学术英语讲座分析

Well, good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I’d like to talk with you this afternoon about genetically modified foods（转基因食品）, GM food. And among other thins put some points for and against their use by human beings. OK. Well, it’s a rather technical subject. Don’t be put off by the language. It’s becoming more and more familiar because this is a hotly debated issue. But let’s look first just at the structure of this talk. We’ll have a look at the so-called gene revolution（基因革命）, but very much in outline, go on to have a look at some examples of genetically modified foods, look at some arguments for their use, and some against, and I’ll add one or two comments, mainly about assumptions in some of the arguments to suggest a line of approach, and I’ll add something by way of, not so much a conclusion, as a final comment on all this. OK. Well, first the gene revolution then. Well, what is genetics? A starting point might be a dictionary definition. Dictionaries have their uses, don’t they and at least it’s a starting point. So the shorter Oxford English dictionary for example describes genetics（基因学） as, and I quote, “that part of biological science（生物学） which is concerned with the study of heredity and variation（遗传与变异）,” “heredity and variation,” end of quote. Now, clearly, such a study should include and account of natural processes and that’s largely what it was, until fairly recently. 内容1 Let’s come next to some examples of GM food. Now one OK. example, already famous in the controversy（争议）, one example is soya beans. These have been genetically modified in the United States of America to make the plants more resistant to chemical herbicides. (杀虫剂) OK. Now, even more controversially and less commonly so far, not 内容1 问候语 介绍主题 介绍内容结构

内容2 过渡 only plants but animals can be genetically engineered for useful qualities. Experimentally, for example, so-called transgenic（基因改 造的） pigs in the United States have carried genes for the human growth syndrome（综合症）. Now that means they grow faster and leaner than normal pigs, a bit more like us. Well, now, we’ve seen some examples of existing and proposed, or possible, GM foodstuffs. Now we turn to consider some arguments for and then against the use of GM foods. For this is one of the most contentious issues in the world today. I’ll just repeat this. I’m suggesting it’s one of the most contentious issues in the world today. 内容3(for)

OK, now let’s just review, without many pictures. I’m afraid this is not intended to show prejudice（偏见） against the arguments for GM food, but let’s just look at some of the arguments for GM foodstuffs. Now, they’re really quite simple. The first is that productivity（生产力） can be increased so that more food can be produced more cheaply. The second argument is that the increase in the human population is such that only through GM techniques can food production be increased to keep up. A third argument now in favor of GM foods is that foodstuffs can be brought to market in food condition and have a longer shelf life. Well, so much for a summary of some of the arguments for the use of GM foods. Now, let’s turn next to some arguments against the use of such food. First, there is a widespread fear that in manipulating（操控） the genetic make up of living things, human beings may set off processes which they cannot control. The second argument against GM foods is related to that first general objection, the uncertainty argument, as it were. Now this second argument is the argument from biodiversity（生物多样性）. A long word, the argument runs like this. Biodiversity is the richness of species of plants and animals in a balanced self-controlling ecosystem（生态系统）. Agriculture, then, it’s argued, should cooperate with such processes rather than seeking to replace them. They’d reduce the number of plant species in the fields and so, and indeed animal species, and so reduce insect life and bird life. OK, this brings us to a third argument against GM crops. This argument sets out to refute that such crops are necessary to provide the food the world needs. This of course is, I suppose, one of the strongest arguments for GM foods. And as we’ve seen, this is a support, this is a claim, supported by scientists reporting to the Asian Development Bank, it is argued. In the less developed countries, only the wealthier farmers would benefit and traditional agriculture would be undermined. Far from solving problems of rural poverty and malnutrition（营养不良）, the new crops would accentuate（突出，强调） them, indeed, some of the hungriest nations of the world are themselves opposed to GM foods. 内容4（评论） 内容3(against)

Well, I said I’d make some comments towards the end. Like most other people I don’t really know what to say. So, how are we to judge the strengths and weaknesses of the arguments for and against? Well, I’ll suggest that one useful habit in such cases is to ask what assumptions（假设） are being made in any of the arguments involved. What assumptions are being made, what are people assuming to be assuming to be true? For example, do scientists assume that a highly technological culture is here to stay（扎根）? Do the biotechnology companies and the Asian Development Bank’s advisors assume that suitable social and economic arrangements will slip into place to go with the new science based technologies? So what can we say, finally, as they say, by way of conclusion? Well, whatever the answer to such questions, one thing is perhaps by now clear. GM food issues are not simply scientific and technological. But, they are set in the less predictable world of human predicaments（困境）, human societies and human values. Now, you may have picked up the free newspaper that’s now around on the tube stations and tube trains called Metro. And is it today’s Metro, today’s Metro, Mark, has the headline “inquiry into GM food could take 40 years.” So the thing’s going to remain topical for some little time to come. Well look, thank you for your attention. I’d be grateful if you have any comments, objections, questions, charges（指控） of bias or anything else. Who would like to comment or ask a question? 内容5（结论） 结束语 询问是否有问题