英国新闻听力 美国科学家创造出首例人造生命

Scientists in the United States say they've developed the world's first synthetic¹ organism. Supporters say this marks the beginning of a new industrial revolution. Critics say scientists are playing God. Pallab Ghosh explains.

It's a development that some believe will transform our world on a par² with the splitting of the atom or the creation of the silicon³ chip. Scientists working for a private corporation have created the world's first synthetic life form - a single-celled organism named Synthia. Its DNA⁴ was built block-by-block in a machine. What's more, when Synthia reproduces, its offspring also have the new artificial DNA. Scientists say that this is a beginning of a new industrial revolution. All manner of synthetic bugs⁵ could be made, they say, to produce new medicines, clean up pollution and create a new generation of biologically based electronic components⁶.

Stock markets around the world have suffered further falls amid continuing uncertainty⁷ about the European debt crisis. An unexpected rise in unemployment in the United States contributed to the New York Stock Exchange closing more than 3.5% down, as Duncan Bartlett of our business staff reports the troubles in Greece are weighing on the minds of American investors⁸.

It may seem surprising that Greece, a small economy with little direct trade with the US, could cause a fall on Wall Street. But if the problems in Greece could push the rest of Europe into recession, that would certainly affect many US companies. Many European countries, including Greece, are looking at making serious spending cuts because of their current economic problems. They recognized that in a short term, Europe's economy could stop growing or even be nudged back towards recession.

Football's world governing body FIFA says less than 2% of tickets sold for the World Cup in South Africa have gone to Africans living outside the host country. FIFA's General Secretary Jerome Valcke said just 40,000 tickets had been sold to people in other parts of the continent, far fewer than the numbers hoped for when South Africa was awarded Africa's first World Cup.

A prosecutor⁹ of the Special Court for Sierra Leone wants to hear testimony¹⁰ from the model Naomi Campbell in a case against the former Liberian President Charles Taylor. Ms Campbell allegedly received a blood diamond from Mr Taylor after a dinner hosted by Nelson Mandela in South Africa 13 years ago. Peter Andersen, the Public Affairs Chief of the Sierra Leone Special Court, explained what might happen to Naomi Campbell if she refused to appear.

"Were she to be found in contempt of court, Interpol could be notified. And even after the trial is over, there could be some sanctions and because there will be some residual¹² mechanism¹³ of the court. However, that is really a question for the judges. We always hope that persons who are called before the court will testify."

United States Senate has voted to end its debate on reforms of the financial system, paving the way for a final vote on new legislation. President Obama welcomed the move. He said the vote would allow financial reform to protect consumers, the economy and the American people. The bill's progress had been stalled by some Republican leaders who did succeed in making some amendments¹⁴.

The President of Cuba Raul Castro has held a rare meeting with leading members of the Roman Catholic Church on the island. The talks come ahead of a visit next month by the Vatican foreign secretary. From Havana, Michael Voss.

The official Communist Party newspaper Granma showed a photograph of a smiling President Raul Castro, greeting Cardinal¹⁵ Jaime Ortega, head of the Catholic Church in Cuba along with the Archbishop of Santiago Dionisio Garcia. The meeting, the paper said, discussed various international and domestic issues as well as the favorable development of relations between the Catholic Church and the state. Church sources indicate that the talks also touched on the fate of political prisoners whom the government brands as mercenaries in the pay at the United States.

Soldiers from Jamaica's national reserves have been mobilized to help the police after parts of the capital Kingston became no-go areas. Streets have been taken over by supporters of an alleged¹¹ drug lord, Christopher Dudus Coke who the government now want to extradite to the United States. Mr Coke is wanted in the US for alleged drugs and arms smuggling¹⁶.

The American cyclist Lance Armstrong who's won the Tour de France seven times has denied allegations by a disgraced fellow competitor that he used performance-enhancing drugs. Floyd Landis who was stripped of the Tour de France title in 2006 after testing positive for drugs accused Armstrong, his former teammate, of doing the same. Dismissing the accusations¹⁷, Armstrong said he had nothing to hide.

美国科学家宣布，他们研制出了世界上首例合成有机体。支持者称，这标志着新的工业化革命的开始。批评人士则表示，科学家企图担任造物主的角色。Pallab Ghosh为我们详细解释。

一些人相信，这项进展对世界做出的改变将像原子分裂和芯片的发明一样。一家私营公司的科学家创造出了世界上首个合成的生命形式——一个叫做“辛西娅”(Synthia，意为“人造儿”)的单细胞有机体。该单细胞生物DNA的每一个部分都逐个用机器制造。而且，辛西娅在复制的时候，它的后代也含有这种新的人造DNA。科学家表示，这是新的工业革命的开始。他们表示可以对辛西娅进行各种改变，用来生产新型机器，清除污染，并且创造基于生物学的新的电子元件。

由于欧洲债务危机持续的不确定性，全球股市遭遇了进一步下跌。美国失业率的意外上升导致纽约股票交易所收盘价下跌超过3.5%。我们的商业记者Duncan Bartlett在希腊为我们分析美国投资者的心理。

希腊这样与美国几乎没有直接贸易关系的小型经济体居然会造成华尔街股市下跌，这似乎有点不可思议。但是，如果希腊的问题能够导致欧洲其他国家进入衰退，当然也会影响美国的许多公司。由于目前的经济问题，包括希腊在内的欧洲许多国家都在寻求大幅削减支出。他们已经认识到，短期内，欧洲的经济将停止增长，甚至重新进入衰退。

世界足球管理机构国际足联(FIFA)表示，南非世界杯门票的不足2%由南非以外的非洲人购买。国际足联秘书长杰罗姆·瓦尔克(Jerome Valcke)表示，只有40,000张票由非洲大陆其他地方的人购买，远远低于南非获得非洲大陆首次世界杯举办权时所希望的数字。

在审理利比亚前总统查尔斯·泰勒(Charles Taylor)的案件中，塞拉利昂特别法庭一名检控官希望听取模特Naomi Campbell的证词。据称，13年前，在与查尔斯·泰勒一起参加了纳尔逊·曼德拉在南非举办的晚宴之后，Naomi Campbell收下了泰勒送的血钻。塞拉利亚特别法庭公共事务负责人Peter Andersen解释了如果Naomi Campbell不出现将承担什么样的后果。

“如果她蔑视法庭，我们将通知国际刑事警察组织。甚至审判结束之后，也将采取某些制裁措施，因为法庭存在残余问题处理机制。然而，对法官来说这确实是一个问题。我们总是希望收到传唤的人能够到法庭作证。”

美国参议院进行了投票终止了对金融体系改革的辩论，为针对该新的立法进行最终投票铺平了道路。奥巴马总统对此举表示欢迎。他表示，这次投票将允许金融改革保护消费者，保护经济，保护美国民众。此前，由于一些共和党领袖成功地进行了一些修改，该法案的进展曾一度停滞。

古巴总统罗尔·卡斯特罗(Raul Castro)与罗马天柱教堂领袖举行了罕见的会晤。会谈发生在下月梵蒂冈外交部长访问之前。哈瓦那，Michael Voss报道。

古巴共产党官方报纸《格拉玛》(Granma)刊登了古巴总统卡斯特罗微笑着欢迎古巴天主教堂红衣主教Jaime Ortega和圣地亚哥总教主Dionisio Garcia的照片。报纸称，这次会晤讨论了各种国际和国内问题，以及天主教堂和古巴之间不断改善的关系。教堂消息来源表示，这次会谈还涉及一些政治犯的问题。由于在美国接受贿赂，这些政治犯被古巴政府成为唯利是图的人。

牙买加首都金斯敦发生动乱之后，牙买加国家预备役士兵前往支援警察。大毒枭Christopher Dudus Coke的支持者占领了街道。目前，政府希望将Christopher Dudus Coke引渡到美国。由于走私毒品和武器，Coke在美国受到了通缉。

一名不光彩的竞争对手指控赢得了环法自行车赛七次冠军的美国自行车手兰斯·阿姆斯特朗(Lance Armstrong)服用禁用药物。2006年因药检呈阳性而被剥夺环法自行车赛资格的Floyd Landis指控他的前队友阿姆斯特朗做出了同样的行为。阿姆斯特朗否认了这一指控，称他没有什么好隐瞒的。

1 synthetic   

adj.合成的，人工的；综合的；n.人工制品

参考例句：

• We felt the salesman's synthetic friendliness.我们感觉到那位销售员的虚情假意。
• It's a synthetic diamond.这是人造钻石。

2 par   

n.标准，票面价值，平均数量；adj.票面的，平常的，标准的

参考例句：

• Sales of nylon have been below par in recent years.近年来尼龙织品的销售额一直不及以往。
• I don't think his ability is on a par with yours.我认为他的能力不能与你的能力相媲美。

3 silicon   

n.硅(旧名矽)

参考例句：

• This company pioneered the use of silicon chip.这家公司开创了使用硅片的方法。
• A chip is a piece of silicon about the size of a postage stamp.芯片就是一枚邮票大小的硅片。

4 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。

5 bugs   

adj.疯狂的，发疯的n.窃听器( bug的名词复数 )；病菌；虫子；[计算机]（制作软件程序所产生的意料不到的）错误

参考例句：

• All programs have bugs and need endless refinement. 所有的程序都有漏洞，都需要不断改进。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The sacks of rice were swarming with bugs. 一袋袋的米里长满了虫子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 components   

（机器、设备等的）构成要素，零件，成分； 成分( component的名词复数 )； [物理化学]组分； [数学]分量； （混合物的）组成部分

参考例句：

• the components of a machine 机器部件
• Our chemistry teacher often reduces a compound to its components in lab. 在实验室中化学老师常把化合物分解为各种成分。

7 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

8 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

9 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

10 testimony   

n.证词；见证，证明

参考例句：

• The testimony given by him is dubious.他所作的证据是可疑的。
• He was called in to bear testimony to what the police officer said.他被传入为警官所说的话作证。

11 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

12 residual   

adj.复播复映追加时间；存留下来的，剩余的

参考例句：

• There are still a few residual problems with the computer program.电脑程序还有一些残留问题。
• The resulting residual chromatism is known as secondary spectrum.所得到的剩余色差叫做二次光谱。

13 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

14 amendments   

（法律、文件的）改动( amendment的名词复数 )； 修正案； 修改； （美国宪法的）修正案

参考例句：

• The committee does not adequately consult others when drafting amendments. 委员会在起草修正案时没有充分征求他人的意见。
• Please propose amendments and addenda to the first draft of the document. 请对这个文件的初稿提出修改和补充意见。

15 cardinal   

n.(天主教的)红衣主教；adj.首要的，基本的

参考例句：

• This is a matter of cardinal significance.这是非常重要的事。
• The Cardinal coloured with vexation. 红衣主教感到恼火，脸涨得通红。

16 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。

17 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。