Dimitar Sasselov: How we found hundreds of Earth-like planets

106,763 views ・ 2010-07-21

TED


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翻译人员: Bo Hu 校对人员: Qian Yue
00:15
Well, indeed, I'm very, very lucky.
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是的,我非常的幸运
00:18
My talk essentially got written
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我的演讲实际上是由
00:20
by three historic events
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三个历史性的事件构成的
00:22
that happened within days of each other
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这三个事件各自相隔不过几天时间
00:24
in the last two months --
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都是在过去的两个月内发生的
00:27
seemingly unrelated, but as you will see,
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看上去它们毫无关联,但是你将看到
00:29
actually all having to do with
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事实上他们都与
00:31
the story I want to tell you today.
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我今天要讲的故事有所关联
00:33
The first one was actually a funeral --
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第一个事件事实上是一个葬礼
00:36
to be more precise, a reburial.
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更准确的说,是一个二次葬礼
00:38
On May 22nd, there was a hero's reburial
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5月22日,在波兰的Frombork
00:41
in Frombork, Poland
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一个伟人得到了重葬
00:43
of the 16th-century astronomer
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他是16世纪的天文学家
00:46
who actually changed the world.
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他改变了这个世界
00:48
He did that, literally,
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是的,他的确改变了世界
00:50
by replacing the Earth with the Sun
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他让太阳取代了地球的地位
00:53
in the center of the Solar System,
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让太阳成为太阳系的中心
00:55
and then with this simple-looking act,
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通过这个看上去简单的改变
00:58
he actually launched a scientific
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他启动了一个
01:00
and technological revolution,
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科学技术的革命
01:02
which many call the Copernican Revolution.
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很多人称之为哥白尼革命
01:05
Now that was,
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这场革命
01:07
ironically, and very befittingly,
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帮助我们
01:10
the way we found his grave.
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找到了他的坟墓
01:12
As it was the custom of the time,
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按照当时的风俗
01:14
Copernicus was actually
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哥白尼事实上
01:16
simply buried in an unmarked grave,
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只是与其他14人一起
01:19
together with 14 others
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简单的合葬在了位于大教堂的
01:21
in that cathedral.
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一座没有任何标记的坟墓之中
01:24
DNA analysis,
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DNA分析
01:26
one of the hallmarks
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作为一个在这场由他发起的
01:28
of the scientific revolution
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至今已有400年的科技革命
01:30
of the last 400 years that he started,
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的关键性标志
01:33
was the way we found
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帮助我们指出
01:35
which set of bones
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哪一副骸骨
01:37
actually belonged to the person
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属于哥白尼
01:39
who read all those astronomical books
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在哥白尼阅读过的天文学书籍里
01:42
which were filled with leftover hair
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夹杂了很多脱落的头发
01:44
that was Copernicus' hair --
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这些头发被证实是哥白尼本人的
01:46
obviously not many other people
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显然,在他之后也没有人
01:48
bothered to read these books later on.
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会去碰这些书了。
01:50
That match was unambiguous.
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这些鉴定结果都是十分明确的
01:52
The DNA matched,
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DNA的匹配也十分吻合
01:54
and we know that this was indeed
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所以我们能确定
01:56
Nicolaus Copernicus.
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这就是尼古拉斯·哥白尼本人
01:58
Now, the connection between
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当你谈论哥白尼时
02:00
biology and DNA
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生物学和DNA
02:02
and life
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以及生命之间
02:04
is very tantalizing when you talk about Copernicus
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又有什么联系呢?
02:06
because, even back then,
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因为就算在当时
02:08
his followers
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他的同伴
02:10
very quickly made the logical step
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也能很快意识到在逻辑上我们所要面临
02:12
to ask: if the Earth is just a planet,
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的下一个问题是:如果地球只是太阳的一个行星
02:15
then what about planets around other stars?
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那么其他恒星的行星呢?
02:18
What about the idea of the plurality of the worlds,
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也许存在有很多个我们这样的世界
02:20
about life on other planets?
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也许在其他行星上也存在生命
02:22
In fact, I'm borrowing here from one of those
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事实上,我也只是借用了
02:24
very popular books of the time.
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当时非常流行的一本书上的观点
02:26
And at the time,
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在当时
02:28
people actually answered that question
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人们对于这些问题的回答
02:30
positively: "Yes."
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是肯定的
02:32
But there was no evidence.
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但当时的人们没有证据
02:35
And here begins 400 years
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这是一个持续了400年的
02:38
of frustration, of unfulfilled dreams --
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而未得到实现的梦想
02:41
the dreams of Galileo, Giordano Bruno,
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伽利略,布鲁诺
02:44
many others --
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以及其他许多追寻这个梦想的人
02:46
which never led to the answer
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都没有能够得到答案
02:48
of those very basic questions
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一些最基本的问题
02:50
which humanity has asked all the time.
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一直困惑着人类
02:52
"What is life? What is the origin of life?
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什么是生命?生命如何起源?
02:54
Are we alone?"
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我们是否是唯一的?
02:56
And that especially happened in the last 10 years,
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在过去的十年间,这些问题显得尤为突出
02:59
at the end of the 20th century,
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在20世纪末
03:01
when the beautiful developments
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由于分子生物学的进展
03:03
due to molecular biology,
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我们对于生命的密码——DNA的理解
03:05
understanding the code of life, DNA,
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取得了非常令人振奋的进步
03:07
all of that seemed to actually
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但是所有这些似乎
03:09
put us, not closer,
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并没有让我们获得
03:11
but further apart from answering
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以上那些基本问题的答案
03:13
those basic questions.
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反而让我们更加疑惑
03:16
Now, the good news.
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但是,在过去的几年中
03:18
A lot has happened in the last few years,
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我们却得到了不少的好消息
03:20
and let's start with the planets.
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让我们从行星开始讲
03:22
Let's start with the old Copernican question:
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从哥白尼的经典问题开始:
03:25
Are there earths around other stars?
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其他恒星是否有行星绕转
03:28
And as we already heard,
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我们已经了解了
03:30
there is a way in which
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通过不断地尝试
03:32
we are trying, and now able,
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人类已经能够
03:34
to answer that question.
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解答这些问题
03:36
It's a new telescope.
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这是一架新的望远镜
03:38
Our team, befittingly I think,
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我们团队
03:40
named it after one of those dreamers
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以哥白尼时代
03:42
of the Copernican time,
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众多探索者之一的名字为它命名
03:44
Johannes Kepler,
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约翰尼斯 开普勒
03:46
and that telescope's sole purpose
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这架望远镜的唯一目标
03:48
is to go out,
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是在更遥远的地方
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find the planets that orbit
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搜寻环绕其他恒星
03:52
other stars in our galaxy,
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的行星
03:54
and tell us how often do planets like our own Earth
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告诉我们,类似地球的行星
03:57
happen to be out there.
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在整个星系中出现的概率如何
04:00
The telescope is actually
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这架望远镜事实上
04:02
built similarly to
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是仿照
04:04
the, well-known to you, Hubble Space Telescope,
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我们熟知的哈勃空间望远镜建造的
04:06
except it does have an additional lens --
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但是它增加了一个
04:09
a wide-field lens,
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广角透镜
04:11
as you would call it as a photographer.
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你们可以把它称作照相机
04:13
And if, in the next couple of months,
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如果你在接下来的几个月
04:15
you walk out in the early evening
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在入夜不久的时候走到室外
04:17
and look straight up
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向你的头顶上看
04:19
and place you palm like this,
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然后像这样伸开手掌
04:21
you will actually be looking at the field of the sky
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你所看到的这一块天空
04:24
where this telescope is searching for planets
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就是望远镜搜寻行星的地方
04:27
day and night, without any interruption,
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在接下来的四年内
04:29
for the next four years.
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它将昼夜不停地工作
04:32
The way we do that, actually,
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我们进行搜寻
04:34
is with a method, which we call the transit method.
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的方法叫做掩星法
04:37
It's actually mini-eclipses that occur
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当行星穿过恒星面前时
04:39
when a planet passes in front of its star.
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就会发生一次小规模的食现象
04:41
Not all of the planets will be fortuitously oriented
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当然不是所有的行星都
04:44
for us to be able do that,
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正好在我们的视线方向
04:46
but if you have a million stars,
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但是如果有一百万颗恒星
04:49
you'll find enough planets.
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你就会找到足够多的恒星
04:51
And as you see on this animation,
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你在这个动画上将看到
04:54
what Kepler is going to detect
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开普勒望远镜将要探测的
04:56
is just the dimming of the light from the star.
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只是来自恒星亮度的减弱
04:59
We are not going to see the image of the star and the planet as this.
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我们看不到像这样恒星与行星的图像
05:02
All the stars for Kepler are just points of light.
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所有的恒星对于开普勒望远镜来说都只是一个亮点
05:05
But we learn a lot from that:
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但是我们从中也能获得很多信息
05:07
not only that there is a planet there, but we also learn its size.
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不仅能判断出是否有行星,还能知道它的大小
05:10
How much of the light is being dimmed
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恒星的亮度减弱了多少
05:12
depends on how big the planet is.
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取决于从它面前路过的行星有多大
05:15
We learn about its orbit,
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我们还能获得它的轨道的信息
05:17
the period of its orbit and so on.
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例如轨道的周期等等
05:19
So, what have we learned?
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那么,我们从这些结果中又能得到些什么呢?
05:22
Well, let me try to walk you through
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让我简单的描述下
05:25
what we actually see
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我们实际上看到了些什么
05:27
and so you understand the news
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那么你们就会理解
05:29
that I'm here to tell you today.
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我今天要告诉你们的东西了
05:31
What Kepler does
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开普勒望远镜
05:33
is discover a lot of candidates,
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发现了很多候选对象
05:35
which we then follow up and find as planets,
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然后我们可以从中确定出
05:37
confirm as planets.
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真正的行星
05:39
It basically tells us
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首先我们能够得到
05:41
this is the distribution of planets in size.
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行星大小的分布
05:44
There are small planets, there are bigger planets, there are big planets, okay.
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它们大小各异
05:47
So we count many, many such planets,
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我们对大量的行星计数
05:50
and they have different sizes.
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它们的大小都不同
05:52
We do that in our solar system.
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我们对太阳系也进行计数
05:54
In fact, even back during the ancients,
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事实上,在古代
05:57
the Solar System in that sense
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太阳系的行星数量
05:59
would look on a diagram like this.
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可以用这样一个图表示
06:01
There will be the smaller planets, and there will be the big planets,
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早在在伊壁鸠鲁或者
06:04
even back to the time of Epicurus
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是哥白尼
06:06
and then of course Copernicus
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及其追随者的时代
06:08
and his followers.
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人们就已经知道行星有大有小
06:10
Up until recently, that was the Solar System --
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到现在为止,我们的太阳系
06:12
four Earth-like planets with small radius,
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有四个半径较小的类地行星
06:15
smaller than about two times the size of the Earth --
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它们都小于两倍地球的大小
06:18
and that was of course Mercury,
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这就包括水星
06:20
Venus, Mars,
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金星,火星
06:22
and of course the Earth,
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这个显然是地球
06:24
and then the two big, giant planets.
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然后是两个巨行星
06:26
Then the Copernican Revolution
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之后哥白尼革命
06:28
brought in telescopes,
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给我们带来了望远镜
06:30
and of course three more planets were discovered.
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另外的三颗行星也就这样被发现了
06:32
Now the total planet number
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现在太阳系中的
06:34
in our solar system was nine.
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行星数目是九颗
06:36
The small planets dominated,
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较小的行星占多数
06:38
and there was a certain harmony to that,
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哥白尼很高兴的发现
06:40
which actually Copernicus was very happy to note,
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行星数量之间的关系是如此和谐
06:43
and Kepler was one of the big proponents of.
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开普勒望远镜也同样支持这一观点
06:46
So now we have Pluto to join the numbers of small planets.
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现在我们把冥王星归为较小行星的那一类
06:49
But up until, literally, 15 years ago,
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但是严格来说,15年前
06:52
that was all we knew about planets.
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关于行星,我们知道的还只有这些而已
06:54
And that's what the frustration was.
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我们对此也很失望
06:56
The Copernican dream was unfulfilled.
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哥白尼的梦想还没有得到实现
06:59
Finally, 15 years ago,
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最终,在15年前
07:01
the technology came to the point
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科技的发展终于
07:03
where we could discover a planet around another star,
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能够让我们看到绕转其他恒星的行星了
07:06
and we actually did pretty well.
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我们也充分的利用了各项技术来达到这个目标
07:09
In the next 15 years,
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这15年里
07:11
almost 500 planets
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我们通过各种方法发现了将近500颗
07:13
were discovered orbiting other stars, with different methods.
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绕转其他恒星的行星
07:16
Unfortunately, as you can see,
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但是,你会看到
07:19
there was a very different picture.
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这与我们的太阳系有很大的差别
07:21
There was of course an explanation for it:
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对此也是有解释的
07:23
We only see the big planets,
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我们只能看见较大的行星
07:25
so that's why most of those planets
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所以大多数被发现的行星
07:27
are really in the category of "like Jupiter."
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都是“类似木星”的
07:30
But you see, we haven't gone very far.
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但是,我们几乎没有取得太多的进展
07:33
We were still back where Copernicus was.
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我们又回到了哥白尼当时的情况
07:36
We didn't have any evidence
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我们没有找到关于
07:38
whether planets like the Earth are out there.
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像地球这样的行星存在的任何证据
07:40
And we do care about planets like the Earth
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而我们关心的正是这个问题
07:43
because by now we understood
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因为我们知道
07:45
that life as a chemical system
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生命这样精密的化学反应系统
07:48
really needs a smaller planet
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只能存在于较小的行星上
07:50
with water and with rocks
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需要有水,有岩石
07:52
and with a lot of complex chemistry
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需要很多复杂的化学过程
07:54
to originate, to emerge, to survive.
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生命才得以起源,成形,以及生存下去
07:57
And we didn't have the evidence for that.
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但是我没有关于生命的任何证据
08:00
So today, I'm here to actually give you a first glimpse
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所以今天我将会给你展示
08:02
of what the new telescope, Kepler,
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开普勒望远镜
08:05
has been able to tell us in the last few weeks,
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在几周之前所取得的最新成果
08:08
and, lo and behold,
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请看,
08:10
we are back to the harmony
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我们又得到了类似太阳系的平衡
08:12
and to fulfilling the dreams of Copernicus.
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这几乎实现了哥白尼的梦想
08:15
You can see here,
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你们可以看到
08:17
the small planets dominate the picture.
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小的行星占了大多数
08:19
The planets which are marked "like Earth,"
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“类地”的这一类行星
08:22
[are] definitely more than
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比其他任何我们所看到的行星
08:24
any other planets that we see.
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都要多
08:26
And now for the first time, we can say that.
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这也是我们首次获得这样的发现
08:28
There is a lot more work we need to do with this.
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当然,还有很多的工作等着我们完成
08:31
Most of these are candidates.
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大多数这些行星都还只是候选者
08:33
In the next few years we will confirm them.
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在接下来的几年内,我们需要确认它们
08:35
But the statistical result
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但是统计的结果
08:37
is loud and clear.
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是非常明确的
08:39
And the statistical result is that
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统计的结果表明
08:42
planets like our own Earth
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类似我们地球的行星
08:44
are out there.
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确实存在着
08:46
Our own Milky Way Galaxy is rich in this kind of planets.
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我们的银河系有非常多这样的行星
08:49
So the question is: what do we do next?
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那么现在的问题是:我们接下来该做什么?
08:52
Well, first of all, we can study them
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当然,我们首先需要研究它们
08:54
now that we know where they are.
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现在我们已经了解了它们的位置
08:57
And we can find those that we would call habitable,
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然后我们就能找到那些所谓的“可居住”的行星
09:00
meaning that they have similar conditions
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这就意味着,这些星球的环境
09:02
to the conditions
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与我们在地球上所处的环境
09:04
that we experience here on Earth
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是类似的
09:07
and where a lot of complex chemistry can happen.
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在这种环境下,能够发生一系列复杂的化学反应
09:10
So, we can even put a number
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我们甚至可以给出
09:13
to how many of those planets
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银河系所包含的
09:15
now do we expect our own
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类似地球的行星
09:17
Milky Way Galaxy harbors.
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的个数
09:19
And the number, as you might expect,
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这个数目,正如你们期望的
09:21
is pretty staggering.
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是十分惊人的
09:23
It's about 100 million such planets.
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大约有一亿颗这样的行星
09:26
That's great news. Why?
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这是个非常令人振奋的结果
09:28
Because with our own little telescope,
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因为这意味着我们小小的望远镜
09:30
just in the next two years,
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在接下来的两年内
09:32
we'll be able to identify at least 60 of them.
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将能够分辨出至少60个类地行星
09:35
So that's great because then
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这样的话,接下来
09:37
we can go and study them --
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我们就能够着手研究它们
09:39
remotely, of course --
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当然,只能在地球上进行
09:41
with all the techniques that we already have
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利用我们在过去的五年内
09:43
tested in the past five years.
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所检验过的所有技术
09:45
We can find what they're made of,
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我们能探测出它们的成分
09:47
would their atmospheres have water, carbon dioxide, methane.
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它们的大气是否有水有二氧化碳和甲烷
09:50
We know and expect that we'll see that.
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我们相信我们能够探测到这些
09:54
That's great, but that is not the whole news.
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这已经非常了不起了,但这还不是全部
09:57
That's not why I'm here.
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这还不是今天我在这里进行演讲的原因
10:00
Why I'm here is to tell you that the next step
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我今天站在这里,是想告诉你们我们接下来要做的
10:03
is really the exciting part.
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绝对是令人振奋的
10:06
The one that this step
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这一步
10:08
is enabling us to do is coming next.
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将让我们有能力面对接下来的问题
10:11
And here comes biology --
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那就是生物学
10:13
biology, with its basic question,
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生物学方面的基本问题
10:16
which still stands unanswered,
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仍然没有得到解决
10:18
which is essentially:
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问题就是
10:20
"If there is life on other planets,
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如果在其他行星上有生命存在
10:22
do we expect it to be like life on Earth?"
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他们是否会类似于地球上的生命?
10:25
And let me immediately tell you here,
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我需要说明的是
10:27
when I say life, I don't mean "dolce vita,"
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我所说的“生命”不是指“愉快的生活”
10:29
good life, human life.
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也不是指人生
10:31
I really mean life
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我想表达的是
10:34
on Earth, past and present,
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在地球上过去以及现在存在的生命
10:36
from microbes to us humans,
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从微生物到我们人类
10:38
in its rich molecular diversity,
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具有丰富的分子多样性
10:41
the way we now understand life on Earth
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我们所理解的地球上的生命
10:44
as being a set of molecules and chemical reactions --
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都是一系列的分子以及化学反应的结果
10:47
and we call that, collectively, biochemistry,
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准确的说,我们称之为生物化学
10:50
life as a chemical process,
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生命就是一个化学过程
10:53
as a chemical phenomenon.
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一个化学现象
10:55
So the question is:
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所以问题就是
10:57
is that chemical phenomenon universal,
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这种化学现象在全宇宙都会发生,
11:00
or is it something
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还是与
11:02
which depends on the planet?
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所处的行星有关?
11:04
Is it like gravity,
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是否就好像引力
11:06
which is the same everywhere in the universe,
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在整个宇宙都适用
11:08
or there would be all kinds of different biochemistries
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或者像是各种生物化学反应
11:11
wherever we find them?
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因为地域得不同而改变?
11:13
We need to know what we are looking for
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当我们努力解答这些问题的时候
11:16
when we try to do that.
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我们要明白我们在寻找什么
11:18
And that's a very basic question, which we don't know the answer to,
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这个最最基本的问题,我们却给不出答案
11:21
but which we can try --
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但是我们努力尝试
11:23
and we are trying -- to answer in the lab.
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尝试在实验室中寻找答案
11:25
We don't need to go to space
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我们不需要去太空中
11:27
to answer that question.
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探索答案
11:29
And so, that's what we are trying to do.
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这就是我们努力的方向
11:31
And that's what many people now are trying to do.
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这也是许多人正在努力的方向
11:34
And a lot of the good news comes from that part of the bridge
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在这个我们不断探索的领域中
11:37
that we are trying to build as well.
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也得到了很多好的成果
11:40
So this is one example
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这只是我想要在这展示的
11:42
that I want to show you here.
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一个例子
11:44
When we think of what is necessary
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当我们考虑生命现象
11:46
for the phenomenon that we call life,
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需要满足那些条件时
11:49
we think of compartmentalization,
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我们往往会考虑到分离作用
11:52
keeping the molecules which are important for life
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把那些对于生命来说重要的分子包裹在
11:55
in a membrane,
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一个膜之内
11:57
isolated from the rest of the environment,
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与外界的环境分隔开
11:59
but yet, in an environment in which
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然而这些分子仍处于
12:01
they actually could originate together.
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能让它们共同产生的环境之中
12:04
And in one of our labs,
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在我们的一个实验室
12:06
Jack Szostak's labs,
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Jack Szostak的实验室中
12:08
it was a series of experiments
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过去的四年间
12:10
in the last four years
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我们进行了一系列实验
12:12
that showed that the environments --
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发现在一些特定环境下
12:14
which are very common on planets,
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一些在地球这类行星上
12:16
on certain types of planets like the Earth,
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常见的环境
12:19
where you have some liquid water and some clays --
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这样的环境中一般都存在水和粘土
12:22
you actually end up with
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实际上你会得到
12:25
naturally available molecules
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自然形成的分子
12:27
which spontaneously form bubbles.
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自然地形成了泡
12:30
But those bubbles have membranes
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但是这些泡都有膜
12:33
very similar to the membrane of every cell
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这些膜与地球上所有生物的细胞膜
12:36
of every living thing on Earth looks like,
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都非常相似
12:39
like this.
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如同这样
12:41
And they really help molecules,
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这些膜使得
12:43
like nucleic acids, like RNA and DNA,
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像核酸,RNA、DNA之类的分子
12:46
stay inside, develop,
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能够在膜内演化
12:48
change, divide
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转变,和分化
12:50
and do some of the processes that we call life.
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这其中的一些过程,就是我们所说的生命现象
12:53
Now this is just an example
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这仅仅是一个例子
12:55
to tell you the pathway
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用来说明我们如何
12:57
in which we are trying to answer
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解决一个重要的问题:
12:59
that bigger question about the universality of the phenomenon.
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关于这种现象的普遍性
13:03
And in a sense, you can think of that work
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在某种意义上,你可以把这个领域内
13:06
that people are starting to do now around the world
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人们正在开始着手的工作
13:08
as building a bridge,
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看作是建造一座桥
13:10
building a bridge from two sides of the river.
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在河的两岸建造
13:13
On one hand, on the left bank of the river,
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河的左岸
13:16
are the people like me who study those planets
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是像我一样,研究这些行星的人
13:19
and try to define the environments.
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尝试定义生命存在的环境
13:21
We don't want to go blind because there's too many possibilities,
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有太多的可能性,我们不能盲目的尝试
13:24
and there is not too much lab,
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因为实验室资源并不多
13:27
and there is not enough human time
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并且个人的时间也不足以
13:29
to actually to do all the experiments.
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完成所有的实验
13:31
So that's what we are building from the left side of the river.
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这就是我们在河的左岸所建造的
13:34
From the right bank of the river
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而在河的右岸
13:36
are the experiments in the lab that I just showed you,
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就是我刚刚展示的实验室里的实验
13:39
where we actually tried that, and it feeds back and forth,
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我们尝试互通有无
13:42
and we hope to meet in the middle one day.
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我们希望有一天能够在桥中间回合
13:45
So why should you care about that?
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那么,我凭什么让你们听我的演讲
13:48
Why am I trying to sell you
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我凭什么在这里兜售
13:50
a half-built bridge?
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一座没有完成的桥
13:52
Am I that charming?
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我有那么大的魅力么?
13:55
Well, there are many reasons,
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其实原因有很多
13:57
and you heard some of them
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你们从今天的演讲中
13:59
in the short talk today.
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了解了其中的一些
14:01
This understanding of chemistry
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这些对于化学的理解
14:03
actually can help us
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实际上能够在日常生活中
14:05
with our daily lives.
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帮助我们
14:07
But there is something more profound here,
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但是还有更深层次的
14:09
something deeper.
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意义存在
14:11
And that deeper, underlying point
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其更深层次的意义
14:15
is that science
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在于科学
14:17
is in the process of redefining life
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正在重新定义生命
14:20
as we know it.
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如我前面所介绍的
14:22
And that is going to change
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这同样也将深刻地改变
14:24
our worldview in a profound way --
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我们的世界观
14:27
not in a dissimilar way
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就如同
14:29
as 400 years ago,
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400年前
14:31
Copernicus' act did,
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哥白尼的发现那样
14:33
by changing the way
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改变了我们
14:35
we view space and time.
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对空间与时间的认识
14:37
Now it's about something else,
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而现在转变的,尽管并非对时间与空间观念
14:39
but it's equally profound.
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但是它的意义也同样深远
14:41
And half the time,
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最重要的
14:43
what's happened
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是关于
14:45
is it's related this kind of
369
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它让我们
14:47
sense of insignificance
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作为人类
14:49
to humankind,
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面对地球,面对更广阔的宇宙时
14:51
to the Earth in a bigger space.
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产生的渺小感
14:53
And the more we learn,
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我们知道的越多
14:56
the more that was reinforced.
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这种感觉也就越强烈
14:59
You've all learned that in school --
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我们在学校时就已经知道
15:01
how small the Earth is
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与整个宇宙相比
15:03
compared to the immense universe.
377
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地球是多么渺小
15:05
And the bigger the telescope,
378
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而我们的望远镜造的越大
15:07
the bigger that universe becomes.
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我们所发现的宇宙就越大
15:09
And look at this image of the tiny, blue dot.
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看看这个图像上的小蓝点
15:12
This pixel is the Earth.
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这个像素就代表地球
15:14
It is the Earth as we know it.
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这就是在
15:16
It is seen from, in this case,
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土星轨道外
15:18
from outside the orbit of Saturn.
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看我们熟悉的地球的样子
15:21
But it's really tiny.
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它真的很小
15:23
We know that.
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我们知道
15:25
Let's think of life as that entire planet
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现在我们把生命当作一个行星
15:27
because, in a sense, it is.
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因为在某种程度来说的确如此
15:29
The biosphere is the size of the Earth.
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地球有多大生物圈就有多大
15:31
Life on Earth
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地球上的生命
15:33
is the size of the Earth.
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就是地球的大小
15:35
And let's compare it to the rest of the world
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现在让我们在空间上将它
15:38
in spatial terms.
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与宇宙的其他部分比较
15:40
What if that
394
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如果
15:42
Copernican insignificance
395
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哥白尼带给我们的渺小感
15:45
was actually all wrong?
396
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是完全错误的
15:47
Would that make us more responsible
397
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我们会不会对当今世界所发生的一切
15:49
for what is happening today?
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更具有责任感?
15:51
Let's actually try that.
399
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我们也许应该尝试一下
15:53
So in space, the Earth is very small.
400
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在宇宙中,地球非常的小
15:56
Can you imagine how small it is?
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你能想象它有多小么?
15:58
Let me try it.
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我们来看看
16:00
Okay, let's say
403
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比如说
16:02
this is the size
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这是可观测宇宙
16:04
of the observable universe,
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的大小
16:06
with all the galaxies,
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包括所有的星系
16:08
with all the stars,
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以及恒星
16:10
okay, from here to here.
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从这里到这里
16:12
Do you know what the size of life
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你知道生命在这条领带上
16:14
in this necktie will be?
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占多大尺寸么?
16:17
It will be the size
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它的尺寸将会是
16:20
of a single, small atom.
412
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一个原子的大小
16:22
It is unimaginably small.
413
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不可思议的小
16:24
We can't imagine it.
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我们无法想象
16:26
I mean look, you can see the necktie,
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我的意思是,你能看到这条领带
16:28
but you can't even imagine seeing
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但是你根本想象不到能够看到
16:30
the size of a little, small atom.
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单个原子的尺寸
16:33
But that's not the whole story, you see.
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但这还不是全部
16:36
The universe and life
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宇宙与生命
16:38
are both in space and time.
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都存在于时空当中
16:41
If that was
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如果这是
16:44
the age of the universe,
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宇宙的年龄
16:46
then this is the age of life on Earth.
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那么这就是地球上生命的年龄
16:50
Think about those oldest living things on Earth,
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想象一下地球上最古老的生命
16:53
but in a cosmic proportion.
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再对比宇宙的时间尺度
16:55
This is not insignificant.
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就显得不那么渺小了
16:58
This is very significant.
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而是非常显著的
17:00
So life might be insignificant in size,
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所以生命在空间上是十分渺小的
17:03
but it is not insignificant in time.
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但是在时间上却不是这样
17:07
Life and the universe
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生命与宇宙
17:09
compare to each other like a child and a parent,
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对比起来就像是孩子和父母
17:12
parent and offspring.
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父母与子女
17:14
So what does this tell us?
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这告诉我们什么?
17:16
This tells us that
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这告诉我们
17:18
that insignificance paradigm
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从哥白尼时代
17:20
that we somehow got to learn
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我们就被灌输的
17:22
from the Copernican principle,
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渺小感
17:24
it's all wrong.
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是错误的
17:26
There is immense, powerful potential
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生命在宇宙之中
17:29
in life in this universe --
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是巨大的,有力的,有潜能的
17:31
especially now that we know
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特别在现在我们知道
17:33
that places like the Earth are common.
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像地球这样的星球还有很多
17:37
And that potential, that powerful potential,
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这种潜力,这种巨大的潜力
17:40
is also our potential,
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也是我们的潜力
17:42
of you and me.
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包括你和我
17:44
And if we are to be stewards
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如果我们都成为
17:46
of our planet Earth
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我们地球
17:48
and its biosphere,
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与生物圈的管理员
17:50
we'd better understand
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我们也许能够更加理解
17:52
the cosmic significance
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生命对于宇宙的意义
17:54
and do something about it.
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能够为此做点什么
17:56
And the good news is we can
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好消息是我们
17:58
actually, indeed do it.
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确实能够做些事情
18:00
And let's do it.
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让我们开始行动
18:02
Let's start this new revolution
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在前一场革命的末端
18:04
at the tail end of the old one,
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开始一场新的革命
18:07
with synthetic biology being
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人工生物学已经成为
18:09
the way to transform
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改造我们环境
18:11
both our environment
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以及未来
18:13
and our future.
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的手段
18:15
And let's hope that we can build this bridge together
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希望我们能够一起建造这座桥
18:17
and meet in the middle.
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在中间回合
18:19
Thank you very much.
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非常感谢
18:21
(Applause)
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掌声
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