VOA常速英语:Scientists Unravel Potato's Genetic Blueprint

短语讲解：

1. Researchers from 26 institutions around the world worked on the project to sequence, or map, the potato genome.

work on致力于…
例句：He has been working on a new novel for over a year now.
近一年多来, 他一直在写一部新小说。

2. People...I guess they take potato for granted, right?

take for granted认为…理所当然, 想当然
例句：Don't take his help for granted.
不要认为他的帮助是应该的。

3. But they also fall victim to plenty of pests and diseases.

fall to被击败
例句：All through the competition, good players were falling to the new young tennis star.
在比赛的全过程中, 许多优秀的网球选手都败在这位年轻的新星手里。
plenty of很多, 大量的
例句：There is plenty of coal in this area.
这个地区有丰富的煤。

4. Getting access to the genome sequence is going to help breeders go through the process of making new varieties a lot quicker.

get access to走进，接近，能够利用某物
例句：Students must get access to good books.
学生必须有机会读到书。
go through完成, 做完
例句：Let's go through the exercises.
咱们把这些练习做完。

5. Potatoes are related to a number of important plants, including tomatoes, eggplants, peppers and tobacco.

be related to与...有关, 和...有联系, 和...有亲戚关系
例句：The panda is related to the raccoon.
熊猫和浣熊有亲缘关系。
a number of 一些
例句：A large number of people were present.
很多人出席了。

6. And so the question is, how did nature come about developing an organ like this, a storage organ, essentially, for the plant.

come about发生
例句：The flood came about as a result of the heavy spring rains.
春季的大雨造成了洪水泛滥。

7. Nature may have developed that edible storage organ, called a tuber, by modifying genes known to be present in other members of the potato family.

known to为…所熟知
例句：The actor is well known to us.
我们熟知这个演员。

8. So, one thing that we did was, we could ask, what genes are present in potato and tomato, and then, which ones are either novel or expressed differently in potato, and is that what's responsible for the tuber?

either or不是...就是..., ...或..., 要么...要么...
例句：I have not been to either Paris or Rome.
我既没有到过巴黎也没有到过罗马。
be responsible for为…负责,形成…的原因
例句：He should be responsible for that.
他应该对此事负有责任。

9. She says they don’t know for sure yet, but they have found several candidates, and researchers are busy studying them.

for sure无疑
例句：The fighting was over for sure.
战斗确实结束了。