2021年经济学人 人类之蜜糖,动物之砒霜(2)

Yet elsewhere the arguments in “How to Love Animals” are arresting. After pondering which sea creatures feel pain, Mr Mance rules that mussels, clams¹ and oysters² can be eaten in good conscience. He argues that cows raised for beef have better lives overall than those on dairy farms. It is usual to condemn³ trophy-hunters who cross continents to shoot lions, but “if anyone wants to stop wasteful⁴ killing⁵ for pleasure, they should focus on farming.”

但《如何爱动物》中的其他论点却很有吸引力。在仔细琢磨了会感到痛苦的海洋生物类别之后，曼斯先生规定，人们可以问心无愧地食用贻贝、蛤蜊和牡蛎。他还认为，肉用牛的生活总体上要比奶牛场的奶牛过得更好。人们通常会谴责那些跨越大洲猎杀狮子且战绩显赫的狩猎者，但“如果有人想要阻止这种以享乐为目的的浪费性猎杀，那他们应该着重关注畜牧业。”

As Mr Mance travels from the fishing ports of northern Spain to a Polish hunting lodge⁶, he encounters plenty of strange ideas. Some activists⁷ believe seats in parliament should be reserved for people representing the interests of domesticated⁸ animals. Others recommend editing wild species’ genes⁹ so that they no longer harm other creatures with which they share habitats. There is apparently¹⁰ a case for letting captive elephants communicate with their counterparts in other zoos, through a device nicknamed the “Elephone”.

当曼斯从西班牙北部的渔港前往波兰的一个狩猎小屋时，他见识到了很多奇怪的想法。一些活动人士认为，议会席位理应留给那些为家畜争取利益的人。其他活动人士则建议对野生物种进行基因编辑，从而让它们不再伤害共享栖息地的其他生物。显然，让圈养的大象通过一种名为“Elephone”的设备与其他动物园的同类进行交流的想法也显得合情合理了。

No shortage of evangelists insist that technology will improve the lives of animals. Mr Mance is sceptical, concluding that restraint will achieve more than ingenuity¹¹. Even if his best line is borrowed from Martin Luther King —“The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice”—he is a skilful¹² writer who never shies away from painful stories, and leavens¹³ even the grimmest episodes with humour. He also has a rare ability to couch strenuous¹⁴ ethical¹⁵ arguments in terms that are warmly familiar.

不乏有传道士坚持认为科技将改善动物的生活。但曼斯先生对此持怀疑态度，他断定，约束所带来的成就将超越独创力。纵然他书中最好的一段文字是借用的马丁·路德·金的名言——“人类的道德弧线虽然很长,但是它是最终是通向平等的”——但他还是一名娴熟的作家，他从不回避痛苦的故事，即使是最阴暗的情节也会被他写出幽默感。他还拥有一种罕见的能力，能够用大家亲切熟悉的术语来阐述激烈的道德论题。

1 clams   

n.蛤；蚌，蛤( clam的名词复数 )v.（在沙滩上）挖蛤( clam的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The restaurant's specialities are fried clams. 这个餐厅的特色菜是炸蚌。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We dug clams in the flats et low tide. 退潮时我们在浅滩挖蛤蜊。 来自辞典例句

2 oysters   

牡蛎( oyster的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We don't have oysters tonight, but the crayfish are very good. 我们今晚没有牡蛎供应。但小龙虾是非常好。
• She carried a piping hot grill of oysters and bacon. 她端出一盘滚烫的烤牡蛎和咸肉。

3 condemn   

vt.谴责，指责；宣判(罪犯)，判刑

参考例句：

• Some praise him,whereas others condemn him.有些人赞扬他，而有些人谴责他。
• We mustn't condemn him on mere suppositions.我们不可全凭臆测来指责他。

4 wasteful   

adj.（造成）浪费的，挥霍的

参考例句：

• It is a shame to be so wasteful.这样浪费太可惜了。
• Duties have been reassigned to avoid wasteful duplication of work.为避免重复劳动浪费资源，任务已经重新分派。

5 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

6 lodge   

v.临时住宿，寄宿，寄存，容纳；n.传达室，小旅馆

参考例句：

• Is there anywhere that I can lodge in the village tonight?村里有我今晚过夜的地方吗？
• I shall lodge at the inn for two nights.我要在这家小店住两个晚上。

7 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 domesticated   

adj.喜欢家庭生活的；（指动物）被驯养了的v.驯化( domesticate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He is thoroughly domesticated and cooks a delicious chicken casserole. 他精于家务，烹制的砂锅炖小鸡非常可口。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The donkey is a domesticated form of the African wild ass. 驴是非洲野驴的一种已驯化的品种。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 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

10 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

11 ingenuity   

n.别出心裁；善于发明创造

参考例句：

• The boy showed ingenuity in making toys.那个小男孩做玩具很有创造力。
• I admire your ingenuity and perseverance.我钦佩你的别出心裁和毅力。

12 skilful   

(=skillful)adj.灵巧的，熟练的

参考例句：

• The more you practise,the more skilful you'll become.练习的次数越多，熟练的程度越高。
• He's not very skilful with his chopsticks.他用筷子不大熟练。

13 leavens   

v.使（面团）发酵( leaven的第三人称单数 )；在…中掺入改变的因素

参考例句：

• A little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough. 少许的酵母就能使整个面团发酵。 来自互联网
• A little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough. 加5:9一点面酵能使全团都发起来。 来自互联网

14 strenuous   

adj.奋发的，使劲的；紧张的；热烈的，狂热的

参考例句：

• He made strenuous efforts to improve his reading. 他奋发努力提高阅读能力。
• You may run yourself down in this strenuous week.你可能会在这紧张的一周透支掉自己。

15 ethical   

adj.伦理的，道德的，合乎道德的

参考例句：

• It is necessary to get the youth to have a high ethical concept.必须使青年具有高度的道德观念。
• It was a debate which aroused fervent ethical arguments.那是一场引发强烈的伦理道德争论的辩论。