8
想象(imagine: consider, fancy)一下拥有这种无毒的强力胶水,它是那么柔韧(flexible: elastic),
以至于它可以渗透(penetrate)进最小的洞和角落(corner: angle),粘贴(stick: cling)到任何表面上,
甚至在水中。造船工程师们会喜欢(welcome: enjoy)它,因为它能够修复船只(vessel: vehicle)而
又不必支付干燥船只的费用(expense: cost, expenditure)。车身工人也会喜欢真正的防水涂料(paint),
这会使(keep: maintain, sustain)车身不生锈(rust)。外科医生(surgeon: physician)也重视(value: cherish,
treasure)一种安全(safe: secure)粘合剂,以便连接(join: connect, link, unite)断(broken)骨,缝
合(close: connect, join)伤口(wound: cut)……这种胶水的可能(possible: potential, probable)用途
的清单似乎(appear: look, seem)没有止境(endless: ceaseless, constant)。
However, scientists are not thinking of using the mussels themselves to produce this super glue. It would
take some 10,000 shellfish to make just one gram of glue. So collecting enough mussels to supply the world’s
demand for super glue would wipe out the mussel population, many species of which are already endangered.
Instead, American researchers have isolated and cloned the genes for five mussel glue proteins, and they are
about to mass-produce them in the laboratory. However, the mussel is still one jump ahead. Only the mussel
instinctively knows the exact blend of proteins needed for each kind of surface. Molecular biologist Frank
Roberto has asked admiringly: “How are you ever going to imitate that?”
不过,科学家并没有考虑(think: consider, regard)利用贻贝本身来制作这种强力胶水。只是生
产(make: manufacture, produce)1 克(gram)胶水就需要大约 10,000 个甲壳水生动物。因此,收集
(collect: gather, reap)足够的(enough: adequate, sufficient)贻贝以便供应(supply: offer, provide)全
球对强力胶水的需求(demand: need, requirement)会导致贻贝的灭绝(wipe out: die out),而且许多
贻贝物种(species)已经濒临灭绝(endangered)了。于是,美国的研究人员(researcher)为五种贻
贝蛋白质(protein)分离(isolate: separate)并且克隆(clone: copy, duplicate)出了基因(gene),他
们将在实验室(laboratory: lab)大量培育(mass-produce)这些基因。然而,贻贝依然是领先一步。
只有贻贝本能地(instinctively)知道每种表面所需的蛋白质的精确(
exact: accurate, precise)混合(blend:
mix)。分子(molecular)生物学家弗兰克·罗伯特羡慕地(admiringly)问道,“你们打算如何去模
仿(imitate: copy, pattern)贻贝?”
Passage Six
Andrea had never seen an old lady hitchhiking (搭车) before. However, the weather and the coming
darkness made her feel sorry for the lady. The old lady had some difficulty climbing in through the car door,
and pushed her big brown canvas shopping bag down onto the floor under her feet. She said to Andres, in a
voice that was almost a whisper, “Thank you dearie —I’m just going to Brockbourne.”
安德妮娅以前从来没有见过老年妇女搭便车。不过,天气(weather: climate)和即将降临的
(coming)黑夜(darkness)使她觉得那名老妇人可怜(sorry: pitiful, poor)。那名老妇人比较艰难
(difficulty: hardship)地爬(climb: get)进车里,把她的棕色(brown)大帆布(canvas)购物(shopping:
buying, purchasing)袋放(push: place, put)在车内她的脚下。她用一种近似耳语(whisper: murmur)
的声音(voice: sound)对安德妮娅说,“谢谢你,小宝贝——我正要到布洛克伯尼去。”
Something in the way the lady spoke, and the way she never turned her head, made Andrea uneasy about
this strange hitchhiker. She didn’t know why, but she felt instinctively that there was something wrong,
something odd, something…dangerous. But how could an old lady be dangerous? It was absurd.
途中老妇人讲(speak: say, tell)的事情以及她从不扭(turn: swing)头的举动(way: manner)令
安德妮娅对这名奇怪的(strange: odd, surprising)搭车者感到不安(uneasy: anxious)。安德妮娅不知