本篇文章共分 9 個段落，由書評家在評論《I Contain Multitudes 我包羅萬象》一書過程中說明微生物的存在、功能、與人類關係、以及人類應該持有的態度。同時評價書籍作者的寫作功力與對主題的熱情，並推薦讀者閱讀該書。

本篇考題英文原文與對應之中文翻譯整理如下。練習作答解題時若有對語意不清楚之處，請仔細查閱對照，以提升閱讀理解能力。

I Contain Multitudes 我包羅萬象

1. 微生物無所不在

   Wendy Moore reviews Ed Yong’s book about microbes

   Microbes, most of them bacteria, have populated this planet since long before animal life developed and they will outlive us. Invisible to the naked eye, they are ubiquitous. They inhabit the soil, air, rocks and water and are present within every form of life, from seaweed and coral to dogs and humans. And, as Yong explains in his utterly absorbing and hugely important book we mess with them at our peril.

   溫蒂-摩爾評論艾德-永關於微生物的書

   微生物，其中大部分是細菌，早在動物生命發展之前就已經在這個星球上生存，而且它們將比我們活得更長。肉眼不可見，但它們無處不在。它們居住在土壤、空氣、岩石和水中，存在於每一種生命形式中，從海藻和珊瑚到狗和人類。而且，正如 Yong 在他那本極具吸引力且極其重要的書中所解釋的那樣，我們若與它們打交道，就會面臨危險。

2. 微生物簡介

   Every species has its own colony of microbes, called a ‘microbiome’, and these microbes vary not only between species but also between individuals and within different parts of each individual. What is amazing is that while the number of human cells in the average person is about 30 trillion, the number of microbial ones is higher – about 39 trillion. At best, Yong informs us, we are only 50 per cent human. Indeed, some scientists even suggest we should think of each species and its microbes as a single unit, dubbed a ‘holobiont’.

   每個物種都有自己的微生物群，被稱為 “微生物 (基因) 組”，這些微生物不僅在物種之間，而且在個體之間和每個個體的不同部位之間都有差異。令人驚訝的是，雖然普通人體內的人體細胞數量約為 30 兆，但微生物的數量更高—約為 39 兆。Yong 告訴我們，在最好的情況下，我們只有 50% 是人類。事實上，一些科學家甚至建議我們應該把每個物種和它的微生物視為一個單一的單位，稱為 “合生 (整體生物)”。

3. 體內充滿微生物

   In each human there are microbes that live only in the stomach, the mouth or the armpit and by and large they do so peacefully. So ‘bad’ microbes are just microbes out of context. Microbes that sit contentedly in the human gut (where there are more microbes than there are stars in the galaxy) can become deadly if they find their way into the bloodstream. These communities are constantly changing too. The right hand shares just one sixth of its microbes with the left hand. And, of course, we are surrounded by microbes. Every time we eat, we swallow a million microbes in each gram of food; we are continually swapping microbes with other humans, pets and the world at large.

   在每個人身上都有只生活在胃裡、嘴裡或腋下的微生物，而且大體上它們都是和平共存相安無事。因此，“壞” 微生物只是脫離應處環境的微生物。在人類腸道中心滿意足的微生物（那裡的微生物比銀河系中的恒星還要多），如果進入血液中，就會產生致命性。這些族群也在不斷變化。右手與左手平分六分之一的微生物。當然，我們也被微生物所包圍。每次我們吃飯時，每公克食物中都會吞下一百萬個微生物；我們不斷地與其他人類、寵物和整個世界交換微生物。

4. 深入淺出引人入勝

   It’s a fascinating topic and Yong, a young British science journalist, is an extraordinarily adept guide. Writing with lightness and panache, he has a knack of explaining complex science in terms that are both easy to understand and totally enthralling. Yong is on a mission. Leading us gently by the hand, he takes us into the world of microbes – a bizarre, alien planet – in a bid to persuade us to love them as much as he does. By the end, we do.

   這是一個引人入勝的話題，年輕的英國科學記者 Yong 是一個特別擅長的嚮導。他的寫作輕鬆而瀟灑，善於用通俗易懂、令人著迷的語言解釋複雜的科學。Yong 肩負著一項使命。他輕輕地牽著我們的手，帶我們進入微生物的世界—一個奇異的外星星球—試圖說服我們像他一樣熱愛它們。到最後，我們確實愛上了它們。

5. 微生物歷史

   For most of human history we had no idea that microbes existed. The first man to see these extraordinarily potent creatures was a Dutch lens-maker called Antony van Leeuwenhoek in the 1670s. Using microscopes of his own design that could magnify up to 270 times, he examined a drop of water from a nearby lake and found it teeming with tiny creatures he called ‘animalcules’. It wasn’t until nearly two hundred years later that the research of French biologist Louis Pasteur indicated that some microbes caused disease. It was Pasteur’s ‘germ theory’ that gave bacteria the poor image that endures today.

   在人類歷史的大部分時間裡，我們都不知道微生物的存在。第一個看到這些異常強大的生物的人是 1670 年代一位名叫安東尼-范-呂溫霍克的荷蘭鏡片製造商。他使用自己設計的可以放大 270 倍的顯微鏡，檢查了附近湖泊中的一滴水，發現其中充斥著他稱之為 “微動物” 的微小生物。直到近兩百年後，法國生物學家路易士-巴斯德的研究才表明，一些微生物會導致疾病。正是巴斯德的 “細菌理論” 給細菌帶來了惡劣的形象，這種形象一直延續到今天。

6. 正確態度

   Yong’s book is in many ways a plea for microbial tolerance, pointing out that while fewer than one hundred species of bacteria bring disease, many thousands more play a vital role in maintaining our health. The book also acknowledges that our attitude towards bacteria is not a simple one. We tend to see the dangers posed by bacteria, yet at the same time we are sold yoghurts and drinks that supposedly nurture ‘friendly’ bacteria. In reality, says Yong, bacteria should not be viewed as either friends or foes, villains or heroes. Instead we should realise we have a symbiotic relationship, that can be mutually beneficial or mutually destructive.

   Yong 的書在許多方面都是對微生物寬容的呼籲，指出雖然只有不到一百種細菌會帶來疾病，但還有成千上萬的細菌在維護我們的健康方面發揮著重要作用。該書還供認，我們對細菌的態度並不單一。我們往往會看到細菌帶來的危險，但於此同時，我們被推銷的優酪乳和飲料據說能培養出 “友好” 的細菌。Yong 說，實際上，細菌不應該被視為朋友或敵人，壞蛋或英雄。相反，我們應該意識到我們有一種共生關係，這種關係可以是互利的，也可以是相互破壞的。

7. 微生物的功能

   What then do these millions of organisms do? The answer is pretty much everything. New research is now unravelling the ways in which bacteria aid digestion, regulate our immune systems, eliminate toxins, produce vitamins, affect our behaviour and even combat obesity. ‘They actually help us become who we are,’ says Yong. But we are facing a growing problem. Our obsession with hygiene, our overuse of antibiotics and our unhealthy, low-fibre diets are disrupting the bacterial balance and may be responsible for soaring rates of allergies and immune problems, such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

   那麼這些數以百萬計的生物體做什麼呢？答案是相當多的事情。新的研究現在正在解開細菌幫助消化、調節我們的免疫系統、消除毒素、產生維生素、影響我們的行為甚至對抗肥胖的方式。“它們實際上幫助我們成為我們自己，” Yong 說。但是我們正面臨著一個日益嚴重的問題。我們對衛生的癡迷，我們對抗生素的過度使用，以及我們不健康的低纖維飲食正在破壞細菌的平衡，並且可能是過敏和免疫問題，如發炎性腸道疾病 (IBD)，比率飆升的原因。

8. 與微生物相處

   The most recent research actually turns accepted norms upside down. For example, there are studies indicating that the excessive use of household detergents and antibacterial products actually destroys the microbes that normally keep the more dangerous germs at bay. Other studies show that keeping a dog as a pet gives children early exposure to a diverse range of bacteria, which may help protect them against allergies later.

   最新的研究實際上顛覆了公認的規範。例如，有研究表明，過度使用家用洗滌劑和抗菌產品實際上破壞了通常能阻止更危險病菌的微生物。其他研究表明，養狗作為寵物讓孩子們早期接觸到各種不同的細菌，這可能有助於保護他們以後免受過敏之苦。

9. 微生物先進研究

   The readers of Yong’s book must be prepared for a decidedly unglamorous world. Among the less appealing case studies is one about a fungus that is wiping out entire populations of frogs and that can be halted by a rare microbial bacterium. Another is about squid that carry luminescent bacteria that protect them against predators. However, if you can overcome your distaste for some of the investigations, the reasons for Yong’s enthusiasm become clear. The microbial world is a place of wonder. Already, in an attempt to stop mosquitoes spreading dengue fever – a disease that infects 400 million people a year – mosquitoes are being loaded with a bacterium to block the disease. In the future, our ability to manipulate microbes means we could construct buildings with useful microbes built into their walls to fight off infections. Just imagine a neonatal hospital ward coated in a specially mixed cocktail of microbes so that babies get the best start in life.

   Yong 的書的讀者必須準備好迎接一個絕對不光彩的世界。在不太吸引人的案例研究中，有一個關於一種正在消滅整個青蛙種群的真菌，它可以被一種罕見的微生物細菌所阻止。另一個案例是關於攜帶發光細菌的烏賊，這些細菌可以保護烏賊免受捕食者的攻擊。然而，如果你能克服對一些研究調查的厭惡，就能明白看出 Yong 的熱情從何而來。微生物世界是一個充滿奇跡的地方。目前，為了阻止蚊子傳播登革熱—一種每年感染 4 億人的疾病—蚊子正被嵌入一種細菌，以阻斷這種疾病。在未來，我們操縱微生物的能力意味著我們可以在建築物的牆壁上建造有用的微生物來抵禦感染。試想一下，一個新生兒醫院的病房被塗上一種特別混合的微生物，這樣嬰兒就能得到生命中最美好的開始。