新视野三版 读写 B2 U8 Text A

Animals or children? — A scientist's choice

1 I am the enemy! I am one of those cursed, cruel physician scientists involved in animal research. These rumors sting, for I have never thought of myself as an evil person. I became a children's doctor because of my love for children and my supreme desire to keep them healthy. During medical school

and residency, I saw many children die of cancer and bloodshed from injury — circumstances against which medicine has made great progress but stil has a long way to go. More importantly, I also saw children healthy thanks to advances in medical science such as infant breathing support, powerful new medicines and surgical techniques and the entire field

of organ transplantation. My desire to tip the scales in favor of healthy, happy children drew me to medical research.

*2 My accusers have twisted the truth into a fable and cast me as

the devil. They claim that I have no moral compass, that I torture innocent animals for the sole purpose of career advancement, and that my experiments have no relevance to medicine.Meanwhile, an uncaring public barely watches, convinced that the issue has no significance, and publicity-conscious senators and politicians increasingly give way to the lobbying of animal rights activists.

3 We, in medical research, have also been unbelievably uncaring. We have al owed the most extreme animal rights protesters to creep in and frame the issue as one of \a knowledgeable public would consent to the importance of animal research for public health. Perhaps we have been mistaken in not responding to the emotional tone of the argument. Perhaps we should have responded to those sad slogans and posters of animals by waving equal y sad posters of children dying of cancer or external wounds.

4 In the animal rights forum, much is made of the volume of pain these animals experience in the name of medical science.Activists deny that we are trying to help and say it is evidence of our evil and cruel nature. A more reasonable argument, however, can be advanced in our defense. Life is often cruel to animals and human beings. Teenagers are flung from trucks and suffer severe head injuries. Young children barely able to walk find themselves at the bottom of swimming pools while a parent is occupied with something else. From

everyday germs to gang violence, no life is free of pain. Physicians hoping to relieve the eternal suffering of these tragedies have only three choices: 1) create an animal model of the problem to understand the process and test new therapies; 2) experiment on human beings (some experiments wil succeed, most wil fail); or 3) leave medical knowledge static, hoping that accidental discoveries wil lead us forward.

5 Some animal rights activists would suggest an optional fourth choice, *******claiming that computer models can create animal experiments,

thus omitting actual experiments. Computers can imitate the effects of

wel -understood principles on complex systems, as in the application of the laws of physics to airplane and automobile design. However, when the principles themselves are in question, as is the case with the complex

biological systems of human life under study, computer modeling alone is of little value.

6 One of the terrifying effects of arresting the use of animals in medical research is that the impact wil not be felt for years or even decades. Drugs to cure infection wil remain undiscovered, surgical and diagnostic techniques wil remain undeveloped, and fundamental biological processes that might have been understood wil remain mysteries. There is the danger that quick

decisions by wel -meaning politicians wil create resolution to diplomatical y satisfy the smal minority of loud protesters while the consequences and damaging impact of those decisions wil not be apparent until long after.

7 Fortunately, most of us enjoy good health, and the agony of watching one's child die has become a rare experience. Yet our good fortune should not make us unappreciative. Protection from serious sickness and drugs to combat heart *disease, high blood pressure and stroke are al based on animal

research. Most complex surgical procedures such as heart or hip surgery and organ transplantation surgeries were initial y developed in animals. Techniques to replace defective genes, the cause of so much disease, as wel as the development of synthetic organs are presently

undergoing animal studies. These studies, and any subsequent advances, wil effectively end if animal research is severely restricted.

8 In America today, death has become an event isolated from our daily existence. As a doctor who has watched many children die and seen their parents' infinite grief, I am particularly angered by any minute expression of caring for the suffering of creatures and so little for sick and dying human

beings. People are too protected from the reality of human life and death and what it means.

9 Make no mistake, however. I would never advocate needless cruel treatment of animals. The animal rights movement has made a contribution in making us more aware of animals' needs and the need to search harder for suitable

alternatives. But if the more radical members of this movement are successful in threatening further research, their efforts wil bring about a tragedy that wil cost many lives. Hence the real question is whether an uncaring majority can be aroused to protect its future against a loud, but misdirected, minority.

Language Points：

1 Animals or children? — A scientist’s choice (Title)

Meaning: A scientist is now facing two choices: in favor of animals or children.

2 I am the enemy! I am one of those cursed, cruel physician scientists involved in

animal research. These rumors sting, for I have never thought of myself as an evil

person. (Para. 1)

Meaning: I am the enemy–the one who is condemned as a cold-hearted physician scientist doing animal research. These rumors make me upset as I've never considered

myself as being evil.

Meaning beyond words: The physician’s ironic tone in the sentences well reflects his

indignation and anger at the animal rights activists.

3 I became a children’s doctor because of my love for children and my supreme

desire to keep them healthy. (Para. 1)

Meaning: My love for children and strong desire to keep them healthy drove me to be a

children’s doctor.

Usage note: supreme, superior, super, superb *supreme, superior, super, superb 都是形容词，且词形相近。它们都没有比较级，也没有

最高级， 但它们的词义和用法稍有差别。

1 supreme 基本词义表示―（程度）最大的，最高的，极度的‖，一般用在名词前作定语，修

饰名词，其副词是 supremely，表示―极度地；极其‖，常用于强调不好的品质。例如：

The Supreme Commander was in bad temper as the task for him had changed abruptly

*and fundamental y. 最高指挥官很生气，因为他的任务突然彻底地改变了。 2 superior 表示―更好的；更强的；更有效的‖，明显含有―好 ‖的意思。例如：

*A few years ago it was virtually impossible to find superior quality coffee in local shops. 几 年前, 几乎不可能在当地的咖啡店找到品质上乘的咖啡。