2008年文登学校春季词汇班精彩文篇推荐(九)

时间:2007-07-17 02:35:28

(单词翻译:单击)

第九篇

The Economics of Cloning

 

(1) Any normal species would be delighted at the prospect1 of cloning. No more nasty surprises like sickle2 cell? or Down syndrome3? — just batch4 after batch of high-grade and, genetically6 speaking, immortal7 offspring! But representatives of the human species are responding as if someone had proposed adding Satanism to the grade-school Curriculum. Suddenly, perfectly8 secular9? folks are throwing around words like sanctity and picking up medieval-era arguments against the arrogance10 of science. No one has proposed burning him at the stake, but the poor fellow who induced a human embryo11 to double itself has virtually abandoned — proclaiming his reverence12 for human life in a voice, this magazine reported, “ choking with emotion.”

 

(2) There is an element of hypocrisy13 to much of the anticloning frenzy14, or if not hypocrisy, superstition15. The fact is we are already well down the path leading to genetic5 manipulation of the depressing sort. Life-forms can be patented, which means they can be bought and sold and potentially traded on the commodities markets. Hu-man embryos16 are life-forms, and there is nothing to stop anyone from marketing17 them now, on the same shelf with the Cabbage Patch dolls.

 

(3) In fact, any culture that encourages in vitro fertilization? has no right to complain about a market in em-bryos. The assumption behind the in vitro industry is that some people’s genetic material is worth more than others’ and deserves to be reproduced at any expense. Millions of low-income babies die every year from pre-ventable ills like dysentery?, while heroic efforts go into maintaining yuppie zygotes? in test tubes at the unicel-lular stage. This is the dread18 “nightmare” of eugenics in familiar, marketplace form — which involves breeding the best-paid instead of the best. Cloning technology is an almost inevitable19 by-product20 of in vitro fertilization. Once you decide to go to the trouble of in vitro, with its potentially hazardous21 megadoses of hormones22? for the female partner and various indignities23 for the male, you might as well make a few backup copies of any viable24? embryo that’s produced. And once you’ve got the backup copies, why not keep a few in the freezer, in case Junior ever needs a new kidney or cornea??

 

(4) No one much likes the idea of thawing25 out? one of the clone kids to harvest its organs, but according to Andrew Kimbrell, author of The Human Body Shop, in the past few years an estimated 50 to 100 couples have produced babies to provide tissue for an existing child. Plus there is already a thriving market in Third World kidneys and eyes. Is growing your own really so much worse than robbing the bodies of the poor? Or maybe we’ll just clone for the fun of it. If you like a movie scene, you can rewind the tape, so when Junior gets all pimply26? and nasty, why not start over with Junior II? Sooner or later, among the in vitro class, instant replay will be considered a human right.

 

(5) The existential objections ring a bit hollow. How will it feel to be one ______ among hundreds? The anti-cloners ask. Probably no worse than it feels to be the 3 millionth 13-year-old dressed in identical baggy27 trousers, untied28 sneakers and baseball cap — a feeling usually described as “cool.” In a mass-consumer society, notions like “precious individuality” are best reserved for the Nike ads.

 

(6) Besides, if we truly believed in the absolute uniqueness of each individual, there would be none of this unseemly eagerness to reproduce one’s own particular genome. What is it, after all, that drives people to in vitro rather than adoption29? Deep down, we don’t want to believe we are each unique, one-time-only events in the universe. We hope to happen again and again. And when the technology arrives for cloning adult individuals, genetic immortality30 should be within reach of the average multimillionaire. Ross Perot will be followed by a flock of little re-Rosses.

 

(7) As for the argument that the clones will be sub-people, existing to live up to the vanity of their parents (or their “originals,” as the case may be), since when has it been illegal to use one person as a vehicle for the ambi-tions of another? If we don’t yet breed children for their SAT scores, there is a whole class of people, heavily overlapping31 with the in vitro class, who coach their kids to get into the nursery schools that offer a fast track to Harvard. You don’t have to have been born in a test tube to be an extension of someone else’s ego32.

 

(8) For that matter, if we get serious about the priceless uniqueness of each individual, many distinguished33 so-cial practices will have to go. It’s hard to see why people should be able to sell their labor34, for example, but not their embryos of eggs. Labor is also made out of the precious stuff of life — energy and cognition? and so forth35 — which is hardly honored when “unique individuals” by the millions are condemned36 to mind-killing, repetitive work.

 

(9) The critics of cloning say we should know what we’re getting into, with all its Orwellian implications. But if we decide to outlaw37 cloning, we should understand the implications of that. We would be saying in effect that we prefer to leave genetic destiny to the crap shooting? of nature, despite sickle-cell anemia38 and Tay-Sachs and all the rest, because ultimately we don’t trust the market to regulate life itself. And this may be the hardest thing of all to acknowledge: that it isn’t so much 21st century technology we fear, as what will happen to that tech-nology in the hands of old-fashioned 20th century capitalism39.

【参考译文】: 复制人的经济分析

 

(1) 每一个正常的品种,有机会能复制后代,应该都会雀跃不已。从此不再会有镰状细胞或唐氏症候群等恼人的意外,只有一批批高品质的后代,从基因传承来看甚至是一种永生!可是人类这个品种的一些成员对这项讯息的反应,就好像听到有人提议把撒旦崇拜列入小学课程一样。完全没有宗教信仰的人,突然间满口都是“神圣”之类的字眼,而且重拾中古时代的论调来批评科学的狂妄。那位可怜的科学家,促使人类胚胎复制成功,现在虽然还没有人说要把他绑在桩子上烧死,他已经等于在忏悔了——公开宣称他崇敬生命,讲话时的声音据本刊报道是“激动得哽咽。”

 

(2) 这阵反对复制胚胎的喧哗,夹杂虚伪的成分在内——如果不是虚伪,也有迷信的成分。事实上,我们已经走到非常接近令人毛骨悚然的基因操控技术了。生命形态已经可以申请专利,这代表可以买卖,将来也可能在商品市场上交易。人类胚胎也是生命形态。现在有人要拿它来行销也没有法律可以禁止——可以和菜田洋娃娃摆在同一个架子上卖。

 

(3) 坦白说,一种文化,假如鼓励试管婴儿业,就没有资格抱怨胚胎市场的出现。试管婴儿业背后有一个假设:有些人的基因比别人的基因有价值,值得不计成本来保存、延续。每年有几百万个生在低收入家庭的婴儿死于不难预防的疾病,如痢疾。但是雅皮阶层的受精卵,还在单细胞阶段,在试管中就受到呵护,耗费了庞大的人力物力。这种情况,是优生学可怕的“梦魇”以熟悉的市场形态出现——培育的不是最优秀的品种,而是收入最高的品种。胚胎复制技术可说是试管婴儿技术无可避免的副产品。一旦你决定不畏试管婴儿术的麻烦——女性要施以超高剂量的荷尔蒙,可能会有危险,男性在各方面也有失尊严——那么好不容易制造出来的健康胚胎自然会想要备上几份。有了备份,那么何不冷冻一些起来,以防将来小宝宝万一需要个新肾脏或眼角膜?

 

(4) 把复制孩童解冻来摘取器官,这个想法没有人很喜欢。可是《人体商店》的作者金柏瑞尔说,过去几年来估计有50到100对夫妇为了让现有的小孩得到人体组织而再生小孩。此外,第三世界国家的肾脏、眼睛等早就有活跃的市场。自己去养来用,比起劫掠穷人的身体,真的会恶劣得多吗?或者我们只为了好玩来复制吧。电影的精彩片段看不过瘾可以倒带回来重看。那么,到小宝宝长得满脸疙瘩,讨人嫌的时候,不妨换个小宝宝重来一次吧?早晚的事,试管婴儿族会把“瞬间重播”视为他们的人权。

 

(5)存在主义式反对复制的论调听来不甚实在。这派反对者质问:你要是几百个复制人之中的一个,你会觉得怎样?这个感觉大概也不会太差,就像在300万个13岁的孩子之中,穿着一样的松垮垮的长裤、没绑鞋带的球鞋和同款的棒球帽——通常叫做“酷”的感觉。在这个大众消费形态的社会中,所谓“宝贵的个人特色”之类的观念,还是留给耐克球鞋做广告吧。

 

(6)况且,如果我们真的都相信每个人是绝对独特的,根本不会有人那么猴急的要去繁衍自己那一套基因组。追根究底,是什么因素让人不愿领养,要借助试管婴儿技术?因为在内心深处,我们不愿相信个人是独特的,在宇宙中只能发生一次,我们想要一再的发生。有朝一日,复制成年人的技术成熟了,基因的永生只要是大富豪就能购买。裴洛走了之后,会有一大群小复制品出现。

 

(7) 也有人说复制人会成为半人,只为了满足父母(也可能是“原版”,看情形)的虚荣心而存在。可是,利用别人来实现自己的野心,一向都不犯法。现在诚然还没有人针对学术性向测验去繁殖新品种的小孩,可是已经有一整群人,成员和试管婴儿族多有重叠,训练他们还在学步的子女进明星托儿所,以便一路直升哈佛。不在试管里出生也可以成为别人自我的延伸。

 

(8)说起来,如果我们真正重视每个人宝贵的独特性,那么许多历史悠久的社会习俗也都要废弃才行。例如,不能出卖胚胎、出卖卵子,为什么可以出卖劳力?劳力也是由珍贵的生命要素构成的——精力、认知能力等等。数以百万计的“独特的个人”注定要一辈子从事反复的、磨灭心智的劳动,这算是珍重生命吗?

 

(9)批评复制胚胎的人说我们要了解面对的是什么,要清楚它含有的奥威尔式的暗示。可是如果我们决定禁止复制胚胎,同样也要清楚此举的暗示涵义。禁止使用这种技术,等于表示我们宁愿把基因的命运留在大自然的手中,好像掷骰子一样。虽然可能发生镰状细胞贫血症、泰萨氏症等各种各样基因病变也甘冒风险,因为我们骨子里并不放心让市场来调节生命演进。这可能是最不容易承认的一点:我们怕的主要不是21世纪的科技,而是怕把这个科技交到旧式的20世纪资本主义手中,会引发什么后果。


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 prospect P01zn     
n.前景,前途;景色,视野
参考例句:
  • This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
  • The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。
2 sickle eETzb     
n.镰刀
参考例句:
  • The gardener was swishing off the tops of weeds with a sickle.园丁正在用镰刀嗖嗖地割掉杂草的顶端。
  • There is a picture of the sickle on the flag. 旗帜上有镰刀的图案。
3 syndrome uqBwu     
n.综合病症;并存特性
参考例句:
  • The Institute says that an unidentified virus is to blame for the syndrome. 该研究所表示,引起这种综合症的是一种尚未确认的病毒。
  • Results indicated that 11 fetuses had Down syndrome. 结果表明有11个胎儿患有唐氏综合征。
4 batch HQgyz     
n.一批(组,群);一批生产量
参考例句:
  • The first batch of cakes was burnt.第一炉蛋糕烤焦了。
  • I have a batch of letters to answer.我有一批信要回复。
5 genetic PgIxp     
adj.遗传的,遗传学的
参考例句:
  • It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
  • Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。
6 genetically Lgixo     
adv.遗传上
参考例句:
  • All the bees in the colony are genetically related. 同一群体的蜜蜂都有亲缘关系。
  • Genetically modified foods have already arrived on American dinner tables. 经基因改造加工过的食物已端上了美国人的餐桌。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 基因与食物
7 immortal 7kOyr     
adj.不朽的;永生的,不死的;神的
参考例句:
  • The wild cocoa tree is effectively immortal.野生可可树实际上是不会死的。
  • The heroes of the people are immortal!人民英雄永垂不朽!
8 perfectly 8Mzxb     
adv.完美地,无可非议地,彻底地
参考例句:
  • The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
  • Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。
9 secular GZmxM     
n.牧师,凡人;adj.世俗的,现世的,不朽的
参考例句:
  • We live in an increasingly secular society.我们生活在一个日益非宗教的社会。
  • Britain is a plural society in which the secular predominates.英国是个世俗主导的多元社会。
10 arrogance pNpyD     
n.傲慢,自大
参考例句:
  • His arrogance comes out in every speech he makes.他每次讲话都表现得骄傲自大。
  • Arrogance arrested his progress.骄傲阻碍了他的进步。
11 embryo upAxt     
n.胚胎,萌芽的事物
参考例句:
  • They are engaging in an embryo research.他们正在进行一项胚胎研究。
  • The project was barely in embryo.该计划只是个雏形。
12 reverence BByzT     
n.敬畏,尊敬,尊严;Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称;v.尊敬,敬畏,崇敬
参考例句:
  • He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
  • We reverence tradition but will not be fettered by it.我们尊重传统,但不被传统所束缚。
13 hypocrisy g4qyt     
n.伪善,虚伪
参考例句:
  • He railed against hypocrisy and greed.他痛斥伪善和贪婪的行为。
  • He accused newspapers of hypocrisy in their treatment of the story.他指责了报纸在报道该新闻时的虚伪。
14 frenzy jQbzs     
n.疯狂,狂热,极度的激动
参考例句:
  • He was able to work the young students up into a frenzy.他能激起青年学生的狂热。
  • They were singing in a frenzy of joy.他们欣喜若狂地高声歌唱。
15 superstition VHbzg     
n.迷信,迷信行为
参考例句:
  • It's a common superstition that black cats are unlucky.认为黑猫不吉祥是一种很普遍的迷信。
  • Superstition results from ignorance.迷信产生于无知。
16 embryos 0e62a67414ef42288b74539e591aa30a     
n.晶胚;胚,胚胎( embryo的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Somatic cells of angiosperms enter a regenerative phase and behave like embryos. 被子植物体细胞进入一个生殖阶段,而且其行为象胚。 来自辞典例句
  • Evolution can explain why human embryos look like gilled fishes. 进化论能够解释为什么人类的胚胎看起来象除去了内脏的鱼一样。 来自辞典例句
17 marketing Boez7e     
n.行销,在市场的买卖,买东西
参考例句:
  • They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
  • He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。
18 dread Ekpz8     
vt.担忧,忧虑;惧怕,不敢;n.担忧,畏惧
参考例句:
  • We all dread to think what will happen if the company closes.我们都不敢去想一旦公司关门我们该怎么办。
  • Her heart was relieved of its blankest dread.她极度恐惧的心理消除了。
19 inevitable 5xcyq     
adj.不可避免的,必然发生的
参考例句:
  • Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
  • The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。
20 by-product nSayP     
n.副产品,附带产生的结果
参考例句:
  • Freedom is the by-product of economic surplus.自由是经济盈余的副产品。
  • The raw material for the tyre is a by-product of petrol refining.制造轮胎的原材料是提炼汽油时产生的一种副产品。
21 hazardous Iddxz     
adj.(有)危险的,冒险的;碰运气的
参考例句:
  • These conditions are very hazardous for shipping.这些情况对航海非常不利。
  • Everybody said that it was a hazardous investment.大家都说那是一次危险的投资。
22 hormones hormones     
n. 荷尔蒙,激素 名词hormone的复数形式
参考例句:
  • This hormone interacts closely with other hormones in the body. 这种荷尔蒙与体內其他荷尔蒙紧密地相互作用。
  • The adrenals produce a large per cent of a man's sex hormones. 肾上腺分泌人体的大部分性激素。
23 indignities 35236fff3dcc4da192dc6ef35967f28d     
n.侮辱,轻蔑( indignity的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The soldiers who were captured suffered many indignities at the hands of the enemy. 被俘的士兵在敌人手中受尽侮辱。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • What sort of indignities would he be forced to endure? 他会被迫忍受什么样的侮辱呢? 来自辞典例句
24 viable mi2wZ     
adj.可行的,切实可行的,能活下去的
参考例句:
  • The scheme is economically viable.这个计划从经济效益来看是可行的。
  • The economy of the country is not viable.这个国家经济是难以维持的。
25 thawing 604d0753ea9b93ae6b1e926b72f6eda8     
n.熔化,融化v.(气候)解冻( thaw的现在分词 );(态度、感情等)缓和;(冰、雪及冷冻食物)溶化;软化
参考例句:
  • The ice is thawing. 冰在融化。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • It had been snowing and thawing and the streets were sloppy. 天一直在下雪,雪又一直在融化,街上泥泞不堪。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
26 pimply 1100651dc459cba6fd8a9b769b1448f7     
adj.肿泡的;有疙瘩的;多粉刺的;有丘疹的
参考例句:
  • Now, we won't submit to impertinence from these pimply, tipsy virgins. 现在我们决不能忍受这群长着脓包、喝醉了的小兔崽子们的无礼举动。 来自辞典例句
  • A head stuck out cautiously-a square, pimply, purplish face with thick eyebrows and round eyes. 车厢里先探出一个头来,紫酱色的一张方脸,浓眉毛,圆眼睛,脸上有许多小疱。 来自互联网
27 baggy CuVz5     
adj.膨胀如袋的,宽松下垂的
参考例句:
  • My T-shirt went all baggy in the wash.我的T恤越洗越大了。
  • Baggy pants are meant to be stylish,not offensive.松松垮垮的裤子意味着时髦,而不是无礼。
28 untied d4a1dd1a28503840144e8098dbf9e40f     
松开,解开( untie的过去式和过去分词 ); 解除,使自由; 解决
参考例句:
  • Once untied, we common people are able to conquer nature, too. 只要团结起来,我们老百姓也能移山倒海。
  • He untied the ropes. 他解开了绳子。
29 adoption UK7yu     
n.采用,采纳,通过;收养
参考例句:
  • An adoption agency had sent the boys to two different families.一个收养机构把他们送给两个不同的家庭。
  • The adoption of this policy would relieve them of a tremendous burden.采取这一政策会给他们解除一个巨大的负担。
30 immortality hkuys     
n.不死,不朽
参考例句:
  • belief in the immortality of the soul 灵魂不灭的信念
  • It was like having immortality while you were still alive. 仿佛是当你仍然活着的时候就得到了永生。
31 overlapping Gmqz4t     
adj./n.交迭(的)
参考例句:
  • There is no overlapping question between the two courses. 这两门课程之间不存在重叠的问题。
  • A trimetrogon strip is composed of three rows of overlapping. 三镜头摄影航线为三排重迭的象片所组成。
32 ego 7jtzw     
n.自我,自己,自尊
参考例句:
  • He is absolute ego in all thing.在所有的事情上他都绝对自我。
  • She has been on an ego trip since she sang on television.她上电视台唱过歌之后就一直自吹自擂。
33 distinguished wu9z3v     
adj.卓越的,杰出的,著名的
参考例句:
  • Elephants are distinguished from other animals by their long noses.大象以其长长的鼻子显示出与其他动物的不同。
  • A banquet was given in honor of the distinguished guests.宴会是为了向贵宾们致敬而举行的。
34 labor P9Tzs     
n.劳动,努力,工作,劳工;分娩;vi.劳动,努力,苦干;vt.详细分析;麻烦
参考例句:
  • We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
  • He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后,他已经疲惫不堪了。
35 forth Hzdz2     
adv.向前;向外,往外
参考例句:
  • The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
  • He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。
36 condemned condemned     
adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词
参考例句:
  • He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
  • The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。
37 outlaw 1J0xG     
n.歹徒,亡命之徒;vt.宣布…为不合法
参考例句:
  • The outlaw hid out in the hills for several months.逃犯在山里隐藏了几个月。
  • The outlaw has been caught.歹徒已被抓住了。
38 anemia joGy3     
n.贫血,贫血症
参考例句:
  • The doctors analyzed the blood sample for anemia. 医生们分析了贫血的血样。
  • I was put on iron tablets for my anemia.我曾因贫血吃补铁药片。
39 capitalism er4zy     
n.资本主义
参考例句:
  • The essence of his argument is that capitalism cannot succeed.他的论点的核心是资本主义不能成功。
  • Capitalism began to develop in Russia in the 19th century.十九世纪资本主义在俄国开始发展。

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