英语沙塔|经济学人精读|同性行为竟是人类自然多样性的一种
本文节选自《经济学人》2019.08.31期的一篇文章，介绍了同性恋的基因研究。
本文共节选5段，建议大家先自主阅读原文，再学习精读笔记。
文末会总结此次学习写作可以使用的词句，读者也可自己总结。会定期将内容进行总结，做成word分享，希望大家也能坚持学习
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In 1993 a region of the human genome called xq28 was linked to male homosexuality, and thecontroversial notion of a “gay gene” was born. Those research findings have not beenreplicated. But it was never going to be that simple: decades of genetic research have shown that almost every human characteristic is a complex interplay of genes and environmental factors. A new study, published in Science this week, confirms that this is the case for human sexuality, too.
a region of：一个部分，一个区域
human genome：人类基因组
be linked to：与……联系在一起
controversial notion：富有争议性的观点，notion意为观念、理解、概念
research findings：研究成果
replicate：复制
genetic research：基因研究
human characteristic：人格特质
interplay：相互作用【词汇积累】
this is the case for ……：……就是这种情况【词组积累】
在1993年，人类基因组中被称作xq28的一部分，与男性同性恋联系在一起，与此同时，“同性恋基因”这个具有争议性的概念诞生了。这些研究成果并没有被复制。但这永远不会那么简单：数十年的基因研究表明几乎每个人格特质都是基因和环境因素间复杂的相互作用。一个发表于本周《科学》杂志上的新研究，证实人类同性恋就是如此。
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A GWAS involves scanning a person’s DNA for tiny variations in the genetic code that correlate with a given trait. The participants were divided on the basis of whether they answered yes or no to the question “Have you ever had sex with someone of the same sex?”—a woolly proxy for sexual orientation, even in the absence of little white lies. The figures the GWAS produced, therefore, relate only to a single act, not to whether someone identifies as gay.
GWAS：genome-wide association study，全基因组关联研究
involve：if a situation, an event or an activity involves sth, that thing is an important or necessary part or result of it. 包含；需要
correlate with：与……有关联，与下文3段中associate with同义【同义互换】
given：指定的，特定的【词汇积累】
trait：特征特质【词汇积累】
participant：参与者
be divided on the basis of ……：根据……进行分类，on the basis of sth以……为基础，根据……【词组积累】
a woolly proxy for ……：一个模糊的指标。a proxy for sth，（测算用的）代替物，指标something that you use to represent sth else that you are trying to measure or calculate. woolly意为模糊的。【词组积累】
in the absence of little white lies：in the absence of：在没有……存在的情况下。white lie：善意的谎言，A "white lie" is a small, innocent lie that people tell for social reasons. If I didn't like your mother's cooking, but said I did, it would be a white lie. People often hesitate to give truthful answers about sex--they might tell white lies to protect themselves from embarrassment, even in an anonymous survey.
（关于为什么这个问题是性取向鉴别的模糊指标）So, there are two different reasons that the question is a bad way to identify sexual orientation. The first reason is that, because the question is about sex, there is a high likelihood that people will give incorrect answers--they will tell white lies. However, even if we assume that the respondents won't lie, a question about past behavior is different from a question about sexual orientation. Some people might have tried homosexual sex and discovered that they didn't enjoy it, or they might have experienced homosexual rape, or they might prefer heterosexual sex but be willing to engage in homosexual sex in unisexual environments like boarding schools, the military, or prison. Other people might desire homosexual sex, but not have had it yet. So, the answer to the question will only be loosely correlated with sexual orientation. It is a bad (aka "woolly") proxy for sexual orientation.【词组积累】
identify： ~ sb/sth (as sb/sth) 显示；说明身份to make it possible to recognize who or what sb/sth is. Someone identifies as gay说明某人是同性恋。【熟词僻义】
一个全基因组关联研究，内容包含为了基因组中的一个与特定的特质相关的小变化而扫描一个人的DNA。根据参与者对问题“你曾经和同性发生过性关系吗？”的回答是“是”或“否”进行分组—一个衡量性取向模糊的指标，甚至是在没有谎言的情况下。因此，这个研究产生的结果，只与一个单一的行动有关，而不能确定某人是同性恋。
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The researchers found five genetic markers that were significantly associated with a reported homosexual act by one of the participants in the study. None of those markers was on the x or ysex chromosomes and their total combined effect accounted for less than 1% of the variance. This is because the behavior is the result of the aggregate effort of hundreds or thousands of genes, whose individual effects are infinitesimally weak. Totting up all the thousands of testedgenetic variants accounted for between 8% and 25% of the variation in people’s self-reportedhomosexual acts. These variants also overlapped with other traits, such as a smoking and an openness to new experiences.
genetic markers：遗传标志
significantly：极大地，显著地，A is significantly associated with B，A和B明显相关。
sex chromosomes：性染色体
combined effect：共同作用，综合效应【搭配】
account for：占……
aggregate effort of hundreds or thousands of genes：aggregate总数的，总计的，aggregate effort of sth意为某事共同的努力或作用。这里和上文combined effect可以替换【搭配】
infinitesimally weak：[ˌɪnfɪnɪ'tɛsɪməlɪ] infinitesimally无限小地，极小地【词汇积累】
tot up：合计，to add numbers together.
genetic variants：基因变异。the combined effects of genetic variants基因变异的综合效应。
self-reported：自述的【词汇积累】
an openness to：there is an openness to sth对……持开放，接纳态度。【词组积累】
通过研究中的一个参与者，研究人员发现五个遗传标志与报道的同性行为明显相关。这些标志都没有在X或Y性染色体上，而且他们所占的总的共同作用少于变异的1%。这是因为行为是几十万基因共同作用的结果，单个基因的作用无限小。将引起8%-25%人类自述的同性行为改变的数千个被测基因变异相加。这些变异也和引起其他特征的变异相重合，例如吸烟和接受新的体验。
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Interestingly, only about 60% of the genetic variants identified in the study were shared by both sexes. Most behaviors show more overlap between the sexes than this, intimating that male and female homosexuality, or at least sexual adventures, may be quite different. David Curtis of University College London notes that what overlap there is “suggests that there could be specific factors affecting same-sex attraction rather than simply being attracted to males versus being attracted to females.”
overlap：重叠部分
intimate：intimate作形容词有亲密的，密切的意思，这里作动词：（间接）表示；暗示to let sb know what you think or mean in an indirect way. 【熟词僻义】
note：特别提到;指明,表明【熟词僻义】
有趣的是，研究中只有大约60%确认的基因变异是两种性别共同拥有的。大多数行为两性共有的变异重叠率比同性恋行为共有的重叠率更多，这暗示同性恋，或者至少是冒险性行为，可能与其他行为特征有着显著的不同。英国伦敦大学的David Curtis提出这里的基因重叠暗示可能有特定的因素影响同性吸引，而不是简单的被男性与被女性吸引。
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Yet the research only scrapes the surface of the mysterious depths of human sexuality.Unravelling these riddles will be difficult and will inevitably beget misconception and controversy. But at least this study should add weight to the view that non-heterosexualbehaviour is firmly within the normal, natural spectrum of human diversity and provide a firm foundation for future work.
scrape the surface of：scrape意为刮、擦，该词组意为只是触及冰山一角【词组积累】
unravel these riddles：unravel意为解释，阐明，即解开谜题。【词汇积累】
beget：引发，引起。【词汇积累】
misconception：误解
add weight to the view that ……：进一步证明……的观点。add weight to意为扩大影响和进一步证明【词组积累】
non-heterosexual：非异性恋
is firmly within the normal, natural spectrum of human diversity：firmly紧紧地，牢固地。文中指非异性恋这种行为牢牢地植根于我们正常人类多样化之中。也可以说is deeply rooted in the normal, natural spectrum of human diversity.【词组积累】
a firm foundation：稳固的基础
然而，这项研究仅仅只是触及了人类性行为神秘深处的冰山一角。解开这些谜题将会很困难，并且不可避免会引起误解和争议。但至少这项研究可以进一步证明非异性恋牢牢地植根于正常、自然的人类多样谱之中，并为未来的研究提供了坚实的基础。
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总结
interplay：相互作用【词汇积累】
given：指定的，特定的【词汇积累】
trait：特征特质【词汇积累】
infinitesimally weak：[ˌɪnfɪnɪ'tɛsɪməlɪ] infinitesimally无限小地，极小地【词汇积累】
self-reported：自述的【词汇积累】
unravel these riddles：unravel意为解释，阐明，即解开谜题。【词汇积累】
beget：引发，引起。【词汇积累】
be divided on the basis of ……：根据……进行分类，on the basis of sth以……为基础，根据……【词组积累】
a woolly proxy for ……：一个模糊的指标。a proxy for sth，（测算用的）代替物，指标something that you use to represent sth else that you are trying to measure or calculate. woolly意为模糊的。【词组积累】
in the absence of little white lies：in the absence of：在没有……存在的情况下。white lie：善意的谎言，A "white lie" is a small, innocent lie that people tell for social reasons. If I didn't like your mother's cooking, but said I did, it would be a white lie. People often hesitate to give truthful answers about sex--they might tell white lies to protect themselves from embarrassment, even in an anonymous survey.
（关于为什么这个问题是性取向鉴别的模糊指标）So, there are two different reasons that the question is a bad way to identify sexual orientation. The first reason is that, because the question is about sex, there is a high likelihood that people will give incorrect answers--they will tell white lies. However, even if we assume that the respondents won't lie, a question about past behavior is different from a question about sexual orientation. Some people might have tried homosexual sex and discovered that they didn't enjoy it, or they might have experienced homosexual rape, or they might prefer heterosexual sex but be willing to engage in homosexual sex in unisexual environments like boarding schools, the military, or prison. Other people might desire homosexual sex, but not have had it yet. So, the answer to the question will only be loosely correlated with sexual orientation. It is a bad (aka "woolly") proxy for sexual orientation.【词组积累】
an openness to：there is an openness to sth对……持开放，接纳态度。【词组积累】
scrape the surface of：scrape意为刮、擦，该词组意为只是触及冰山一角【词组积累】
add weight to the view that ……：进一步证明……的观点。add weight to意为扩大影响和进一步证明【词组积累】
is firmly within the normal, natural spectrum of human diversity：firmly紧紧地，牢固地。文中指非异性恋这种行为牢牢地植根于我们正常人类多样化之中。也可以说is deeply rooted in the normal, natural spectrum of human diversity.【词组积累】
this is the case for ……：……就是这种情况【词组积累】
correlate with：与……有关联，与下文3段中associate with同义【同义互换】
identify： ~ sb/sth (as sb/sth) 显示；说明身份to make it possible to recognize who or what sb/sth is. Someone identifies as gay说明某人是同性恋。【熟词僻义】
intimate：intimate作形容词有亲密的，密切的意思，这里作动词：（间接）表示；暗示to let sb know what you think or mean in an indirect way. 【熟词僻义】
note：特别提到;指明,表明【熟词僻义】
combined effect：共同作用，综合效应【搭配】
aggregate effort of hundreds or thousands of genes：aggregate总数的，总计的，aggregate effort of sth意为某事共同的努力或作用。这里和上文combined effect可以替换【搭配】
