Cloning

As we approach the 21st century, it is clearer than ever that science and technology are changing the way we live and work. The breakthroughs in bioengineering science are helping to unravel the mysteries of life, holding out new hope for lifesaving cures to some of our most dreaded diseases.

In 1997, the great news shocked the whole world that the British scientists created a lamb, named Dolly from a single cell. Miraculously, the cell had been taken from the udder of an adult sheep, which marks the first time an adult animal had been successfully cloned.

But it soon caused worldwide concern over its ethical, social, and scientific implications. Cloning is especially controversial because it raises the prospect of“making” humans genetically identical to an existing man or woman. Some people claim attempting to use these cloning techniques to actually clone a human being is untested and unsafe and morally unacceptable.

How to look upon this new technique? When it comes to a discovery like cloning, we must move with caution, care and deep concern about the impact of our actions. First, cloning should be greatly esteemed and great thanks should be given to its inventors. Meanwhile, great efforts should be made to place this technique under strict control. Especially we should adopt a document against human cloning since past experience tells us a new invention may cause troubles if it is misused. (234 words)

克隆

在我们走近21世纪之际，比任何时候都更加明显，科学技术正在改变我们的生活和工作方式。生物工程科学的重大突破正在帮助解开生命之谜，提供找到能救死扶伤的方法的新希望，治疗一些我们最为惧怕的疾病。

1997年，一条重大新闻震惊世界：英国科学家从单个细胞中培育出一只名叫“多利”的羊羔。不可思议的是，这个细胞是从另一只成年绵羊的乳腺中提取的，这标志着一只成年动物第一次被成功的克隆。

不过，克隆对于伦理、社会和科学方面的影响，很快引起世界范围的关注。特别引起争议的是，克隆开辟了“复制”出跟现存的一位男人或女人在遗传学上完全一致的人的前景。一些人士认为，尝试运用克隆技术去实际克隆一个人是未经实验的、不安全的、道德上无法接受的。

究竟应该怎样看待这项新技术呢？当涉及到克隆这样一项发明时，我们行事必须慎重、小心，并对我们行为的后果深切关注。首先，克隆应该受到极大的尊重，我们应该给予其发明者极大的感谢。与此同时，我们应该作出巨大的努力，将这项技术置于严格的控制之下。尤其是，我们应该通过一项文件来反对对人类的克隆，因为过去的经验告诉我们，一项新的发明假如使用不当会引起麻烦。