評論
打印
Listen to a conversation between a student and his biology professor.
聽一段學生和他的生物老師的對話。
Student: Professor Landrea.
學生：你好，Landrea教授。
Professor: Hi, Dennis.
教授：你好，Dennis。
You are right on time.
你很準時。
Come on in and have a seat.
進來坐下吧。
Student: Great! Thanks.
學生：太好了！謝謝。
Professor: So like I told you in class, I just wanted to take a few minutes to meet with everyone to make sure your class presentations for next week are all in order and coming along well.
教授：就像我在課上說的，我想花幾分鐘時間和每個人談談，確定你們下周的報告進展順利并有邏輯性。
And as you know, you are supposed to report on some area of recent research in genetics, something...you know...original.
你知道，你應該報告一些最近遺傳學領域的研究，一些新穎的發現。
Student: Well, I think I found just the thing!
學生：我想我已經找到了！
It actually occurred to me a couple nights ago while I was eating dinner in the cafeteria.
事實上是在幾天之前，當我在咖啡店吃晚餐時突發奇想。
Tell me professor, do you like broccoli?
告訴我教授，你喜歡吃西蘭花嗎？
Professor: Broccoli? You mean the vegetable broccoli?
教授：西蘭花？你是說蔬菜西蘭花？
Student: Yeah.
學生：是的。
Professor: Well, I guess not really.
教授：我想我不愛吃。
Student: Me neither.
學生：我也不喜歡。
I have never liked it or most other vegetables for that matter... brussels sprouts, asparagus, cauliflower...you name it.
我從來不喜歡它或許多其他蔬菜，抱子甘藍，蘆筍，菜花……凡是你想得到的。
They just taste bitter and...well...nasty to me.
它們嘗起來很苦而且對我來說很惡心。
My mother always called me a picky eater.
我母親總說我挑食。
Professor: OK...And?
教授：好的，然后呢？
Student: And so I got to wondering, I mean, I am obviously not the only person like this.
學生：所以我開始好奇，我的意思是我顯然不是唯一有這種想法的人。
So is this just because of some...like trauma from our childhoods?
所以這只是因為我們童年的精神創傷？
Some bad experience we've had with some vegetables?
對于這些蔬菜，我們有過不好的經歷？
Or could there be some genetic explanation for why some people are picky eaters and others aren't?
或者是不是存在基因上的解釋，為什么一些人挑食，一些人不挑食？
Professor: OK. I see.
教授：好的，我明白了。
Well, I suppose it's a possibility.
我想有這個可能。
Student: Actually, it turns out it's more than a possibility.
學生：事實上，它不只是可能。
I started doing some research in the library that night and I found out that a biologist at the National Institutes of Health has been looking at that very question recently.
那天晚上我開始在圖書館搞研究，我發現國家衛生研究院的一名生物學家最近也在研究這個問題。
Professor: Well, I guess that's not too surprising.
教授：我猜這不足為奇。
And this is great stuff actually.
這其實是很好的研究。
So what's the verdict?
那么結論是什么？
Student: Well, this guy seems to have discovered a particular gene that actually makes it possible for people to taste the bitterness in certain green vegetables.
學生：這個人似乎發現了一個在某種綠色蔬菜中使人嘗到苦味的特殊基因。
But people who have a mutation in that gene cannot taste the bitterness.
但是受到基因突變的人無法嘗到這種苦味。
