulates itself and maintains a constant state;

it eats stuff to stay alive;

it grows and develops;

it reacts to the environment;

and it’s subject to evolution;

and it makes more of itself.

But of all the stuff that makes up a cell, no part is alive.

Stuff reacts chemically with other stuff, forming reactions

that start other reactions which start other reactions.

In a single cell, every second several million chemical reactions take place,

forming a complex orchestra.

A cell can build several thousand types of protein:

some very simple, some complex micromachines.

Imagine driving a car at 100 km/h while constantly rebuilding every single

part of it with stuff you collect from the street.

That is what cells do.

But no part of the cell is alive; everything is dead matter

moved by the laws of the universe.

So is life the aggregate of all these reaction processes that are taking place?

Eventually, every living thing will die.

The goal of the whole process is to prevent this by producing new entities;

and by this, we mean DNA.

Life is, in a way, just a lot of stuff that carries genetic information around.

Every living thing is subject to evolution,

and the DNA that develops the best living thing around it will stay in the game.

So, is DNA life, then?

If you take DNA out of its hull, it certainly is a very complex molecule,

but it can’t do anything by itself.

This is where viruses make everything more complicated.

They are basically strings of RNA or DNA in a small hull

and need cells to do something.

We’re not sure if they count as living or dead.

And still, there are 225,000,000 m³ of viruses on Earth.

They don’t seem to care what we think of them.

There are even viruses that invade dead cells and reanimate them

so they can be a host for them, which blurs the line even more.

Or mitochondria.

They are the power plants of most complex cells and

were previously free living bacteria that entered a partnership with bigger cells.

They still have their own DNA and can multiply on their own, but

they are not alive anymore; they are dead.

So they traded their own life for the survival of their DNA,

which means living things can evolve into dead things as long as it’s beneficial

to their genetic code.

So, maybe life is information that manages to ensure its continued existence.

But what about AI (artificial intelligence)?

By our most common definitions, we are very close to creating artificial life

in computers.

It’s just a question of time before the technology we build gets there.

And this is not science fiction, either;

there are a lot of smart people actively working on this.

You could already argue that computer viruses are alive.

Hm, okay. So what is life, then?

Things, processes, DNA, information?

This got confusing very fast.

One thing is for sure:

the idea that life is fundamentally different from non-living things

because they contain some non-physical element

or are governed by different principles than inanimate objects

turned out to be wrong.

Before Charles Darwin, humans drew a line between themselves and the rest

of living things; there was something magical about us that made us special.

Once we had to accept we are like every living being, a product of evolution,

we drew a different line.

But the more we learn about what computers can do and how life works,

the closer we get to creating the first machine that fits our desciption of life,

the more our image of ourselves is in danger again.

And this will happen sooner or later.

And here’s another question for you:

if everything in the universe is made of the same stuff,

does this mean everything in the universe is dead

or that everything in the universe is alive?

That it’s just a question of complexity?

Does this mean we can never die

because we were never alive in the first place?

Is life and death an irrelevant question and we haven’t noticed it yet?

Is it possible we are much more part of the universe around us than we thought?

Don’t look at us; we don’t have any answers for you.

Just questions for you to think about.

After all, it’s thinking about questions like this that makes us feel alive

and gives us some comfort.

Subtitles by the Amara.org community

重点词汇

词汇	含义
fundamentally /ˌfʌndəˈmentəli/ B2	adverb - 从根本上 (cóng gēnběn shàng)
decay /dɪˈkeɪ/ B1	verb - 腐烂 (fǔlàn)
equilibrium /ˌiːkwɪˈlɪbriəm/ C1	noun - 平衡 (pínghéng)
chaotic /ˈkeɪ.ɒt.ɪk/ B2	adjective - 混乱的 (hǔnluàn de)
investing /ɪnˈvestɪŋ/ B1	verb - 投资 (tóuzī)
orderly /ˈɔːrdərli/ A2	adjective - 有秩序的 (yǒu zhìxù de)
properties /ˈprɒpərtiz/ B1	noun - 特性 (tèxìng)
assign /əˈsaɪn/ B1	verb - 分配 (fēnpèi)
separates /ˈsepəreɪts/ A2	verb - 分离 (fēnlí)
regulates /ˈregjuleɪts/ B2	verb - 调节 (tiáojié)
environment /ɪnˈvaɪrənmənt/ A2	noun - 环境 (huánjìng)
evolution /ˌiːvəˈluːʃən/ C1	noun - 进化 (jìnhuà)
molecule /ˈmɒlɪkjuːl/ B2	noun - 分子 (fēnzǐ)
viruses /ˈvaɪrəsɪz/ B2	noun - 病毒 (bìngdú)
bacteria /bækˈtɪəriə/ B2	noun - 细菌 (xìjūn)
partnership /ˈpɑːrtnəʃɪp/ B2	noun - 伙伴关系 (huǒbàn guānxì)
beneficial /ˌbenɪˈfɪʃəl/ B2	adjective - 有益的 (yǒuyì de)
existence /ɪɡˈzɪstəns/ C1	noun - 存在 (cúnzài)

重点语法结构

• Life is fundamentally different from dead stuff—or is it?

  ➔ 一般现在时（反问句）

  ➔ 动词 "is" 是 "to be" 的一般现在时，用于陈述句和反问句两种情境。

• Living things avoid decay into disorder and equilibrium.

  ➔ 一般现在时（习惯性动作）

  ➔ 动词 "avoid" 用一般现在时，表示 "living things" 的常规行为。

• By investing energy, you can create order and clean it up.

  ➔ 动名词短语 + 情态动词 + 不定式

  ➔ 动名词 "investing" 引出表示手段的介词短语；情态动词 "can" 后接不定式 "create" 和 "clean"。

• It started orderly and got more and more chaotic over time.

  ➔ 一般过去时 + 比较副词 "more and more"

  ➔ 动词 "started" 和 "got" 使用一般过去时，"more and more" 加强了形容词 "chaotic" 的程度。

• Everything is dead matter moved by the laws of the universe.

  ➔ 被动语态（过去分词）+ 系动词 "is"

  ➔ 短语 "moved by the laws of the universe" 是被动语态的过去分词，通过系动词 "is" 与主语相连。

• If you take DNA out of its hull, it certainly is a very complex molecule, but it can’t do anything by itself.

  ➔ 第一类条件句 + 转折连词 "but"

  ➔ 句子 "If you take DNA out of its hull" 使用一般现在时表达真实可能性；主句用 "but" 对比两个结果。

• They’re basically strings of RNA or DNA in a small hull and need cells to do something.

  ➔ 一般现在时 + 连词 "and" + 目的不定式

  ➔ "They’re" 是 "they are" 的缩写；动词 "need" 后接表示目的的不定式 "to do"。

• So maybe life is information that manages to ensure its continued existence.

  ➔ 由 "that" 引导的定语从句

  ➔ “that manages to ensure its continued existence” 修饰 “information”，以关系代词 “that” 开头。

• What about AI? By our most common definitions, we are very close to creating artificial life in computers.

  ➔ 现在进行时 + 目的不定式

  ➔ "are very close to creating" 使用现在进行时 "are" 加上 "close to" 再接动名词 "creating"，表达即将发生的近未来状态。