纪录片《为何讲话》 第32期：揭开人类讲话之谜

The origin of language must lie in our genes².

就是语言的源头必在我们的基因里

It would be like looking for a needle in a haystack.

这就如同大海捞针

Unpicking the genetic³ component⁴ of language is a huge challenge.

分析语言的基因组成是个巨大的挑战

From the thousands of genes that make up the human genome,

在构成人类染色体的成千上万个基因中

it seemed almost impossible to identify a gene¹

要找到一种对说话背后的众多功能

that has an influence on the multitude of functions behind speech.

产生影响的基因几乎是不可能的

But 20 years ago Faraneh Vargha-khadem,

但是二十年前法拉尼·瓦加-卡德

a neuroscientist from University College London,

这位来自伦敦大学院的神经学家

was introduced to a British family that had a very unusual speech defect.

被引荐给有着罕见语言缺陷的某英国家庭

A family who would help solve the mystery of how we speak.

这个家庭可以帮助我们解开人类讲话之谜

When they are speaking they give the impression that they are deaf,

他们说话时 让人感觉他们是聋子

but in fact they are hearing individuals

但实际上他们听力正常

but they give the impression that they are deaf

只是给人一种聋人的印象

because their speech is not clear

因为他们口齿不清

so people have got difficulty understanding them.

所以人们很难理解他们说的话

1 gene   

n.遗传因子，基因

参考例句：

• A single gene may have many effects.单一基因可能具有很多种效应。
• The targeting of gene therapy has been paid close attention.其中基因治疗的靶向性是值得密切关注的问题之一。

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 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。

4 component   

n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的

参考例句：

• Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
• Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。