1. Genetics 遗传学

A：Have you any idea where this science of Genetics is going?
B：None at all! It seems to be such a vast field, with so many deviations, that it’s near impossible to keep up to date.
A：Keeping up to date is one thing; it’s the future that worries me.
B：Yeah. Me too. It’s raising a lot of ethical questions which haven’t been broached before and, for which, there doesn’t seem to be any easy answers.
A：That’s especially true when genetics becomes involved with humans.
B：You’re talking about cloning and designer babies, I presume?
A：Yes, they are two contentious areas along with stem cell research and human enhancement.
B：But, if the aim is to wipe out disease and eliminate disabilities, surely that’s a good thing?
A：Yes it is but, scientists, as a whole, tend to be an amoral bunch when it comes to, so called, “pure” research.
B：The quest for knowledge does, sometimes, get divorced from the application of that knowledge.
A：That’s exactly it! Where does cloning go? How far does it go? Can we live with a dead person being cloned and brought back to life?
B：God! What a question!
A：Does God know the answer? Does religion know the answer? Or, is the only criteria, “If it’s possible, let’s do it”?
B：I think society has to be the final arbiter.
A：Easier said than done. What do you mean by “society”? How do you define “society”? If you mean “people,” how are they really going to have a say?
B：I once read a book called, “The Tomorrow File.” It was all about genetic engineering in the future, where people are bred according to intelligence levels.
A：What do you mean? What was the book saying?
B：Basically, it said that people were bred to fit the demands of society. There was an intelligence level for workers, one for administrators and one for leaders.
A：That sounds horrible. Could that sort of thing actually happen?
B：According to the author, everything he wrote about in 1976 was possible, even then.

A：对于遗传学将怎样发展，你有什么看法吗？
B：一点也没有，因为这应该是一个很广阔的研究领域，有很多分支研究方向，所以几乎不可能随时了解其最新发展动态。
A：不能随时了解最新发展动态倒没什么，真正使我担心的是它的未来发展方向。
B：没错，我也是。它引发了许多前所未有的道德问题，而对这些问题的回答也很难。
A：特别是与人类相关的遗传学研究，尤其问题多多，难以找到答案。
B：我想你说的是克隆人和制造婴儿吧？
A：没错，这是两个颇具争议的研究领域，与干细胞研究和改良人种有关。
B：但如果其目的是消灭疾病与消除残疾，那无疑是件好事，对吗？
A：是的，但当谈论到所谓的“纯研究”，科学家们就是一个超越道德的群体。
B：有时，对知识的探求与对知识的应用，这两方面是截然分开的。
A：没错！克隆技术将如何发展？会发展到什么程度？若人死了之后又因被克隆而复生，对此我们是否能够容忍？
B：天啦！这是什么问题啊！
A：上帝知道答案吗？宗教知道答案吗？或者唯一的标准就是“只要可能，我们就去做吧”？
B：我想，这需要由社会来做出最终的裁判。
A：说起来容易做起来难。什么是社会？你如何定义社会？如果你所指的就是“百姓”，那他们如何才能真正拥有话语权？
B：我读过一本书，叫作《明日档案》。都是关于未来遗传工程的，说到时候，要根据不同的智力水平，来决定生什么样的人。
A：你是什么意思？那本书说什么了？
B：大体上说的就是，根据社会的智力水平需求，来决定生出什么样的人。比如工人有工人的智力水平，管理者有管理者的智力水平，而领导者有领导者的智力水平，因此，要多少什么样的人，就按照智力水平来生出多少。
A：听起来真恐怖。那种事情真的会发生吗？
B：这本书是1976年写的，根据作者的观点，书中所写的一切即便是在1976年都有可能发生。

2. The Internet互联网

A: The Internet can be a real pain at times.

B: Apart from the spam, and the viruses, the Internet has got to be the greatest thing that ever happened in communications.

A: The spam, and the viruses, are fairly easy to fix; the real problem with the net is the amount of info that gets posted.

B: But, that’s the beauty of it, you can find out about anything you want to know.

A: Yes; but, how do you know the information is correct?

B: That’s easy; just check the references. If you log onto a good web page the information should be reliable.

A:Ah! You see. You said “should be reliable.” That’s the whole problem. How do we know what is a “good” web page and how do we know if the information is “reliable”?

B:Well! I suppose, you just have to go through all the pages that come up, when you do a search.

A:I bet I can find you a dozen pages that say, sugar is one of the best energy foods you can have and, another dozen pages to say, it will kill you.

B:That’s where you have to use your judgement.

A:But, that’s what I go to the Internet for; to find out the information so that we can make a judgement.

B:The Internet isn’t just for getting that sort of information. E-commerce has become a boom industry because you can buy, or sell, anything on the Internet.

A:Yeah! And you can get ripped off too. I know people who have used their credit card on the Internet and had to cancel the card to stop it being used illegally.

B:That has to be a rare case. There are, real, secure ways to make payments through the Internet where that can’t happen.

A:Don’t you believe it! Credit card fraud over the Internet is a huge international problem. Look it up. There are web pages dedicated to providing the facts.

B:Who put those pages on the Internet? Is it the credit card people?

A:No way. They would never publicise that sort of information. You have to look up the alternative sites, and the blogs.

B:I don’t know. I never trust those alternative sites and, the blogs can say anything, true or false.

A:Talk about coming around in a full circle! Isn’t that just what we were talking about before? How do we know what is right and what isn’t?

B:Aw! Now, you’re just trying to confuse me!

A：有时候因特网真令人头疼。

B：不会吧，网上除了有些垃圾邮件和病毒之外，因特网可以说是迄今为止人类通讯领域发生的最伟大的一次革命。

A：垃圾邮件和病毒都好解决，真正的问题是网上每天发布的海量信息。

B：这不正是网络的优点嘛，你可以在上面找到任何你想要了解的东西。

A：没错，可是你如何才能知道这些消息是正确的呢？

B：这很简单，只要检查一下参考资料就可以了。要是你访问了一个好的网站，那么上面的信息就应该是可靠的。

A：哈！你看！你也说了，“应该是可靠的”。这就是问题的关键。我们怎么知道哪些网站是“好”的，哪些消息又是“可靠”的呢？

B：在搜索的时候，我想你恐怕需要浏览查看所有跳出的网页。

A：我敢打赌，我可以找到几十个网页说糖是你所能吃到的、最好的补充能量的食品，同时也能找到几十个网页说糖会对你的健康有害，吃多了会要你的命。

B：如果真是这样，那此时就需要你自己作出判断了。

A：可我们上网的目的就是为了查找各种信息，以便于我们作出判断啊。

B：不过，你要知道，因特网不仅仅是给人们提供信息的，它还是一个网络交易平台，你可以通过网络买卖商品，这样，因为有了因特网，现在电子商务已经成为了一个迅速发展的行业。

A：你说的没错，但也别忘了，你或许也会因此被骗。我就听说过一些人由于在网上购物时使用了信用卡，后来信用卡就被人盗用了，害得他们不得不销卡。

B：那简直太罕见了。要是通过真正的、安全的方式进行网上支付，就可以避免这样的情况。

A：你难道不相信吗？网上的信用卡欺诈已经成为了一个影响广泛的国际性问题。你看，这里有关于这个事件的专门网页。

B：是谁把这些网页放到网上的？是那些信用卡工作人员？

A：当然不是了，他们永远不会公布这类信息的。你需要去查看那些相关网页和博客。

B：我不清楚。我从不相信那些相关网页，还有那些博客。我感觉那上面不论真假，随便说。

A：你看，说来说去，我们又说回来了——我们怎么才能知道哪些信息是正确的，哪些不是呢？——这不正是我们之前所讨论的吗？

B：哦！你简直把我搞糊涂了！

3. Motor Sports赛车

A:The best part about motor sports is when they prang.

B:You’re a bit of a sadist if that’s where you get your thrills.

A:Why do you think the TV programs always show the smashes over and over again? It’s because that’s what the audience wants.

B:So, I suppose, you are a fan of stock car racing?

A:Not really. There’s plenty of crashes in that but, I don’t much like those sorts of races where they go round, and round, on small, oval, race tracks.

B:Then you don’t go for the Indianapolis 500? That’s on a big, concrete, oval track.

A:No. The Formula One races are better. There’s a lot more skill involved with them and they race on properly designed tracks.

B:What about the Indy road race competitions? They are just as good.

A:Nowhere near as good. What I have seen of them; the roads are too narrow and the drivers have very few chances for passing.

B:That’s, probably, why there always seems to be more prangs with the Indy races than Formula One.

A:The trouble with both those competitions is the variations allowed in the cars. A driver in the better car will, invariably, beat the better driver in an inferior car.

B:The variations are all part of progress. That’s why they have a manufacturer’s Championship to recognise the better car maker.

A:I suppose you’re right. It just seems unfair to me. If you have a more powerful car you have a better chance to win.

B:There are some classes where all the cars have to have the same type of engines or, at least, the same size of engine.

A:That’s right. Then it really comes down to the skill of the drivers. Those competitions are run on an equal basis.

B:Motor bike races are done by engine size. The 500 cc bikes race against each other and the 1000 cc bikes are all in the one class.

A:And that’s good. The manufacturers are allowed to make modifications to the mechanics, and streamlining, provided they comply with the safety guidelines.

B:Speaking of safety; that’s one of the amazing things about those modern racing cars; the way some of the drivers walk away from some horrendous crashes.

A:It surely is. Especially when you think of the speed those vehicles are doing.

B:That’s just proof of how well the cars are designed these days.

A：看赛车运动最爽的时候就是当看到它们相撞的时候。

B：如果那也让你兴奋的话，那你可有点儿施虐倾向啊。

A：你知道为什么电视节目总是重播汽车相撞的画面吗？那是因为观众就喜欢这个。

B：这么说，我想你是一名赛车爱好者啦？

A：那倒不是，我是因为看多了赛车撞击，看它们一圈一圈绕着小型椭圆的赛道比赛的样子，我不是很喜欢这类比赛。

B：那你不看印第安纳波利斯500赛事了？那是在一个大型的混凝土椭圆轨道上的比赛。

A：不喜欢。我更喜欢F1。这项比赛赛道是特别设计的，而且比赛也需要很多技术技巧。

B：那你觉得Indy比赛怎么样？是不是也挺好的？

A：一点儿都不好。我以前看的时候觉得，路太窄，选手很难有机会超越。

B：这可能就是为什么它总是比F1比赛有更多的撞击的原因吧。

A：这两个赛事的问题是在赛车的变化改装上。如一个技术好的赛车手，如果用的车较差，那他肯定就赢不了一个使用了好车的选手。

B：赛车的改装是赛车制造技术进步的源动力啊。这就是为什么他们专门有一个汽车厂商锦标赛，来评选谁是最佳汽车制造厂商。

A：我想你这么说有道理。不过，我觉得似乎很不公平。因为如果你有一辆性能更好的车，你当然就有更大的机会赢。

B：所以赛车是有分类的。比如，所有的车必须有同类型的发动机，或者，至少是同尺寸大小的发动机。

A：这就对了，这就真的要依靠选手的技术了，这样的比赛才是公平竞争。

B：摩托车比赛要依靠发动机的大小来划分为不同的等级。比如，500cc规格的摩托车是一个级别，而1000cc的摩托车则在另一个级别。

A：那也不错。可以允许制造商对汽车的结构和流线外观做适当的修改，只要符合安全生产的要求。

B：说到安全，现代赛车的质量真是让人惊叹，看看那些赛车在撞得面目全非了之后，赛车手依然能好好地走出来！

A：的确，特别是当你想想那些赛车极高的行驶速度。

B：这也正好证明了当今赛车的设计质量真是让人佩服。