英语听力精选进阶版 13838

The human tissue trade

Summary

19 July 2012

Tissue donation can dramatically improve and even save lives and as many as 50 people can be helped from the donation of one person. But a report by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists has found it's not always done legally.

Reporter:

Leana Hosea

Report

Worldwide millions of body parts are turned into medical products every year from tissue donation, in what has become a flourishing trade. When you donate your tissues, every part of the body worth recycling is stripped, from your skin and bones to veins¹, muscles, eyes and heart valves. Bones can be used in spinal² surgery or for dental implants³ and skin is used for burn victims, for example. But where does it all come from, where is it used and was it all legally procured⁴? 

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists found repeated allegations in Ukraine that proper consent had not been obtained. What's more you won't necessarily know that you are receiving human tissue from a corpse⁵.

The United States is the world's biggest trader of products from human tissue, selling an estimated two million body-derived products a year. Yet, according to the report, the authorities don't seem to know how much tissue is imported, where it comes from, or where it subsequently goes. Buying and selling human tissue is illegal in most countries, but paying service fees is permissible⁶ and the report says a single disease-free body can fetch tens of thousands of dollars.

1 veins   

n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理

参考例句：

• The blood flows from the capillaries back into the veins. 血从毛细血管流回静脉。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I felt a pleasant glow in all my veins from the wine. 喝过酒后我浑身的血都热烘烘的，感到很舒服。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 spinal   

adj.针的，尖刺的，尖刺状突起的；adj.脊骨的，脊髓的

参考例句：

• After three days in Japan,the spinal column becomes extraordinarily flexible.在日本三天，就已经使脊椎骨变得富有弹性了。
• Your spinal column is made up of 24 movable vertebrae.你的脊柱由24个活动的脊椎骨构成。

3 implants   

n.（植入身体中的）移植物( implant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Hormone implants are used as growth boosters. 激素植入物被用作生长辅助剂。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Perhaps the most far-reaching project is an initiative called Living Implants From Engineering (LIFE). 也许最具深远意义的项目，是刚刚启动的建造活体移植工程 (LIFE)。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 医学的第四次革命

4 procured   

v.（努力）取得， （设法）获得( procure的过去式和过去分词 )；拉皮条

参考例句：

• These cars are to be procured through open tender. 这些汽车要用公开招标的办法购买。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• A friend procured a position in the bank for my big brother. 一位朋友为我哥哥谋得了一个银行的职位。 来自《用法词典》

5 corpse   

n.尸体，死尸

参考例句：

• What she saw was just an unfeeling corpse.她见到的只是一具全无感觉的尸体。
• The corpse was preserved from decay by embalming.尸体用香料涂抹以防腐烂。

6 permissible   

adj.可允许的，许可的

参考例句：

• Is smoking permissible in the theatre?在剧院里允许吸烟吗？
• Delay is not permissible,even for a single day.不得延误，即使一日亦不可。