The extinction of men

 　   Neil: Hello and welcome to Six-Minute English from BBC Learning English, I'm Neil

　　and with me today is Rosie.

　　Rosie: Hi there.

　　Neil: Well, today we're talking about men.

　　Rosie: That sounds interesting.

　　Neil: It is very interesting especially if you're a man because it seems we've had

　　our existence extended.

　　Rosie: I'm sorry?

　　Neil: Well, some previous scientific research had suggested that the Y

　　chromosome¹, which is responsible for men's sex organs and hormones², is

　　rotting away!

　　Rosie: Oh dear. Are you going to make it till the end of the programme, Neil?

　　Neil: Ah yes – even the most pessimistic findings suggested that men had 100

　　thousand years left, so I think 6 minutes is ok! Before we get into this story

　　though, I have a quiz question for you, Rosie. Are you ready?

　　Rosie: Yes, I am.

　　Neil: It's a simple question. What is the ratio of men to women in the world? Is it

　　a) Equal – so 100 males to every 100 females.

　　b) 101 males to every 100 females.

　　c) 100 males to every 105 females.

　　Rosie: Well, I have absolutely no idea. So, I am going to guess and I am going to

　　say c) 100 males to every 105 females.

　　Neil: OK, we'll find out at the end of the programme.

　　Rosie: So, tell me more about this new research into the possible extinction³ of men.

　　Neil: Well it now seems that men can breathe a sigh of relief. Scientists

　　compared the decline in the male human's Y chromosome – remember that's

　　the thing that's responsible for deciding the sex of a child – with that of the

　　rhesus monkey.

　　Rosie: OK. That's the monkey that we separated from 25 million years ago.

　　Neil: That's right. And their conclusion was that the Y chromosome is depleted⁴ but

　　it's still got all of the vital bits.

　　Rosie: Lucky you! Here's Jennifer Hughes from the Whitehead Institute in Cambridge

　　Massachusetts. She was in charge of the research:

　　Jennifer Hughes, Whitehead Institute in Cambridge Massachusetts

　　I think that the odds⁵ of the Y losing any more genes⁶ are pretty slim. It appears that it's

　　been stable for 25 million years and that is a good indication that's it going to be stable for

　　many many millions of years to come and the genes that remain on the Y probably have

　　very important functions and therefore natural selection is doing a very good job of

　　preserving those genes.

　　Rosie: She said the odds of the Y chromosome losing any more genes are pretty

　　slim – meaning it's unlikely. Genes are the parts of cells which have the

　　information which passes characteristics from a parent to a child.

　　Neil: So it sounds like us males are safe for many millions of years to come.

　　Rosie: She also added that natural selection is doing a very good job of preserving

　　the genes.

　　Neil: Natural selection is the way animals die when they are weak or living in

　　unsuitable surroundings. Meanwhile the stronger ones continue to live. Let's

　　have another listen to that interview with Jennifer Hughes, who's in charge of

　　the research:

　　Jennifer Hughes, Whitehead Institute in Cambridge Massachusetts

　　I think that the odds of the Y losing any more genes are pretty slim. It appears that it's

　　been stable for 25 million years and that is a good indication that's it going to be stable for

　　many many millions of years to come and the genes that remain on the Y probably have

　　very important functions and therefore natural selection is doing a very good job of

　　preserving those genes.

　　Neil: Now here's an interesting fact, Rosie. Did you know that men's sex

　　chromosomes⁷ are not as sophisticated as female ones?

　　Rosie: No I didn't know that, but it doesn't come as a surprise to me!

　　Neil: I thought you might say that. But you know what – I'm happy having less

　　sophisticated chromosomes if it means men continue to live for a little longer.

　　Now there's only one way to end this programme, Rosie, and that is to

　　imagine a world without men.

　　Rosie: OK, well for a start more would get done.

　　Neil: Are you suggesting that men are lazy?

　　Rosie: Well, they can be. My boyfriend, for example, had never used a washing

　　machine until he was 30 years old.

　　Neil: Right, well we're getting into stereotypes⁸ here! So how about this one - if

　　there were only women in the world, you'd never get into the bathroom.

　　Rosie: OK, I'll give you that one. I agree that women do spend longer in the

　　bathroom than men.

　　Neil: And who's going to catch spiders and mice for you?

　　Rosie: Ah, now that is absolutely not true! My boyfriend is terrified of mice. In fact

　　he ran away from one in the kitchen just last night.

　　Neil: Well, to be honest, I don't really like mice either, I must say. But what about

　　lifting heavy things? I am always expected to do heavy lifting, which I hate by

　　the way.

　　Rosie: Yes I confess that men are useful for that. And also for opening jars with the

　　lids too tightly screwed on. And on a more serious note, I think there would

　　probably be far fewer wars if there were only women. I think women would be

　　more likely to talk problems over than resort to violence.

　　Neil: Well you might be right there but it's difficult to say because most of the

　　world's leaders are men of course. OK Rosie, this entertaining debate must

　　come to an end. We need an answer to the question. I asked what the ratio is

　　of men to women in the world. Is it

　　a) Equal – so for every 100 males there are 100 females.

　　b) 101 males to every 100 females.

　　c) 100 males to every 105 females.

　　What did you say?

　　Rosie: I said c) 100 males to every 105 females

　　Neil: And you were completely wrong. It's 101 males to every 100 females. Do join

　　us again for more 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. Bye for now!

　　Rosie: Bye bye!

　　Vocabulary and definitions

　　chromosome a very small structure in animal or plant cells

　　hormones chemical substances in the body that influence cell

　　function

　　pessimistic expecting bad things to happen

　　ratio numerical expression of the relative sizes between two

　　or more values

　　extinction a situation in which a life form stops existing

　　breathe a sigh of relief feel happy that something unpleasant stops

　　depleted reduced by a large amount

　　genes units in cells that control qualities passed on through

　　generations

　　natural selection a process in nature that determines chances of survival

　　stereotypes a fixed idea or image that people have about something

1 chromosome   

n.染色体

参考例句：

• Chromosome material with exhibits of such behaviour is called heterochromatin.表现这种现象的染色体物质叫做异染色质。
• A segment of the chromosome may become lost,resulting in a deletion.染色体的一个片段可能会丢失，结果产生染色体的缺失。

2 hormones   

n. 荷尔蒙，激素 名词hormone的复数形式

参考例句：

• This hormone interacts closely with other hormones in the body. 这种荷尔蒙与体內其他荷尔蒙紧密地相互作用。
• The adrenals produce a large per cent of a man's sex hormones. 肾上腺分泌人体的大部分性激素。

3 extinction   

n.熄灭，消亡，消灭，灭绝，绝种

参考例句：

• The plant is now in danger of extinction.这种植物现在有绝种的危险。
• The island's way of life is doomed to extinction.这个岛上的生活方式注定要消失。

4 depleted   

adj. 枯竭的, 废弃的 动词deplete的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• Food supplies were severely depleted. 食物供应已严重不足。
• Both teams were severely depleted by injuries. 两个队都因队员受伤而实力大减。

5 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

6 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

7 chromosomes   

n.染色体( chromosome的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Chromosomes also determine the sex of animals. 染色体也决定动物的性别。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Each of four chromosomes divide longitudinally. 四种染色体的每一种都沿着纵向分裂。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 stereotypes   

n.老套，模式化的见解，有老一套固定想法的人( stereotype的名词复数 )v.把…模式化，使成陈规( stereotype的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Such jokes tend to reinforce racial stereotypes. 这样的笑话容易渲染种族偏见。
• It makes me sick to read over such stereotypes devoid of content. 这种空洞无物的八股调，我看了就讨厌。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》