VOA标准英语2010年-Cloning Experiment Has Dangerous Outco

Infant Dren and SARAH POLLEY as Elsa Kast in Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Dark Castle Entertainment’s science fiction thriller¹ “SPLICE²,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release.

Genetic³ research can yield new treatments for deadly diseases and foods that are more nutritious⁴; but tinkering with the building blocks of life could also lead to a much darker, more dangerous outcome. That's what happens when a couple of scientists go just a bit too far in new science fiction film Splice, co-starring Sarah Polley and Oscar-winner Adrien Brody.

 

Elsa and Clive are experts at splicing⁵ together genes⁶ of different species for research into new, life-saving medicines; but the line they dare not cross is to splice human genetic material into an experiment. It's a temptation their curious minds can barely resist:

"If we don't use human DNA⁷ now someone else will."

"Regulators and politicians would tear us to pieces."

"Millions of people are suffering and dying. What are the moral considerations of that?"

Working in secret, they cross that line. The result is horrifying⁸ yet mesmerizing⁹. It has human characteristics, but is so much more …frighteningly more.

DELPHINE CHANEAC as Dren and director VINCENZO NATALI on the set of Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Dark Castle Entertainment’s science fiction thriller “SPLICE,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release.

"It's a cautionary tale, but in many respects it is quite ambiguous about where it stands on the science," says Vincenzo Natali, co-writer and director of Splice.  In the dozen years it has taken him to get the story made into a movie, the exploits of real scientists have come close to what his fictional¹⁰ characters attempt.

"I see Clive and Elsa as being very courageous¹¹ and well intentioned. They are just young and not fully¹² mature as people," Natali explains. "That's why things go wrong, but the technology unto itself isn't necessarily a bad thing. I worked with real geneticists in the writing of the film and the making of the movie and they loved it. They fully supported it. I don't think they took it that seriously. They could see that this is fantasy and this is not a documentary."

ADRIEN BRODY as Clive Nicoli in Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Dark Castle Entertainment’s science fiction thriller “SPLICE,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release.

Adrien Brody plays Clive and says the provocative¹³ story of Splice crosses lines that will surprise …maybe even shock the audience.

"Definitely with something as relevant in our world as genetic research, there are serious moral and ethical¹⁴ concerns and responsibility that is necessary. This movie kind of throws most of that out of the window," Brody says. "Part of what makes this film so exciting is how close it is linked to our present and very near future. When they made a movie like Frankenstein you never really imagined that happening; [but] you talk about genetically¹⁵ modifying organisms and creating chimeras¹⁶ and managing to integrate different species: that's already happening, but you don't know what is possible and what's to come. Scientific research is progressing at such an alarming rate I think it's impossible to know what ten years from now will hold."

 SARAH POLLEY as Elsa Kast in Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Dark Castle Entertainment’s science fiction thriller “SPLICE,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release.

Sarah Polley co-stars as Elsa, whose professional and personal relationship with Clive and their creation affects her scientific judgment¹⁷.

"Where I think this film goes beyond what I usually expect of films like this is it creates this really in-depth, rich, complex relationship between these people and also this complex relationship that goes into the territory of nightmarish parenting," she says. "I think it goes to strange human places as well as dealing¹⁸ with the creature."

Splice uses unexpected flashes of dark humor to defuse the tension as it draws the audience into ever-more shocking story turns. Laughter - nervous, even inappropriate - is the response writer-director Natali says he was going for.

SARAH POLLEY as Elsa Kast and ADRIEN BRODY as Clive Nicoli in Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Dark Castle Entertainment’s science fiction thriller “SPLICE,” a Warner Bros. Pictures release.

"There is no question that horror and comedy are comfortable bedfellows," he says. "They mingle¹⁹ quite well, I think, and what it really comes from is the characters. Both Clive and Elsa are charming people. They are lots of fun. They enjoy their work and they have a sense of humor about themselves, so I think that was sort of inherent just in the fact that they have those sort of personalities²⁰. At the same time, it is a kind of family drama and there is an inherent humor in a family drama that has a creature as the child."

"She's become unstable²¹."

"This is the disaster everyone warns about: a new species set loose in the world."

Splice features French actress Delphine Chaneac as the voracious²² creature the scientists name "Dren" (which is "nerd" backwards). The executive producers are Joel Silver and Guillermo del Toro, two filmmakers known for their success in the thriller genre²³.

1 thriller   

n.惊险片，恐怖片

参考例句：

• He began by writing a thriller.That book sold a million copies.他是写惊险小说起家的。那本书卖了一百万册。
• I always take a thriller to read on the train.我乘火车时，总带一本惊险小说看。

2 splice   

v.接合，衔接；n.胶接处，粘接处

参考例句：

• He taught me to edit and splice film.他教我剪辑和粘接胶片。
• The film will be spliced with footage of Cypress Hill to be filmed in America.这部电影要和将在美国拍摄的柏树山乐队的音乐片段粘接在一起。

3 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。

4 nutritious   

adj.有营养的，营养价值高的

参考例句：

• Fresh vegetables are very nutritious.新鲜蔬菜富于营养。
• Hummingbirds have discovered that nectar and pollen are very nutritious.蜂鸟发现花蜜和花粉是很有营养的。

5 splicing   

n.编接（绳）；插接；捻接；叠接v.绞接( splice的现在分词 )；捻接（两段绳子）；胶接；粘接（胶片、磁带等）

参考例句：

• An ultra_low _loss splicing without conventional power monitoring could be achieved. 焊接最低损耗在非常规能源运作下将可能做到。 来自互联网
• Film, tissue backing. For splicing, holding in shoe and general purpose use. 具有薄膜、棉纸基材，适用于铭版、皮革及一般性双面贴合。 来自互联网

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 DNA   

(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸

参考例句：

• DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。

8 horrifying   

a.令人震惊的，使人毛骨悚然的

参考例句：

• He went to great pains to show how horrifying the war was. 他极力指出战争是多么的恐怖。
• The possibility of war is too horrifying to contemplate. 战争的可能性太可怕了，真不堪细想。

9 mesmerizing   

adj.有吸引力的，有魅力的v.使入迷( mesmerize的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• I think you must be mesmerizing me, Charles. 查尔斯，我想你一定在对我施催眠术啦。 来自辞典例句
• The attendant one-dimensional wave equation has mesmerizing harmonic properties. 伴生的一元波平衡具有迷人的和谐特性。 来自电影对白

10 fictional   

adj.小说的，虚构的

参考例句：

• The names of the shops are entirely fictional.那些商店的名字完全是虚构的。
• The two authors represent the opposite poles of fictional genius.这两位作者代表了天才小说家两个极端。

11 courageous   

adj.勇敢的，有胆量的

参考例句：

• We all honour courageous people.我们都尊重勇敢的人。
• He was roused to action by courageous words.豪言壮语促使他奋起行动。

12 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

13 provocative   

adj.挑衅的，煽动的，刺激的，挑逗的

参考例句：

• She wore a very provocative dress.她穿了一件非常性感的裙子。
• His provocative words only fueled the argument further.他的挑衅性讲话只能使争论进一步激化。

14 ethical   

adj.伦理的，道德的，合乎道德的

参考例句：

• It is necessary to get the youth to have a high ethical concept.必须使青年具有高度的道德观念。
• It was a debate which aroused fervent ethical arguments.那是一场引发强烈的伦理道德争论的辩论。

15 genetically   

adv.遗传上

参考例句：

• All the bees in the colony are genetically related. 同一群体的蜜蜂都有亲缘关系。
• Genetically modified foods have already arrived on American dinner tables. 经基因改造加工过的食物已端上了美国人的餐桌。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 基因与食物

16 chimeras   

n.（由几种动物的各部分构成的）假想的怪兽( chimera的名词复数 )；不可能实现的想法；幻想；妄想

参考例句：

• He was more interested in states of mind than in "puerile superstitions, Gothic castles, and chimeras." 他乐于描写心情，而不愿意描写“无聊的迷信，尖拱式的堡垒和妖魔鬼怪。” 来自辞典例句
• Dong Zhong's series, in its embryonic stage, had no blossoms, birds or surreal chimeras. 董重的这个系列的早年雏形并没有梅花、鸟和超现实的连体。 来自互联网

17 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

18 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

19 mingle   

vt.使混合，使相混；vi.混合起来；相交往

参考例句：

• If we mingle with the crowd,we should not be noticed.如果我们混在人群中，就不会被注意到。
• Oil will not mingle with water.油和水不相融。

20 personalities   

n. 诽谤，（对某人容貌、性格等所进行的）人身攻击； 人身攻击；人格, 个性, 名人( personality的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There seemed to be a degree of personalities in her remarks.她话里有些人身攻击的成分。
• Personalities are not in good taste in general conversation.在一般的谈话中诽谤他人是不高尚的。

21 unstable   

adj.不稳定的，易变的

参考例句：

• This bookcase is too unstable to hold so many books.这书橱很不结实，装不了这么多书。
• The patient's condition was unstable.那患者的病情不稳定。

22 voracious   

adj.狼吞虎咽的，贪婪的

参考例句：

• She's a voracious reader of all kinds of love stories.什么样的爱情故事她都百看不厌。
• Joseph Smith was a voracious book collector.约瑟夫·史密斯是个如饥似渴的藏书家。

23 genre   

n.(文学、艺术等的)类型，体裁，风格

参考例句：

• My favorite music genre is blues.我最喜欢的音乐种类是布鲁斯音乐。
• Superficially,this Shakespeare's work seems to fit into the same genre.从表面上看， 莎士比亚的这个剧本似乎属于同一类型。