英語課文翻譯

1、 Genetically modified foods - Feed the World? If you want to spark a heated debate at a dinner party, bring up the topic of genetically modified foods. For many people, the concept of genetically altered, high-tech crop production raises all kinds of environmental, health, safety and ethical questio

2、ns. Particularly in countries with long agrarian traditions - and vocal green lobbies - the idea seems against nature. 如果你想在某次晚宴上挑起一場(chǎng)激烈的爭(zhēng)論，那就提出轉(zhuǎn)基因食品的話題吧。對(duì)許多人來說，高科技的轉(zhuǎn)基因作物生產(chǎn)的概念會(huì)帶來諸如環(huán)境、健康、安全和倫理等方面的各種問題。特別是在有悠久的農(nóng)業(yè)生產(chǎn)傳統(tǒng)和主張環(huán)保的游說集團(tuán)的國家里，轉(zhuǎn)基因食品的主意似乎有悖自然。 In fact, genetically modified foods are already very muc

3、h a part of our lives. A third of the corn and more than half the soybeans and cotton grown in the US last year were the product of biotechnology, according to the Department of Agriculture. More than 65 million acres of genetically modified crops will be planted in the US this year. The genetic is

4、out of the bottle. 事實(shí)上，轉(zhuǎn)基因食品已經(jīng)成為我們生活重要的一部分。根據(jù)農(nóng)業(yè)部的統(tǒng)計(jì)，美國去年所種植玉米的13，大豆和棉花的一半以上都是生物技術(shù)的產(chǎn)物。今年，美國將種植6500多萬英畝的轉(zhuǎn)基因作物。基因妖怪已經(jīng)從瓶子里跑出來了。 Yet there are clearly some very real issues that need to be resolved. Like any new product entering the food chain, genetically modified foods must be subjected to rigorous tes

5、ting. In wealthy countries, the debate about biotech is tempered by the fact that we have a rich array of foods to choose from - and a supply that far exceeds our needs. In developing countries desperate to feed fast-growing and underfed populations; the issue is simpler and much more urgent: Do the

6、 benefits of biotech outweigh the risks? 但是，顯然還有一些非常現(xiàn)實(shí)的問題需要解決。就像任何一種要進(jìn)入食物鏈的新食品一樣，轉(zhuǎn)基因食品必須經(jīng)過嚴(yán)格的檢驗(yàn)。在富裕的國家里，由于有大量豐富的食品可供選擇，而且供應(yīng)遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)超過需求，所以關(guān)于生物技術(shù)的爭(zhēng)論相對(duì)緩和一些。在迫切想要養(yǎng)活其迅速增長(zhǎng)而又吃不飽的人口的發(fā)展中國家，問題比較簡(jiǎn)單，也更加緊迫：生物技術(shù)的好處是否大于風(fēng)險(xiǎn)呢? The statistics on population growth and hunger are disturbing. Last year the worlds population r

7、eached 6 billion. And by 2050, the UN estimates, it will probably near 9 billion. Almost all that growth will occur in developing countries. At the same time, the worlds available cultivable land per person is declining. Arable land has declined steadily since 1960 and will decease by half over the

8、next 50 years, according to the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA). 關(guān)于人口增長(zhǎng)和饑餓的統(tǒng)計(jì)數(shù)字讀來令人感到不安。去年，世界人口達(dá)到了60億。聯(lián)合國預(yù)測(cè)，到2D0年，這個(gè)數(shù)字很可能將接近90億，而增加的人口幾乎都來自發(fā)展中國家。與此同時(shí)，世界人均耕地正在減少。國際農(nóng)業(yè)生物工程應(yīng)用技術(shù)采購管理局(ISAAA)稱，自1960年以來，耕地面積一直持續(xù)下降，并將在今后50年減少一半。 The UN estimates that nearly 800

9、 million people around the world are undernourished. The effects are devastating. About 400 million women of childbearing age are iron deficient, which means their babies are exposed to various birth defects. As many as 100 million children suffer from vitamin A deficiency, a leading cause of blindn

10、ess. Tens of millions of people suffer from other major ailments and nutritional deficiencies caused by lack of food. 聯(lián)合國估計(jì)，世界上有近8億人口營養(yǎng)不良。它產(chǎn)生的效應(yīng)是破壞性的。大約有4億的育齡婦女體內(nèi)缺鐵，也就是說，她們的嬰兒將可能有各種天生的缺陷。數(shù)量多達(dá)1億的兒童缺乏維生素A，這是導(dǎo)致失明的主要原因。還有數(shù)千萬的人患有因食物匱乏而導(dǎo)致的其他嚴(yán)重疾病和營養(yǎng)不良癥。 How can biotech help? Biotechnologists have developed

11、 genetically modified rice that is fortified with beta-carotene - which the body converts into vitamin A - and additional iron, and they are working on other kinds of nutritionally improved crops. Biotech can also improve farming productivity in places where food shortages are caused by crop damage

12、attribution to pests, drought, poor soil and crop viruses, bacteria or fungi. 生物技術(shù)對(duì)此能做些什么呢?生物技術(shù)專家已經(jīng)培育出了含有胡蘿卜素(身體可將之轉(zhuǎn)化為維生素A)和更多鐵元素的轉(zhuǎn)基因水稻，目前正在研究培育其他一些增進(jìn)營養(yǎng)成分的農(nóng)作物。生物技術(shù)還可以幫助提高因蟲害、干旱、土壤貧瘠和作物病毒、細(xì)菌或真菌導(dǎo)致作物減產(chǎn)而出現(xiàn)食物匱乏的地區(qū)的農(nóng)業(yè)生產(chǎn)率。 Damage caused by pests is incredible. The European corn borer, for example, destroys

13、 40 million tons of the worlds corn crop annually, about 7% of the total. Incorporating pest-resistant genes into seeds can help restore the balance. In trials of pest-resistant cotton in Africa, yields have increased significantly. So far, fears that genetically modified, pest-resistant crops might

14、 kill good insects as well as bad appear unfounded. 蟲害帶來的損失令人難以置信。例如，歐洲玉米螟每年毀掉4000萬噸玉米，占世界玉米總產(chǎn)量的7。把抗蟲害的基因植入種子可以幫助避免這一損失。在非洲進(jìn)行的抗蟲害棉花試驗(yàn)中，棉花的產(chǎn)量已大幅度提高。有人擔(dān)心，抗蟲害的轉(zhuǎn)基因作物不僅將害蟲殺死，而且有可能連益蟲也一起殺死，但到目前為止，這種擔(dān)心似乎沒有根據(jù)。 Viruses often cause massive failure in staple crops in developing countries. Two years age, Africa

15、 lost more than half its cassava crop - a key source of calories - to the mosaic virus. Genetically modified, virus-resistant crops can reduce that damage, as can drought-tolerant seeds in regions where water shortages limit the amount of land under cultivation. Biotech can also help solve the probl

16、em of soil that contains excess aluminum, which can damage roots and cause many staple-crop failures. A gene that helps neutralize aluminum toxicity in rice has been identified. 病毒常常在發(fā)展中國家造成主要糧食作物的大面積歉收。兩年前，花葉病毒使非洲損失了超過一半的木薯，而這種作物是當(dāng)?shù)厝说闹饕澄?。轉(zhuǎn)基因的抗病毒作物可以減少這種損失，就像抗干旱種子在可耕地面積因缺水而受到限制的地區(qū)起到的作用一樣。含鋁過高的土壤會(huì)損傷

17、作物的根系并使許多主要作物歉收，對(duì)于這種問題生物技術(shù)也能幫助解決。目前，研究人員已經(jīng)識(shí)別出一種有助于中和水稻里鋁的毒性的基因。 Many scientists believe biotech could raise overall crop productivity in developing countries as much as 25% and help prevent the loss of those crops after they are harvested. 許多科學(xué)家認(rèn)為，生物技術(shù)能夠把發(fā)展中國家的農(nóng)業(yè)總產(chǎn)量提高25，并且?guī)椭乐棺魑锸崭詈笤馐軗p失。 Yet for all

18、that promise, biotech is far from being the whole answer. In developing countries, lost crops are only one cause of hunger. Poverty plays the largest role. Today more than 1 billion people around the globe live on less than 1 a day. Making genetically modified crops available will not reduce hunger

19、if farmers cannot afford to grow them or if the local population cannot afford to buy the food those farmers produce. 盡管具有這么多潛力，生物技術(shù)還遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)不能解決全部問題。在發(fā)展中國家，作物歉收只是造成饑餓的一個(gè)原因。貧窮才是罪魁禍?zhǔn)?。今天，全世界有超過10億人口每天靠不到1美元維持生計(jì)。如果農(nóng)民沒錢種植轉(zhuǎn)基因作物或當(dāng)?shù)厝速I不起農(nóng)民種出的糧食，培育轉(zhuǎn)基因作物就無法減少饑餓。Nor can biotech overcome the challenge of distributing

20、 food in developing countries. Taken as a whole, the world produces enough food to feed everyone - but much of it is simply in the wrong place. Especially in countries with undeveloped transport infrastructures, geography restricts food availability as dramatically as genetics promises to improve it

21、. 此外，生物技術(shù)也無法克服在發(fā)展中國家分配糧食的難題。從整體上看，世界生產(chǎn)的糧食足夠養(yǎng)活所有人，但大部分糧食卻不是在需要的地方。尤其在運(yùn)輸基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施落后的國家，地理?xiàng)l件對(duì)食物供給的限制正如遺傳學(xué)為食物供給帶來的希望一樣大。 Biotech has its own distribution problems. Private-sector biotech companies in the rich countries carry out much of the leading-edge research on genetically modified crops. Their products

22、are often too costly for poor farmers in the developing world, and many of those products wont even reach the regions where they are most needed. Biotech firms have a strong financial incentive to target rich markets first in order to help them rapidly recoup the high costs of product development. B

23、ut some of these companies are responding to needs of poor countries. A London-based company, for example, has announced that it will share with developing countries technology needed to produce vitamin-enriched golden rice. 生物技術(shù)也面臨自身的“分配”問題。許多轉(zhuǎn)基因作物方面的尖端研究都是富國的私營生物技術(shù)公司進(jìn)行的。對(duì)發(fā)展中國家的窮苦農(nóng)民來說，這些公司的產(chǎn)品通常顯得過于

24、昂貴，而且這些產(chǎn)品中的大部分甚至無法到達(dá)最需要的地區(qū)。強(qiáng)大的經(jīng)濟(jì)刺激促使生物技術(shù)公司把富裕國家的市場(chǎng)作為第一目標(biāo)，以便能夠盡快回收產(chǎn)品開發(fā)的高額成本。不過，有些公司已開始對(duì)貧窮國家的需要做出反應(yīng)。例如，一家總部在倫敦的公司已經(jīng)宣布，它愿意和發(fā)展中國家一起分享生產(chǎn)維生素增強(qiáng)型的“金水稻”所需的技術(shù)。 More and more biotech research is being carried out in developing countries. But to increase the impact of genetic research on the food production of

25、those countries, there is a need for better collaboration between government agencies - both local and in developed countries - and private biotech firms. The ISAAA, for example, is successfully partnering with the US Agency for International Development, local researches and private biotech compani

26、es to find and deliver biotech solutions for farmers in developing countries. 發(fā)展中國家正在進(jìn)行越來越多的生物技術(shù)研究。但是，為擴(kuò)大遺傳學(xué)研究對(duì)這些國家的糧食生產(chǎn)的影響，政府各部門(包括當(dāng)?shù)卣块T和發(fā)達(dá)國家的政府部門)與私營生物技術(shù)公司之間需要更好的合作。例如，國際農(nóng)業(yè)生物工程應(yīng)用技術(shù)采購管理局目前正與美國國際發(fā)展署、當(dāng)?shù)氐难芯咳藛T以及私營的生物技術(shù)公司進(jìn)行成功的合作，以幫助發(fā)展中國家的農(nóng)民尋求生物技術(shù)方面的解決辦法。 Will Frankenfoods feed the world? Biotech is not

27、 a panacea, but it does promise to transform agriculture in many developing countries. If that promise is not fulfilled, the real losers will be their people, who could suffer for years to come. “弗蘭肯食品”能養(yǎng)活世界嗎?生物技術(shù)雖不是萬靈藥，但它確實(shí)有希望改造許多發(fā)展中國家的農(nóng)業(yè)。如果這種希望不能實(shí)現(xiàn)，真正的受害者將是這些國家的人民，他們可能會(huì)在未來的歲月里遭受苦難。The Biology of S

28、kin Color：Black and White 10年之前當(dāng)時(shí)在西澳大學(xué)的人類學(xué)家Nina Jalonski被要求做一項(xiàng)關(guān)于人類皮膚的演說。作為靈長(zhǎng)類進(jìn)化研究的專家，她決定對(duì)膚色的進(jìn)化史研討一番，可是當(dāng)她對(duì)課題進(jìn)行文獻(xiàn)研究時(shí)，結(jié)果卻使她倍感失望。在1970年之前的較為新的理論都存在種族主義，而另外的文獻(xiàn)則相當(dāng)缺乏說服力。比如，有研究發(fā)表說白色皮膚可以更好的抵御寒冷。1970年之后，研究人員漸漸認(rèn)識(shí)到對(duì)于研究皮膚這樣的課題變的無足輕重，因?yàn)檫@樣的研究總是收獲甚微。Jalonski說：這個(gè)事實(shí)人人皆知，只是無人再議而已。 不久之后，Jablonski和她的丈夫Geoge Chaplin（一位地

29、理信息系統(tǒng)專家）發(fā)表了第一份綜合性膚色論。該文章發(fā)表于人類進(jìn)化日?qǐng)?bào)中，該文章說明了膚色與全球光線強(qiáng)度之間存在強(qiáng)烈且可預(yù)測(cè)的關(guān)聯(lián)。但同時(shí)他們的發(fā)現(xiàn)也產(chǎn)生了一個(gè)深層次且令人吃驚的結(jié)論：膚色與維他命存在密切的聯(lián)系。 作為加利福尼亞學(xué)術(shù)研究部門的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)，Jablonski首先假設(shè)我們最早的人類祖先有著與大猩猩（生物學(xué)角度最密切）類似的皮膚。在450萬年到200萬年以前，早起人類從熱帶雨林中脫離，開始走向非洲東部大草原。在以前的大草原上，人們不僅僅要更多的暴露于陽光下，而且他們忙于收集食物。哺乳動(dòng)物的大腦非常害怕過熱，只需要5、6個(gè)級(jí)別的熱量就能使他們中暑，因此我們祖先不得不發(fā)明更好的解暑辦法。 答案很簡(jiǎn)

30、單，那就是通過蒸發(fā)帶走熱量。早起人類可能汗腺極少就像大猩猩一樣，汗腺可能主要集中于他們的手掌中和腳底。然而有時(shí)，某些個(gè)體會(huì)比通常的個(gè)體長(zhǎng)更多汗腺。這些汗腺更多的人，他們可以在熱量驅(qū)逐他們躲在陰涼下之前有更長(zhǎng)的時(shí)間去找食物。因此他們能得到更多食物，使得他們能孕育更健康的后代，并且將發(fā)達(dá)的汗腺遺傳給后代。 在幾百萬年的自然選擇后，人類的身體上已經(jīng)擁有大約200萬個(gè)汗腺。人類的皮膚相對(duì)于大猩猩的毛減少許多。加利福尼亞大學(xué)的人類學(xué)家Adrienne Zihlaman說：這樣使得我們?nèi)祟愒阢逶『竺l(fā)干燥的更快。 然而，缺少毛發(fā)的皮膚非常容易遭到紫外線的破壞。科學(xué)家提出了一種假說：人類的膚色由黑色素所決定

31、，而黑色素可以吸收或者分解紫外線。但是紫外線是什么呢？一些研究人員只出它是皮膚癌的起因。癌癥通常是由于人體的惡性增殖，是由日常生活習(xí)慣引起的。還有一些事實(shí)表明陽光曬過的乳腺將影響女性哺乳，但是較為黝黑的皮膚可以有效保護(hù)這些哺乳女性。 Jablonski在澳大利亞準(zhǔn)備演講期間，她曾做過關(guān)于紫外線對(duì)葉酸（一種維他命B的混合物）的影響的研究。研究表明如果你的皮膚白凈那么強(qiáng)烈的陽光會(huì)使得葉酸等級(jí)減半。Jablonski發(fā)現(xiàn)這個(gè)關(guān)系僅用了幾周的時(shí)間。在胚胎開發(fā)的高級(jí)階段，Jablonski了解到過低的葉酸水準(zhǔn)與神經(jīng)管損傷相關(guān)，比如脊柱裂或先天無腦畸形（嬰兒生來就沒有健全的大腦和脊柱）Jablonski隨

32、后通過三篇文獻(xiàn)得知孩子的神經(jīng)管損傷與它的母親孕期暴露于紫外線下密切相關(guān)。而且她發(fā)現(xiàn)葉酸與精液水平密切相關(guān)通過抑制葉酸可以起到避孕作用。（Jablonski說：葉酸無處不在，它幾乎影響我們的全身上下）。她現(xiàn)在發(fā)現(xiàn)了一些有趣的證明：葉酸讓會(huì)我們慢慢進(jìn)化出黑色皮膚，但是為什么有人皮膚卻很白呢。 追溯到1960年，生物學(xué)家W.FarsworthLooms曾發(fā)表說膚色與人體的維生素D水平相關(guān)。而維他命D可以幫助人體吸收鈣質(zhì)構(gòu)成堅(jiān)硬的骨骼，尤其是快速發(fā)育的胚胎。(孕期需要很多的維生素D，這也就解釋了為什么從世界范圍來看女性的皮膚要比男性白皙。)不同于葉酸，維生素D需要紫外線的配合以發(fā)揮作用。Loomis堅(jiān)

33、信生活在北方的人由于那里光線較弱所以他們的皮膚較為白以便吸收更多的紫外線；而生活在熱帶地區(qū)的人們則長(zhǎng)有黑色皮膚以便阻擋陽光，使得身體吸收較為均衡的維生素D不至于過量（過量的維生素D會(huì)有毒性）。 由于Jablonski的研究Loomis的部分研究成果已經(jīng)被證明是錯(cuò)誤的。Jablonski說：你可以永遠(yuǎn)不乏獲得過量維生素D，因?yàn)橹挥袠O少數(shù)的人們會(huì)發(fā)生魚肝油過量。但是Loomis對(duì)于皮膚白皙的論點(diǎn)是正確的，這個(gè)論點(diǎn)完美的證明了Jablonski對(duì)于葉酸和黑色皮膚的論點(diǎn)。接下的任務(wù)就是找到數(shù)據(jù)說明膚色與光線強(qiáng)度的關(guān)系。 到80年代，研究人員只能估算紫外線到達(dá)地球表面的量，但是在1978年的時(shí)候NASA

34、啟動(dòng)了全球臭氧光譜繪制計(jì)劃。三年后，Jablonski和Chaplin利用全球紫外線光譜數(shù)據(jù)，并且拿這些數(shù)據(jù)與他們統(tǒng)計(jì)的50個(gè)國家和地區(qū)的人們膚色進(jìn)行對(duì)比。令他們興奮不已的是，他們提出的結(jié)論完全正確：紫外線越弱，人們的膚色越白皙。Jablonski之后又統(tǒng)計(jì)了50個(gè)不同地區(qū)的嚴(yán)重缺少維生素D的人群。Jablonski說：這個(gè)人類歷史解決維生素D缺乏是在他們學(xué)會(huì)釣魚后，因此他們可以獲得更加豐富的實(shí)物后，維生素D的問題就已經(jīng)解決了。 人類的歷史中絕大多數(shù)時(shí)間用來不停地移動(dòng)，因?yàn)檫@樣他們?cè)诿鎸?duì)各種環(huán)境中才學(xué)會(huì)了使用工具，制作衣服，解決居住問題并且產(chǎn)生了自己的飲食習(xí)慣。但是Jablonski的論點(diǎn)指出

35、我們的適應(yīng)力非常強(qiáng)。熱帶的人們擁有黑色皮色以便他們阻擋紫外線以便他們保護(hù)自己的葉酸水平。而遠(yuǎn)離赤道的人們?cè)诼L(zhǎng)的冬季中，長(zhǎng)出了白皙的皮膚以便產(chǎn)生足夠的維生素D。 Jablonski希望她的研究可以改善人們飲食中的維生素D和葉酸的攝入量。比如，總所周知黑色皮膚的人去陰雨地帶生活會(huì)產(chǎn)生像佝僂病等這樣由于缺少維生素D而產(chǎn)生的癥狀。更重要的是，Jablonski希望人們可以通過她的研究改變會(huì)不同膚色的人們的看法。Jablonski說：我們應(yīng)該將這個(gè)理論傳播到熱帶地區(qū)，讓人們?nèi)チ私馑?，用它去解決分歧、誤解等等，它完全有這個(gè)能力.Unit 9 In popular culture, the term UF

36、Oor unidentified flying objectrefers to a suspected alien spacecraft, although its definition encompasses any unexplained aerial phenomena. UFO sightings have been reported throughout recorded history and in various parts of the world, raising questions about life on other planets and whether extrat

37、errestrials have visited Earth. They became a major subject of interestand the inspiration behind numerous films and booksfollowing the development of rocketry after World War II. 通俗地說，所謂 UFO或者不明飛行物指疑似外星人的飛船，不過它的定義也包括無法解釋的空中現(xiàn)象。在全世界各地不同時(shí)期都有 UFO 目擊的報(bào)告，引起人們關(guān)于外星生命以及地外生命是否訪問過地球的爭(zhēng)論。在二戰(zhàn)后火箭技術(shù)的發(fā)展下，它們成了人們感興趣的

38、一大主題也是數(shù)不清的電影和書籍背后的靈感來源。 Flying Saucers 飛碟 The first well-known UFO sighting occurred in 1947, when businessman Kenneth Arnold claimed to see a group of nine high-speed objects near Mount Rainier in Washington while flying his small plane. Arnold estimated the speed of the crescent-shaped objects as

39、several thousand miles per hour and said they moved “l(fā)ike saucers skipping on water.” In the newspaper report that followed, it was mistakenly stated that the objects were saucer-shaped, hence the term flying saucer. 首個(gè)著名的飛碟目擊事件發(fā)生在 1947 年，一個(gè)叫 Kenneth Arnold 的商人聲稱他在華盛頓的雷尼爾山附近玩小型飛機(jī)模型時(shí)看到了一組 9 個(gè)高速移動(dòng)的物體。

40、Arnold 估計(jì)這些月牙形的物體速度達(dá)每小時(shí)數(shù)千英里，還說他們的移動(dòng)“就像是打水漂”。在后來的新聞中錯(cuò)誤地報(bào)道成了這些物體是碟形的，于是就有了飛碟這一稱呼。 Sightings of unidentified aerial phenomena increased, and in 1948 the U.S. Air Force began an investigation of these reports called Project Sign. The initial opinion of those involved with the project was that the UFOs w

41、ere most likely sophisticated Soviet aircraft, although some researchers suggested that they might be spacecraft from other worlds, the so-called extraterrestrial hypothesis (ETH). Within a year, Project Sign was succeeded by Project Grudge, which in 1952 was itself replaced by the longest-lived of

42、the official inquiries into UFOs, Project Blue Book, headquartered at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. From 1952 to 1969 Project Blue Book compiled reports of more than 12,000 sightings or events, each of which was ultimately classified as (1) “identified” with a known astronomical,

43、atmospheric, or artificial (human-caused) phenomenon or (2) “unidentified.” The latter category, approximately 6 percent of the total, included cases for which there was insufficient information to make an identification with a known phenomenon. 之后不明的空中現(xiàn)象頻發(fā)，在 1948 年美國空軍開始對(duì)這些報(bào)告進(jìn)行調(diào)查，稱為 Sign 計(jì)劃。這一計(jì)劃的最初

44、動(dòng)機(jī)是懷疑這些 UFO 很可能是蘇聯(lián)尖端飛行器，雖然有些研究員認(rèn)為它們可能是來自其他世界的飛船，也就是所謂的外星人假說（ETH）。在一年內(nèi)，Grudge 計(jì)劃繼承了 Sign 計(jì)劃，到了 1952 年它又被 UFO 官方研究計(jì)劃中歷時(shí)最長(zhǎng)的 Blue Book 計(jì)劃取代，其總部位于俄亥俄州代頓市的 Wright-Patterson 空軍基地。在 1952 年至 1969 年間，Blue Book 編輯了一萬兩千多宗目擊事件的報(bào)告，每一個(gè)最后都標(biāo)上“已確認(rèn)”或者“未確認(rèn)”，“已確認(rèn)”的包括已知的天文現(xiàn)象、大氣現(xiàn)象和人造（人為引起的）現(xiàn)象。后者約占總數(shù)的 6%，包括了一些信息不足，無法用已知的現(xiàn)象

45、定性的事件。 The Robertson Panel and the Condon Report Robertson 小組和 Condon 報(bào)告 An American obsession with the UFO phenomenon was under way. In the hot summer of 1952 a provocative series of radar and visual sightings occurred near National Airport in Washington, D.C. Although these events were attributed

46、to temperature inversions in the air over the city, not everyone was convinced by this explanation. Meanwhile, the number of UFO reports had climbed to a record high. This led the Central Intelligence Agency to prompt the U.S. government to establish an expert panel of scientists to investigate the

47、phenomena. The panel was headed by H.P. Robertson, a physicist at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif., and included other physicists, an astronomer, and a rocket engineer. The Robertson Panel met for three days in 1953 and interviewed military officers and the head of Project

48、Blue Book. They also reviewed films and photographs of UFOs. Their conclusions were that (1) 90 percent of the sightings could be easily attributed to astronomical and meteorologic phenomena (e.g., bright planets and stars, meteors, auroras, ion clouds) or to such earthly objects as aircraft, balloo

49、ns, birds, and searchlights, (2) there was no obvious security threat, and (3) there was no evidence to support the ETH. Parts of the panels report were kept classified until 1979, and this long period of secrecy helped fuel suspicions of a government cover-up. 而美國人已經(jīng)開始對(duì) UFO 現(xiàn)象著迷。在 1952 年炎熱的夏天，在華盛頓特

50、區(qū)的國家機(jī)場(chǎng)附近發(fā)生了一系列令人激動(dòng)的雷達(dá)和肉眼觀測(cè)報(bào)告。雖然這些報(bào)告被歸結(jié)于城市上空空氣的溫度反轉(zhuǎn)現(xiàn)象，并不是所有人都能接受這個(gè)解釋。同時(shí)，UFO 報(bào)告的數(shù)量攀升到歷史最高。這導(dǎo)致了中情局提請(qǐng)美國政府組建一支由科學(xué)家組成的專家小組對(duì)這一現(xiàn)象進(jìn)行調(diào)查。這個(gè)小組由加州帕薩迪納市的加州理工學(xué)院物理學(xué)家 H.P. Robertson 領(lǐng)頭，有數(shù)名物理學(xué)家、一名宇航員和一名火箭工程師。Robertson 小組在 1953 年開了 3 天的會(huì)議，訪問了 Blue Book 計(jì)劃的負(fù)責(zé)人和軍方官員。他們也復(fù)查了 UFO 的膠片和照片。他們得出結(jié)論：（1）90% 的目擊事件都可以簡(jiǎn)單歸結(jié)為天文和氣象現(xiàn)象（例

51、如明亮的天體和星星、流星、極光、離子云）或者地球產(chǎn)物，例如飛機(jī)、氣球、鳥類，和探照燈光；（2）不存在明顯的安全威脅；（3）沒有支持外星人假說的直接證據(jù)。在 1979 年前這個(gè)小組的部分記錄被分類存檔，長(zhǎng)時(shí)間的保密也給政府掩蓋事實(shí)的說法起到了火上澆油的作用。 A second committee was set up in 1966 at the request of the Air Force to review the most interesting material gathered by Project Blue Book. Two years later this committee

52、, which made a detailed study of 59 UFO sightings, released its results as Scientific Study of Unidentified Flying Objectsalso known as the Condon Report, named for Edward U. Condon, the physicist who headed the investigation. The Condon Report was reviewed by a special committee of the National Aca

53、demy of Sciences. A total of 37 scientists wrote chapters or parts of chapters for the report, which covered investigations of the 59 UFO sightings in detail. Like the Robertson Panel, the committee concluded that there was no evidence of anything other than commonplace phenomena in the reports and

54、that UFOs did not warrant further investigation. This, together with a decline in sighting activity, led to the dismantling of Project Blue Book in 1969. 在 1966 年，由于空軍想要復(fù)查 Blue Book 計(jì)劃中搜集的最有意思的材料而成立了第二支委員會(huì)。兩年后，這支隊(duì)伍在對(duì) 59 宗 UFO 目擊事件作了詳細(xì)研究后發(fā)表了它的結(jié)論，不明飛行物的科學(xué)研究也被稱為 Condon 報(bào)告，這是以這次調(diào)查的領(lǐng)頭人，一個(gè)叫 Edward U. Cond

55、on 的物理學(xué)家命名的。Condon 報(bào)告經(jīng)過了美國國家科學(xué)院的一支特殊委員會(huì)的審查。多達(dá) 37 名科學(xué)在在這份詳細(xì)說明了 59 宗 UFO 目擊報(bào)告調(diào)查的報(bào)告中寫下了部分章節(jié)或段落。和 Robertson 小組一樣，這個(gè)委員會(huì)得出結(jié)論說在這些報(bào)告中沒有任何證據(jù)證明存在非正常的現(xiàn)象，繼續(xù)調(diào)查 UFO 毫無意義。這份報(bào)告隨著目擊事件的減少，導(dǎo)致了 1969 年 Blue Book 計(jì)劃的解散。 Other investigations of UFOs 其他 UFO 調(diào)查 Despite the failure of the ETH to make headway with the expert

56、committees, a few scientists and engineers, most notably J. Allen Hynek, an astronomer at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., who had been involved with projects Sign, Grudge, and Blue Book, concluded that a small fraction of the most-reliable UFO reports gave definite indications for the pre

57、sence of extraterrestrial visitors. Hynek founded the Center for UFO Studies (CUFOS), which continues to investigate the phenomenon. 雖然外星人假說在專家委員會(huì)那里未能有所進(jìn)展，一些科學(xué)家和工程師，最著名的有埃文斯頓的西北大學(xué)的一位天文學(xué)家 J. Allen Hynek 和參與了 Sign、Grudge 和 Blue Book 計(jì)劃的 Ill，認(rèn)為一小部分較為可信的 UFO 報(bào)告給出了地外訪問者存在的明顯跡象。Hynek成立了 UFO 研究中心（CUFOS），繼續(xù)研究這些現(xiàn)象。 Aside from Project Blue Book, the only other official and fairly complete records of UFO sightings were kept in Canada, where they were transferred in 1968 from the Canadian Department of National Defense to