VOA慢速英语:Supercharged Plants May Mean More Crop Production(翻译)

One day,"supercharged plants" may help feed people around the world.
总有一天，“增产植物”可以供养全世界的人口。

Supercharged plants are ones that grow faster than normal plant life.
增产植物是指生长速度比正常植物更快的植物。

Scientists can speed up the growth by modifying, or changing, the structure of plants’ genes.
科学家可以通过改变植物基因的结构来加速植物的生长。

The modifications make them react quickly to changes in light.
这些改变能使它们能对光的变化做出快速反应。

This all has to do with photosynthesis, the process in which plants turn sunlight, carbon dioxide and water into food.
这一切都与光合作用有关，在这一过程中，植物将阳光、二氧化碳和水转变为食物。

Steve Long is a plant biologist with the University of Illinois.
史蒂夫·朗是伊利诺伊大学的植物生物学家。

Arguably, photosynthesis is the most important process on our planet. It is the driving force behind all of life.
“可以说，光合作用是我们地球上最重要的过程。它是所有生命的驱动力。”

Plants grow fastest in the sun. That is when they make the most food for themselves.
植物在阳光下生长最快。在阳光下，它们能为自己制造出最多的食物。

But their rate of growth can slow when things like clouds or trees block sunlight.
但是，当被云或树木等事物阻挡了阳光时，它们的生长速度可能也会减慢。

When the sun returns, it can take many minutes for growth to speed up again.
但是太阳出来时，它又可以在这几分钟内加速生长。

This can be a problem because it means some of our most important crop plants are not as productive as they could be.
这可能是一个问题，因为它意味着我们最重要作物的生产量可能低于它们原本的生产力。

Researchers say demand for food is expected to increase up to 70 percent by the middle of the century.
研究人员说，到本世纪中期，食物需求预计将增长高达百分之七十。

They also note rising temperatures on Earth’s surface. That is why they are looking for ways to improve photosynthesis and make plants more productive.
他们还注意了地球表面温度的上升。这就是他们要寻找改善光合作用的方法和提高植物生产力的原因。

Steve Long wanted to find a way to help plants get back up to speed quickly after a period of darkness.
史蒂夫·朗想要找到一种方法以帮助植物在经过一段黑暗的时间之后迅速恢复生长。

So he and his team added genes that shortened the recovery time.
所以他和他的团队给植物增加了缩短恢复时间的基因。

It also increased the speed at which the plants grew.
它还提高了植物生长的速度。

His modified plants grew up to 20 percent more than untreated ones.
他改良后的植物生长速度比未经处理的植物要快百分之二十。

This finding, where we’ve just made one modification that has boosted crop yield, is really a boost to the whole area,because everyone else working on photosynthesis can now see (that) if we can improve photosynthetic efficiency in crops, we will get more yield.
“我们刚刚进行了改良的这次实验提高了作物的产量，真正促进了整个领域的发展，因为所有从事光合作用的人都知道，如果可以提高作物的光合效率，我们将获得更多产量。”
In Long’s study, his group used a form of genetic engineering called transgenics. It means taking genes from one plant, then putting them into another.
在朗的研究中，他的团队采用了一种称为转基因的遗传工程。该工程从一个植物内提取基因，然后把它们植入到另一个植物中。
There is a scientific debate about whether transgenics is a good idea or not.
转基因是好还是坏还引发了科学争论。
The findings were published in the journal Science.
研究结果发表在《科学》杂志上。

Why is it important for plants to be efficient at making their food?
为什么有效地为自己制造食物对植物来说十分重要？

Some of our most important crop plants are ones that are not very efficient at photosynthesis.
而我们一些重要农作物的光合作用效率不高。

Matthew Reynolds knows this.
马修·雷诺斯清楚这一点。

He is with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center, known as CIMMYT. Reynolds was not involved in the research. He spoke to VOA on Skype.
他在国际玉米和小麦改良中心（简称CIMMYT）工作。雷诺斯没有参与研究。他在Skype上告诉VOA。

Population is growing so fast, climate change is affecting negatively predictions of productivity,and so we’re kind of forced to push our crops to the limit.
“人口增长很快，气候变化给生产力的预测带来了负面影响，所以我们不得不被迫将作物的生产力提高到最大。”

His group studies how plants reproduce naturally.
他的团队研究植物是如何自然繁殖的。

But he says that Long’s work of increasing plant growth is “a very big deal.” He says the experimental use of transgenics is a start.
但他说，朗增加植物产量的工作是“一个很大的项目。”他说，转基因实验只是一个开始。

A transgenic event can prove a proof of concept so we can start looking for natural variation as well.
“转基因事件可以证明概念的正确，所以我们可以开始寻找自然的变异。”

Reynolds says the increased rates of production noted by Long’s team are impressive.
雷诺斯说，朗的团队在生产率提高方面的研究令人震惊。

He has some hope about the process. But he also has questions.
他对这个过程抱有一些希望。但他仍然有疑问。

What is the downside? Why have the plants not done that before?
“缺点是什么？为什么植物以前没有这样做呢？

And we always ask those questions when we see something that looks a bit too good to be true...
当我们看到一些好得不真实的事情时，我们会开始质疑。”

Long’s group worked with tobacco plants because they are easy to study.
朗的团队先研究烟草植物，因为它们很容易研究。

Next, they plan to perform experiments with rice, soybeans and cassava – three important food crops.
接下来，他们计划用水稻、大豆和木薯这三种重要的粮食作物做实验。

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation provided money for the study.
比尔和梅林达·盖茨基金会为这项研究提供资金。

The organization says any new technology approved from this research will be made freely available to farmers in Africa and South Asia.
该组织说，依托这项研究所获得批准的任何新技术都将会免费提供给非洲和南亚的农民。

I’m Anne Ball.
我是安妮·鲍尔。