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CHARLES DARWIN. Con sus modificaciones, los descubrimientos científicos de Darwin aún siguen siendo el acta fundacional de la biología como ciencia.
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Welcome to "Explorations", in VOA Special
English. I'm Steve Ember. This week, Barbara Klein and I
tell about one of the most influential thinkers in
science history. |
about one of the most: acerca de uno de los más; influential thinkers: influyentes pensadores o filósofos; science history: historia de la ciencia; |
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Charles Darwin developed the theory of how living things
develop from simpler organisms over long periods of
time. That theory is known as evolution through natural
selection. |
developed: desarrolló; theory: teoría; living things: organismos vivos; develop: evolucionan; through natural selection: a través de la selección natural; |
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Charles Darwin read widely and sought
ideas from other fields of study. He was influenced by
Thomas Malthus’ work, "An Essay on the Principle of
Population" written in 1798. Malthus
argued that populations are always limited by the food
supply. |
read widely: leía extensamente; sought ideas: buscó ideas [seek / sought / sought / seeking]; fields of study: disciplinas; influenced by: influido por; An Essay on the Principle of Population: Ensayo sobre el Principio de la Población; argued that: sostenía que; limited by: limitadas por; the food supply: el suministro de alimentos; |
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Darwin would later say that this work caused him to
realize the struggle for limited resources was a fact of
life. He said small changes took place in individual
animals. Changes that helped them survive would continue.
But those that did not would be destroyed. The result of
this would be the formation of new species. |
would later say: expresaría más adelante; caused him to realize: le hizo darse cuenta de; struggle: lucha, puja; a fact of life: una triste realidad; took place: ocurrían; changes that helped them survive: los cambios que les ayudaran a sobrevivir; would continue: continuarían; would be destroyed: serían destruídos; the formation of a new species: la creación de una nueva especie; |
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The British philosopher Herbert Spencer described this
struggle as "survival of the fittest." But biologists
use the term “natural selection” to describe the
evolutionary process. |
British philosopher: filósofo británico; survival of the fittest: supervivencia de los más aptos (la ley del más fuerte); biologists: los biólogos; evolutionary process: proceso evolutivo; |
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Charles Darwin developed his idea slowly
over more than twenty years. He was concerned that he
would lose the support of the scientific community if he
revealed it. He wrote to his friend, botanist Joseph
Hooker, that speaking about evolution “was like
confessing a murder.” |
slowly: pausadamente; over more then: durante más de; concerned: preocupado; that he would lose: de perder; the support of the scientific community: el apoyo de la comunidad científica; if he revealed it: si revelaba su idea; botanist: botánico; like confessing a murder: como confesar un asesinato; |
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It
was not until 1858 that Darwin was
forced to release his theory to the public. Another
naturalist, Alfred Russel Wallace, had independently
written a paper that contained ideas similar to Darwin's
concerning evolution. Wallace had reached these ideas
from his studies on islands in the western Pacific
Ocean. |
it was not until 1858 that: recién en 1858; was forced to release: se vio obligado a divulgar; naturalist: naturalista; a paper: un artículo; that contained ideas similar to Darwin's: que contenía ideas similares a las de Darwin; concerning evolution: con respecto a la evolución; had reached these ideas: había llegado a estas conclusiones; on islands: en islas; western: occidental; |
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With help from Darwin's friends, the two naturalists
presented a joint scientific paper to the Linnean
Society of London in July of 1858. At
first there was little reaction. |
with help from: con la ayuda de; joint scientific paper: artículo científico compartido; Linnean Society of London: Sociedad Linneana de Londres (sociedad científica); at first there was little reaction: al principio hubo poca oposición; |
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Then, in November 1859, Darwin released
the results of all his work on evolution. The book was
called "On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural
Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the
Struggle for Life." It was an immediate success. |
released the results: publicó los resultados; On the Origin of Species: Del Origen de las Especies (mediante la selección natural o la conservación de las razas favorecidas en la lucha por la vida); an immediate success: un éxito rotundo; |
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The "Origin of Species" was praised by
many scientists. But religious leaders denounced it. For
them, evolution opposed the explanation of creation
found in the book of Genesis in the Bible. Today, almost
all scientists accept the theory of evolution. But many
non-scientists are unsure about whether humans evolved
over millions of years. In the United States, public
opinion studies have shown that less than half the
population believes in evolution. |
praised by: elogiado por; religious leaders: líderes religiosos; denounced it: lo condenaron, lo censuraron; for them: para ellos; evolution opposed: la evolución se oponía a; found in: encontrada en; the book of Genesis: el libro de Génesis; almost all: casi todos los; are unsure about whether: dudan acerca de si; humans evolved: los seres humanos evolucionaron; public opinion studies: informes de opinión pública; have shown: han demostrado; that less than half the population: que menos de la mitad de la población; believes in evolution: cree en la evolución; |
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Natural selection does not explain
everything about why species evolve. Darwin did not know
about Gregor Mendel’s work on heredity. And the
discovery of genetics and DNA molecules took place
long after his death. Yet, Darwin theorized in a world
much different from the one we know. That is why
scientists today wonder at the depth of his knowledge
and the strength of his arguments. |
about why: sobre por qué; species evolve: las especies evolucionan; on heredity: sobre los factores hereditarios (transmisión de cualidades genéticas); discovery of genetics: descubrimiento de la genética; DNA molecules: moléculas ADN (moléculas que contienen la información genética de forma codificada); took place: tuvo lugar; long after his death: mucho tiempo después de su muerte; yet: sin embargo; theorized: teorizó; much different: muy distinto; from the one we know: del que conocemos; wonder at: se maravillan con; depth of his knowledge: profundidad de su conocimiento; strength: fuerza; arguments: argumentos, fundamentos; |
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Charles Darwin died on April 19, 1882. He was buried at Westminster Abbey, in
London, among other heroes of Britain. |
buried at: sepultado en [bury / buried / buried / burying]; Westminster Abbey: Abadía de Westminster; among other heroes: junto a otros héroes; |
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This program was written and produced by
Mario Ritter. I’m Barbara Klein. And I’m Steve Ember. |
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