2015年经济学人 英国的基因史 你认为自己是谁?

The genetic¹ history of Britain

Who do you think you are?

An analysis of Britons' genes² confirms some myths and explodes others

THE waves of invasion and immigration that have, from time to time, swept over the British Isleshave led some to refer to Britons as a mongrel nation.

A study just published in Nature by Peter Donnelly of Oxford³ University and his colleagues shows there is some truth in this,

and that the palimpsest of those events is visible in people's genes—or, at least, that it was still discernible in the late 19th century.

Dr Donnelly's team looked in detail at the DNA⁴ of 2,039 Britons from all parts of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, each of whose grandparents had all been born within 80km of each other.

They thus, in effect, sampled the distribution of genetic material in the country in 1885

(the average year of the birth of these grandparents), before the large-scale internal population movements of the 20th century had had a chance to confuse the issue.

The results divided into 17 genetic clusters, illustrated⁵ on the map,

which form a pattern that conforms quite well with what an historian might have predicted, but with some interesting wrinkles.

The map is dominated by a DNA cluster that might reasonably be described as “English”.

Comparison with continental⁶ Europe shows, as might be expected, that this English cluster is related to northern Germany,

where the Anglo-Saxons came from—though the admixture is less than 50%, which indicates (again, as expected)

that there was much interbreeding between interlopers and natives.

Others kept themselves to themselves. Yorkshiremen and women will be gratified to note that the west of their county clusters separately from the rest of England,

and Lancastrians similarly horrified⁷ that Yorkshire's tendrils extend into much of theirs.Cornwall, too, clusters separately from England.

Indeed, as all good Cornish would have suspected, it clusters separately even from Devon (which is itself also genetically⁸ different fromEngland).

The whole so-called Celtic fringe, of areas in the west and north of Great Britain that were not invaded by the Saxons,

is far more genetically diverse than its mythopoeic appellation⁹ suggests. Orkney, which has three clusters of its own, looks Norse.

That is no surprise. It was, after all, part of Norwayfor 600 years. But north and south Wales are different from each other,

and mainland Scotland has several clusters (two of which—a consequence, presumably, of the 17th-century plantations¹⁰ organised by King James VI and I—

extend into Northern Ireland). The marcher lands between Englandand Scotland, and between England andWales, harbour still further indigenous¹¹ clusters.

The original Celts occupied a huge swathe of western Europe before the Roman conquest, so perhaps this diversity is not so surprising after all.

Indeed, Dr Donnelly's analysis found traces of genetic connections throughout the land with modern Belgium(which is named after a Celtic tribe, the Belgae)

and various parts of France—or Gaul, as the Romans knew it. He did not, though, find any traces of the Vikings beyond those in Orkney,

even though they held sway for some time over the eastern part of England.

Maybe their fearsome reputation for uninvited sexual congress with local maidens¹² was yet another myth.

1 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

2 genes   

n.基因( gene的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• You have good genes from your parents, so you should live a long time. 你从父母那儿获得优良的基因，所以能够活得很长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Differences will help to reveal the functions of the genes. 它们间的差异将会帮助我们揭开基因多种功能。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 生物技术的世纪

3 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

4 DNA   

(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸

参考例句：

• DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。

5 illustrated   

adj. 有插图的，列举的 动词illustrate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• His lecture was illustrated with slides taken during the expedition. 他在讲演中使用了探险时拍摄到的幻灯片。
• The manufacturing Methods: Will be illustrated in the next chapter. 制作方法将在下一章说明。

6 continental   

adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的

参考例句：

• A continental climate is different from an insular one.大陆性气候不同于岛屿气候。
• The most ancient parts of the continental crust are 4000 million years old.大陆地壳最古老的部分有40亿年历史。

7 horrified   

a.(表现出)恐惧的

参考例句：

• The whole country was horrified by the killings. 全国都对这些凶杀案感到大为震惊。
• We were horrified at the conditions prevailing in local prisons. 地方监狱的普遍状况让我们震惊。

8 genetically   

adv.遗传上

参考例句：

• All the bees in the colony are genetically related. 同一群体的蜜蜂都有亲缘关系。
• Genetically modified foods have already arrived on American dinner tables. 经基因改造加工过的食物已端上了美国人的餐桌。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 基因与食物

9 appellation   

n.名称，称呼

参考例句：

• The emperor of Russia Peter I was given the appellation " the Great ".俄皇彼得一世被加上了“大帝”的称号。
• Kinsfolk appellation is the kinfolks system reflection in language.亲属称谓是亲属制度在语言中的反应。

10 plantations   

n.种植园，大农场( plantation的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Soon great plantations, supported by slave labor, made some families very wealthy. 不久之后出现了依靠奴隶劳动的大庄园，使一些家庭成了富豪。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• Winterborne's contract was completed, and the plantations were deserted. 维恩特波恩的合同完成后，那片林地变得荒废了。 来自辞典例句

11 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

12 maidens   

处女( maiden的名词复数 )； 少女； 未婚女子； （板球运动）未得分的一轮投球

参考例句：

• stories of knights and fair maidens 关于骑士和美女的故事
• Transplantation is not always successful in the matter of flowers or maidens. 花儿移栽往往并不成功，少女们换了环境也是如此。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹