Mankind, it seems, was just unlucky that this virus made the leap across the species barrier.

似乎这种病毒得以跨越物种的障碍传染到人类身上仅仅是出于人类的不幸。

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And not just a fuel, but, indirectly, a technology: the internal combustion engine, without which mankind might have taken to the roads but never to the skies.

但这又不仅仅是一种新的燃料，而是一种新的技术：内燃机。没有内燃机，人类可能会拥有道路，但是不可能会飞向蓝天。

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The unstated joke: mankind has erected immense, resource-devouring systems of almost incomprehensible complexity just so you can sit in your cubicle.

其中暗藏一个小幽默：人类已经建立了一个几乎无限复杂的吞噬、改造资源的系统，正如你坐在你的小卧室中。

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Economists and pundits have been pontificating on this for months, most of them concluding with affirmative nods and strokes of mustaches that such a move would be wise, just and good for mankind and for long-term Chinese and global economic growth.

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In the fullness of time, they say, their labours are likely to add not just to the wisdom of mankind but also to their own country's economic well-being.

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This nicely links Mr Deutsch's ideas about explanations having infinite reach, which in turn suggests that mankind is only just at the beginning of an almost everlasting journey of creating explanations of the world.

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