转基因先锋获得世界粮食奖

 　　It's perhaps the most controversial pick in the history of a respected award. Three pioneers in the science of genetically³ modified crops are receiving this year's prestigious⁴ World Food Prize, Thursday, Oct. 17 in Iowa.

　　According to the prize citation⁵, 17 million farmers worldwide grew these 'GMO' crops in 2012, more than 90 percent of them small-scale farmers in developing countries. It says the technology increased yields, reduced harmful pesticide⁶ use, and will be a key tool to feed the 9 billion people expected on Earth by 2050.

　　But critics of the technology question the role of genetically modified organisms in fighting world hunger.

　　When Mary Dell Chilton started her scientific career in the 1970s, she believed that a microscopic⁷ bacterium⁸ and a stalk of corn were much too different to be able to exchange genetic² code.

　　“And I was soon to find out that this very deep-seated belief was just wrong," said Chilton.

　　She found that out studying a common plant infection called crown gall⁹. Building on work by Belgian scientist Marc Van Montagu, she discovered that these ugly lumps form when a germ called Agrobacterium inserts a piece of its own DNA¹⁰ into the plant cell’s genes¹¹. The plant then makes food for the bacteria.

　　“I was very surprised. I was blown away....Agrobacterium was really being a genetic engineer," she said.

　　Chilton and Van Montagu, and Rob Fraley with the agribusiness company Monsanto, quickly realized that scientists could put these tiny genetic engineers to work making plant breeding more flexible and precise than ever.

　　Every plant’s DNA is like hundreds of books’ worth of information: genes for productivity... flavor... heat tolerance¹²... even harmful or toxic¹³ traits.

　　Conventional breeding produces offspring with a random¹⁴ assortment¹⁵ of those books - good and bad.

　　But genetic engineering can insert just a page's worth of information - say, instructions for a protein that kills insect pests but is safe for people.

　　“That means that you don’t have to put insecticides on those corn plants to protect them and enhance the yield that you get. That’s a good thing," said Chilton

　　Nearly all the corn and cotton grown in the U.S. contain this type of gene¹, reducing insecticide use by at least 50 million kilograms per year.

　　Critics, however, note that another modification¹⁶ - adding genes for herbicide resistance - has increased the use of weed killers¹⁷.

　　Chilton is now with seed and chemical company Syngenta. Not everyone believes she, Van Montagu and Fraley deserve the World Food Prize.

　　“I was rather shocked, actually," said Hans Herren, 1995 World Food Prize winner.

　　Hans Herren won the prize in 1995 for using natural methods to control a devastating¹⁸ insect pest outbreak in Africa. He says genetically modified organisms are not the best way to fight hunger.

　　“Because I think the cause of the food shortages in some places have nothing to do or can’t be fixed¹⁹ with GMOs," he said.

　　Herren sees GMOs as just the latest version of the water-, fertilizer- and pesticide-intensive form of agriculture that he says is a dead end.

　　“We need to change the paradigm²⁰ because we are running out of fertilizer. Fertilizer production produces a lot of CO2. Water is limited, and will be even more limited in the future. So, again, we have to find better solutions," he said.

　　And Herren says more research is needed on the health, environmental and social impacts of GMO crops that are rapidly spreading around the world.

　　Opposition²¹ to them is also spreading rapidly. In the Philippines, protesters have uprooted²² test fields of rice modified to produce vitamin A.

　　But, Mary Dell Chilton is confident GMO technology will help feed the world.

　　"We need it. There are too many people in this world and we need to feed them in order to keep them from fighting with each other," she said.

　　Meanwhile, the fight over the technology is sure to continue.

1 gene   

n.遗传因子，基因

参考例句：

• A single gene may have many effects.单一基因可能具有很多种效应。
• The targeting of gene therapy has been paid close attention.其中基因治疗的靶向性是值得密切关注的问题之一。

2 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

3 genetically   

adv.遗传上

参考例句：

• All the bees in the colony are genetically related. 同一群体的蜜蜂都有亲缘关系。
• Genetically modified foods have already arrived on American dinner tables. 经基因改造加工过的食物已端上了美国人的餐桌。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 基因与食物

4 prestigious   

adj.有威望的，有声望的，受尊敬的

参考例句：

• The young man graduated from a prestigious university.这个年轻人毕业于一所名牌大学。
• You may even join a prestigious magazine as a contributing editor.甚至可能会加入一个知名杂志做编辑。

5 citation   

n.引用，引证，引用文；传票

参考例句：

• He had to sign the proposition for the citation.他只好在受奖申请书上签了字。
• The court could issue a citation and fine Ms. Robbins.法庭可能会发传票，对罗宾斯女士处以罚款。

6 pesticide   

n.杀虫剂，农药

参考例句：

• The pesticide was spread over the vegetable plot.菜田里撒上了农药。
• This pesticide is diluted with water and applied directly to the fields.这种杀虫剂用水稀释后直接施用在田里。

7 microscopic   

adj.微小的，细微的，极小的，显微的

参考例句：

• It's impossible to read his microscopic handwriting.不可能看清他那极小的书写字迹。
• A plant's lungs are the microscopic pores in its leaves.植物的肺就是其叶片上微细的气孔。

8 bacterium   

n.(pl.)bacteria 细菌

参考例句：

• The bacterium possibly goes in the human body by the mouth.细菌可能通过口进入人体。
• A bacterium is identified as the cause for his duodenal ulcer.一种细菌被断定为造成他十二指肠溃疡的根源。

9 gall   

v.使烦恼，使焦躁，难堪；n.磨难

参考例句：

• It galled him to have to ask for a loan.必须向人借钱使他感到难堪。
• No gall,no glory.没有磨难，何来荣耀。

10 DNA   

(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸

参考例句：

• DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。

11 genes   

n.基因( gene的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• You have good genes from your parents, so you should live a long time. 你从父母那儿获得优良的基因，所以能够活得很长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Differences will help to reveal the functions of the genes. 它们间的差异将会帮助我们揭开基因多种功能。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 生物技术的世纪

12 tolerance   

n.宽容；容忍，忍受；耐药力；公差

参考例句：

• Tolerance is one of his strengths.宽容是他的一个优点。
• Human beings have limited tolerance of noise.人类对噪音的忍耐力有限。

13 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

14 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。

15 assortment   

n.分类，各色俱备之物，聚集

参考例句：

• This shop has a good assortment of goods to choose from.该店各色货物俱全，任君选择。
• She was wearing an odd assortment of clothes.她穿着奇装异服。

16 modification   

n.修改，改进，缓和，减轻

参考例句：

• The law,in its present form,is unjust;it needs modification.现行的法律是不公正的，它需要修改。
• The design requires considerable modification.这个设计需要作大的修改。

17 killers   

凶手( killer的名词复数 )； 消灭…者； 致命物； 极难的事

参考例句：

• He remained steadfast in his determination to bring the killers to justice. 他要将杀人凶手绳之以法的决心一直没有动摇。
• They were professional killers who did in John. 杀死约翰的这些人是职业杀手。

18 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

19 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

20 paradigm   

n.例子，模范，词形变化表

参考例句：

• He had become the paradigm of the successful man. 他已经成为成功人士的典范。
• Moreover,the results of this research can be the new learning paradigm for digital design studios.除此之外，本研究的研究成果也可以为数位设计课程建立一个新的学习范例。

21 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

22 uprooted   

v.把（某物）连根拔起( uproot的过去式和过去分词 )；根除；赶走；把…赶出家园

参考例句：

• Many people were uprooted from their homes by the flood. 水灾令许多人背井离乡。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The hurricane blew with such force that trees were uprooted. 飓风强烈地刮着，树都被连根拔起了。 来自《简明英汉词典》