(共41张PPT)
Unit 4
HOW LIFE BEGAN
ON THE EARTH
How did life begin on earth?
In Chinese culture:
Pangu separated the sky and the earth;
Nvwa made human beings with clay(黏土).
How did life begin on earth?
In Western culture:
God created the world in 7 days.
On the 6th day, he created humans: Adam and Eve
All began with a “Big Bang ”(大爆炸)
How did life begin on earth?
According to a widely accepted theory,
Reading
HOW LIFE BEGAN ON THE EARTH
universe
formation
earth
formation
importance
water
development
plants
animals
humans
arrival
influence
Development of life
Development of earth
No one knows exactly how the earth began, as it happened so long ago.
没有人确切地知道地球是如何开始的,因为这是很久以前发生的。
However, according to a widely accepted?theory ,the universe began with a “Big Bang” that threw matter in all directions.
然而,根据一种广为接受的理论,宇宙从一个“大爆炸”开始,它把物质抛向各个方向。
After that, atoms?began to form and combine to create stars and other bodies.
在那之后,原子开始形成并结合起来形成恒星和其他的星体。
For several billion years after the “Big Bang”, the earth was still just a cloud of dust.
?在“大爆炸”后数十亿年,地球还只是一团尘埃
What it was to become was uncertain until between 4.5 and 3.8 billion years ago when the dust settled into a solid globe.
随后它会什么的没人能知道,直到45至38亿年前,这团尘埃才慢慢形成一个固体的球状物。
The earth became so violent that it was not clear whether the shape would last or not.
地球(开始)变得激烈动荡,以至于不清楚它的形状是否会持续下去。
It exploded loudly with fire and rock.
它(地球)猛烈的爆炸出了烈火与岩石。
They were in time to produce carbon, nitrogen, water vapor and other gases, which were to make the earth’s atmosphere.
他们及时生产出了碳、氮、水蒸气和其他气体,这些气体是用来制造地球大气层的。
What is even more important is that as the earth cooled down, water began to appear on its surface.
更重要的是,随着地球的冷却,水开始出现在地表.
Water had also appeared on other planets like Mars but unlike the earth, it had disappeared later.
水也曾出现在火星等其他行星上,但与地球不同的是,它后来消失了。
It was not immediately obvious that water was to be fundamental to the development of life.
水对生命的发展会起关键的作用,这一点在当时并不明显。
What many scientists believe is that the continued presence of water allowed the earth to dissolve harmful gases and acids into the oceans and seas.
许多科学家相信,由于地球上有水存在,使地球能够将有害的气体和酸溶解到海洋里。
This produced a chain reaction, which made it possible for life to develop.
这就产生了连锁反应,使生命就有可能开始发展了。
Many millions of years later, the first extremely small plants began to appear on the surface of the water.
数百万年之后,水的表面开始出现了极小的植物。
They multiplied and filled the oceans and seas with oxygen, which encouraged the later development of early shellfish and all sorts of fish.
它们繁殖起来就使得海洋充满了氧气,这为早期的贝类和各种鱼类的后来的进化创造了条件。
Next, green plants began to grow on land
接下来,绿色植物开始出现在陆地上。
They were followed in time by land animals. Some were insects.
随后,陆地上出现了动物。其中有一些是昆虫。
Others, called amphibians, were able to live on land as well as in the water.
另外一些叫两栖动物,它们既能够在陆地上生活,也能生活在水里生存。
Later when the plants grew into forests, reptiles appeared for the first time.
后来,当植物长成森林时候,爬行动物首次出现了。
They produced young generally by laying eggs.
它们一般通过孵蛋面繁衍后代的。
After that, some huge animals, called dinosaurs, developed.
再后来一些叫做恐龙的巨型动物 出现了。
They laid eggs too and existed on the earth for more than 140 million years.
它们也生蛋,在地球上生存了 一亿四千多万年。
However, 65 million years ago the age of the dinosaurs ended.
然而,六千五百万年前恐龙时代结束了。
Why they suddenly disappeared still remains a mystery.
它们为什么会突然灭绝至今仍是个谜。
This disappearance made possible the rise of mammals on the earth.
恐龙的灭绝使地球上哺乳动物的增多成为可能。
These animals were different from all life forms in the past, because they gave birth to young baby animals and produced milk to feed them.
哺乳动物不同于以往的所有生命形式,因为它们生下了幼崽并给幼崽哺乳。
Finally about 2.6 million years ago some small clever animals, now with hands and feet, appeared and spread all over the earth.
?最后,大约在260万年前,一些小巧聪明,现在用手和脚的动物出现了,它们散布在地球上的各个地方。
Thus they have, in their turn, become the most important animals on the planet.
因此,他们就变成了地球上最重要的动物。
But they are not looking after the earth very well.
然而,他们对地球却不怎么在意。
They are putting too much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which prevents heat from escaping from the earth into space.
他们把过多的二氧化碳排放在大气中,这使得地球上的热不能释放到太空中。
As a result of this, many scientists believe the earth may become too hot to live on.
因此,许多科学家相信地球可能会变得太热面不适合生物的生存。
So whether life will continue on the earth for millions of years to come will depend on whether this problem can be solved.
所以,未来几百万年中,生命能否在地球上 延继续取决于这个问题能否得到解决。
universe
formation
earth
formation
importance
water
development
plants
animals
humans
arrival
influence
Development of life
Development of earth
----- which makes it possible for life to develop
Development of earth:
Development of life:P4-5