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英语畅谈时事热点50主题 (50 Topics On World Current Issues)

分类: 英语口语 

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。
 

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