Genetics at Work
美音、自然拼读、分级阅读与词汇复习
Table of Contents Introduction.
导言表。
4 Farming.
4农作.
5 Animal Breeding.
5动物培育.
7 Animals in Zoos.
动物园7个动物.
10 Solving Crimes.
10 解决犯罪。
12 Health.
12 卫生。
14 Conclusion.
14 结论。
15 Glossary.
15 词汇。
16 Introduction Do you sometimes wonder what you want to be when you grow up?
导言 你有时会想知道自己长大后想成为什么?
Have you ever thought about being a doctor or a detective, or working with animals?
你有没有想过做医生或侦探 或和动物一起工作?
All these jobs have one thing in common— genetics.
所有这些工作都有一个共同点——遗传学。
What is genetics?
什么是遗传学?
Genetics is the field of science that studies how all living things pass traits from one generation to the next.
遗传学是研究所有活物如何从一代传给下一代的特质的科学领域.
Traits are features such as hair color, finger length, and nose shape.
特质有发色,指长等特征,有鼻相.
Understanding genetics is important in many jobs, including farming, breeding animals, curing diseases, preventing potential illnesses, solving crimes, and more.
了解遗传学在许多工作中都很重要,包括耕作、饲养动物、治疗疾病、预防潜在疾病、解决犯罪等等。
Family members look alike because they share the same inherited traits.
家庭成员长相相似,因为他们具有同样的遗传特征。
Farming Although genetics is a new science, there is evidence of people using genetic techniques to create better crops and animals as early as BC.
农业 虽然遗传学是一种新的科学,但有证据表明人们早在BC就利用遗传技术创造出更好的作物和动物.
Selective breeding is one of these techniques.
选择性育种是这种技术之一.
Scientists select plants with traits they like, such as quick-growing or attractive fruit, to breed with other plants that have those same traits.
科学家们选择具有自己喜欢的特质的植物,如快速生长或有吸引力的水果等,与具有相同特质的其他植物一起繁殖.
By selectively breeding these plants, scientists ensure that the plants’ desirable traits are passed on to create crops that grow faster and produce better fruit.
科学家通过有选择地培育这些植物,确保植物的可取特征相传,以创造更快生长并产生更佳水果的作物.
Think about the many types of tomatoes you can buy at the supermarket.
想想在超市可以买到的番茄种类很多.
These varieties are the result of the selective breeding of tomato plants.
这些品种是番茄植物选择性繁殖的结果.
Wheat, soybeans, and corn are other common crops that are grown using genetic techniques.
小麦,大豆和玉米等是使用基因技术种植的其他常见作物.
With the help of genetics, farmers will be able to grow plants for us to eat that have higher protein and lower oil and that can grow faster than ever before.
在遗传学的帮助下,农民将能够种出植物,让我们能吃到蛋白质含量高而油量更低并能够比以往更快地生长的植物.
Dozens of varieties of tomatoes have been bred from a single wild variety.
有数十个番茄品种由单一野生品种培育而来.
Scientists also use genetic techniques with animals.
科学家也使用与动物相伴的遗传技术.
For example, they use genetic breeding techniques to create chickens that lay more eggs.
例如,他们利用遗传育种技术来创造出产多卵的鸡.
They create cows that grow faster and produce more milk.
它们创造出更快生长并生产出更多牛奶的牛.
Genetics sounds great for farming.
遗传学听起来很适合耕作
Why wouldn’t we want crops that grow faster and taste better, and cows that produce more milk?
为什么我们不想要生长更快、品味更好的作物,
Some say that genetically changing our crops and animals will damage their genetic diversity.
有人说,转基因改变我们的作物和动物将损害他们的遗传多样性。
By only breeding for a select group of traits, many other useful plant and animal traits may be lost forever.
仅仅为一组特定的特质繁殖,许多其他有用的植物和动物特质可能会被永远地失去.
The lack of genetic diversity among crops and animals may also leave them vulnerable to a single virus that could wipe out an entire species.
作物和动物之间缺乏遗传多样性,也可能使他们容易受到一种可能消灭一整个物种的单一病毒的影响。
People in favor of using genetics in farming want to improve food productivity.
人们赞成在耕作中使用遗传学,希望提高粮食生产率.
Those against it are concerned about the unknown effects it might have on our environment and our health.
反对它的人对它可能对我们的环境和健康产生的未知影响感到关切。
Selectively bred piglets grow up faster than their wild cousins.
有选择地培育出小猪的生长速度快于其野生的表亲.
Animal Breeding Animal breeders use some of the same genetic techniques as plant scientists.
动物育种者使用一些与植物科学家相同的遗传技术.
These include selective breeding and hybridization.
其中包括选择性繁殖和杂交.
Hybridization, or crossbreeding, involves breeding different varieties or even species to combine the best characteristics of both.
混合,或交叉繁殖,涉及培育出不同的品种甚至物种来结合两者的最佳特征.
For example, female horses can be bred with male donkeys to produce mules.
例如,雌马可以由雄驴来生出骡子.
Mules are a hybrid of horses and donkeys, and they are tough, like donkeys, but agile, like horses.
木耳是马和驴的杂交种,它们很强壮,像驴子一样,但是敏捷地,像马.
They make very good work animals.
它们使动物的工作非常出色。
A donkey (top) crossed with a horse (left) yields a mule (right).
驴(上)与一匹马相交叉取出一匹骡子(右)。
Although many dog breeders raise dogs only for show, many dog breeds are bred for specific purposes, such as hunting, herding, or guarding.
虽然许多养狗者养狗只是为了展示,但许多养狗者养活是为了特定目的,如狩猎,放牧,或守护.
Some of the earliest hunting dogs were spaniels.
一些最早的狩猎犬是西班牙人.
Spaniels such as the familiar springer and cocker spaniels were first bred in Spain to hunt water birds like ducks or land birds like pheasants.
熟悉的斯潘尼尔斯(Spaniels)等斯潘尼尔斯(Spaniels)和克克·斯班尼尔斯(Cocker salniels)是最早在西班牙繁殖的,以猎取鸭子等水上鸟类或野鸡等陆地鸟类.
Dog breeders determine the traits they want a dog to have and then select parents that, when bred, will pass on those traits to their offspring.
养狗者决定他们想要养狗的特质,然后选择父母,当养活他们时,这些特质会传给他们的后代.
Herding is another desirable trait that is bred into some dogs.
放牧是种入一些狗的另一种可取特征。
Herding dogs are used to protect and round up cattle and other livestock.
放牧犬用于保护和围捕牛和其他牲畜.
Border collies and Australian shepherds are popular herding dogs.
边境克力斯和澳大利亚牧羊人都是受欢迎的牧犬.
They have been so well bred that they continue to herd animals even if they aren’t trained to.
即使没有受过训练,
Many people who own border collies report that their dogs attempt to herd cars and even people!
许多拥有边境山狼的人报告说,他们的狗试图放牧汽车,甚至有人!
The border collie breed was developed hundreds of years ago.
边境克丽花品种是数百年前开发的.
It was originally used to herd cattle and sheep along the English-Scottish border.
它最初用于沿英斯克特边境放牧牛羊.
Border collies are excellent herders.
边境的骆驼是优秀的牧民。
The Australian shepherd was developed from several herding breeds, including the border collie, which English settlers brought with them to Australia.
澳大利亚牧羊人由数个牧种所发展而来,包括边境科利(Collie),由英国定居者带入澳大利亚.
These shepherds are still widely used in Australia, where cattle and other livestock are raised in open fields.
这些牧羊人仍在澳大利亚被广泛使用,在开阔的田地中饲养牛等牲畜.
Some dogs are bred as guard dogs.
有的狗被养成警犬.
The Doberman pinscher and the German shepherd are two common guard dogs.
多伯曼皮克和德国牧羊犬是两只常见的警犬.
The Doberman was first bred by a German watchman named Louis Dobermann in the late 1890s.
多伯曼号最早由德国守望者路易·多伯曼于1890年代末培育出.
The breed has a reputation for being ferocious; however, recent breeders have worked hard to make the Doberman a more calm and friendly dog.
该品种有"凶猛"的口碑;然而,最近的育种者努力使多伯曼人成为更平和友好的狗.
Many dogs are hybrids—crosses between two or more breeds.
许多狗是杂交种——两个或两个以上品种之间的交叉.
Some people believe that hybrids make the best pets because they combine the best traits of both parents.
一些人认为杂交种是最佳宠物,因为它们结合了父母双方的最佳特质.
Mutts combine the best traits of many breeds.
穆特人结合了许多品种的最佳特质.
Animals in Zoos Many zoos perform animal research and provide education and entertainment.
动物园内的动物多家动物园进行动物研究,提供教育和娱乐.
Some zoos use genetics in their research.
一些动物园在研究中使用了遗传学.
This research is conducted to ensure that animal species survive well into the future.
进行这一研究是为了确保动物物种在将来生存。
Genetics play an important role in protecting many endangered and threatened animal species.
遗传学在保护许多濒危和受威胁的动物物种方面发挥着重要作用.
Pandas have benefited from captive-breeding programs.
熊猫从俘虏饲养计划中受益.
One technique that zoo scientists use to increase the populations of endangered species is captive breeding.
动物园科学家用来增加濒危物种数量的一种技术是捕获繁殖。
Captive breeding is the breeding of animals that are living in captivity (such as in zoos) in order to maintain genetic diversity within a species.
捕食繁殖(Captive factory)是指为维持一个物种内部的基因多样性而饲养被囚禁(如动物园)的动物.
Some offspring bred in captivity are released into wild populations to introduce different genes that give them a better chance at survival.
一些在被囚禁中长大的后代被放入野生种群,以引入不同的基因,让他们有更好的生存机会.
This type of captive breeding is only successful if the animals can survive and reproduce on their own once they are released into the wild.
这种被俘的繁殖方式只有在动物被放入野外后自己能活下来并繁殖出来时才能成功.
Captive breeding is being used with certain endangered and threatened species, such as the red wolf, gorilla, panda, cheetah, and rhinoceros.
捕捉繁殖正被某些濒危和受威胁的物种所使用,如红狼、大猩猩、熊猫、猎豹和犀牛等。
Another type of captive breeding is often done with species that are nearly extinct and cannot survive in the wild.
另一种被俘的繁殖方式往往是用已接近灭绝并无法在野外生存的物种来进行.
It gives the animals a chance to reproduce in an environment where they are protected.
它使动物有机会在受保护的环境中繁殖.
Although captive breeding is important, it cannot replace animals living and breeding in the wild.
虽然被俘的繁殖很重要,但不能取代野生和繁殖的动物.
Zoo employees also try to educate people about the importance of protecting the habitats of endangered and threatened species.
动物园员工还试图向人们宣传保护濒危受威胁物种栖息地的重要性.
If wild animals such as rhinoceroses and tigers are not protected, future generations of people will only be able to read about those animals in books.
如果犀牛和老虎等野生动物得不到保护,后代人只能从书中读到这些动物.
Solving Crimes When crime solvers put on their detective hats these days, they have more to work with than a magnifying glass.
解决犯罪 当现在的破案人员戴上侦探帽时,他们比起放大镜还有更多的工作.
Police, detectives, and lawyers now use genetics and DNA to help them solve crimes.
警察、侦探和律师现在利用遗传学和DNA帮助他们破案。
All genes contain DNA.
所有基因都含有DNA.
DNA carries the code that determines an organism’s genetic traits.
DNA带有决定机体遗传特征的代码.
Like fingerprints, every organism’s DNA is different.
和指纹一样,每个生物体的DNA都是不同的.
By fingerprinting criminals, police can keep a database of fingerprints.
警方通过指纹识别罪犯,可以保存指纹数据库.
When they find fingerprints at a crime scene, they match them with the fingerprints of known criminals in the database.
当他们在一个犯罪现场找到指纹时,就会与数据库中已知罪犯的指纹相匹配.
Because, like fingerprints, DNA is unique, we use the term DNA fingerprinting for the use of DNA to solve crimes.
因为,和指纹一样,DNA是独一无二的,我们使用DNA指纹这个术语来用于解决犯罪.
The advantage of using DNA is that you do not need to find a fingerprint.
使用DNA的好处是不需要找到指纹.
To get a DNA fingerprint of a criminal, all you need is a small bit of skin, a single hair, or a drop of fluid such as blood or saliva.
为了获得罪犯的DNA指纹,你只需要一点点的皮肤,一头头发,或者滴入血液或唾液等液体.
It is almost impossible for a criminal not to leave behind a trace of skin, hair, or fluid.
罪犯几乎不可能不留下一丝皮肤、头发或液体。
Everywhere a person goes, he or she leaves microscopic traces of DNA.
无论一个人走到哪里,都留下了DNA的显微痕迹.
Today, detectives have more clues to work with than ever before.
今天,侦探有比以往更多的线索可以合作.
For example, if investigators find skin cells under a victim’s fingernails, they can determine the DNA of the skin cells.
例如,如果调查人员在被害者的指甲下发现皮肤细胞,他们可以确定皮肤细胞的DNA.
They then take a DNA sample from the suspect.
然后从嫌犯身上取出DNA样本
If the two samples match, the investigators are closer to solving the crime.
如果两个样本相匹配,调查人员就更接近于破案.
Law enforcement agencies are now building databases of DNA samples, much as they keep collections of fingerprints.
执法机构目前正在建立DNA样本数据库,并保存指纹。
These databases contain the DNA fingerprints of convicted criminals as well as other evidence found at crime scenes.
这些数据库载有被定罪罪犯的DNA指纹以及在犯罪现场发现的其他证据。
DNA also has been used to free people who were wrongly convicted of crimes.
DNA还被用来释放被错误定罪的人。
DNA fingerprinting has helped solve many crimes since it was first used in 1985.
DNA指纹自1985年首次使用以来,帮助解决了多起犯罪.
However, some people are concerned about possible contamination affecting the accuracy of DNA testing as well as its possible misuse.
然而,有些人对可能影响DNA检测准确性的污染及其可能的滥用感到关切。
Even so, DNA fingerprinting will continue to be used as long as it helps identify criminals and solve crimes.
即便如此,只要DNA指纹有助于识别罪犯和解决犯罪,DNA指纹就将继续被使用.
A lab agent works on DNA evidence.
一个实验室特工负责DNA证据
Health Genetics is also used by many medical and health-care scientists.
许多医疗和保健科学家也使用健康遗传学。
Genetics is used to diagnose, treat, and prevent diseases as well as to develop new medicines.
遗传学用于诊断、治疗和预防疾病并开发新药。
Medical scientists are now discovering many genes that cause specific diseases.
医学科学家现在发现了许多导致特定疾病的基因.
Identifying genes that cause a specific disease helps scientists develop medicines and vaccines to cure or prevent the disease.
识别导致特定疾病的基因能帮助科学家开发出治疗或预防疾病的药物和疫苗.
Genetics counselors also use genetics.
遗传学顾问也使用遗传学.
They help parents and future parents figure out the odds of passing on genetic disorders to their children.
他们帮助父母和未来的父母找出把遗传病传给子女的可能性。
Parents use this information to help them decide whether to have children or how to cope with the possibility of caring for children with genetic disorders.
父母利用这种信息帮助他们决定是否生孩子,或如何应对照顾遗传障碍儿童的可能性。
Some common genetic disorders that may be passed on from parents to their children are cystic fibrosis, Huntington’s disease, and breast cancer.
某些常见的遗传障碍可能从父母传给子女,如囊肿纤维化、亨廷顿病和乳腺癌等。
Do You Know?
你知道吗?
In 2000, scientists completed the Human Genome Project, a full map of the location of every human gene.
2000年,科学家们完成了"人类基因组计划",这是每个人类基因位置的完整地图.
Humans have about twenty-four thousand genes arranged in a specific order on our chromosomes.
人类有大约2万4千个基因 按我们染色体的顺序排列
It took powerful computers ten years to count and locate them all.
强大的计算机花了十年的时间来统计和定位它们。
Many diseases are caused by genes that are missing or in the wrong place.
许多疾病都是由基因所导致,这些基因缺失或错位.
Conclusion The field of genetics offers many job opportunities.
结论 遗传学领域提供了许多就业机会.
Genetics is an exciting and relatively new branch of science that brings new developments and new opportunities almost daily.
遗传学是一个令人兴奋而相对新的科学分支,几乎每天都带来新的发展和新的机会.
Whether in plant and animal breeding, medicine, criminology, or some other field, many career opportunities are linked to genetics.
无论是在植物和动物的繁殖,医学,犯罪学,还是其他一些领域,许多职业机会都与遗传学有关.
Check the library or the Internet for more information about this exciting field of science.
查查图书馆或互联网 了解这个令人兴奋的科学领域
A scientist compares DNA fingerprints on a computer screen.
科学家比较了计算机屏幕上的DNA指纹.