纽约时报 同性恋取向是多种因素共同作用的结果(3)

In a way, the range of opinions by scientists who also identify as L.G.B.T.Q.

自我认同也为L.G.B.T.Q.人士的其他科学家对该研究可谓众说纷纭，一定程度而言，

underscores a central finding of the study: Sexuality is complicated.

这也凸显出了该研究的一大核心发现：性取向是个复杂的问题。

The study analyzed¹ the genetic² data of 408,000 men and women from a large British database, the U.K. Biobank,

这一研究分析了英国生物银行收集的来自40.8万名男性和女性的基因数据，

who answered extensive health and behavior questions between 2006 and 2010, when they were between the ages of 40 and 69.

所有人都在2006年至2010年间，当时他们的年龄都在40岁至69岁之间，回答过大量有关健康和行为的问题。

The researchers also used data from nearly 70,000 customers of the genetic testing service 23andMe,

研究人员还调用了基因检测服务供应商23andMe的近7万名客户的数据，

who were 51 years old on average, mostly American, and had answered survey questions about sexual orientation³.

这些客户的平均年龄为51岁，大多数都是美国人，都做过有关性取向的调查问卷。

All were of white European descent, one of several factors that the authors note limit their study’s generalization⁴:

所有人都是欧洲白人的后代，不过，作者们认为，这一点也限制了他们的研究的综合性：

Trans people were not included.

跨性别人群没有被纳入考察范围。

The researchers mainly focused on answers to one question:

研究人员主要关心的问题只有一个：

whether someone ever had sex with a samesex partner, even once.

是否和同性发生过性行为，哪怕只有一次。

A much higher proportion of the 23andMe sample — about 19 percent compared to about 3 percent of the Biobank sample —

相比之下，23andMe的样本人群中汇报有过这一经历的人的比例要高得多——约为19%，而Biobank样本的比例仅为3%——

reported a samesex sexual experience, a difference possibly related to cultural factors

这一差异可能与文化因素有关，

or because the specific 23andMe sexual orientation survey might attract more L.G.B.T.Q. participants.

也可能是因为23andMe的调查的性取向属性明确，因而吸引了更多的L.G.B.T.Q.人士参与调查。

Despite its limitations, the research was much larger and more varied⁵ than previous studies,

尽管该研究存在一定的局限性，依然比之前的研究广泛丰富，

which generally focused on gay men, often those who were twins or were otherwise related.

因后者关注的重点一般为男同性恋，通常还是双胞胎或有其他亲属关系的男同性恋。

Melinda Mills, a professor of sociology at the University of Oxford⁶,

梅林达·米尔斯，牛津大学社会学教授，

who wrote a commentary that Science published alongside the study,

针对这一现象写了一篇评论发表在《科学》期刊上，

said “Just the fact that they look at women is hooray.”

她表示：“该研究还关注到了女性，就这一点，就值得肯定了。”

There might be thousands of genes⁷ influencing samesex sexual behavior, each playing a small role, scientists believe.

科学家们认为，影响同性性行为的基因可能有很多，每一种都只发挥了很小的作用。

The new study found that all genetic effects likely account for about 32 percent of whether someone will have samesex sex.

这项新的研究发现，一个人是否会有同性性行为，基因的作用可能占到了总影响因素的作用的32%。

1 analyzed   

v.分析( analyze的过去式和过去分词 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析

参考例句：

• The doctors analyzed the blood sample for anemia. 医生们分析了贫血的血样。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The young man did not analyze the process of his captivation and enrapturement, for love to him was a mystery and could not be analyzed. 这年轻人没有分析自己蛊惑著迷的过程，因为对他来说，爱是个不可分析的迷。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 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。

3 orientation   

n.方向，目标；熟悉，适应，情况介绍

参考例句：

• Children need some orientation when they go to school.小孩子上学时需要适应。
• The traveller found his orientation with the aid of a good map.旅行者借助一幅好地图得知自己的方向。

4 generalization   

n.普遍性，一般性，概括

参考例句：

• This sweeping generalization is the law of conservation of energy.这一透彻的概括就是能量守恒定律。
• The evaluation of conduct involves some amount of generalization.对操行的评价会含有一些泛泛之论。

5 varied   

adj.多样的，多变化的

参考例句：

• The forms of art are many and varied.艺术的形式是多种多样的。
• The hotel has a varied programme of nightly entertainment.宾馆有各种晚间娱乐活动。

6 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。

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