《Level 11-7》.pdf

Level 11 unit 7 Studying DNA PROFESSOR: What do all these different species have in common 共同 的；共有的? Well, to begin with 以…开始；开始于, they are all made of flesh [fleʃ] 肉； 肉体and blood, have organs 器官, bones, skin and hair. And most importantly 最重要的是, they all share the building blocks 构建模 块every creature needs to exist: DNA. Recently, modern technology has enabled us to study the DNA of our closest living ancestor, the chimpanzee [,tʃimpənzi:] 黑猩猩, and compare it to our own. A sample of blood was taken from a chimp. PROFESSOR: The chimps genome, or genetic sequence, was then compared by scientists to that of a human. The results were astonishing! It was found that 96% of the human genome was identical to chimpanzees! In fact, the number of genetic differences between humans and chimps was ten times smaller than that between a mouse and a rat. This knowledge brings up some interesting philosophical questions, PROFESSOR: one of them being: If 96% of our DNA is the same as a chimps, what is in the 4% that makes us different? What makes us human? Why do we have cars, coffee machines, cell phones and computers ... and chimps dont? Well, there are two main reasons. Firstly, we stand upright, and have opposable [əpəuzəbl] thumbs 对生拇指. PROFESSOR: This allows us to get more things done. Because our hands were free, we learned how to make and build things more effectively than any other species. Secondly, and this is perhaps the biggest thing that sets us apart from our monkey cousins, humans can communicate in complex language. Chimpanzee DNA does not contain FOXP2, the gene responsible for speech. Humans have this gene. PROFESSOR: And as speech helped the human brain evolve at an amazing speed, we quickly became the dominant animal on the planet. Thats not to say 这并不是说, however, that no other animals commun