转基因奶牛 Genetically modified cows

Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I’m Jen and with me today is Neil.
大家好，欢迎大家来到今天的BBC英语学习栏目六分钟英语，我是Jen，今天和我一起的是Neil。
Hello there.
大家好。
Today’s story is all about allergies. If you have an allergy to something, your body reacts to it in a negative way. Do you have any allergies, Neil?
今天的故事是关于过敏的。如果你对什么东西过敏的话，你的身体会以一种消极的方式反应。你有任何过敏吗，Neil？
I get hay fever in the summer; that happens when you have an allergy to pollen from plants or trees.
我在夏天的时候有花粉症，当人对植物或树木的花粉过敏的情况下就会发生。
And what happens when you get hay fever?
当你的花粉症犯了的时候，会发生什么？
It’s horrible. I start sneezing, and my eyes become red and itchy, my nose runs and I sometimes get a real headache.
很可怕。我开始打喷嚏，双眼变得又红又痒，流鼻涕，有时还会头疼。
That doesn’t sound very pleasant. Well, on today’s programme we’re going to be taking a look at how genetically modified food might be able to help people with allergies.
听起来确实不讨人喜欢。今天的节目中，我们将讨论关于转基因食品如何可能能够帮助过敏体质的人。
That’s quite a complicated topic!
听起来是个很复杂的主题！
It is, but I’m going to ease you in gently with a quiz question first, to get you thinking!In what year was the first genetically modified food sold on the market. Was it?a) 1984b) 1994c) 2004
的确，为了让你思考，我准备让你轻松一下，来回答一个小问题。转基因食品首次出现在超市中是哪一年？1984年1994年2004年
Well, as usual, I have no idea, so this is a guess, but I’ll say… 1984.
和往常一样，我没主意了，干脆猜一猜吧，我猜是1984年。
We’ll find out if you’re right at the end of the programme, but let’s get back to our story about allergies.
在节目最后，我们看你的答案是否是正确的，但是让我们回到关于过敏的故事。
Some allergies, like hay fever, can be described as mild.That means that you might experience some unpleasant symptoms like itchy eyes, sneezing or a rash.
一些过敏症，比如花粉症，是轻度过敏。那意味着你可能要经历一些不舒服的症状，比如眼睛痒，打喷嚏或出疹子。
Others, though, can be more severe, and can cause problems with breathing, or even death.
其他的症状，可能更加严重一些，可能导致呼吸问题，甚至导致死亡。
Many people are allergic to a particular type of food, such as nuts or eggs, for example.
很多人对某一类食物过敏，比如坚果、鸡蛋。
Very true, but did you know that cow’s milk can also cause problems?Listen to the first part of this report from BBC correspondent James Gallagher.How does cow’s milk affect some babies?
的确，但是你是否知道牛奶也能导致过敏？听一听来自BBC的记者James Gallagher的报告第一段。牛奶是否会影响婴儿？
Allergic reactions to cow’s milk are common in babies.Up to three percent treat it as dangerous with their immune systems launching an attack on proteins found in cow’s milk, but never in their mother’s breast milk.
对牛奶有过敏反应多见于婴儿。高达百分之三的婴儿中，它们的免疫系统将牛奶视作一种危险成分，并对牛奶中的蛋白质发起攻击，但是这种情况从来不会出现在母乳中。
Your body is protected by your immune system.That’s a series of cells and tissues which stop you from catching diseases or infections.
你的身体被免疫系统保护着。这是一系列能够阻止你得病或感染的细胞和组织。
These cells attack anything which they think is harming, or damaging the body.
这些细胞对它们认为有害的或损害人体的任何东西进行攻击。
It’s quite common for babies to have allergic reactions to cow’s milk, so their bodies are attacking it.
婴儿对牛奶有过敏反应很常见，所以他们的身体奋起反抗。
However, as we heard in the report, the babies’ bodies never attack breast milk.
然而，如我们在报告中听到的，婴儿的身体从来不会攻击母乳。
So, there must be something in the cow’s milk that babies’ bodies don’t like. Listen to the second part of the report: what have scientists done to cow’s milk?
所以，一定是牛奶中的某些物质是婴儿身体细胞所不喜欢的。听第二段报告：科学家们对牛奶做了什么？
Now researchers in New Zealand have cut out one of the main culprits - the protein beta-lactoglobulin.They added new genetic material to disrupt its manufacturing process in a technique called RNA interference.
新西兰的研究人员切出了过敏的主要元凶——蛋白质β——乳球蛋白。他们通过RNA干扰技术添加了新的遗传物质来破坏过敏元凶的生产过程。
Scientists identified a protein in cow’s milk which causes allergic reactions.
科学家们确认了来自牛奶的一种蛋白质引起了过敏反应。
In the report, this was called the culprit.The word culprit is often used to describe the bad guy in a book or film – here, it’s used to describe the dangerous protein.
报告中，这种蛋白质被称为罪魁祸首。一般意义上的罪魁祸首是指书中或电影中的坏人，这里它用来形容危险的蛋白质。
The scientists have introduced a new genetic material to the cows to stop this protein being made.
科学家们引入了一种新型的奶牛遗传物质来阻断这种蛋白质的生成。
If you like, the cows have been genetically modified.
如果你喜欢，这些奶牛已经做过转基因。
Their genes have been altered, or changed, so they don’t produce the harmful protein in their milk.
它们的基因已经被改换或改变，所以它们不会生产含有有害蛋白的牛奶。
It sounds pretty complicated, but if there is no harmful protein in the milk, then babies shouldn’t have an allergic reaction. Now that’s good, isn’t it?
听起来相当复杂，但是如果牛奶中不含有任何有害蛋白质，婴儿们是不应该不会有过敏反应的。现在就好了，不是吗？
Well, not everyone thinks it’s a good thing. Here’s James Gallagher again:
当然，不是每个人都认为它是一件好事。继续听来自记者James Gallagher的报告。
A study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences showed the GM cow did not produce the protein in its milk.Other scientists said it was a spectacular study, while campaign groups have questioned the ethics of genetically modifying farm animals.
美国国家科学院发表的一项研究表明，转基因奶牛在其牛奶中 不会生产这种蛋白质。其他科学家认为，这是一项惊动一时的研究，一些运动团体曾质疑对农场动物进行转基因处理的道德伦理问题。
So, some people think this scientific study is spectacular – in other words, they think it’s amazing.
因此，一些人认为这项科学研究是惊动一时的，换句话说，是不可思议的。
Very true, but we also heard in the report that some campaign groups think that it’s unethical to genetically modify animals.
的确，我们也听到报告中的一些活动团体认为对动物进行转基因是不道德的。
They think it’s morally wrong to interfere with, or change, nature.
他们认为干涉、改变自然在道德上是错误的。
Some people also worry about what effects genetic modification of animals could have on our health.
一些你担心改变动物基因的一些物质可能会影响他们的健康。
That’s true, I suppose there could be side effects that people don’t yet know about.
真的，我想可能会有一些人们不知道的副作用。
On the other hand, some people argue that genetic modification could be used to produce super crops, and maybe, one day, help to stop world hunger.
另一方面，一些人认为，转基因可能被用来生产超级作物，也许有一天，能帮助阻止全球饥饿。
Who knows what type of foods will be available in the future?
谁知道未来有什么类型的食品可获得？
We’ll have to wait to find out, but I can tell you about the first genetically modified food which became available, but first, I asked you when it came onto the market for the very first time. Was it:a) 1984b) 1994c) 2004
我们需要等待才知道，但是我可以告诉你的第一个可食用的转基因食品，但在这之前，我想问你它是什么时候出现在超市中的。1984年1994年2004年
And I said 1984.
我猜是1984年。
Well, you were wrong! It was actually 1994. And it was a tomato. It was genetically modified so that it would stay green for longer after it was harvested.
你答错了！其实是1994。是番茄。因为这些番茄是转基因的，所以他们在被收获之后很长一段时间都可以保持新鲜。
So it had a longer shelf life.
所以它有很长的上架期限。
Exactly! We’re coming to the end of the programme now, so there’s just time to go over some of the vocabulary we’ve heard today.
的确！我们到了节目末尾了，来一起温习一下今天听到的词和短语。
The words and phrases were:AllergyMildImmune systemCulpritsGenetically modifiedSpectacularUnethical
这些词和短语是：过敏性反应温和的免疫系统罪魁祸首转基因惊动一时的不道德的
Bye for now!
拜拜啦~
Goodbye!
拜拜！