VOA慢速英语 2007 0109a

This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

The United States government wants to know what the public thinks about its findings on the safety of cloned animals.


Cloned dairy cows Cyagra, left, and Genesis at a farm in Maryland

The Food and Drug Administration says meat and milk from clones of adult cattle, pigs and goats are safe to eat. An F.D.A. official called them as safe to eat as the food we eat every day.

And when those clones reproduce sexually, the agency says, their offspring are safe to eat as well. But research on cloned sheep is limited. So the F.D.A. proposes that sheep clones not be used for human food.

The United States this year could become the first country to approve the sale of foods from cloned animals.

First, however, the public will have ninety days to comment on three proposed documents. On December twenty-eighth the F.D.A. released a long report, called a draft risk assessment¹, along with two policy documents.

The agency says it must receive comments by April second. The F.D.A. seemed ready to act several years ago, but an advisory² committee called for more research.

For now, the government will continue to ask producers to honor a request that they not sell foods from cloned animals.

Clones are still rare. They cost a lot and are difficult to produce.

Some people think farmers might find it difficult to export products from cloned animals. Critics question the safety. Animal rights activists³ also have objections.

The F.D.A. says most food from cloning is expected to come not from clones themselves, but from their sexually reproduced offspring. It says clones are expected to be used mostly as breeding animals to spread desirable qualities.

Public opinion studies show that most Americans do not like the idea of food from cloned animals. But this research also shows that the public knows little about cloning.

Cloning differs from genetic⁴ engineering. A cell taken from a so-called donor⁵ animal is grown into an embryo⁶ in the laboratory. Next, the embryo is placed into the uterus of a female animal. If the process is successful, the pregnancy⁷ reaches full term and a genetic copy of the donor animal is born.

The F.D.A. sees no scientific reason to require special labels on products that involved cloning. But companies could identify products as clone-free, if statements do not suggest that one product might be safer than another.

And that's the VOA Special English Agriculture Report, written by Jerilyn Watson.

1 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

2 advisory   

adj.劝告的，忠告的，顾问的，提供咨询

参考例句：

• I have worked in an advisory capacity with many hospitals.我曾在多家医院做过顾问工作。
• He was appointed to the advisory committee last month.他上个月获任命为顾问委员会委员。

3 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

5 donor   

n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体

参考例句：

• In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下，接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
• The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。

6 embryo   

n.胚胎，萌芽的事物

参考例句：

• They are engaging in an embryo research.他们正在进行一项胚胎研究。
• The project was barely in embryo.该计划只是个雏形。

7 pregnancy   

n.怀孕，怀孕期

参考例句：

• Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕早期常有恶心的现象。
• Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage.怀孕期吸烟会增加流产的危险。