BBC英语六分钟-每天坚持口语It's all in the genes

It'sallinthegenesBBC英语六分钟练起来（2023.03.06）TranscriptNote:Thisisnotaword-for-wordtranscriptSophieHelloandwelcometo6MinuteEnglish.I'mSophie…NeilAndI'mNeil.Iwaswatchingthenewstheotherday,Sophie.SophieLearnanythinginteresting?NeilYes,actually.UKscientistshavebeenauthorisedbythegovernmenttogeneticallymodifyhumanembryosforresearch.Whattheycan'tdothoughisimplantmodifiedembryosintowomen.Theytalkedalotaboutgeneediting...SophieCanyouexplaintouswhatgeneeditingis?NeilMmm…Ithinkthismeanstherearetheselettersinacode–A-B-Csomething…Ican'trememberexactly…

SophieGene

editing

istheabilityto

manipulate

–orcontrol–DNA.Andincaseyoudidn'tknow,

DNA

isshortfordeoxyribonucleicacid–thisisasubstanceinthecellsofanimalsandplantsthatcontainsgeneticinformation.Anda

gene

ispartoftheDNAin

thecellthatcontrolsthephysicaldevelopmentandbehaviourofaplantoranimalandispassedonfromitsparents.NeilPhew!Thanksforthesciencelesson,Sophie.SophieYou'rewelcome.Nowhere'saquestionforyou,Neil:Whichsciencefictionfilmanticipatesgeneeditinginadystopiansocietywherehumansaregeneticallyengineered?Isit…a)Robocopb)Gattacaorc)BladeRunnerNeilMmm…Idon'treallyunderstandthequestionbutI'mgoingtosayc)BladeRunner.What'sdystopian?SophieDystopian

meansanimaginarysocietywherepeopleareunhappyandafraid.Well,movingon,let'slistentoBBCjournalistFergusWalshtalkingabouthowgeneeditingworks.INSERTFergusWalsh,BBCjournalistThinkofgeneeditingasamolecularsatnav.ItscanstheDNAsearchingfortheerror.Thenitusesmolecularscissorstosnipthroughbothstrands,whichswitchesoffthefaultygene.Oritcanrepairthecodebyinsertingahealthycopyofthegene.Thesetechniquesraisetheprospectoftreating–evencuring–somegeneticdiseases–andit'snotsciencefiction.SophieSoDNAisasetofinstructionsforhowourbodiesworkwrittenusingachemicalcodeoffourletters–A,T,C,G.Butsometimesthecodecontainsmistakes.NeilYes.Youfindspellingmistakesby

scanning

–orsearching–throughtheDNA.Thenyou

snip

–orcutout–themistakeorfaultygenefromthecodeusingmolecularscissors.

Faulty

bytheway,meanssomethingthatisn'tworkingproperly–likethefaultybrakesonmybike.SophieThatsoundsreallydangerous,Neil!NeilYeah,butI'mmoreworriedaboutmyfaultygenes.Imighthaveallsortsofgeneticmistakesinsideme.SophieThatwouldn'tsurpriseme.Butyou'veactuallytouchedonaseriouspoint.Latestresearchsuggestsallourbodiesdocontaingeneticmistakes,someofwhichcouldcausedisease.AndasreporterFergusWalshsaidattheendoftheclip,geneeditingcouldbeimportantfortreatingorevencuringinheritedgeneticdiseases.Forpatientswithblood,immune,muscleorskindisordersitoffersthepossibilitythattheirfaultycellscouldberemoved,orchangedinthelab,andthenputback.NeilThatsoundsamazing.Butistherea

catch?SophieAndthatmeansaproblemordrawback.Yes.Somepeoplethinkthatifeditingthegenesofahumanembryoisallowedforcuringdisease,thiswillleadtoeditingthegenesofembryosforreasonsotherthanhealth.Let'slistentoMarcyDarnovsky,executivedirectoroftheCentreforGeneticsandSocietyinCaliforniatalkingaboutherconcerns.INSERTMarcyDarnovsky,CentreforGeneticsandSocietyIt'stoorisky,wedon'tneedit,thereareotherwaystohavehealthychildren,anditwouldopenthedoor–possibly–toaworldofgenetichavesandhavenots.Wedon'tneedmoreinequality,wedon'tneedmorediscriminationintheworld.NeilAn

embryo

bythewayisananimalorhumanstartingtodevelopinsideitsmother.MarcyDarnovskyisagainstgeneeditingbecauseitmaybeusedtocreate

designerbabies

–orbabieswhosegeneshavebeenselectedtohavecertaindesirablecharacteristics.SophieShesaysitmay

openthedoor

–ormakeitpossible–asituationwhereembryosaregenetically

enhanced

–orimproved–tobemoreintelligentorphysicallystronger,forexample.NeilAndthiswillleadtomore

discrimination

intheworld–whichmeanstreatingsomepeoplelessfairlythanothers…Sophie…whichissomethingthatsciencefictionhasbeenpredictingformanyyears.It'sthatdystopiansocietywewerediscussingearlier,Neil!Whichsciencefictionfilmanticipatesgeneeditinginadystopiansocietywherehumansaregeneticallyengineered?Isit…a)Robocopb)Gattacaorc)BladeRunner?NeilAndIsaidc)BladeRunner.SophieSorry,Neil!Itwasb)Gattaca.This1997sci-fifilmcentresonthecharacterVincentFreeman,whowasn'tgeneticallyengineered,butisabletobuythegeneticidentityofanothermaninordertopursuehisdreamoftravellingintospace.Thefilm'stitleusesthelettersG,A,TandC,whicharethefourchemicalcodesmakingupDNA.Nowherearetoday'swords:

geneeditingmanipulateDNAgenedystopianscanningsnipfaultycatchembryodesignerbabiesopenthedoorenhanceddiscriminationNeilWell,that'stheendoftoday's6MinuteEnglish.Pleasedojoinusagainsoon!BothBye.

VocabularygeneeditingtheabilitytomodifyDNAmanipulatemodifyorcontrolDNA

(deoxyribonucleicacid)asubstanceinthecellsofanimalsandplantsthatcontainsgeneticinformationgeneapartoftheDNAinacellthatcontrolsthegrowthandbehaviourofalivingthingandispassedonfromitsparentsdystopiananimaginarysocietywherepeopleareunhappyandafraidscanningsearchingcarefullysnipcutfaultynotworkingproperlycatchproblem,oftenahiddenproblemembryoananimaldevelopinginitsmother'swombdesignerbabiesbabieswhosegeneshavebeenselectedtohavecertaindesirablecharacteristicsopenthedoormakepossibleenhanced

improveddiscriminationtreatingsomepeoplelessfairlythanothersTranscript（双语版）Sophie:Helloandwelcometo6MinuteEnglish.I'mSophie…

大家好，欢迎收听英语六分钟。我是索菲……

Neil:AndI'mNeil.Iwaswatchingthenewstheotherday,Sophie.

我是尼尔。索菲，我那天看了新闻。

Sophie:Learnanythinginteresting?

有什么有趣的事情吗？

Neil:Yes,actually.UKscientistshavebeenauthorisedbythegovernmenttogeneticallymodifyhumanembryosforresearch.Whattheycan'tdothoughisimplantmodifiedembryosintowomen.Theytalkedalotaboutgeneediting...

还真有。英国科学家已经获得政府批准对人类胚胎进行以研究为目的的基因修改。但是他们不能做的是将进行过基因修改的胚胎植入女性体内。他们说到了很多关于基因编辑的事情……

Sophie:Canyouexplaintouswhatgeneeditingis?

你可以为我们解释一下什么是基因编辑吗？Neil:Mmm…Ithinkthismeanstherearetheselettersinacode–A-B-Csomething…Ican'trememberexactly…

嗯……我想它的意思是基因的编码区由一些字母，比如A-B-C之类的……，具体的我没记住……

Sophie:Geneeditingistheabilitytomanipulate–orcontrol–DNA.Andincaseyoudidn'tknow,DNAisshortfordeoxyribonucleicacid–thisisasubstanceinthecellsofanimalsandplantsthatcontainsgeneticinformation.AndageneispartoftheDNAinthecellthatcontrolsthephysicaldevelopmentandbehaviourofaplantoranimalandispassedonfromitsparents.

基因编辑是一种对DNA进行操控和处理的能力。以防你不知道，DNA是脱氧核糖核酸的简称，它是动植物细胞内承载遗传信息的物质。基因是细胞内DNA的一部分，控制着动植物生理发育和行为方式，可以通过父母遗传给下一代。

Neil:Phew!Thanksforthesciencelesson,Sophie.

唷！谢谢你给我们上了一堂科学课，索菲。

Sophie:You'rewelcome.Nowhere'saquestionforyou,Neil:Whichsciencefictionfilmanticipatesgeneeditinginadystopiansocietywherehumansaregeneticallyengineered?Isita)Robocopb)Gattacaorc)BladeRunner

不客气。现在我有一个问题要问你，尼尔：以下哪部科幻电影中预言了反乌托邦的社会中的基因编辑，里面的人类接受了基因工程的改造？是a)《机器战警》b)《千钧一发》还是c)《银翼杀手》？

Neil:Mmm…Idon'treallyunderstandthequestionbutI'mgoingtosayc)BladeRunner.What'sdystopian?

嗯……我不太明白你的问题，但是我还是要选c)《银翼杀手》。反乌托邦是什么？

Sophie:Dystopianmeansanimaginarysocietywherepeopleareunhappyandafraid.Well,movingon,let'slistentoBBCjournalistFergusWalshtalkingabouthowgeneeditingworks.

反乌托邦是一种假想的社会，这种社会中的人们生活在不幸和恐惧当中。好了，我们继续。让我们来听一听BBC记者费格斯·沃尔什为我们介绍基因编辑的工作原理。

Thinkofgeneeditingasamolecularsatnav.ItscanstheDNAsearchingfortheerror.Thenitusesmolecularscissorstosnipthroughbothstrands,whichswitchesoffthefaultygene.Oritcanrepairthecodebyinsertingahealthycopyofthegene.Thesetechniquesraisetheprospectoftreating–evencuring–somegeneticdiseases–andit'snotsciencefiction.

基因编辑就像分子内的卫星导航。它可以检测DNA中的错误基因。然后用分子剪刀将双链剪除，这样就可以阻止错误基因的表达。或者基因编辑通过在DNA链中插入健康基因片段来修复编码。这些技术增加了治疗甚至治愈基因性疾病的可能，这并非科幻。

Sophie:SoDNAisasetofinstructionsforhowourbodiesworkwrittenusingachemicalcodeoffourletters–A,T,C,G.Butsometimesthecodecontainsmistakes.

那么，DNA就是A、T、C、G四种碱基编码组成的指示机体运转的遗传指令。但是有时候这些编码中会出现错误。

Neil:Yes.Youfindspellingmistakesbyscanning–orsearching–throughtheDNA.Thenyousnip–orcutout–themistakeorfaultygenefromthecodeusingmolecularscissors.Faultybytheway,meanssomethingthatisn'tworkingproperly–likethefaultybrakesonmybike.

是的。DNA扫描可以发现错误编码。然后你可以用分子剪刀将异常基因剪除。异常是指无法正常工作，就像我自行车的刹车异常。

Sophie:Thatsoundsreallydangerous,Neil!

这听上去很危险，尼尔！

Neil:Yeah,butI'mmoreworriedaboutmyfaultygenes.Imighthaveallsortsofgeneticmistakesinsideme.

对，但是我更担心的是我体内的异常基因。或许我体内各种异常基因都有。

Sophie:Thatwouldn'tsurpriseme.Butyou'veactuallytouchedonaseriouspoint.Latestresearchsuggestsallourbodiesdocontaingeneticmistakes,someofwhichcouldcausedisease.AndasreporterFergusWalshsaidattheendoftheclip,geneeditingcouldbeimportantfortreatingorevencuringinheritedgeneticdiseases.Forpatientswithblood,immune,muscleorskindisordersitoffersthepossibilitythattheirfaultycellscouldberemoved,orchangedinthelab,andthenputback.

这并不让我感到吃惊。但是你的确提到了一个严肃的问题。最近的研究表明我们所有人的体内都含有异常基因，其中一些可能导致疾病。如我们的记者费格斯·沃尔什最后所说，基因编辑对于治疗甚至治愈遗传疾病很重要。对于有血液、免疫系统、肌肉或皮肤疾病的患者来说，它提供了一种将问题细胞去除，或者在研究室中将其修改然后重新至于体内的可能性。

Neil:Thatsoundsamazing.Butisthereacatch?

这听上去很不错，但是有什么隐患吗？

Sophie:Andthatmeansaproblemordrawback.Yes.Somepeoplethinkthatifeditingthegenesofahumanembryoisallowedforcuringdisease,thiswillleadtoeditingthegenesofembryosforreasonsotherthanhealth.Let'slistentoMarcyDarnovsky,executivedirectoroftheCentreforGeneticsandSocietyinCaliforniatalkingaboutherconcerns.

隐患即问题或者弊端。是的。一些人认为允许以治病为目的编辑胎盘基因可能会导致以其他健康以外的目的而进行的胎盘基因编辑。让我们听一听加利福尼亚遗传学与社会中心执行董事马尔西·达诺夫斯基的担忧是什么。

It'stoorisky,wedon'tneedit,thereareotherwaystohavehealthychildren,anditwouldopenthedoor–possibly–toaworldofgenetichavesandhavenots.Wedon'tneedmoreinequality,wedon'tneedmorediscriminationintheworld.

这样做风险太大了，我们还有其他的方法可以生育健康的孩子；这样会催生穷人与富人之间基因方面的差距。我们不需要更多的不平等，世界也不需要更多的歧视。

Neil:Anembryobythewayisananimalorhumanstartingtodevelopinsideitsmother.MarcyDarnovskyisagainstgeneeditingbecauseitmaybeusedtocreatedesignerbabies–orbabieswhosegeneshavebeenselectedtohavecertaindesirablecharacteristics.

顺便说一下，胚胎是动物或人类开始在母体内成长发育时的形式。马尔西·达诺夫斯基反对基因编辑是因为他担心人们会用这种技术定制孩子，即孩子体内的基因是根据父母喜欢的特点挑选的。

Sophie:Shesaysitmayopenthedoor–ormakeitpossible–asituationwhereembryosaregeneticallyenhanced–orimproved–tobemoreintelligentorphysicallystronger,forexample.

她说这可能让胚胎的基因更优良，比如智商更高或者身体更强壮。

Neil:Andthiswillleadtomorediscriminationintheworld–whichmeanstreatingsomepeoplelessfairlythanothers…

而且这可能让世界上有更多的歧视，区别对待一些人……

Sophie:…whichissomethingthatscienc