新視野大學(xué)英語讀寫教程第三冊unit8-a Legal and Moral Implications of Cloning
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Section (A)
Legal and Moral Implications of Cloning
At first it was just plain surprising. Word last week that a scientist named Ian Wilmut had succeeded in cloning an adult mammal — an achievement long thought impossible — caught the imagination of everyone. The laboratory process that produced Dolly, an unremarkable-looking sheep, theoretically would work for humans as well. A world with human clones was suddenly within reach. It was science fiction coming to life.
In the wake of Wilmut's announcement, governments hurried to draft guidelines for the unknown, a future filled with incredible possibilities. President Clinton ordered a national commission to study the legal and moral implications of cloning. Leaders in Europe, where most nations already prohibit human cloning, began examining the moral implications of cloning other species.
Like the Theory of Relativity, the splitting of the atom, and the first space flight, Dolly's appearance has generated a long list of difficult puzzles for scientists, politicians, and philosophers. And wild questions on the topic of cloning continue to mount.
Why would anyone want to clone a human being in the first place?
The human cloning situations that experts consider most frequently fall into two broad categories: 1) parents who want to clone a child, either to provide transplants for a dying child or to replace that child, and 2) adults who for a variety of reasons might want to clone themselves.
Will it be possible to clone the dead?
Perhaps, if the body is fresh, says one expert. The cloning method used by Wilmut's lab requires combining an egg cell with the nucleus of a cell containing the DNA of the person to be cloned. (DNA is a very long, ribbon -like molecule that contains our genetic information.) And that means that the nucleus must be intact. Cells die and the cell nucleus begins to break apart after death. But, yes, in theory at least it might be possible.
Would a cloned human be identical to the original?
Identical genes don't produce identical people, as anyone who knows a set of identical twins can tell you. In fact, twins are more alike than clones would be, since they have at least shared the same environment within the mother, are usually raised in the same family, and so forth. Parents could clone a second child who resembled their first in appearance, but all the evidence suggests the two would have very different personalities.
Twins separated at birth do sometimes share personality characteristics, but such characteristics in a cloned son or daughter would only be reminders of the child who was lost.
Even in terms of biology, a clone would not be identical to the "master copy". The clone's cells, for example, would have energy-processing machinery that came from the egg, not from the person who was cloned. But most of the physical differences between originals and copies are so minor that detection of them would require a sophisticated laboratory. The one possible exception is bearing children. Wilmut and his coworkers are not sure that Dolly will be able to have lambs. They will try to find out once she's old enough to breed.
What if parents decided to clone a child in order to harvest organs?
Most experts agree that it would be psychologically harmful if a child sensed he had been brought into the world simply as an organ donor. But some parents already produce second children with nonfatal transplants in mind, and many experts do not oppose this. Cloning would increase the chances for a tissue match from 25 percent to nearly 100 percent.
If cloned animals could be used as organ donors, we wouldn't have to worry about cloning twins for transplants. Pigs, for example, have organs similar in size to humans'. But the human body attacks and destroys tissue from other species. To get around that, one company is trying to alter the pig's genetic code to prevent pig organs from being attacked. If the company's technicians succeed, it may be more efficient to produce such pigs by cloning than by current methods.
How would a human clone refer to the donor of its DNA?
"Mom" is not right, because the woman or women who supplied the egg and gave birth to the infant would more appropriately be called Mother. "Dad" isn't right, either. A traditional father supplies only half the DNA in a child. Judith Martin, in her writings under the name of "Miss Manners";, suggests the phrase, "Most honored sir or madam". Why? "One should always respect one's ancestors," she says, "regardless of what they did to bring one into the world."
That still leaves some confusion over vocabulary. The editorial director of one dictionary says that the noun "clonee" may sound like a good term, but it's not clear enough. Instead, he prefers "original" and "copy".
What are the other implications of cloning for society?
The gravest concern isn't really cloning itself, but genetic engineering — the deliberate altering of genes to create human beings according to certain requirements.
Specifically, some experts are concerned about the creation of a new (and disrespected) social class: "the clones". One expert believes the situation could be comparable to what occurred in the 16th century, when Europeans puzzled over how to classify the unfamiliar inhabitants of the Americas, and endlessly debated whether or not they were humans.
The list of questions could go on; people are just beginning to wonder about the future of the world after cloning.
Words: 900
New Words
implication n. 1.含義，暗示 2.牽連，卷入
▲clone v. (使)無性繁殖；克隆 n. 無性繁殖系（個體）；克隆
fiction n. 1.小說 2.虛構(gòu)，想像
draft vt. 1.起草，草擬 2.征募，征召 n. 1.草稿，草案，草圖 2.匯票
guideline n. 指導(dǎo)原則，指導(dǎo)方針，準(zhǔn)則
prohibit vt. 禁止；阻止，使不可能
relativity n. 1.【物理】愛因斯坦的相對論(指出一切運動都是相對的，而且把時間看作是與空間有關(guān)的第四維） 2.相關(guān)性，相對性
split v. 1.（使）裂開，（使）破裂 2.（使）分裂 n. 裂縫，分裂
atom n. 1.原子 2.微粒，極小之物
mount vi. 增加，上升 vt. 1.登上 2.準(zhǔn)備并進行；組織，發(fā)動
category n. 種類，類型，范疇
▲transplant n. 1.移植的器官或植物 2.（組織或器官的）移植 vt. 1.移栽，移種（植物等） 2.移植（器官） 3.使遷移，使移居
nucleus n. 1.細(xì)胞核，核 2.原子核 3.中心，核心
■DNA n. 脫氧核糖核酸
ribbon n. 緞帶，絲帶
▲genetic a. 遺傳的，遺傳學(xué)的
▲intact a. 完整無缺的，未經(jīng)觸動的
gene n. 基因
twin n. 孿生兒，雙胞胎
resemble vt. 像，類似
machinery n. （總稱）機器，機械
minor a. 較小的，較少的；低級的，次要的 n. 未成年人
detection n. 察覺，發(fā)覺；探測
breed vi. （動物）繁殖，產(chǎn)仔 vt. 飼養(yǎng)，繁殖 n. 品種，種，屬
organ n. 1.器官 2.風(fēng)琴 3.機構(gòu)
■donor n. 1.獻血者；捐獻器官的人 2.捐贈者
fatal a. 決定命運的 ;致命的
◆nonfatal n. 非致命的
tissue n. 1.組織 2.薄紙，紙巾
code n. 1.代碼，密碼 2.法典，法規(guī)，準(zhǔn)則 vt. 譯成電碼
technician n. 技術(shù)人員，技師
infant n. 嬰兒
phrase n. 短語，詞組，用語 vt. 用言語表達，敘述
confusion n. 1.困惑，迷亂，分辨不清 2.混淆 3.混亂，騷亂
editorial a. 編輯的，主編的 n. 社論
deliberate a. 1.故意的，蓄意的 2.謹(jǐn)慎的，慎重的 v. 認(rèn)真考慮，研討
specifically ad. 1.明確地，具體地 2.特別地，特意
comparable a. 可比較的，類似的
classify vt. 分類，歸類
debate v. 討論，辯論 n. 討論，辯論
Phrases and Expressions
succeed in doing sth. 成功，完成
work for 適用于 為... ...工作
as well (as ) 也，和，除... ...之外
within (one's) reach 在伸手能及的范圍以內(nèi) 近的；方便到達的
come to life 活躍起來，表現(xiàn)生動
in the wake of 隨著，緊跟著
in the first place 首先，一開始
fall into 可分成；屬于
provide for 為... ...提供（所需的某物）
break apart 自行裂開
in theory 理論上
identical to / with 與……一模一樣
and (so on and) so forth 等等
What if … …要是……怎么辦
bring into the world 生（孩子）
with sth. in mind 出于……目的
get around 成功地解決，克服
refer to 將……稱為 提及，談到 查閱，詢問 轉(zhuǎn)送至某人以便得到處理或幫助
give birth to sb. / sth. 生(孩子)；產(chǎn)(仔)
under the name of 用別名
regardless of 不顧，不管
be concerned about / over 擔(dān)心，擔(dān)憂
comparable to / with 可與……相比
puzzle over 努力思考
wonder about 對……好奇；想知道；對……疑惑
Proper Names
Ian Wilmut 伊恩·威爾莫特
Dolly 多莉(羊)
Clinton 克林頓(美國前總統(tǒng))
Judith Martin 朱迪斯·馬丁
Miss Manners 禮儀小姐
克隆在法律與道德上的寓意
起初這對人們絕對是個震驚。 上周有消息說，一位名叫伊恩·威爾莫特的科學(xué)家已經(jīng)成功地克隆了一只成年哺乳動物，而這項成就長期以來被認(rèn)為是不可能的。 這一傳聞引發(fā)了每個人的想像?？寺《嗬颍ㄒ恢幌嗝矡o奇的綿羊）的實驗過程，從理論上說也同樣適用于人類。 一個克隆人類的世界突然間近在咫尺，科幻小說變成了現(xiàn)實。
就在威爾莫特宣告成功之后，為了一個未知世界，一個充滿各種不可思議的可能性的未來，各國政府立即起草指導(dǎo)方針。 克林頓總統(tǒng)命令一個全國委員會研究克隆在法律和道德上的寓意。 在歐洲，大多數(shù)國家都已禁止克隆人類，各國領(lǐng)導(dǎo)此時也開始考察克隆其他物種的道德寓意。
就像相對論、原子裂變和第一次太空飛行一樣，多莉的出現(xiàn)給科學(xué)家、政治家和哲學(xué)家們提出了一長串難以解答的難題。 關(guān)于克隆的問題不斷涌現(xiàn)。
首先，為什么有人想克隆人類？
專家們考慮得最多的關(guān)于克隆人類的情形可以分為兩大類： 1）父母想要克隆孩子，要么是想為面臨死亡威脅的孩子提供移植器官，要么是想代替那個孩子； 2）成年人出于各種各樣的原因想要克隆自己。
是否可能克隆死去的人？
有位專家說，只要尸體保持完好，也許就可能。 威爾莫特實驗室使用的克隆方法要求將一個卵細(xì)胞和一個含有被克隆人的DNA的細(xì)胞核相結(jié)合。 （DNA是一種含有我們的基因信息的狹長帶狀分子。） 這就意味著細(xì)胞核必須保持完整。 而人死之后，細(xì)胞死亡，細(xì)胞核就開始分裂。 但是，的確，至少從理論上說克隆死去的人是可行的。
克隆的人會和母本一模一樣嗎？
相同的基因不會復(fù)制出相同的人。這一點，任何認(rèn)識一些雙胞胎的人都可以告訴你。 事實上，雙胞胎相像的程度勝于克隆人，因為他們至少在母體內(nèi)分享過相同的環(huán)境，通常也在同一個家庭里被撫養(yǎng)長大，等等。 父母可能克隆出第二個孩子，面貌與第一個相似，但是所有的證據(jù)都表明，這兩個人的個性會有很大差異。 一出生就被分離的雙胞胎，有時可能有相同的個性特征，但是這種相同的個性特征表現(xiàn)在克隆的兒子或女兒身上，只能令人想起失去的孩子。
即使從生物學(xué)的角度看，克隆人也不會和"母本"一模一樣。 比如，克隆人的細(xì)胞可能會有來自卵子而非被克隆人的能量加工機制。 然而，在母體和克隆體之間存在的身體差異大部分都很小，小得需要在設(shè)備精良的實驗室里測定。 惟一可能的例外就是生育能力。 威爾莫特和他的同事不敢肯定多莉是否能生育。 他們會等到多莉到了生育年齡時再尋找答案。
如果父母決定克隆一個孩子以獲得器官，那會怎樣？
多數(shù)專家都認(rèn)為，如果一個孩子感到自己來到這個世界只是作為一個器官捐贈者，那他的心理可能受到傷害。 但有些父母已經(jīng)生了第二個小孩，目的是進行一些非致命器官的移植， 對此許多專家也不反對。 克隆可以將組織適配率從25%提高到將近100%。
如果把被克隆的動物用作器官捐贈體，那我們就不必考慮為器官移植而克隆雙胞胎了。 例如，豬的器官就和人類的差不多大小。 但是人體會攻擊并破壞來自其他物種的組織。 為了克服這一障礙，有一家公司正在試圖改變豬的基因碼，以避免豬的器官受到排斥。 如果該公司的技術(shù)人員成功的話，那么用克隆技術(shù)來繁殖這樣的豬比用現(xiàn)行的方法更為有效。
克隆的人將如何稱呼其DNA捐贈者？
稱呼"媽媽"不正確，因為提供卵子并生下嬰孩的女子才更有資格被稱為母親。 稱呼"爸爸"也不對。 傳統(tǒng)意義上的父親只提供了孩子身上的一半DNA。 朱迪斯·馬丁在用筆名"禮儀小姐" 撰寫的著作里建議這樣稱呼："尊敬的先生/夫人"。 為什么呢？"不論他們用什么方式將你帶到這個世界，" 她說，"人總得尊敬自己的祖先。"
這樣做還是留下了一些詞匯上的難題。 一本詞典的主編說，名詞"被克隆者"聽起來不錯，但卻不夠明晰。 他更愿意用"母本"和"副本"。
克隆對社會還有什么其他含義？
最讓人擔(dān)心的不是克隆本身，而是基因工程——即根據(jù)特定的要求故意改變基因以創(chuàng)造人類。 具體說來，有些專家擔(dān)心會出現(xiàn)一個新的（和不被尊重的）社會階層，即"克隆階層"。 有位專家相信，這一情形類似于16世紀(jì)時的一種情況，當(dāng)時的歐洲人對如何對美洲的陌生居民進行歸類感到困惑，并無休止地爭論他們究竟是不是人類。
問題不勝枚舉，而人們只是剛剛開始探詢克隆技術(shù)出現(xiàn)后的世界的未來。
