Ⅰ篇章翻译

Ⅰ　篇章翻译
Genetically Modified Foods: Harmful or Helpful?

原文

Environmental activists,religious organizations,public interest groups,professional associations and other scientists and government officials have all raised concerns about GM foods,and criticized agribusiness for pursuing profit without concern for potential hazards,and the government for failing to exercise adequate regulatory oversight.It seems that everyone has a strong opinion about GM foods.Even the Vatican and the Prince of Wales have expressed their opinions.Most concerns about GM foods fall into three categories: environmental hazards,human health risks,and economic concerns.

Environmental hazards

Unintended harm to other organisms.Last year a laboratory study was published in Nature showing that pollen from B.t.corn caused high mortality rates in monarch butterfly caterpillars.Monarch caterpillars consume milkweed plants,not corn,but the fear is that if pollen from B.t.corn is blown by the wind onto milkweed plants in neighboring fields,the caterpillars could eat the pollen and perish.Although the Nature study was not conducted under natural field conditions,the results seemed to support this viewpoint.Unfortunately,B.t.toxins kill many species of insect larvae indiscriminately; it is not possible to design a B.t.toxin that would only kill crop-damaging pests and remain harmless to all other insects.This study is being reexamined by the USDA,the U.S.Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other nongovernment research groups,and preliminary data from new studies suggests that the original study may have been flawed.This topic is the subject of acrimonious debate,and both sides of the argument are defending their data vigorously.Currently,there is no agreement about the results of these studies,and the potential risk of harm to non-target organisms will need to be evaluated further.

Reduced effectiveness of pesticides.Just as some populations of mosquitoes developed resistance to the now-banned pesticide DDT,many people are concerned that insects will become resistant to B.t.or other crops that have been genetically-modified to produce their own pesticides.

Gene transfer to non-target species.Another concern is that crop plants engineered for herbicide tolerance and weeds will cross-breed,resulting in the transfer of the herbicide resistance genes from the crops into the weeds.These “superweeds” would then be herbicide tolerant as well.Other introduced genes may cross over into non-modified crops planted next to GM crops.The possibility of interbreeding is shown by the defense of farmers against lawsuits filed by Monsanto.The company has filed patent infringement lawsuits against farmers who may have harvested GM crops.Monsanto claims that the farmers obtained Monsanto-licensed GM seeds from an unknown source and did not pay royalties to Monsanto.The farmers claim that their unmodified crops were cross-pollinated from someone else’s GM crops planted a field or two away.More investigation is needed to resolve this issue.

There are several possible solutions to the three problems mentioned above.Genes are exchanged between plants via pollen.Two ways to ensure that non-target species will not receive introduced genes from GM plants are to create GM plants that are male sterile (do not produce pollen) or to modify the GM plant so that the pollen does not contain the introduced gene.Cross-pollination would not occur,and if harmless insects such as monarch caterpillars were to eat pollen from GM plants,the caterpillars would survive.

Another possible solution is to create buffer zones around fields of GM crops.For example,non-GM corn would be planted to surround a field of B.t.GM corn,and the non-GM corn would not be harvested.Beneficial or harmless insects would have a refuge in the non-GM corn,and insect pests could be allowed to destroy the non-GM corn and would not develop resistance to B.t.pesticides.Gene transfer to weeds and other crops would not occur because the wind-blown pollen would not travel beyond the buffer zone.Estimates of the necessary width of buffer zones range from 6 meters to 30 meters or more.This planting method may not be feasible if too much acreage is required for the buffer zones.

Human health risks

Allergenicity.Many children in the US and Europe have developed life-threatening allergies to peanuts and other foods.There is a possibility that introducing a gene into a plant may create a new allergen or cause an allergic reaction in susceptible individuals.A proposal to incorporate a gene from Brazil nuts into soybeans was abandoned because of the fear of causing unexpected allergic reactions.Extensive testing of GM foods may be required to avoid the possibility of harm to consumers with food allergies.Labeling of GM foods and food products will acquire new importance.

Unknown effects on human health.There is a growing concern that introducing foreign genes into food plants may have an unexpected and negative impact on human health.A recent article published in Lancet examined the effects of GM potatoes on the digestive tract in rats.

This study claimed that there were appreciable differences in the intestines of rats fed GM potatoes and rats fed unmodified potatoes.Yet critics say that this paper,like the monarch butterfly data,is flawed and does not hold up to scientific scrutiny.Moreover,the gene introduced into the potatoes was a snowdrop flower lectin,a substance known to be toxic to mammals.The scientists who created this variety of potato chose to use the lectin gene simply to test the methodology,and these potatoes were never intended for human or animal consumption.

On the whole,with the exception of possible allergenicity,scientists believe that GM foods do not present a risk to human health.

Economic concerns

Bringing a GM food to market is a lengthy and costly process,and of course agri-biotech companies wish to ensure a profitable return on their investment.Many new plant genetic engineering technologies and GM plants have been patented,and patent infringement is a big concern of agribusiness.Yet consumer advocates are worried that patenting these new plant varieties will raise the price of seeds so high that small farmers and third world countries will not be able to afford seeds for GM crops,thus widening the gap between the wealthy and the poor.It is hoped that in a humanitarian gesture,more companies and non-profits will follow the lead of the Rockefeller Foundation and offer their products at reduced cost to impoverished nations.

Patent enforcement may also be difficult,as the contention of the farmers that they involuntarily grew Monsanto-engineered strains when their crops were cross-pollinated shows.One way to combat possible patent infringement is to introduce a “suicide gene” into GM plants.These plants would be viable for only one growing season and would produce sterile seeds that do not germinate.Farmers would need to buy a fresh supply of seeds each year.However,this would be financially disastrous for farmers in third world countries who cannot afford to buy seed each year and traditionally set aside a portion of their harvest to plant in the next growing season.In an open letter to the public,Monsanto has pledged to abandon all research using this suicide gene technology.(1,183 words)

生词

GM food = genetically modified food　n.转基因食物

agribusiness　n.农业综合企业

oversight　n.监管

organism　n.生物体

pollen　n.花粉

B.t.=Bacillus thuringiensis　n.苏云金杆菌

caterpillar　n.毛虫；鳞翅目幼虫

milkweed　n.乳草类植物

toxin　n.毒素

larvae　n.幼虫（larva的复数）

indiscriminately　adv.不加区别地

acrimonious　adj.激烈的；剧烈的

pesticide　n.杀虫剂

herbicide　n.除草剂

cross-breed　n.杂交

infringement　n.侵权

royalty　n.专利税

cross-pollinated　adj.异花授粉的

sterile　adj.不育的；无生殖力的

buffer　n.缓冲

acreage　n.种植面积

allergenicity　n.过敏源

allergen　n.过敏原

susceptible　adj.易感的；易受影响的

soybean　n.大豆

digestive tract　n.消化道

appreciable　adj.明显的；可察觉的

intestine　n.肠道

snowdrop　n.雪花莲

lectin　n.凝集素

agri-biotech 农业生物技术

germinate　v.发芽

involuntarily　adv.无意识地；非自愿地

注释

1.Monsanto Company：孟山都公司。是一家跨国农业生物技术公司，该公司目前也是转基因种子的领先生产商，总部设于美国密苏里州克雷沃克尔。

2.Vatican：梵蒂冈。即梵蒂冈城国 (Stato della Città del Vaticano)，世界上最小的主权国家，也是世界上人口最少的国家之一。

3.The Prince of Wales：威尔士亲王，威尔士公国的元首，自1301年英格兰吞并威尔士之后，英王便将这个头衔赐予自己的长子。从此以后，给国王的男性继承人冠以“威尔士亲王”的头衔逐渐相沿成习，“威尔士亲王”便成了英国王储的同义词。

4.Nature: 《自然》。英国著名杂志，是世界上最权威的科学杂志之一。杂志以报道科学世界中的重大发现、重要突破为使命，1869年创刊。

5.USDA：United States Department of Agriculture 美国农业部。

6.Lancet：《柳叶刀》。英国著名医学杂志，为世界上最悠久及最受重视的同行评审性质之医学期刊。1823年由汤姆·魏克莱（Thomas Wakley）所创刊，他以外科用具“柳叶刀”（Lancet）为这份刊物命名。

7.the Rockefeller Foundation：洛克菲勒基金会。1913年由约翰·D·洛克菲勒创立，是美国最早的私人基金会，也是世界上最有影响的少数基金会之一。

翻译解析

1.【原文】Environmental activists,religious organizations,public interest groups,professional associations and other scientists and government officials have all raised concerns about GM foods,and criticized agribusiness for pursuing profit without concern for potential hazards,and the government for failing to exercise adequate regulatory oversight.

【译文】环境保护主义者、宗教组织、公共利益团体、专业协会以及科学家和政府官员都越来越关注转基因食品的问题。他们批评农业综合企业不顾转基因食品的潜在危害追逐利益，批评政府没能进行充分的调控。

【解析】原句只有一句，译文分为两句，便于句式的安排，可使句子层次更清楚。第二个分句中“criticize”有两个宾语，一为“agribusiness”，一为“the government”，译文用并列结构解。

2.【原文】Even the Vatican and the Prince of Wales have expressed their opinions.

【译文】就连梵蒂冈和英国王储都表达过他们对转基因食品的意见。

【解析】此处的“Prince of Wales”译为“英国王储”而不是“威尔士亲王”，主要是考虑减少读者的认知障碍。

3.【原文】Monarch caterpillars consume milkweed plants,not corn,but the fear is that if pollen from B.t.corn is blown by the wind onto milkweed plants in neighboring fields,the caterpillars could eat the pollen and perish.

【译文】王蝶幼虫以乳草类植物为食，不是玉米，但人们担心如果苏云金杆菌玉米的花粉被风吹到毗邻田地的乳草属植物上，幼虫就可能吃下花粉而死去。

【解析】原文的“consume”意为“吃”或“以……为食”，两种意义都可以选择。原文以非人称名词“fear”做主语，在译文中换成了人称名词“人们”，更符合汉语的表达习惯。

4.【原文】Just as some populations of mosquitoes developed resistance to the now-banned pesticide DDT,many people are concerned that insects will become resistant to B.t.or other crops that have been genetically-modified to produce their own pesticides.

【译文】正如有些蚊子对现在已经禁止使用的杀虫剂DDT产生了抗体一样， 很多人担心昆虫会对转基因苏云金杆菌玉米或其他作物产生抗体，从而需要人们生产出对付它们的杀虫剂。

【解析】原文是个长句。翻译时应注意其逻辑关系。译文用“正如”、“从而”等关联词表示出原文的逻辑关系。此外，DDT英文为Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane（双对氯苯基三氯乙烷），长期以来习惯相承的是直接用英文的缩略语或用音译“滴滴涕”，此处选择用DDT。

5.【原文】Genes are exchanged between plants via pollen.

【译文】基因通过花粉在作物间交换。

【解析】译文要注意“exchange”一词的翻译。因为是“between plants”，所以解为“交换”而不是“转换”更为贴切。

6.【原文】Two ways to ensure that non-target species will not receive introduced genes from GM plants are to create GM plants that are male sterile (do not produce pollen) or to modify the GM plant so that the pollen does not contain the introduced gene.

【译文】保证非目标物种不会从转基因作物上接受导入基因的方法有两种：一是创造出雄性不育（即不产花粉）的转基因作物；二是改造转基因作物以使花粉不含导入基因。

【解析】原文的主谓结构为“Two ways are”，译文把修饰语“to ensure”结构放到前面做定语，后面用“一是”“二是”相承，层次上更为清晰。

7.【原文】Many children in the US and Europe have developed life-threatening allergies to peanuts and other foods.

【译文】美国以及欧洲的许多孩子对花生和其他食物有过敏反应，这甚至会危及生命。

【解析】译文把“life-threatening”作为外位结构处理，单独成句，使译文结构上更为合理，意义更明晰。如果依照原文的结构翻译为“对花生和其他食物有致命的过敏反应”，则译文很难理解。

8.【原文】Labeling of GM foods and food products will acquire new importance.

【译文】从这点来看，把转基因食物和食物产品标示出来就有了一层新的意义。

【解析】依照语境来理解，这里的“labeling”是“做标示”的意思。

9.【原文】This study claimed that there were appreciable differences in the intestines of rats fed GM potatoes and rats fed unmodified potatoes.

【译文】这项研究表明喂食转基因土豆的老鼠和喂食非转基因土豆的老鼠肠道有明显的差异。

【解析】“appreciable”意为“sufficient to be readily perceived or estimated; considerable”，依照上下文，翻译为“明显”。“fed”依照语境，为“喂食”之意，解为“吃”不妥。

10.【原文】It is hoped that in a humanitarian gesture,more companies and non-profits will follow the lead of the Rockefeller Foundation and offer their products at reduced cost to impoverished nations.

【译文】人们希望从人道主义角度考虑，更多的公司和公益机构会以洛克菲勒基金会为榜样，将他们的产品以较低的成本销售给贫穷国家。

【解析】被动结构“It is hoped”转为主动形式“人们希望”。“non-profits”解为“非营利性机构”增加“机构”使其与“公司”对应，也使语义结构完善。

11.【原文】However,this would be financially disastrous for farmers in third world countries who cannot afford to buy seed each year and traditionally set aside a portion of their harvest to plant in the next growing season.

【译文】然而，这种做法对第三世界国家无力每年都购买种子的农民来说是一种经济上的灾难，因为传统上，他们的做法是从收获的粮食中留出种子以备下一个耕种季再种。

【解析】原文讲到了转基因作物对第三世界国家可能带来的经济影响，并把农人们传统的做法解释了一下。译文把后半部分内容用“因为”解出原文两个部分之间潜在的逻辑关系。“a portion of”做了必要的删节。

参考译文

转基因食品：有害还是有益？

环境保护主义者、宗教组织、公共利益团体、专业协会以及科学家和政府官员都越来越关注转基因食品的问题。他们批评农业综合企业不顾转基因食品的潜在危害追逐利益，批评政府没能进行充分的调控。似乎每个人都对转基因食品非常有心得。就连梵蒂冈和英国王储都表达过他们对转基因食品的意见。多数人对转基因食品的关注点有三个：1.环境危害；2.人的健康危险；3.经济因素。

1.环境危害

对其他生物的意外伤害。去年，《自然》杂志发表的一项实验室研究表明，苏云金杆菌玉米的花粉导致大量王蝶幼虫死亡。王蝶幼虫以乳草类植物为食，不是玉米，但人们担心如果苏云金杆菌玉米的花粉被风吹到毗邻田地的乳草属植物上，幼虫就可能吃下花粉而死去。虽然《自然》的这个研究并不是在自然田野条件下进行的，但结果看起来很支持这种观点。很不幸的是，苏云金杆菌毒素很随意地就能杀死许多种昆虫的幼虫。要专门制造一种只杀死危害作物的害虫而又不会伤害其他昆虫的苏云金杆菌毒素是不可能的。美国农业部，美国环境保护组织以及其他非政府研究团体正在对这一研究重新审视，而新的研究带来的最初数据表明原来的研究可能存在缺陷。这个话题引起了激烈的论辩，论辩的双方都在极力证明自己的数据。目前，关于研究结果还没有达成一致的意见，转基因食品对非目标生物潜在的危害也需要进一步评估。

杀虫剂效能的降低。正如有些蚊子对现在已经禁止使用的杀虫剂DDT产生了抗体一样，很多人担心昆虫会对转基因苏云金杆菌玉米或其他作物产生抗体，从而需要人们生产出对付它们的杀虫剂。

基因转移给非目标物种。另外一个令人关注的问题是这些依照设计耐除草剂的作物会和杂草杂交，结果会把耐除草剂的基因从作物传给杂草。接下来这些“超级杂草”也会变得耐除草剂。其他导入基因可能会传到临近转基因作物种植的非目标作物上。农民们在遭到孟山都公司的投诉后为自己的辩护就表明了这种杂交存在的可能性。该公司起诉农民专利侵权，收获了该公司所有的转基因作物。公司声称农民们从不明渠道获得了孟山都专利的转基因种子，但没有支付专利税给孟山都。农民们则声称他们的非转基因作物受到相邻地块种植转基因作物的异花授粉。要解决这个纠纷还需要更多的调查。

对于上述三个问题有几种可能的解决办法。基因通过花粉在作物间交换。保证非目标物种不会从转基因作物上接受导入基因的方法有两种：一是创造出雄性不育（即不产花粉）的转基因作物；二是改造转基因作物以使花粉不含导入基因。这样异花授粉不会发生，而如果诸如王蝶幼虫这样的无害昆虫吃了来自转基因作物上的花粉，它们也不会死去。

另一个可能的解决办法就是在转基因作物田地周围设立缓冲带。比如，在苏云金杆菌玉米地周围种上非转基因玉米，而这些非转基因玉米不收获。益虫和害虫会在非转基因玉米地找到避难所，可以允许使用杀虫剂毁掉非转基因玉米，而不会有害虫对苏云金杆菌杀虫剂产生抗体。基因转移到杂草和其他作物上的事情也不会发生，因为花粉不会被风吹过缓冲区。估计必要的缓冲区宽度在6米～30米或更宽。但如果缓冲区需要的面积太大，这种种植方法可能并不可行。

2.对人的健康危险

过敏源。美国以及欧洲的许多孩子对花生和其他食物有过敏反应，这甚至会危及生命。将一种基因导入一种植物可能形成一种新的过敏原或导致易感人群的过敏反应。这些都有可能。曾有人提议把一种巴西坚果的基因导入大豆，但该提议被放弃，因为人们担心这会造成意想不到的过敏反应。需要对转基因食品做广泛验证以避免他们可能对食物过敏者造成伤害。从这点来看，把转基因食物和食物产品标示出来就有了一层新的意义。

对人类健康的未知影响。越来越多的人担心将一种异质的基因导入作物可能会对人类健康带来意想不到的负面影响。最近英国医学杂志《柳叶刀》刊发了一篇文章，探讨了转基因土豆对老鼠消化道的影响。

这项研究表明喂食转基因土豆的老鼠和喂食非转基因土豆的老鼠，肠道有明显的差异。然而有评论者认为这篇文章，同关于王蝶幼虫的文章一样，在数据方面有缺陷，经不起细致的科学审查。而且，试验中导入土豆的基因是雪花莲花凝集素，而这种物质已知对哺乳动物有毒害作用。制造这种土豆的科学家选择利用凝集素基因只是为了检验研究方法，他们从未想过把这些土豆给人或动物食用。

总之，除了可能导致过敏反应，科学家们相信转基因食品并不对人类的健康构成危险。

3.经济因素

将转基因食品推向市场是一个漫长、高成本的过程，自然农业生物技术公司希望能够得到好的投资回报。许多新的作物基因工程技术和转基因植物都申请了专利，专利侵权成为农业综合企业关注的一大问题。然而消费者担心将新的植物品种申请专利会大大提高种子的价格，导致小的农场主和第三世界国家无力购买转基因作物种子，从而拉大贫富之间的差距。人们希望从人道主义角度考虑，更多的公司和公益机构会以洛克菲勒基金会为榜样，将他们的产品以较低的成本销售给贫穷国家。

正如前述农场主争议的那样，他们的作物异花授粉，无意中种了孟山都公司的转基因品种，这使得专利执法也变得困难。抵制可能的专利侵权的一个办法就是在转基因植物中导入一种“自杀基因”。这些作物的生长发育期只有一季，此后便会产生绝育种子不再发芽。每年农场主都需要购买新的种子。然而，这种做法对第三世界国家无力每年都购买种子的农民来说是一种经济上的灾难，因为传统上，他们的做法是从收获的粮食中留出种子以备下一个耕种季再种。在致大众的一封公开信中，孟山都公司已经承诺放弃所有使用自杀基因技术的研究。