VOA慢速英语 2008 0129a

This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

 
Cloned dairy cows at a farm in Maryland
The United States government has decided¹ that food from cloned cattle, pigs and goats is safe to eat. The Food and Drug Administration also says it found no risks in meat and milk from offspring born to them.

A clone is a genetic² copy of an animal prized for its quality. A laboratory process develops a cell from the animal into an embryo³. The embryo is put into a female animal which, if all goes well, gives birth to the clone.

The F.D.A. looked at studies for several years before it announced its decision in a final report this month. The United States Department of Agriculture supported the findings. But it says time is needed to smooth the way for marketing⁴ meat and milk from clones. So, for now, the industry is being asked to continue a voluntary ban on such products.

The idea of eating cloned animals rates low with the American public. Several major food companies say they have no immediate⁵ plans to get involved.

The Food and Drug Administration will not require any product to be identified as coming from clones or their offspring. A producer would need approval to label a product "clone-free." The agency says that could be misleading because the food is no different from other food.

But activists⁶ argue that the F.D.A. based its decision on incomplete research into possible risks. The Center for Food Safety criticized the use of studies supplied by cloning companies.

Animal rights activists point out that cloning attempts often fail. They say cloning is cruel and can lead to suffering in clones born with abnormalities.

Congress has been trying to get the F.D.A. to do more studies. But the agency noted⁷ that experts in New Zealand and the European Union have come to the same findings about the safety of food from clones.

Japan, South Korea and Taiwan say they want to study the issue further before taking action. 

Products from cloning may not be widely available for several years. Currently the United States has about six hundred animal clones.

Clones are costly⁸, which is why most are used for breeding. The Agriculture Department says few clones will ever become food. Their traditionally bred offspring would enter the food supply instead.

The first mammal cloned from an adult cell was Dolly the sheep, born in Scotland in nineteen ninety-six. But the F.D.A. says it could not decide about the safety of food from clones of sheep or other animals besides cattle, pigs and goats.

And that’s the VOA Special English Agriculture Report, written by Jerilyn Watson. I’m Steve Ember.

 

1 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

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 embryo   

n.胚胎，萌芽的事物

参考例句：

• They are engaging in an embryo research.他们正在进行一项胚胎研究。
• The project was barely in embryo.该计划只是个雏形。

4 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

5 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

6 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

8 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。