读者文摘:科技让他们重聚(2)

Soon after the phone call, the men compared their test results on 23andme.com

挂掉电话后，他们就在23andme.com对比了他们的测试结果。

and found that they shared several identical X chromosomes¹, meaning they had the same mother.

他们发现它们有几个相同的X染色体，意味着他们有同一个母亲。

"If I wasn't in that database, this never would have happened," Alan says.

艾伦说，“如果不是那个数据库，这永远都不会发生。”

"It was meant to happen." However, one person apparently² worked very hard to make sure that it never happened: their mother.

“它注定要发生。”然而，有个人明显想确保这永远都不会发生：他们的母亲。

Walter knew his mother's name was Genevieve K. Paikuli, but Alan's birth certificate lists his mother as Geraldine K. Parker.

沃尔特知道他母亲的名字是吉纳维芙·K·派库丽，但是艾伦的出生证明上显示他的母亲是吉纳维芙·K·帕克。

The identical initials in the name listed as Alan's mother led the men to believe that Genevieve had used a pseudonym³ when she gave Alan up for adoption⁴.

出生证明上艾伦母亲的名字首字母是相同的，这让他们认为吉纳维芙在把艾伦送人收养时使用了假名。

Alan also believes that his adoptive parents, the Robinsons, knew Genevieve was his birth mother and didn't tell him out of respect for her wishes.

他们也认为艾伦的养父母罗宾逊夫妇知道艾伦的生母是谁，但是出于对吉纳维芙意愿的尊重，他们没有告诉艾伦。

Neither brother knows why no one ever told them they were related,

两兄弟都不知道为什么没人告诉他们是亲戚，

but they attribute it to the era's social norms and the turbulent times surrounding the attack on Pearl Harbor and the war,

但他们将其归因于那个时代的社会规范，以及围绕着珍珠港袭击和战争的动荡时代，

which was still being fought when both men were born.

他们两个出生时战争仍在继续。

"We don't know what transpired⁵, but we have no bad feelings," Walter says.

沃尔特说，“我们不知道发生了什么，但是我们没有不好的感觉。”

"At that time, you had your own reasons why you did what you did."

“在那时，人们有做他们事情的理由。”

But they have gained much more than they lost. Thanks to their DNA⁶ test results and research by Cindy,

但他们得到的比失去的要多得多。多亏了他们的DNA测试结果和辛迪的研究，

they learned who their fathers were—both were military men from the mainland who had been stationed in Hawaii.

他们知道了他们的父亲是谁——他们都是来自大陆的军人，驻扎在夏威夷。

Those discoveries led to more: Walter found out that he has four more half brothers and has since traveled to California to meet them in person;

这些发现带来了更多的发现：沃尔特发现他还有四个半血缘的兄弟，从那以后，他亲自前往加州与他们见面;

Alan has two half sisters, who plan on visiting him over the coming holiday season, and a half brother.

艾伦有两个半血缘的姐妹，他们打算在接下来的假日季去拜访他，还有一个半血缘的兄弟。

"It's mind-boggling," Walter says. Now that their family searches have come to a close, Walter and Alan just want to make up for lost time.

沃尔特说，“这太令人难以置信了。现在他们的家人寻找结束了。沃尔特和艾伦就想弥补失去的时间。

They had fallen out of touch after high school,

他们高中后就失去了联系，

and although they eventually reconnected, they still didn't see much of each other because they were busy raising their kids.

尽管他们最终又联系上了，他们仍然不会常见面，因为他们都忙着养育自己的孩子。

"If we had known sooner we were brothers, we would have been contacting each other all the time," Walter says.

沃尔特说，“如果我们能早些知道我们是兄弟，我们就会时常保持联系。”

They are now. Both still live in Honolulu, about five miles apart, just like when they were kids.

他们现在做到了。他们都生活在火奴噜噜，相距5公里，就像他们是孩子时那样。

They talk on the phone weekly and go to lunch regularly. They're even planning to take a cruise together.

他们每周打电话，定期一块吃午饭。他们甚至打算一起乘船度假。

"Our mother lived to be 92," Walter says. "We have a few more years, hopefully. We have good genes⁷."

“我们的母亲活到了92岁，”沃尔特说。“我们还有几年的时间，希望如此。我们有良好的基因。”

1 chromosomes   

n.染色体( chromosome的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Chromosomes also determine the sex of animals. 染色体也决定动物的性别。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Each of four chromosomes divide longitudinally. 四种染色体的每一种都沿着纵向分裂。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

3 pseudonym   

n.假名，笔名

参考例句：

• Eric Blair wrote under the pseudonym of George Orwell.埃里克·布莱尔用乔治·奧威尔这个笔名写作。
• Both plays were published under the pseudonym of Philip Dayre.两个剧本都是以菲利普·戴尔的笔名出版的。

4 adoption   

n.采用，采纳，通过；收养

参考例句：

• An adoption agency had sent the boys to two different families.一个收养机构把他们送给两个不同的家庭。
• The adoption of this policy would relieve them of a tremendous burden.采取这一政策会给他们解除一个巨大的负担。

5 transpired   

（事实，秘密等）被人知道( transpire的过去式和过去分词 )； 泄露； 显露； 发生

参考例句：

• It transpired that the gang had had a contact inside the bank. 据报这伙歹徒在银行里有内应。
• It later transpired that he hadn't been telling the truth. 他当时没说真话，这在后来显露出来了。

6 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。

7 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