$课文26 地球上的昔日生命

457. It is animals and plants which lived in or near water whose remains are most likely to be preserved,

只有生活在水中或水边的动植物尸体最有可能被保存下来，

458. for one of the necessary conditions of preservation is quick burial,

因为保存的必要条件之一是迅速掩埋，

459. and it is only in the seas and rivers, and sometimes lakes,

所以只有在泥沙不停淤积的海洋和江河里，有时在湖泊里，

460. where mud and sit have been continuously deposited, that bodies and the can be rapidly covered over and preserved.

尸体之类的东西才能被迅速地覆盖而保存下来。

461. But even in the most favourable circumstances

即使是在最有利的环境中，

462. only a small fraction of the creatures that die are preserved in this way before decay sets in or, even more likely, before scavengers eat them.

死去的生物中也只有一小部分能在开始腐烂前，或更可能在被食腐动物吃掉之前，被这样保存下来。

463. After all, all living creatures live by feeding on something else,

因为一切生物都是靠吃别的东西来活命的，

464. whether it be plant or animal, dead or alive,

不管这种东西是植物还是动物，死的还是活的，

465. and it is only by chance that such a fate is avoided.

因此，生物偶尔才能避免被吃掉的命运。