环球英语 — 48：One Human Genome

　　Voice 1
Thank you for joining us for today’s Spotlight¹ program! I’m Rebekah Schipper.
Voice 2
And I’m Liz Waid. Spotlight uses a special English method of Broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Have you ever looked at people and just thought about how different they are? You could never get along with them! You have nothing in common with them!
Voice 1
Well, today on Spotlight we will show you that you are not as different from other people as you might think. In fact, your genes² are ninety-nine point nine percent the same as everyone else on the earth! Can you believe it? Keep listening!
Voice 3
It tells your eyes and skin what colour they will be.
Voice 4
It tells your fingers how long they will be.
Voice 5
It decides if you will have your mother’s small nose or your father’s big hands.
Voice 6
It even tells your body if you will be male or female³.
Voice 3
It is found in every part of your body.
Voice 5
It tells everything inside and outside your body how to act.
Voice 2
It is your Deoxyribonucleic acid⁴, or DNA⁵. Some people call DNA the building blocks of life. Everyone has his or her own set of DNA. It influences every part of a person’s body.
Voice 1
And it has millions of different parts to it. But there is something truly surprising about DNA. When scientists really began to look at people’s DNA they discovered that people are not really that different from each other. On the outside of their bodies people look different from one another. But when you get down to it, everyone is made of the same stuff⁶!
Voice 2
DNA is a very complex subject. Before nineteen fifty-three scientists did not even know what DNA really looked like! They knew that something told a person’s body how to grow. But they did not know how. Scientists have been trying to understand DNA ever since they discovered it.
Voice 1
When scientists first began to study DNA they could not see very much. The technology they used was not powerful enough. Later, technology improved. Technology could then help the scientists get a better look at DNA.
Voice 2
In the 1950’s scientists discovered that DNA was a kind of chain. This chain had millions of very small chemical substances linked together. They discovered that these substances formed DNA. But there was too much information in DNA for them to write down and study.
Voice 1
They did know that the chain of DNA is made of four important chemical substances. Scientists gave each of these substances short names. Their short names are A, T, C, and G. The order of these letters, or substances tells a body how to grow and act. It is called a DNA code⁷.
Voice 2
The order of the code is different in every person. But the code is normally⁸ only different in a very small way. Most of the letters of the DNA code are in a similar order in every person! The very small differences in the code are very important for the way a person looks. These small differences are the reason for different hair or eye colours.
Voice 1
In 1986, a group of American scientists had an idea. They wanted to map human DNA. They wanted to discover the order of the DNA codes⁹.
Voice 2
The project began in 1990. It was called “The Human Genome Project.” The scientists expected the project to take fifteen years to complete. Scientists in Australia, Brazil, Germany, Japan, Mexico and many other countries also set up their own genome projects. And many other countries helped by providing information and money.
Voice 1
The scientists did not use one person’s complete set of DNA. Instead, they collected genetic¹⁰ examples from people all over the world. They knew that this would be enough for them to study.
Voice 2
Scientists used computers to help them map the DNA. The DNA code is a series of letters. The computers wrote out the letters in the DNA code. This is called decoding¹¹ the DNA. The DNA code contains three thousand million [3,000,000,000] letters. That is a very long code! But the computers were very fast. And every second, they decoded¹² twelve thousand [12,000] letters of the DNA code.
Voice 1
That sounds like a very fast computer! But the process took thirteen [13] years to complete. That is two years less than the scientists predicted. Scientists called the complete set of DNA code a genome.
Voice 2
When scientists finally finished mapping the human genome in April 2003, they found many surprising results! The human genome is made up of three thousand million [3,000,000,000] different important pieces. Of these three thousand million pieces, only three million [3,000,000] are different in every person. That means that ninety nine point nine [99.9] percent of people’s genes are exactly the same!
Voice 1
This very small tenth of one percent of different genes is what makes you you. All the other genes making up your DNA are the same as everyone else all across the world. People from Asia, Africa, America, Europe and everywhere in the world are all made up of the same materials. Their genes are almost exactly the same.
Voice 2
Usually people only think about the differences they see in other people. It’s true that every person is different. People have different colour skin. They have different colour eyes. Some people have short fingers or long toes. You could expect that every person’s DNA is also very different.
Voice 1
Sometimes people are afraid of other people who are different than them. People usually like to stay by people they think are similar to themselves. But the Human Genome Project showed that people are more similar to each other than they think.
Voice 2
Do you remember that person you thought you could never get along with? You may be different on the outside, but inside you are very similar to them.
Voice 1
In the Bible¹³, Jesus asks Christians¹⁴ to love other people. He does not mean that people should only love others who are similar to themselves. Jesus means that people should love others even if they are different. In fact, he says it is one of the greatest things Christians can do. Jesus says:
Voice 6
“All that God’s law says can be combined into one command: love others as much as you love yourself.”
 

1 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

2 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

3 female   

adj.雌的，女(性)的；n.雌性的动物，女子

参考例句：

• We only employ female workers.我们只雇用女工。
• The animal in the picture was a female elephant.照片上的动物是头母象。

4 acid   

n.酸；酸性物质；adj.酸的，酸性的

参考例句：

• Handle with care,or the acid may get out.小心轻放，否则酸会溢出来。
• The acid has been eating away the sides of the container.酸腐蚀着容器的四壁。

5 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。

6 stuff   

n.原料，材料，东西；vt.填满；吃饱

参考例句：

• We could supply you with the stuff in the raw tomorrow.明天我们可以供应你原材料。
• He is not the stuff.他不是这个材料。

7 code   

n.代码，代号，密码；法典，法规，规划

参考例句：

• What's the code for Tianjin?天津的代号是多少？
• Remember to use postal code.勿忘使用邮政编码。

8 normally   

adv.正常地，通常地

参考例句：

• I normally do all my shopping on Saturdays.我通常在星期六买东西。
• My pulse beats normally.我脉搏正常。

9 codes   

n.[计算机]编码( code的名词复数 )；代号；密码；法典

参考例句：

• A generation ago genetic codes were certainly unknown. 遗传密码在上一代确实很少有人知道。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• So, sometimes, authors adopt Flasm to write low level p-codes to add efficiency. 所以，设计者采用Flasm来编写低级的p-codes以提高效率。 来自互联网

10 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。

11 decoding   

n.译码，解码v.译（码），解（码）( decode的现在分词 )；分析及译解电子信号

参考例句：

• We cannot add any other memory to this system without further decoding. 如果不增加译码，就不能使系统的存贮容量有任何扩展。 来自辞典例句
• Examples using the 8250 will be presented in hardware section to clarify full-decoding schemes. 在硬件一节中有应用说明全译码方案8250的例子。 来自辞典例句

12 decoded   

v.译（码），解（码）( decode的过去式和过去分词 )；分析及译解电子信号

参考例句：

• The control unit decoded the 18 bits. 控制器对这18位字进行了译码。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Scientists have decoded the dog genome. 科学家已经译解了狗的基因组。 来自辞典例句

13 bible   

n.《圣经》；得到权威支持的典籍

参考例句：

• According to the Bible we are all the seed of Adam.根据《圣经》所说的，我们都是亚当的后裔。
• This dictionary should be your Bible when studying English.学习英语时，这本字典应是你的主要参考书。

14 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。