Frank: So why are you so against genetically modified food, then? I think you’ve been taken in by all the bad press.
弗蘭克：為什么你這么反對轉(zhuǎn)基因食品呢？我覺得你是被負(fù)面報道影響了吧。
Ann: No, that’s not true. I’ve read up on the subject and I think there are just too many risks.
安：不是這樣子的。通過仔細(xì)研讀，我自己認(rèn)為轉(zhuǎn)基因食品有太大的風(fēng)險。
Frank: The GM foods that you get are probably safer than non GM foods.
弗蘭克：可是轉(zhuǎn)基因食品比非轉(zhuǎn)基因食品更安全。
Ann: Don’t be daft. Where’ve you got that from?
安：別傻了。你從哪里知道這些？
Frank: Well, there are tighter controls for GM food. There are controls in each country and then at a European level as well. If they pass through all of those controls before they reach the shops they must be OK.
弗蘭克：在檢查方面，轉(zhuǎn)基因食品受到更嚴(yán)格的控制。每個國家，包括歐洲地區(qū)都進(jìn)行嚴(yán)格檢查。如果能夠到達(dá)店面前通過全部檢查，就不會有什么問題的。
Ann: I just don’t like the idea of having my food altered. What’s wrong with the food we’ve always had?
安：我只是不喜歡改變我們原有的食物罷了。我們平常吃的食物有什么問題呢？
Frank: We have to move with the times. The possibilities for GM food are endless.
弗蘭克：我們得跟上時代發(fā)展。轉(zhuǎn)基因食品將來還有各種可能性。
Ann: What - redder tomatoes or bigger strawberries?
安：什么……更紅的西紅柿，更大的草莓？
Frank: Yes, for one thing – but what about vegetables with a higher vitamin content or bananas with vaccines built into them?
弗蘭克：對，這是一方面。還有那些維生素含量更高的蔬菜，含有疫苗的香蕉呢？
Ann: What? (laughing)
安：什么？（笑聲）
Frank: It’s true. They’ve developed a way to produce bananas with the Hepatitis B vaccine.
弗蘭克：是真的。他們已經(jīng)研制了一種含有乙肝疫苗的香蕉的生產(chǎn)方法。
Ann: Mm, not sure what I think of that. We haven’t done enough research and playing around with crops is playing havoc with the wildlife. There are whole species of birds that are in danger of becoming extinct. Larks, for example, they are rapidly decreasing in numbers and it’s because of the chemicals they are using on GM foods.
安：對于這個，我不是很確定對與錯。但我們的調(diào)查還不充分，如此輕率對待農(nóng)作物將會給野生植物帶來嚴(yán)重的破壞?，F(xiàn)在很多鳥類瀕臨絕種，再例如，百靈鳥數(shù)量大幅度減少，而也是用在轉(zhuǎn)基因食物的化學(xué)藥品所導(dǎo)致的。
Frank: They haven’t proved that.
弗蘭克：這還得不到證實吧。
Ann: Not yet, no. But it’s only a matter of time.
安：是，還沒，但只是早晚而已。
Frank: Mm.
弗蘭克：嗯。
Ann: And another thing that worries me is the power that a few food companies will have if we start to rely on GM food. They’ll dominate the poor countries even more than they do today.
安：我還擔(dān)心另外一件事：如果我們開始依賴轉(zhuǎn)基因食品的話，一些食品公司就擁有了掌控權(quán)，比起今天，他們可能會控制貧窮的國家。
Frank: They’ll feed them.
弗蘭克：他們會為貧窮國家提供食物。
Ann: At a price, yes. Maybe. I’m worried about the food chain too.
安：是，但是以很高的價格。我還擔(dān)心食物鏈的問題。
Frank: What do you mean?
弗蘭克：你的意思是……
Ann: Well, playing around with nature causes no end of damage to some plants and animals. When a species dies out or mutates, it has a knock-on effect on the whole ecosystem.
安：輕率對待大自然將會導(dǎo)致對植物和動物無休止的損害。一個物種滅絕或者突變都會使整個生態(tài)系統(tǒng)發(fā)生連鎖反應(yīng)。
Frank: I think you’re being cynical. You’re not giving GM food a chance.
弗蘭克：我覺得你對這件事情過分懷疑，你都沒給轉(zhuǎn)基因食品一個機(jī)會。
Ann: Not cynical, just cautious.
安：不是懷疑，只是小心謹(jǐn)慎而已。
Frank: OK, consider this. Global warming is threatening to destroy the habitat of polar bears.
弗蘭克：好，想一下這個。全球變暖的威脅摧毀了北極熊的棲息處。
Ann: What’s this got to do with genetically modified food?
安：這跟轉(zhuǎn)基因食物有什么聯(lián)系？
Frank: Everything. We could use GM food to change the polar bears’ habitat now. That way we can prevent them from becoming extinct.
弗蘭克：很多方面。我們可以利用轉(zhuǎn)基因食物來改變北極熊的棲息地，這樣的話，就可以避免它們面臨絕種的問題。
Ann: OK, I quite like that idea.
安：嗯，我挺喜歡這個主意的。
Frank: Good. You’re starting to come round to my way of thinking.
弗蘭克：很好，你終于開始轉(zhuǎn)向我的思維方式了。
Ann: No, I’m just trying to understand. I don’t like being a guinea pig and we are all being guinea pigs for the experiments they’re doing on GM foods. I guess I don’t like the way things seem to just be happening without much of a debate.
安：不，我只是嘗試著理解。我不喜歡成為一只豚鼠，但是我們都會因為轉(zhuǎn)基因食品的嘗試而變成豚鼠。我想，我只是不喜歡沒有經(jīng)過多少討論就決定事情怎么發(fā)展罷了。
Frank: What do you mean? We’re talking about it all the time.
弗蘭克：你是什么意思？我們一直都在討論這個問題。
Ann: Talking maybe, but nobody’s listening.
安：興許是在談?wù)?，但是沒人在聽。