2014年職稱英語(理工類)教材補全短文文章及譯文15
A Memory Drug?
IT’S DIFFICULT TO IMAGINE MANY THINGS that people would welcome more than a memory-enhancing drug. ____1____ Furthermore, such a drug could help people remember past experiences more clearly and help us acquire new information more easily for school and at work. As scientists learn more about memory, we are closing in on this tantalizing goal.1
Some of the most exciting evidence comes from research that has built on earlier findings linking LTP2 and memory to identify a gene that improves memory in mice. ____2____ Mice bred to have extra copies of this gene showed more activity in their NMDA receptors,more LTP,and improved performance on several different memory tasks ― learning a spatial layout3, recognizing familiar objects,and recalling a fear-inducing shock.
If these basic insights about genes, LTP, and the synaptic basis of memory can be translated to people ― and that remains to be seen ― they could pave the way for memory-enhancing treatments. ____3____ As exciting as this may sound, it also raises troubling issues. Consider the potential educational implications of memory-enhancing drugs. If memory enhancers were available, children who used them might be able to acquire and retain extraordinary amounts of information, allowing them to progress far more rapidly in school than they could otherwise. How well could the brain handle such an onslaught of information? What happens to children who don’t have access to the latest memory enhancers? Are they left behind in school ― and as a result handicapped later in life?
____4____ Imagine that you are applying for a job that requires a good memory,such as a manager at a technology company or a sales position that requires remembering customers’ names as well as the attributes of different products and services. Would you take a memory-enhancing drug to increase your chances of landing the position? Would people who felt uncomfortable taking such a drug find themselves cut out of lucrative career opportunities?
Memory drugs might also help take the sting out of disturbing memories that we wish we could forget but can’t.4 The 2004 hit movie Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind told the story of a young man seeking just such freedom from the painful memories of a romantic breakup. As you will see in the section on persistence later in the chapter, emotionally arousing events often create intrusive memories, and researchers have already muted emotional memories with drugs that block the action of key hormones. Should emergency workers who must confront horrifying accident scenes that can burden them with persisting memories be provided with such drugs? Should such drugs be given to rape victims who can’t forget the trauma? Memory drugs might provide some relief to such individuals. But could they also interfere with an individual’s ability to assimilate and come to terms with a difficult experience?5 ____5____
詞匯:
tantalizing 誘人的
synaptic (解剖學)突觸的
steroid 類固醇
onslaught 大量
lucrative 有利可圖的
hit .(演出等)成功
注釋:
1.As scientists learn more about memory, we are closing in on this tantalizing goal.隨著科學家們對記憶了解增多,我們正接近這一誘人的目標。
2.LTP&SNMDA:(Long-term Potentiation)給突觸前纖維一個短暫的篼頻剌激后,突觸傳遞效率和強度增加幾倍且能持續(xù)數(shù)小時至幾天保持這種增強的現(xiàn)象。LTP發(fā)現(xiàn)海馬LTP可能是學習記憶的分子基礎。1973年Bliss及其合作者,電刺激麻醉兔的內嗅皮層,使海馬表層的穿通纖維興奮,可在齒狀回記錄到場電位。先用高頻電刺激幾秒鐘后,再用單個電刺激,記錄到的部分場電位幅度大大超過原先記錄的對照值,并可持續(xù)幾小時,幾天。這一現(xiàn)象稱為長時程增強效應(LTP)。1983年發(fā)現(xiàn)NMDA(N―甲基一D―門冬氨酸)受體通道復合體在LTP過程中起重要作用,進一步深化了對LTP在大腦學習記憶中作用的理解。
3.a spatial layout:空間布局
4.Memory drugs might also help take the sting out of disturbing memories that we wish we could forget but can’t:增強記憶藥對我們想忘記卻又不能的令人煩擾的記憶變得令人易于接受。 take the sting out of:使……易于被接受;使 ……令人感到愉快
5.But could they also interfere with an individual’s ability to assimilate and come to terms with a difficult experience? 中的come to terms with:讓步;屈服
練習:
A Like steroids for bulking up the muscles, these drugs would bulk up memory.
B A memory enhancer could help eliminate forgetting associated with aging and disease.
C What are the potential implications of memory-enhancing drugs for the workplace?
D We may find ourselves struggling with these kinds of questions in the not-too-distant future.
E There is a pill that you could take every day to allow you to remember everything.
F The gene makes a protein that assists the NMDA2 receptor,which plays an important role in long-term memory by helping to initiate LTP.
答案與題解:
1.B依據(jù)上一句的“很難想象一種提高人們記憶力的藥會受到人們吹捧”;下面應該對這一現(xiàn)象做出解釋,即這種藥物有什么療效;而后一句的Furthermore這一指示詞起到了遞進的作用,進一步說明這種藥物的益處。More than :非常,極其,十分
2.F前一句的關鍵詞是gene、LTP和mice,它講的是有些令人興奮的證據(jù)是從研究中得出的;該研究基于早期連接LTP和記憶的發(fā)現(xiàn),該結果確定了提篼老鼠記憶的基因;而后一句進一步闡述這一發(fā)現(xiàn),開頭的mice可以是一個連接詞。
3.A前一句講:如果這種結果用于人類的話,人們就有可能把提高人的記憶力用于臨床。這一句講:就像類固醇用于提篼人的肌肉能力,這種藥物也可以提高人的記憶力。
4.C一般情況下,每一段的第一句都是本段的主題句。而該句是一個問句:這種提高記憶力的藥物用于職場有什么潛在的啟示呢?緊接著本段其余幾句都提出關于這種藥物是否會對職場的提升有什么影響的問題。
5.D本句是全文的最后一句。應該是總結性的。鑒于前面都列舉了這種提高記憶力的藥所面臨的一系列問題,所以,我們在不久的將來要面臨這些問題。
譯文:記憶藥物?
很難想象還有比能增強記憶力的藥物更受人們歡迎的東西了。增強記憶的藥物能讓人消除因變老和疾病造成的遺忘。而且這種藥物能夠幫助人們更加清晰地記起過去的經歷,更容易地在學習和工作中獲取新信息。隨著科學家對記憶了解增多,我們正在接近這一誘人的目標。
一些最激動人心的證據(jù)來自于一項研究,這項研究是基于早期通過將LTP 和記憶連接起來識別老鼠中能提升記憶力的基因所得到的發(fā)現(xiàn)。這種基因能夠制造一種輔助NMDA 受體的蛋白質,這個受體通過幫助啟動LTP而在長期記憶中起到重要作用。被喂養(yǎng)這種基因復制品的老鼠的NMDA受體表現(xiàn)得更活躍,具有更多的LTP,在許多不同的記憶實踐中有更好的表現(xiàn)――學習空間布置,辨認熟悉物品,回憶起引起驚嚇的沖擊。
如果這些有關記憶基因、LTP 的基本認識和記憶的突觸原理能夠轉用到人身上去――那還有待觀察――那么它們就為增強記憶的治療鋪平道路。就像類固醇可以強壯肌肉,這些藥物可以增強記憶。盡管聽起來令人激動,它們也會引起令人苦惱的問題。考慮一下增強記憶的藥物潛在的教育影響,如果記憶增強劑能夠實現(xiàn),使用它們的孩子就有可能獲取并記住大量的信息,在學校里就比不用藥物要進步更快。大腦對這些洶涌而來的信息能處理得多好?無法得到最新記憶增強劑的孩子該怎么辦?他們在學校中就會落在后面,以后的人生就有殘缺嗎?
增強記憶的藥物在職場潛在的影響又是什么?想象一下你正申請一個需要記憶力好的工作,比如一家科技公司的經理或需要記住顧客名字以及不同產品和服務特征的銷售崗位。你會服用增強記憶的藥物來增加你得到職位的概率嗎?服用這種藥物感到不舒服的人會失去獲利頗豐的工作機會嗎?
記憶藥物使我們想忘記卻又不能忘記的令人煩擾的記憶變得令人易于接受。2004年的賣座電影《美麗心靈的永恒陽光》講述的是一個年輕人找尋能夠擺脫愛情破裂的痛苦記憶方法的故事。正如你會在后面的情節(jié)中看到有關堅持不懈的那部分,從情感上喚起的事件經常能夠形成令人煩惱的記憶,并且研究者已經用阻擋主要荷爾蒙活動的藥物消除了情感的記憶。應該給那些必須直面恐怖的事故現(xiàn)場并且被相關記憶煩擾的急救人員提供這類藥物嗎?應該給那些不能忘記創(chuàng)傷的被強奸的受害者服用這些藥物嗎?記憶藥物可能會給這些人帶來一絲慰藉,但它們也會干擾一個人吸收消化的能力,以及對困境妥協(xié)讓步的能力嗎?在不久的將來,我們可能會發(fā)現(xiàn)自己在與這類問題做斗爭。
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