Unit 13Unit 13

Text I

Dolly’s False Legacy

Pre-reading QuestionsPre-reading Questions

What is legacy? Who is Dolly?Can you make a guess as to what the

author’s arguments might be?Why does the author mean by saying “false

legacy”?Have you heard or read anything about

“cloning”?

Cultural BackgroundCultural Background

Ian Wilmut (1944-) Professor and Head of the Dept. of Gene Expression and D

evelopment at the Roslin Institute near Edinburgh, Scotland. He is uniquely qualified both as a pioneer in the science of cloning and as a participant in the public discussion of its possible social and ethical consequences. He is the leader of the team that produced Dolly the sheep in 1996, the first animal to be cloned from an adult cell. Since Dolly’s birth, his laboratory continues to play a leading role in the development of methods for the cloning and genetic modification of animals.

Clone In biology, a clone is any organism descended

asexually from a single ancestor and whose genetic information is identical to that of the “mother organism” from which it was created. In molecular biology, a clone is an exact replica of all or part of a macromolecule (e.g.DNA). When used as a verb, clone generally refers to reproduce or propagate asexually.

Dolly (1996-2003) Dolly the sheep is the first mammal to be cloned f

ully differentiated adult mammary cells. She was born on July 5, 1996. She was created by Ian Wilmut and Keith Campbell, researchers at the Roslin Institute in Scotland and lived there until her death nearly seven years later. Scientists did announce her birth until Feb.22, 1997, however. On April 9, 2003 her stuffed remains were placed in state at Edinburgh’s Royal Museum.

Main IdeaMain Idea

Cloning itself is a very inefficient procedure, and whole-being cloning, besides bringing with it various problems, has no practical value, though it will have much to contribute to human medicine.

Language PointsLanguage Points

legacy –sth. passed on by sb. or anything handed down from predecessors; bequest

These buildings are a legacy of the last government.

His rheumatism is a legacy from his years as a fisherman.

inherit a legacy; historical legacy; a legacy of free expression; a legacy of hatred 世仇

ban vb.(prohibit, forbid)An international treaty signed several years

ago bans trade in plants and animals of endangered species.

They threatened to ban the book.ban smoking; ban him from driving for

three years

overlook vb.The house on the hill overlooks the village.We are overlooked here. (The neighbor can

see into our house.)I’ll overlook your mistake this time. (preten

d not to see, forgive)These little details are easily overlooked. (n

ot to be noticed)

辨析： overlook, neglect, ignore,disregard Overlook 常指由于粗心、无知、不注意或匆忙等造成疏忽，有时

也指对别人的错误忽略不计。如： I decided to overlook his unfriendliness. Neglect 指本该引起注意的事未加注意或应该做的事未能去做，强调未留心而疏忽，如： He was fired for neglecting his duties. Ignore 常指明明知道而不予理睬。 He ignored the ringing of the phone. 有时也表示由于不注意或不明白其重要性而忽视。 The government would be unwise to ignore the growing dissatisfaction with its policies. Disregard 为书面语，常指不由自主或有意地冷落某人或无视某事，如： She persists in disregarding the wishes of her mother.

incidence n. (occurrence, frequency) He did not expect criticism and was surprised by it

s incidence. (occurrence) There is a high incidence of malaria in the tropics.

(frequency) incidence 一般指不好的事情的发生和出现，如： the incidence of a disease 发病率 the incidence o

f the tax 税款的负担 the incidence of burglar 入室偷盗率

offspring n.(direct descendant,result)Everyone of his offspring has red hair like h

is own.Air pollution destroyed the offspring of firs

on the outskirts. ( 幼苗）The atomic bomb is the offspring of the 20th

century physics.

render vb. (cause to become, make;offer,present; translate, interpret)

The car accident rendered him disabled for life. Her excuse for being late rendered us speechless. She needed him to hear her out and render advice. Poetry can never be adequately rendered in anothe

r language. render good for evil 以德报怨 render great service 帮大忙

notion (idea, concept, intention)I have no notion of what he means. (idea)The program maker rejected the notion that

seeing violence on TV has a harmful effect on children. (opinion)

He had no notion of running the risk. (plan)

distinct (clearly different in nature or quality) Rats an mice are distinct animals. (Rat is long-tailed and larger than mouse.) Rayon and nylon are distinct materials. unique (existing as the only of its kind, having no

equal) He has a unique writing style. Every person has unique finger prints.

impose sth.on/upon sb. (force sth. on sb.) The bank has imposed very strict conditions for re

payment of the loan. They didn’t invite him to go out with them, but he

imposed himself upon them. To call the music of another culture “primitive” is

imposing one’s own standards on a group that does not recognize them.

cope with (see page Note 8 of the Student Book)

ahead of A new life lay ahead of you. (before)He had been a year ahead of you. (senior)Prices are still one step ahead of wages.

(higher)

place---on (put ---on)We should teach the young by placing respo

nsibility on them.Place emphasis on 强调Place blame on 归咎于Place expectations on 寄希望于

in the event of (see Note 11 of the Student Book)

arise vb. ( rise, occur, appear, stem)A sudden impulse of anger arose in him.Writers are never tired of depicting the

barriers arise between parents and growing children.

The problem arose from lack of experience.

live up to (see Note 13 of the Student Book) specify (state exactly, choose or name) I specified blue for my bedroom walls, but the dec

orators paint them white. Did you specify where the new office furniture wa

s to be put? Specify the time and place for the meeting ( 指定 )

; specify the term of payment ( 详细说明）

justify vb. She worked hard at her task before she felt

sure that the results would justify her long effort.

The heavy rain does not justify your being late for school.

The policeman was justified in shooting the escaped criminal in self-defense.

reset vb.His broken leg has not mended properly and

will have to be reset.( 重接）He reset the alarm clock for six instead of s

even.She had her diamonds reset in a ring.

accumulate vb.They have accumulated a certain amount of

experience.He paused and let the silence accumulate

for a while.accumulate wealth, wisdom. evidence

contribute to (help in causing sth. to take place)

Perseverance and hard work contributed to Mary’s successful piano recital.

Advanced technology has contributed much to the modern way of life.

Eating too much can contribute to heart disease and cause high blood pressure.

Text II Text II The Biotech CenturyThe Biotech Century

Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) A German philosopher, generally

regarded as the last major philosopher of the Enlightenment period, having a major impact on the Roman and Idealist philosophies of the 19th century, and as one of history’s most influential thinkers.

Categorical Imperative 绝对律令 The philosophical concept of a categorical

imperative is central to the moral philosophy of Immanuel Kant. In his philosophy, it denotes an absolute, unconditional moral law that applies to all rational beings and is independent of any personal motive or desire.

Sentence TranslationSentence Translation

Now we’re just a few years away from one of the most important breakthroughs of all time: deciphering the human genome, the 100,000genes encoded by 3 billion chemical pairs in our DNA.

只要再过几年我们就会取得历史上最重要的突破之一：辨认人体基因组 --- 由我们 DNA 中 30亿对核苷酸所组成的 10 万基因。

But in the next century we’ll be able to alter our DNA radically, encoding our visions and vanities while concocting new life forms.

但在下个世纪我们能彻底改变我们的 DNA ，能够把我们的远见卓识和虚荣自负编进遗传密码来创造新的生命形式。

Instead, we’ll reach again for a time-tested moral notion, one sometimes called the Golden Rule, and which Immanuel Kant, the millennium’s most meticulous moralist, gussied up into a categorical imperative: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you; treat each person as an individual rather than as a means to some end.

相反，我们将会再次求助于经过时间考验的道德观念，有时我们称其为金科玉律。康德，一千年以来最严谨的道德家，称之为绝对律令：你希望别人如何对待你，你就这样对待别人。对待每个人都要把他当成个体，而不是达到某种目的的工具。

Then we can get ready for the breakthrough that could come at the end of the next century and is comparable to mapping our genes: plotting the 10 billion or more neurons of our brain.

然后我们就能做好准备迎接可能在下个世纪末实现的并可与绘制我们的基因图谱相媲美的另一大突破“绘制我们大脑的一百亿或更多的神经细胞。