英语沙塔电影英语学习｜经济学人精读｜研究新陈代谢对人类的帮助

本文节选自《经济学人》2020.2.15期Science & technology版块的一篇文章《Metabolites and you》，介绍了人类对于人体新陈代谢方面的研究

本文共10段，建议大家先自主阅读原文，再学习精读笔记。

文末会总结此次学习写作可以使用的词句，读者也可自己总结。会定期将内容进行总结，做成word分享，希望大家也能坚持学习

Genes can tell tales about you, from who your ancestors were to how likely you are to develop a range of diseases. And it seems probable that in the future they will tell more: your personality type, perhaps, or your intelligence. For these reasons, many countries have laws limiting what use employers and insurance companies can make of such information. America, for example, has the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, which makes it illegal for health insurers and employers to use genetic information to discriminate against customers and employees.

develop a range of diseases：罹患一系列疾病。develop (sth) 患（病）；出现（问题）【搭配】

it seems probable that：……似乎有可能。

1）possible作“或许”解，有“也许如此”之意。强调客观上有可能性，但常常带有“实际可能性很小”的暗示。

2）probable用来指有根据，合情理，值得相信的事物，带有“大概，很可能”的意味。语气比possible要重，是most likely之意。

一句话鉴别两者的程度：It’s possible, though not probable. That he will accept the terms.他也可能接受这些条件，但希望不大。【同义鉴别】

Many countries have laws limiting what use employers and insurance companies can make of such information：本句为定语从句，many countries have laws which limits ……，which limits可以变为limiting，表示很多国家都有法律规定，这些法律限制……。limit之后的是宾语从句，what use employers and insurance companies can make of such information表示雇主和保险公司可以从这些信息中获取的东西。【句式】

which makes it illegal for：这使得……是违法的，which is illegal for……，表示……是违法的，makes it在这里更适合，表示前后因果的关系更强烈

discriminate against sb：歧视某人【词组积累】

基因可以告诉关于我们的故事，从我们的祖先是谁，到我们罹患一系列疾病的可能性。而且在未来，他们有可能会告诉我们更多的事情：你的性格，或你的智力。因为这些原因，很多国家有法律规定限制雇主和保险公司利用这些信息。例如美国，有基因信息不歧视条约，这使保险公司和雇主歧视顾客和雇员将被视作违法。

There is much, however, that genes cannot reveal. They are blind to what you eat, how you exercise, how safe the place you live in is, how you unwind at the end of the day and which god you worship. Just as well, you might think, considering how easy it is to obtain samples of DNA from saliva, sweat or hair, and how cheap it is becoming to analyze such samples. But it is not just DNA that people scatter to the wind as they go about their business. They shed a whole range of other chemicals as well, in their breath, their urine, their faecesand their sweat. Collectively, and somewhat inaccurately, these molecules are referred to as metabolites. Some truly are the products of metabolic activity within people’s bodies. Others are substances an individual has come into contact with, or consumed or inhaled. All, though, carry information of one sort or another.

cannot reveal；are blind to：cannot reveal表示基因不能显示的东西，而be blind to表示对……视而不见，两者一起表现了基因并不能告诉我们很多表征信息的事实。【词组积累】

unwind at the end of the day：在一天结束之际缓解劳累，unwind表示放松，轻松，停止思考或焦虑一件事情【词汇积累】

it is not just DNA that people scatter to the wind as they go about their business：这里的句式是it is not …… that ……，这不是……，才……，起强调作用。scatter to the wind表示化为乌有，scatter有播散，驱散的意思，播散到空气中，即化为乌有。go about their business表示做某事的意思。文中指的是：人们在做事的时候，排到空气中的并不仅仅是DNA。这里的scatter to the wind基本可以理解为字面意思，表示物质，如呼吸产生的二氧化碳，汗液等人体代谢物质从人体进入到周围环境。【词组积累】

shed a whole range of other chemicals：产生很多其他其他化学物质，shed意为使落下，掉落，a whole range of 表示大量的，一系列的。【词汇积累】

faeces：排泄物

Collectively：共同地

Metabolite：代谢物

come into contact with：接触【词组积累】

of one sort or another：一种或另一种

然而，基因仍然有很多信息无法告诉我们。他们对我们吃的食物，如何锻炼，居住的地方有多安全，如何在一天结束时放松，崇敬哪个神视而不见。同样的，你可能也会想着，从唾液、汗液和头发中获取DNA样本很简单，分析这些样本也很便宜。但人们日常生活中新陈代谢播散到空气中的代谢产物并不只有DNA，还有其他一系列化学物质，在他们的呼吸中，尿液里，排泄物中以及汗液当中。虽然稍微有些不正确，他们被共同地称作代谢物。一些确实是人们体内代谢过程中的产物，而其他，是人接触到的物质，或者消耗或吸入的物质。不过，所有这些物质，都携带着一种或另一种信息。

The most common way of analyzing metabolite content is gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. This technique sorts molecules by their weight,producing a pattern of peaks that correspond to different substances. But the same weight can be shared by many molecules, so the results may be ambiguous. Nor, even if a molecule can be identified unambiguously, is its wider significance always obvious to a particular investigator.

gas chromatography-mass spectrometry：气相色谱质谱联用

sorts molecules by their weight：sort A by B：根据B来对A进行分类【词组积累】

producing a pattern of peaks that correspond to different substances：a pattern of peaks一种峰值模式，correspond to表示与……对应。产生与不同物质对应的不同峰值。【词组积累】

ambiguous：[æm'bɪɡjuəs] 模糊的，不明确的【词汇积累】

wider significance：更广泛的意义

最常见的分析代谢物的方法是气相色谱质谱联用。这个技术通过物质的质量将其分类，从而产生与不同物质相对应的不同峰值模式。但同一质量，可以有很多分子，因此，结果可能是模糊的，即使一个分子可以被明确地识别出来，观察者也不能总是轻易了解其更广泛的意义。

There are, however, a lot of information sources out there, in the form of publicly available metabolite databases. And last year a team led by Pieter Dorrestein of University of California, San Diego, invented a way, which they call a metabolite search engine, of linking them up so that a sample can be compared simultaneously with the contents of all of them. The databases themselves are getting better, too. According to Dr Dorrestein, researchers in the field were able, as recently as four years ago, to identify only 2% of the metabolites found in samples. Today, that has increased to 6% and is climbing quickly. He says, “to assume that in another four years we will be able to annotate 20% of the molecular signatures that we encounter, based on the advances that are being made.”

in the form of publicly available metabolite databases：in the form of以……的形式，publicly available可以公开地

link them up：将他们连接起来

be compared simultaneously with：simultaneous表示同时的，be compared with与……相比较。

as recently as four years ago：就在四年前，（用来表达作者认为时间距离不是特别远的）【词组积累】

climb：爬升，这里用来作数字的谓语动词，表示数字在升高【搭配】

annotate：注释

molecular signatures：分子标签，分子标志

不过，有很多信息可以以公开代谢数据库形式为人们所用。去年，一支由来自圣地亚哥Pieter Dorrestein带领的团队发明了一种方法，他们称作代谢搜索引擎，将代谢产物数据连接起来，从而一个样本可以同时与数据库中的代谢产物进行比较。数据库本身也开始变得更好。根据Dorrestein所说，就在四年前，这个领域的研究者还只能识别出样本中2%的代谢物，如今，这个数字增长到了6%，而且还在快速升高。他说，预估下个四年，基于如今的进步，我们就可以标注出20%我们遇到的分子标志物。

Another area of progress is the type, size and state of preservation of samples that can be interrogated. No longer are blood, urine or breath required. Sweat, tears, saliva and even dental plaque will do. A study just published by Feliciano Priego-Capote at University of Cordoba, for example, shows it is possible to extract much meaningful information from even a dried-up drop of sweat.

state of preservation：保存情况，in a poor state of preservation保存情况较差【词组积累】

that can be interrogated：做后置定语，修饰samples，interrogate意为“审问，盘问”，字面上的意思是那些可以被审问的样本，这里指的是可以从中获取信息的样本【搭配】

dental plaque：牙菌斑

extract A from B：从B中提取A，用于科研类，药物、信息提取等【词组积累】

a dried-up drop of sweat：一滴干涸的眼泪

另一个进步的领域是那些样本的类型，大小以及保存情况。血液、尿液以及呼吸不再被需要。汗液、眼泪以及唾液，甚至牙菌斑都可以。例如，一份由Feliciano Priego-Capote发表在cordoba大学的研究表明一滴干燥的眼泪都有可能从中提取到很多有用的信息。

Such information can reveal a lot. Your god? Regular exposure to burning incense, and thusfrequent visits to a church that uses it, will be detectable from the chemicals in the smoke.Kosher and halal diets are detectable by the absence of metabolites from certain foodstuffs those diets forbid. Your exercise levels? These are flagged up by lower than normal levels of things like leucine, glycerol and phenylalanine. Your local environment? Breathing in polluted air has a marked impact on the profile of your metabolites. “The day is coming soon”, observesCecil Lewis, who is studying the matter, “when it will be possible to swab a person’s desk,steering wheel or phone and determine a wide range of incredibly private things about them.”

reveal：透露，也可以用上文提到的show

regular exposure to burning incense：经常接触香火，regular exposure to sth表示经常暴露于某物面前，下面的frequent visits to a place表示频繁造访某个地方，这是名词词组，可以用来表述频繁去往某地对某人带来的影响【词组积累】

Kosher and halal diets：犹太和清真饮食

be detectable by the absence of：可以通过……的缺失被检测到，这里是指特定饮食习惯缺乏某些食物，引起代谢产物中的一些物质丢失，由此检测特定饮食习惯。【词组积累】

be flagged up by：被标记，flag sth表示“标示（重要处）to put a special mark next to information that you think is important”【词汇积累】

leucine, glycerol and phenylalanine：亮氨酸、甘油和丙氨酸

breathe in polluted air：呼吸污染空气

a marked impact on：一个对于……的显著影响【搭配】

the profile of：某物的轮廓，形象，the profile of metabolites表示代谢产物的整体轮廓【词汇积累】

observe：评价到，发表意见【熟词僻义】

study the matter：研究这个问题

swab：表示用拭子对（人体）化验标本的采集

steering wheel：方向盘

这些消息可以向我们透露很多。例如你的上帝是谁？经常暴露于香火并频繁前往使用香火的教堂，可以从烟雾中检测到。犹太和清真饮食禁止某些食物，这些食物的缺乏引起代谢产物中的物质缺乏，由此可以探测到犹太和清真饮食。你的锻炼水平？可以通过某些物质低于正常水平来标示，例如亮氨酸、甘油和丙氨酸。你居住地的环境？呼吸被污染的空气对你的整体代谢产物有显著影响。正在研究此问题的Cecil Lewis说道：“这一天很快会到来，当我们有可能从一个人的桌子上、方向盘或手机采取标本，进而确定一些人大量的私人信息。”

In contrast with DNA, the use to which knowledge of metabolites might be put has little legal restriction. Dr Lewis, and others like him, worry about the consequences of this. At the moment,sampling for alcohol or illegal drug use, say, has to be overt, because it involves a blood, urine or breath test. That is true regardless of who is collecting the sample, whether it be the police or an employer. This also keeps purposes clear. A firm might feel it has the right totest employees for drug use, and the law might support that. But techniques like Dr Priego-Capote’s make it easier, as Dr Lewis observes, to sample clandestinely, and bring a temptation to push back the boundaries of what is being searched for. They would, for example, allow companies to detect, if they chose to look,such private matters as whether an employee was taking antidepressants.

In contrast with：与……相反，大不相同

sample for：这里是动词词组，表示拿……做样本

overt：透明的，公开的【词汇积累】

regardless of：不管，不顾

might feel it：或许感觉到

has the right to do：有权做某事

clandestinely：秘密地，暗中地【词汇积累】

bring a temptation to do sth：产生诱惑【词组积累】

push back the boundaries of：扩大……的范围，例如push back the boundaries of human knowledge扩大人类知识的范围【词组积累】

such private matters as whether an employee was taking antidepressants：这里as引导定语从句，解释matters，为受雇佣者是否服用抗抑郁药

与DNA不同，代谢产物可能用到的知识几乎没有法律限制，Lewis以及其他和他一样的人们担心这样的后果。目前，以酒精或非法使用毒品做样本调查，必须是透明的，因为这涉及了血、尿或呼吸测试。谁在收集样本确实无所谓，无论是警察或雇员。这也保证了目标的明确性。一家公司可能感觉到他们有权利测试员工有无服用毒品，而法律可能支持这样的做法。但Dr Priego-Capote的技术使这更简单，如Lewis评论道，秘密地测试，带来足以扩大已探索知识边界的诱惑。例如，如果他们想，他们会允许公司进行检测，受雇人员是否服用抗抑郁药。

Metabolite data, even the sort obtained openly, will also be of interest tomedical insurance companies, who may insist on the provision of samples as a condition of the provision of cover. They, too, might take an interest in matters of diet and exercise, penalizing those who do notconform to prescribed healthy regimes.

even the sort obtained openly：甚至公开获取的那一类，文中指的是公开获得的代谢产物数据库，the sort obtained openly【词汇积累】

insist on the provision of：insist on意为坚持（要求、要），the provision of sth表示某物的提供【词组积累】

sth be of interest to sb=sb take an interest in sth：某人对……有兴趣【词组积累】

penalize：惩罚

conform to prescribed healthy regimes.：遵守规定的养生规则。conform to表示遵守，顺应；prescribe有给……开药的意思，也有规定，命令，指示的意思。regime则有养生法，（病人等的）生活规则。这里的prescribed healthy regimes应是遵从医嘱的饮食、锻炼等生活方式。【词组积累】

代谢产物数据，即使是公开获得的那类，医疗保险公司也会感兴趣。他们会要求提供样本来作为掩护的条件。他们可能也对饮食和锻炼问题感兴趣，并惩罚那些不遵从医生要求的饮食、锻炼等生活方式。

The police may be tempted to push the boundaries as well. The fourth amendment to America’s constitution protects against unwarranted searches and seizure of evidence. This means it is hard to force someone to give a sample. But if obtaining such merely requires taking a swab of a surface in a public place—perhaps a keyboard someone has just used—the amendment is unlikely to apply.

be tempted to：被诱惑去做【词组积累】

fourth amendment to America’s constitution：美国宪法第四修正案

protects against：防止，抵御，文中指的是修正案可以防止……【词组积累】

unwarranted：不合理的，无保证的

seizure of evidence：证据的取得，seizure of sth 表示没收、收获的赃物【词汇积累】

警察也可能会被诱惑去扩大边界，美国宪法第四修正案防止非授权的搜查和取得证据。这意味着让一个人提供样本很难。但如果获取这些样本需要从公共场所表面获取擦拭的样本—如某人刚使用过的键盘—那这个法案将无法实行。

That is not necessarily wrong, if it means more criminals are caught and convicted. But it needs to be thought about carefully, because many metabolites are sticky. Cocaine is a case in point. Studies have shown that as many as two-thirds of the dollar bills in circulation in Americacarry traces of this substance, which might thus end up on the fingertips of the innocent, as well as the guilty.

Not necessarily wrong：不一定是错的

many metabolites are sticky：代谢产物极富粘性

sth is a case in point：……是一个恰当的例子，in point表示适当的，恰当的【词组积累】

in circulation in America：在美国流通的……，in circulation意为流通的，在发行的【词组积累】

sth end up on the fingertips of the innocent：某物最终落到无辜的人的手上，end up on最终落到……【词组积累】

这不一定是错的，如果这意味着更多的囚犯的会被抓住和判罪，但这需要更加审慎的考虑，因为很多代谢产物极富粘性。可卡因是一个恰当的例子，研究显示大约有2/3的在美国流通的纸币带着这种物质的痕迹，而这可能最终留存在无辜的人的指尖，也可能在有罪的的手指上。

总结