In labs around the world, scientists have been studying tiny black specks of dust from asteroid Bennu. They were collected by a NASA spacecraft which travelled to the space rock and unfurled a robotic arm to grab a sample to bring back to Earth.

在位于全世界的实验室里，科学家们一直在研究从小行星贝努收集到的黑色灰尘颗粒。这些灰尘颗粒由美国国家航空航天局的一艘宇宙飞船采集，该飞船在抵达小行星后展开机械臂采集了一份样本，然后将其带回了地球。

The detailed analysis has found the asteroid contains thousands of organic compounds, including amino acids, which are the molecules that make up proteins, and nucleobases – the fundamental components of DNA. This doesn't mean Bennu ever had life on it, but the theory is that asteroids like it crashed into the Earth early in our history, delivering these vital ingredients that enabled life to start here.

在对样本的详细分析后发现，这颗小行星含有数千种有机化合物，包括能构成蛋白质的氨基酸和 DNA 的基本组成部分核碱基。这一发现并不意味着贝努上曾经有生命存在，但有理论认为和它类似的小行星在我们地球的历史早期撞击了地球，从而传递了能够让生命在此出现的关键要素。

Scientists think if asteroids were bringing water and organic molecules to Earth, the same was happening on other planets too. This raises the question of whether Earth is unique, or if life started elsewhere in our solar system but we just haven't found it yet.

科学家们认为，如果小行星将水和有机分子带到了地球上，那么在其它行星上也会发生同样的事情。这就引出了一个问题，即地球是否是独一无二的，还是说生命其实是在我们的太阳系里的其它地方产生的，只是我们还没有找到它。

词汇表

specks （粉尘的）颗粒
unfurled 展开了，打开了
sample 样本
amino acids 氨基酸
nucleobases 核碱基
fundamental components 基本的组成部分，基本构件
unique 独特的，独一无二的