细胞和基因组 ［英翻汉］
这是一篇以前的英翻汉习作，专业性不非常的强，贴上来看看有没有人有兴趣读。非常的感谢有人啪砖敲打，不管是文字上还是甚至是意思上作一些调整，使之更符合原文。附原文在下，[Molecular Biology of the Cell, 4th edition, pp3]。
》细胞和基因组
我们的地表充斥着各种各样的生物。这是一个令人感到奇妙无比的世界，每一个个体都是一个错综复杂、有序的化工厂。它们从环境中吸取它们所需要的最基本的物质原料，作为它们的建筑材料来建造和复制它们的自身。每一个生物都有它们非常独特的地方，它们的多样性似乎遍及各个方面。一个老虎和一片海藻，一个细菌和一棵树没有一点相像的地方。然而，我们的先辈，那时候对细胞和DNA[基因]一无所知。但是，他们观察到所有这些东西都有一个共同点，他们将这个共同点称之为“生命”。他们为之感到非常好奇，试图着手解释它们是什么。以非生命的物质为参照，他们绝望地发现他们无法得出这些让他们感到困惑的答案，诸如它们究竟是什么，它们如何与非生命的物质界定？
二十世纪的重大发现没有减少人们一点对生命体的好奇心。他们现在已经在开始着手揭示生命本质的奥秘。今天，我们已经知道所有的生命体都是由细胞组成的，而这些生命的基本单位都有着大体相同的细胞器，行使它们最基本的功能。不同的生命个体，从外表来看，它们有无限多的变化；但是，如果反过来，由内向外作逆向观察，却发现它们几乎完全一样。整个生物学实际上就是两个相互对立主题之间的对比：惊叹每一个生物体个体之间的特殊性，同时发现它们有惊人的、恒定不变的基本特征。在第一章中，我们首先概述所有生命的普遍特征。然后，我们简要地作一点探究，了解细胞的多样性。时至今日，我们已经有了共同的代码来描述生物体的特征。这样我们可以就其所有生物体的特征，来解读，衡量和深入的分析这些特征的本质，以实现我们对所有生命体普遍一致性的理解，从最小的生命到最大的生物体。
Cell and Genome [Molecular Biology of the Cell, 4th edition, pp3]
The surface of our planet is populated by living things-curious, intricately organized chemical factories that take in matter from their surroundings and use these raw materials to generate copies of themselves. The living organisms appear extraordinarily diverse in almost every way. What could be more different than a tiger and a piece of seaweed, or a bacterium and a tree? Yet our ancestors, knowing nothing of cells or DNA, saw that all these things had something in common. They called that something "life," marveled at it, struggled to define it, and despaired of explaining what it was or how it worked in terms that relate to nonliving matter.
The discoveries of the twentieth century have not diminished the marvel, quite the contrary. But they have lifted away the mystery surrounding the nature of life. We can now see that all living things are made of cells, and that these units of living matter all share the same machinery for their most basic functions. Living things, though infinitely varied when viewed from the outside, are fundamentally similar inside. The whole of biology is a counterpoint between the two themes: astonishing variety in individual particulars; astonishing constancy in fundamental mechanisms. In this first chapter we begin by outlining the features that are universal to all living things. We then survey, briefly, the diversity of cells. And we see how, thanks to the common code in which the specifications for all living organisms are written, it is possible to read, measure, and decipher these specifications to achieve a coherent understanding of all the forms of life, from the smallest to the greatest.
