政治遺傳學
2023復習正是強化復習階段,在考研英語中占了40分,所以考研英語閱讀是英語科目中重要的一項。名師老師曾建議過考研生需要堅持每天泛讀10-15分鐘的英文原刊。強烈推薦了雜志《經濟學人》.雜志中的文章也是考研英語的主要材料來源.希望考研考生認真閱讀,快速提高考研英語閱讀水平。 The genetics of politics 政治遺傳學 Body politic 人體政治 Slowly, and in some quarters grudgingly, theinfluence of genes in shaping political outlook andbehaviour is being recognized 在某些方面,塑造政治前景和行為的基因影響正在慢慢地被人們所接受,雖然還是不情愿。 IN 1882 W.S. Gilbert wrote, to a tune by Sir Arthur Sullivan, a ditty that went I often thinkit s comical how Nature always does contrive/that every boy and every gal that s born intothe world alive/is either a little Liberal or else a little Conservative. 在1882年,W.S吉爾伯特寫的一首小詩-是為阿瑟-沙利文爵士的一首曲子而作,我一直認為,大自然的精工雕作是那么可笑/每個出生到這個世界上,并存活下來的男孩和女孩們/不是有一點自由傾向,就是有一點保守。 In the 19th century, that view, though humorously intended, would not have been out ofplace among respectable thinkers. 在十九世紀,這個觀點雖然有一點幽默的意味,但是在那些備受尊敬的思想家眼中,也并不是一無是處。 The detail of a man s opinion might be changed by circumstances. 一個人意見的詳細觀點可能會由于環(huán)境而改變。 But the idea that much of his characterwas ingrained at birth held no terrors. 但是,這種與生俱來的,由他的性格決定的觀念也沒什么恐怖的。 It is not, however, a view that cut much ice in 20th-century social-scientific thinking,particularly after the second world war. 然而,它在二十世紀的社會科學思想中沒有占到一席之地,特別是二戰(zhàn)之后。 Those who allowed that it might have some value were generally shouted down andsometimes abused, along with all others vehemently suspected of the heresy of believingthat genetic differences between individuals could have a role in shaping their behaviouraldifferences. 那些認為它有一些價值的人們發(fā)出的吶喊,通常會被持不同觀點人們的聲音所掩蓋,有時還會遭到辱罵,和那些對當時的異端邪說----即個體之間的遺傳差異在塑造他們各自不同的行為上起了一定的作用----有些猜測的人們一樣受到不公平對待。 Such thinking, a product compounded of Marxism and a principled rejection of the eugenicsthat had led, via America s sterilisation programmes for the feeble minded, to the Naziextermination camps, made life hard for those who wished to ask whether genes really doaffect behaviour. 這樣的想法,與馬克思主義融合后的產物,加上美國借口弱智而產生的絕育計劃,這種優(yōu)生學的原則性排斥反應直接導致了納粹集中營的大屠殺,讓那些想知道基因是不是對行為真的有影響的人們更加難以生存了。 Now, however, the pendulum is swinging back. 然而,現(xiàn)在,這個一直在變化的問題又擺到了人們面前。 In the matter of both political outlook and political participation it is coming to be seen thatgenes matter quite a lot. 就政治觀點和政治參與而言,即將可以看出,基因確實起到了很大的作用。 They are not the be-all and end-all. 他們并不是最重要的。 But, as a review of the field published in September in Trends in Genetics, by Peter Hatemi ofPennsylvania State University and Rose McDermott of Brown University, shows, they affect aperson s views of the world almost as much as his circumstances do, and far more than manysocial scientists have been willing, until recently, to admit. 但是,由美國賓夕法尼亞州立大學的彼德-哈特米和布朗大學的羅斯麥克德莫特合著的遺傳學的發(fā)展趨勢于今年九月出版,書中所持的遺傳學觀點認為,基因對人們世界觀的影響幾乎等同于環(huán)境的影響,而且,遠遠超過了許多社會科學家愿意承認的影響,直到最近他們才愿意接受這個結果。 Family values 家庭價值 The evidence for this claim comes from two types of source, one relatively old and onespanking new. 這種說法的證據有兩種來源,一種比較古老,一種非常新穎。 The old is studies of twins, comparing identical and non-identical pairs. 古老的來自于對雙胞胎的研究,以同卵雙胞胎與異卵雙胞胎進行對比研究。 The new is a direct examination of people s DNA, searching for genes whose variationcorrelates with observable behavioural differences. 新穎的是對人類的DNA直接進行檢查研究,探求基因變異與觀察到的行為變異的關系。 Twins studies, which seek to control for the effects of upbringing by comparing identicaltwins with fraternal ones, have been going on since the 1950s. 雙胞胎研究從二十世紀五十年代就開始了,主要是通過對同卵雙胞胎和異卵雙胞胎進行比較,尋求控制成長的影響基因。 In that time, quite a number, in many countries, have looked in part at political questions. 那時候,很多國家的大多數(shù)人,他們的注意力主要集中在政治問題上。 Dr Hatemi and Dr McDermott pored over 89 peer-reviewed papers on the effects of genesand environment on political matters. 哈特米博士和麥克德莫特博士認真鉆研了,89名同行對于基因和環(huán)境對政治問題影響的評論文章。 These included twins political knowledge, their attitudes to racial, sexual and religiousquestions, their views on defence and foreign policy, and their identification with particularpolitical parties. 這些評論報道包括了雙生子的政治知識,他們在種族,性別和宗教問題上的態(tài)度,他們對國防和外交政策的看法,還有他們對特別黨派的認同感。 On all counts, identical twins were found to be more alike than fraternal twins. 通過這些項目的研究,發(fā)現(xiàn)同卵雙胞胎比異卵雙胞胎更相像。 That knowledge, refracted through the prism of statistical theory, allows calculations of theproportionate influences of genes, family environment and general environment onparticular traits to be made. 通過統(tǒng)計理論分析得到的結果,可以推算出基因、家庭環(huán)境和外部環(huán)境對特別性狀的相應比例的影響。 Some show strong genetic influence. 其中,一些結果表明受到了很強的基因影響, Some show little. 而有一些幾乎不受基因影響。 Intriguingly, political knowledge and party identification are at opposite ends of thespectrum. 有趣的是,政治知識和黨派認同分別處于研究結果的兩端。 As the chart shows knowledge is highly genetically determined. Identification with aparticular political party, by contrast, is largely a question of family upbringingmuchmore so than are opinions about the sorts of policy that it might be thought would determinevoting patterns. 就像上表揭示的,政治知識受到基因的影響最大。相反,對特別政治黨派的認同主要是家庭教育的問題,而對于各種政策的意見,家庭教育對這個的影響遠遠不如對前者的影響。 But even family ties weaken when people leave homeand they do so in a way that helpsdisentangle genetic influence. 但是當人們離開家,家庭聯(lián)系甚至日益減弱時,這樣在某種程度上就把研究的方向聚集到了基因的影響上。 Dr Hatemi showed this in 2009 when, along with a group of colleagues, he looked at twinsaged between 11 and 75. 哈特米博士在2009年-當時他與他的同仁們一起工作,對11歲到75歲的雙生子進行了研究-公布了這個研究結果。 His results demonstrated that until their late teens both kinds of twins had equally similarpolitical views. 他的研究結果說明了,直到這些雙生子十幾歲時,他們的政治看法都很相似。 Soon after they flew the nest, though, as might be expected, their views began to diverge. 但是,可能就像預測的一樣,在他們離巢后不久,這些雙生子之間的看法就開始有分歧。 And, just as would be expected if genes have political influence, the views of fraternal twinsdiverged more than did those of identical ones. 而且,就像預計的,如果基因有政治影響力的話,那么異卵雙胞胎的意見分歧將會比那些同卵雙胞胎更加嚴重。 Between the ages of 18 and 20 identical and fraternal twins both shared nearly 70% of theirpolitical ideology. 18到20歲的同卵和異卵雙胞胎的政治思想近70%都相同。
2023復習正是強化復習階段,在考研英語中占了40分,所以考研英語閱讀是英語科目中重要的一項。名師老師曾建議過考研生需要堅持每天泛讀10-15分鐘的英文原刊。強烈推薦了雜志《經濟學人》.雜志中的文章也是考研英語的主要材料來源.希望考研考生認真閱讀,快速提高考研英語閱讀水平。 The genetics of politics 政治遺傳學 Body politic 人體政治 Slowly, and in some quarters grudgingly, theinfluence of genes in shaping political outlook andbehaviour is being recognized 在某些方面,塑造政治前景和行為的基因影響正在慢慢地被人們所接受,雖然還是不情愿。 IN 1882 W.S. Gilbert wrote, to a tune by Sir Arthur Sullivan, a ditty that went I often thinkit s comical how Nature always does contrive/that every boy and every gal that s born intothe world alive/is either a little Liberal or else a little Conservative. 在1882年,W.S吉爾伯特寫的一首小詩-是為阿瑟-沙利文爵士的一首曲子而作,我一直認為,大自然的精工雕作是那么可笑/每個出生到這個世界上,并存活下來的男孩和女孩們/不是有一點自由傾向,就是有一點保守。 In the 19th century, that view, though humorously intended, would not have been out ofplace among respectable thinkers. 在十九世紀,這個觀點雖然有一點幽默的意味,但是在那些備受尊敬的思想家眼中,也并不是一無是處。 The detail of a man s opinion might be changed by circumstances. 一個人意見的詳細觀點可能會由于環(huán)境而改變。 But the idea that much of his characterwas ingrained at birth held no terrors. 但是,這種與生俱來的,由他的性格決定的觀念也沒什么恐怖的。 It is not, however, a view that cut much ice in 20th-century social-scientific thinking,particularly after the second world war. 然而,它在二十世紀的社會科學思想中沒有占到一席之地,特別是二戰(zhàn)之后。 Those who allowed that it might have some value were generally shouted down andsometimes abused, along with all others vehemently suspected of the heresy of believingthat genetic differences between individuals could have a role in shaping their behaviouraldifferences. 那些認為它有一些價值的人們發(fā)出的吶喊,通常會被持不同觀點人們的聲音所掩蓋,有時還會遭到辱罵,和那些對當時的異端邪說----即個體之間的遺傳差異在塑造他們各自不同的行為上起了一定的作用----有些猜測的人們一樣受到不公平對待。 Such thinking, a product compounded of Marxism and a principled rejection of the eugenicsthat had led, via America s sterilisation programmes for the feeble minded, to the Naziextermination camps, made life hard for those who wished to ask whether genes really doaffect behaviour. 這樣的想法,與馬克思主義融合后的產物,加上美國借口弱智而產生的絕育計劃,這種優(yōu)生學的原則性排斥反應直接導致了納粹集中營的大屠殺,讓那些想知道基因是不是對行為真的有影響的人們更加難以生存了。 Now, however, the pendulum is swinging back. 然而,現(xiàn)在,這個一直在變化的問題又擺到了人們面前。 In the matter of both political outlook and political participation it is coming to be seen thatgenes matter quite a lot. 就政治觀點和政治參與而言,即將可以看出,基因確實起到了很大的作用。 They are not the be-all and end-all. 他們并不是最重要的。 But, as a review of the field published in September in Trends in Genetics, by Peter Hatemi ofPennsylvania State University and Rose McDermott of Brown University, shows, they affect aperson s views of the world almost as much as his circumstances do, and far more than manysocial scientists have been willing, until recently, to admit. 但是,由美國賓夕法尼亞州立大學的彼德-哈特米和布朗大學的羅斯麥克德莫特合著的遺傳學的發(fā)展趨勢于今年九月出版,書中所持的遺傳學觀點認為,基因對人們世界觀的影響幾乎等同于環(huán)境的影響,而且,遠遠超過了許多社會科學家愿意承認的影響,直到最近他們才愿意接受這個結果。 Family values 家庭價值 The evidence for this claim comes from two types of source, one relatively old and onespanking new. 這種說法的證據有兩種來源,一種比較古老,一種非常新穎。 The old is studies of twins, comparing identical and non-identical pairs. 古老的來自于對雙胞胎的研究,以同卵雙胞胎與異卵雙胞胎進行對比研究。 The new is a direct examination of people s DNA, searching for genes whose variationcorrelates with observable behavioural differences. 新穎的是對人類的DNA直接進行檢查研究,探求基因變異與觀察到的行為變異的關系。 Twins studies, which seek to control for the effects of upbringing by comparing identicaltwins with fraternal ones, have been going on since the 1950s. 雙胞胎研究從二十世紀五十年代就開始了,主要是通過對同卵雙胞胎和異卵雙胞胎進行比較,尋求控制成長的影響基因。 In that time, quite a number, in many countries, have looked in part at political questions. 那時候,很多國家的大多數(shù)人,他們的注意力主要集中在政治問題上。 Dr Hatemi and Dr McDermott pored over 89 peer-reviewed papers on the effects of genesand environment on political matters. 哈特米博士和麥克德莫特博士認真鉆研了,89名同行對于基因和環(huán)境對政治問題影響的評論文章。 These included twins political knowledge, their attitudes to racial, sexual and religiousquestions, their views on defence and foreign policy, and their identification with particularpolitical parties. 這些評論報道包括了雙生子的政治知識,他們在種族,性別和宗教問題上的態(tài)度,他們對國防和外交政策的看法,還有他們對特別黨派的認同感。 On all counts, identical twins were found to be more alike than fraternal twins. 通過這些項目的研究,發(fā)現(xiàn)同卵雙胞胎比異卵雙胞胎更相像。 That knowledge, refracted through the prism of statistical theory, allows calculations of theproportionate influences of genes, family environment and general environment onparticular traits to be made. 通過統(tǒng)計理論分析得到的結果,可以推算出基因、家庭環(huán)境和外部環(huán)境對特別性狀的相應比例的影響。 Some show strong genetic influence. 其中,一些結果表明受到了很強的基因影響, Some show little. 而有一些幾乎不受基因影響。 Intriguingly, political knowledge and party identification are at opposite ends of thespectrum. 有趣的是,政治知識和黨派認同分別處于研究結果的兩端。 As the chart shows knowledge is highly genetically determined. Identification with aparticular political party, by contrast, is largely a question of family upbringingmuchmore so than are opinions about the sorts of policy that it might be thought would determinevoting patterns. 就像上表揭示的,政治知識受到基因的影響最大。相反,對特別政治黨派的認同主要是家庭教育的問題,而對于各種政策的意見,家庭教育對這個的影響遠遠不如對前者的影響。 But even family ties weaken when people leave homeand they do so in a way that helpsdisentangle genetic influence. 但是當人們離開家,家庭聯(lián)系甚至日益減弱時,這樣在某種程度上就把研究的方向聚集到了基因的影響上。 Dr Hatemi showed this in 2009 when, along with a group of colleagues, he looked at twinsaged between 11 and 75. 哈特米博士在2009年-當時他與他的同仁們一起工作,對11歲到75歲的雙生子進行了研究-公布了這個研究結果。 His results demonstrated that until their late teens both kinds of twins had equally similarpolitical views. 他的研究結果說明了,直到這些雙生子十幾歲時,他們的政治看法都很相似。 Soon after they flew the nest, though, as might be expected, their views began to diverge. 但是,可能就像預測的一樣,在他們離巢后不久,這些雙生子之間的看法就開始有分歧。 And, just as would be expected if genes have political influence, the views of fraternal twinsdiverged more than did those of identical ones. 而且,就像預計的,如果基因有政治影響力的話,那么異卵雙胞胎的意見分歧將會比那些同卵雙胞胎更加嚴重。 Between the ages of 18 and 20 identical and fraternal twins both shared nearly 70% of theirpolitical ideology. 18到20歲的同卵和異卵雙胞胎的政治思想近70%都相同。