原文標(biāo)題：
Dinosaurs
Cretaceous capitalism
Why trade in fossils is good for science
恐龍
白堊紀(jì)資本主義
為什么化石交易對(duì)科學(xué)有益？

The market for specimens should be regulated, not banned
標(biāo)本市場(chǎng)應(yīng)規(guī)范而非取締

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THE GREAT auction houses of America and Europe often sell masterpieces by long-dead artists to a grey-haired crowd. They also serve the booming demand for actual fossils.

美國(guó)和歐洲的大型拍賣行經(jīng)常將已故藝術(shù)家的杰作出售給白發(fā)蒼蒼的人群。拍賣行還能滿足人們對(duì)真化石的旺盛需求。

In 2020 Christie’s sold “Stan”—one of the most complete Tyrannosaurus rex specimens ever discovered—for a record-breaking $31.8m.

2020年，佳士得拍賣了 "斯坦"--迄今為止發(fā)現(xiàn)的最完整的霸王龍標(biāo)本之一，創(chuàng)下了3180萬(wàn)美元的記錄。

In April “Trinity”, a composite of three T. rex specimens, fetched $6.1m at the Koller auction house in Zurich—one of six dino-lots to have breached the $6m threshold since “Stan” was sold.

4月，由3個(gè)霸王龍標(biāo)本組合而成的“Trinity”在蘇黎世的闊樂(lè)拍賣行以 610 萬(wàn)美元的價(jià)格成交，這是自 "斯坦 "售出以來(lái)突破 600 萬(wàn)美元門檻的六件恐龍拍品之一。

At the end of July Sotheby’s is due to auction off another nearly complete specimen.

7月底，蘇富比拍賣行將拍賣另一件近乎完整的標(biāo)本。

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The buyers are typically rich collectors (Leonardo DiCaprio, a Hollywood actor, has an interest in dinosaur skulls).

買家通常是有錢的收藏家（例如好萊塢演員萊昂納多.迪卡普里奧，他對(duì)恐龍頭骨很感興趣）。

That alarms many palaeontologists, who fear that museums and other scientific institutions are being priced out of the market by individuals who will lock their collections away.

這讓許多古生物學(xué)家感到震驚，他們擔(dān)心博物館和其他科學(xué)機(jī)構(gòu)會(huì)被拍后即鎖的個(gè)人以高價(jià)擠出市場(chǎng)。

Even when scientists are granted access to specimens held privately, many journals have in recent years refused in protest to publish the resulting research.
盡管科學(xué)家獲準(zhǔn)接觸私人持有的標(biāo)本，但近年來(lái)許多期刊也拒絕發(fā)表由此產(chǎn)生的研究，以示抗議。

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The antagonism of these scientists towards commerce is misplaced.

這些科學(xué)家對(duì)商業(yè)的敵對(duì)態(tài)度是錯(cuò)誤的。

A thriving market for fossils should lead to more discoveries that—if the trade is appropriately regulated—will benefit science and the public.
繁榮的化石市場(chǎng)應(yīng)該會(huì)帶來(lái)更多研究發(fā)現(xiàn)——如果貿(mào)易得到適當(dāng)監(jiān)管——將使科學(xué)和公眾受益。

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Palaeontology has always leaned heavily on prospectors and private collectors.

一直以來(lái)，古生物學(xué)都嚴(yán)重依賴探礦者和私人收藏家。

Mary Anning, one of the field’s pioneers, attained celebrity status in Victorian England after she discovered the first fossil specimens of ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs (marine contemporaries of the dinosaurs) eroding out of the fragile coastal cliffs of Dorset in south-west England, known as the “Jurassic coast”.

瑪麗.安寧是該領(lǐng)域的先驅(qū)之一，她在維多利亞時(shí)代的英國(guó)獲得了名人地位，因?yàn)樗谟⒏裉m西南部多塞特脆弱的沿海懸崖上發(fā)現(xiàn)了第一個(gè)魚龍和司龍（與恐龍同時(shí)代的海洋物種）化石標(biāo)本，該懸崖被稱為 “侏羅紀(jì)海岸”。

The tongue-twister “She sells sea shells on the sea shore” is supposedly a reference to Anning’s prolific collection and sale of marine fossils.
繞口令 "她在海邊賣海螺 "據(jù)說(shuō)是指安寧大量收集和銷售海洋化石的場(chǎng)景。

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Today most fossils sold at auction come from America. Once discovered there, they belong to the landowner and can be legally traded.

如今，拍賣會(huì)上出售的大多數(shù)化石都來(lái)自美國(guó)。在美國(guó)發(fā)現(xiàn)的化石屬于土地所有者，可以合法交易。

In many other countries, fossils automatically become the property of the state.

在許多其他國(guó)家，化石自動(dòng)成為國(guó)家財(cái)產(chǎn)。

The advantage of encouraging the “dinosaur cowboys” of Montana, Wyoming and the Dakotas—which share a big geological deposit—to get digging is that once fossils are exposed, they are as vulnerable to wind, rain and tide as they once were to being munched by a theropod.

鼓勵(lì)蒙大拿州、懷俄明州和達(dá)科他州的 "恐龍牛仔"--他們共享一個(gè)巨大的地質(zhì)礦藏--去挖掘的好處是，一旦化石暴露在外，它們現(xiàn)在仍然和古代一樣脆弱，容易受到風(fēng)、雨和潮水的侵襲，就像曾經(jīng)容易被獸腳類恐龍獵殺一樣。

As Dorset’s cliffs collapse, for example, new fossils constantly appear, but can be lost as erosion continues.

例如，隨著多塞特懸崖的坍塌，新的化石不斷出現(xiàn)，但隨著侵蝕的繼續(xù)，新化石可能會(huì)消失。

Scientists often lack the resources to find, collect and preserve every fossil with scientific value before it is destroyed by nature.
科學(xué)家們往往缺乏資源去尋找、收集和保存每一塊受大自然侵蝕之前且具有科學(xué)價(jià)值的化石。

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The private sector plugs the gap by responding to price signals.

私營(yíng)企業(yè)通過(guò)響應(yīng)價(jià)格信號(hào)來(lái)填補(bǔ)缺口。

Prospecting first boomed after “Sue”, another famous T. rex specimen, was sold to Chicago’s Field Museum for $8.3m in 1997.

1997年，另一個(gè)著名的霸王龍標(biāo)本 "蘇 "以830萬(wàn)美元的價(jià)格賣給了芝加哥的菲爾德博物館，此后勘探工作開始蓬勃發(fā)展。

The recent spate of sales is prompting another rush for bones today. It is not always true that the resulting hoards end up out of sight.

最近的拍賣熱潮引發(fā)了人們對(duì)恐龍化石的又一輪爭(zhēng)搶熱。事實(shí)并非總是這些骨骼最終會(huì)被藏起來(lái)不為人所知。

“Stan” was bought by the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism and is due to go on display in 2025.

"斯坦 "被阿布扎比文化和旅游部買下，將于2025年展出。

From Tampa to Copenhagen, many privately owned fossils are on show at museums or soon will be, much as the world’s best art galleries often hang privately owned pieces on loan.
從坦帕到哥本哈根，許多私人擁有的化石正在或即將在博物館展出，就像世界上最好的藝術(shù)館經(jīng)常會(huì)懸掛私人擁有的借展作品一樣。

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Fears of crowding out scientists and the public are not entirely without merit.

擔(dān)心科學(xué)家和公眾被擠出市場(chǎng)并非完全沒(méi)有道理。

Sometimes specimens do vanish after being bought anonymously.

有時(shí)，匿名購(gòu)買的標(biāo)本確實(shí)消失了。

But nationalising the ownership of fossils does not make the desire to buy and sell them disappear.Instead, it pushes the trade underground.

但是，將化石所有權(quán)國(guó)有化并不會(huì)消除買賣化石的欲望。相反，它會(huì)將這種交易推向地下黑市。

The black market is a bigger threat to science than legitimate trade.

黑市對(duì)科學(xué)的威脅比合法交易更大。

Smugglers have much lower standards than auction houses, frequently damaging or destroying specimens, and stolen fossils are even less likely to end up in museums.
走私者的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)比拍賣行低得多，他們經(jīng)常破壞或毀壞化石標(biāo)本，而被盜的化石更不可能進(jìn)入博物館展出。

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T. rent

暴龍化石租金

There are ways to preserve the value to the public of privately owned fossils.

有一些方法可以令私人擁有的化石對(duì)公眾的產(chǎn)生價(jià)值。

Governments could write rules insisting that the discovery of fossils and who owns them is catalogued.

政府可以制定規(guī)則，堅(jiān)持對(duì)化石的發(fā)現(xiàn)和擁有者進(jìn)行登記。

They could require specimens to be made available for study, or ensure that museums can make casts.

他們可以征用標(biāo)本用于研究，或確保博物館可以制作鑄模。

And—although auction houses already demand assurances regarding the provenance of fossils—they could set in stone minimum standards for excavation and handling, to allay fears that prospecting might become a Wild West.

而且——盡管拍賣行已經(jīng)要求保證化石的來(lái)源——他們還可以制定挖掘和處理的最低標(biāo)準(zhǔn)，以消除人們對(duì)勘探可能成為“狂野西部”的擔(dān)憂。

It is better to regulate the market and let it thrive than to force it towards extinction.
與其強(qiáng)迫它走向滅亡，不如規(guī)范市場(chǎng)，讓它茁壯成長(zhǎng)。

（恭喜讀完，本篇英語(yǔ)詞匯量692左右）
原文出自：2023年5月20日《The Economist》Leaders版塊

精讀筆記來(lái)源于：自由英語(yǔ)之路

本文翻譯整理: Irene

本文編輯校對(duì): Irene
僅供個(gè)人英語(yǔ)學(xué)習(xí)交流使用。

【補(bǔ)充資料】（來(lái)自于網(wǎng)絡(luò)）
暴龍，霸王龍（Tyrannosaurus rex）標(biāo)本通常是指保存了這種已經(jīng)滅絕的恐龍遺骸或化石的實(shí)物，它們可以在博物館或其他科學(xué)機(jī)構(gòu)中進(jìn)行展覽和研究。暴龍是一種非常大型的肉食性恐龍，生活在約6800萬(wàn)年前的白堊紀(jì)晚期，在北美洲地區(qū)廣泛分布。暴龍標(biāo)本通常包括頭骨、頸椎、背部和尾巴的骨骼、牙齒等。它們的受歡迎程度歸功于其極具威懾力的形象和強(qiáng)大的掠食能力，以及它們?cè)诳铸垰v史上的地位和重要性。

瑪麗·安寧Mary Anning是19世紀(jì)英國(guó)著名的女性古生物學(xué)家，以發(fā)現(xiàn)和研究化石而聞名于世。她出生于1799年，成長(zhǎng)在英國(guó)南部的多塞特郡海濱小鎮(zhèn)，從小就對(duì)化石產(chǎn)生了濃厚的興趣。她跟隨父親在懸崖上尋找化石，并開始出售這些發(fā)現(xiàn)來(lái)維持家庭生計(jì)。在她13歲時(shí)，她發(fā)現(xiàn)了一條非常完整的魚龍化石，引起了當(dāng)?shù)刈匀粴v史學(xué)家們的注意。之后，她又陸續(xù)發(fā)現(xiàn)了很多重要的化石，包括古鳥、蜥蜴、哺乳動(dòng)物和蝦類等。她的發(fā)現(xiàn)為古生物學(xué)做出了重要貢獻(xiàn)，并幫助人們更好地了解了恐龍和其他已滅絕物種的歷史。然而，由于當(dāng)時(shí)社會(huì)對(duì)于女性科學(xué)家的歧視和限制，她的工作并沒(méi)有得到充分的認(rèn)可和支持。直到近年來(lái)，她的成就才逐漸得到公正的評(píng)價(jià)和高度贊揚(yáng)。

荒野西部Wild West是指19世紀(jì)美國(guó)西部地區(qū)的歷史時(shí)期，這個(gè)時(shí)期在美國(guó)成為了一個(gè)傳奇。當(dāng)時(shí)的西部地區(qū)人口稀少、土地荒涼、生活艱苦，但也因此形成了一種自由、開放和冒險(xiǎn)的文化氛圍。在那個(gè)時(shí)代，有許多著名的西部牛仔、探險(xiǎn)家、賭徒、強(qiáng)盜、鐵路工人等職業(yè)群體，同時(shí)也有著許多血腥的戰(zhàn)斗、槍擊案和搶劫事件。這段歷史時(shí)期經(jīng)常被電影、小說(shuō)、游戲等媒介描繪，在全球范圍內(nèi)產(chǎn)生了廣泛的影響。

【重點(diǎn)句子】（3個(gè)）
A thriving market for fossils should lead to more discoveries that—if the trade is appropriately regulated—will benefit science and the public.
繁榮的化石市場(chǎng)應(yīng)該會(huì)帶來(lái)更多研究發(fā)現(xiàn)——如果貿(mào)易得到適當(dāng)監(jiān)管——將使科學(xué)和公眾受益。

But nationalising the ownership of fossils does not make the desire to buy and sell them disappear.Instead, it pushes the trade underground.
但是，將化石所有權(quán)國(guó)有化并不會(huì)消除買賣化石的欲望。相反，它會(huì)將這種交易推向地下黑市。

It is better to regulate the market and let it thrive than to force it towards extinction.
與其強(qiáng)迫它走向滅亡，不如規(guī)范市場(chǎng)，讓它茁壯成長(zhǎng)。