2009 考研英语 Text 2｜DNA 检测走出实验室：便宜，但未必可靠
主旨
如今男人只需在药店花 30 美元买个亲子鉴定套装，再付 120 美元出结果，就能确认孩子是否亲生 → 这类非处方检测去年上市后已卖出 6 万多套，二十多家公司直接向公众出售 DNA 检测 → 最受欢迎的是亲子和亲缘检测（被收养者寻亲、家庭寻找送养的孩子），也是族谱爱好者的新热潮 → 但有人怀疑：祖源检测兜售的是”虚假的精确”，每人往上几代就有成百上千祖先，检测却只看单一世系 → 商业基因检测的好坏取决于参照数据库，而有些数据库只是把不同研究的数据拼凑在一起，结果可能因公司而异，估算程序还可能不受同行评审。
原文：2009 Text 2 · 话题：科技 / 基因检测 · 答案：26 A｜27 C｜28 D｜29 A｜30 B
一、核心词
| 词 | 本文义 | 原文搭配 | 拆解 / 记忆 |
|---|---|---|---|
| boost v. | 增强 | can boost his paternal (fatherly) wisdom | |
| paternal adj. | 父亲的 | can boost his paternal (fatherly) wisdom | pater 父；对比 maternal 母亲的 |
| confirm v. | 确认 | or at least confirm that he’s the kid’s dad | con- + firm 坚定 |
| paternity n. | 父子关系 | a paternity testing kit (PTK) at his local drugstore | pater 父 |
| kit n. | 成套工具 | a paternity testing kit (PTK) at his local drugstore | |
| prescription n. | 处方 | since they first became available without prescriptions last year | pre- 预先 + script 写 |
| over-the-counter adj. | 非处方的 | which makes the over-the-counter kits | 柜台上直接卖的 |
| kinship n. | 亲属关系 | paternity and kinship testing | kin 亲属 + -ship |
| relative n. | 亲属 | which adopted children can use to find their biological relatives | |
| passionate adj. | 热衷的 | the latest rage among passionate genealogists | passion |
| genealogist n. | 家谱学家 | the latest rage among passionate genealogists | gene 家族 + -logist |
| geographic adj. | 地理的 | a family’s geographic roots | geo 地 + graph |
| swab v. | 用棉签擦拭 | collecting cells by swabbing saliva in the mouth | |
| saliva n. | 唾液 | collecting cells by swabbing saliva in the mouth | |
| skeptical adj. | 怀疑的 | some observers are skeptical | |
| precision n. | 精确 | a kind of false precision being hawked | precise |
| ancestry n. | 祖先，血统 | people claiming they are doing ancestry testing | ancestor |
| sociologist n. | 社会学家 | a New York University sociologist | socio 社会 + -logist |
| lineage n. | 世系，血统 | only considers a single lineage | line 线 → 一条血脉 |
| chromosome n. | 染色体 | the Y chromosome inherited through men in a father’s line | chromo 颜色 + some 体 |
| inherit v. | 遗传，继承 | the Y chromosome inherited through men in a father’s line | in- + herit 继承 |
| genetic adj. | 遗传的 | reveal genetic information about only one or two ancestors | gene 基因 |
| reference n. | 参照 | commercial genetic testing is only as good as the reference collections | refer |
| systematically adv. | 系统地 | don’t rely on data collected systematically | system |
| estimate v. | 估算 | the computer programs a company uses to estimate relationships |
二、搭配与写作迁移
| 原文表达 | 含义 | 写作迁移 |
|---|---|---|
| It is a wise father that knows his own child. | 知子莫若父（莎士比亚名句） | |
| All he needs to do is … | 他只需要…… | All you need to do is keep practising. |
| shell out | 掏钱 | shell out a lot of money for brand-name clothes |
| become available without prescriptions | 无需处方即可买到 | |
| range in price from A to B | 价格从 A 到 B 不等 | |
| track down | 找到，追查到 | track down the source of the rumour |
| put up for adoption | 送人收养 | |
| the latest rage among | 在……中最新的热潮 | Short videos are the latest rage among teenagers. |
| search for one’s roots | 寻根 | |
| compare A with B | 比较 A 与 B | |
| false precision | 虚假的精确 | |
| number in the hundreds | 数以百计 | |
| pass down | 传下来 | pass down family traditions |
| A is only as good as B | A 的好坏取决于 B | A plan is only as good as the people who carry it out. |
| lump together | 胡乱归并在一起 | |
| differ depending on | 因……而异 | |
| be subject to peer review | 须经同行评审 |
三、熟词僻义
- shell v. 付钱（shell out，≠贝壳）：All he needs to do is shell out
- counter n. 柜台（over-the-counter 非处方，≠计数器）：which makes the over-the-counter kits
- biological adj. 亲生的（≠生物学的）：which adopted children can use to find their biological relatives
- rage n. 风靡一时的事物（≠愤怒）：the latest rage among passionate genealogists
- hawk v. 兜售（≠鹰）：a kind of false precision being hawked
- line n. 家系，世系（≠线）：the Y chromosome inherited through men in a father’s line
- collection n. 样本库（≠收藏）：commercial genetic testing is only as good as the reference collections
四、题目与选项词
| 词 / 搭配 | 义 | 出处 | 拆解 / 记忆 |
|---|---|---|---|
| availability n. | 可获得性 | Q26 [A] | |
| flexibility n. | 灵活性 | Q26 [B] | |
| promotion n. | 推广 | Q26 [C] | promote |
| locate v. | 找到位置 | Q27 [A] | loc 地方 |
| identify v. | 鉴定，确认 | Q27 [C] | |
| bloodline n. | 血统 | Q28 [B] | blood + line |
| accuracy n. | 准确性 | Q28 [D] | accurate |
| disorganized adj. | 杂乱无章的 | Q29 [A] | dis- + organized |
| overlapping adj. | 重叠的 | Q29 [B] | over + lap 搭 |
| fors and againsts | 赞成与反对（的理由） | Q30 [A] |
五、同义替换：原文 → 正确项
| 题 | 原文 | 正确项 |
|---|---|---|
| 26 A | at his local drugstore / since they first became available without prescriptions last year | easy availability |
| 27 C | or at least confirm that he’s the kid’s dad / paternity and kinship testing | identify parent-child kinship |
| 28 D | There’s a kind of false precision being hawked by people claiming they are doing ancestry testing | achieve the claimed accuracy |
| 29 A | don’t rely on data collected systematically but rather lump together information from different research projects | disorganized data collection |
| 30 B | some observers are skeptical / commercial genetic testing is only as good as the reference collections | DNA Testing and Its Problems |
六、长难句
① 省略句 + which 定语从句中两个并列主谓（Q27 出处）
Among the most popular: paternity and kinship testing, which adopted children can use to find their biological relatives and families can use to track down kids put up for adoption.
- 结构：Among the most popular (are) …，省略了 are，属于倒装
- which adopted children can use to … and (which) families can use to …：两个定语从句并列，which 作 use 的宾语
- put up for adoption：过去分词短语修饰 kids
- 译：最受欢迎的检测包括亲子和亲缘检测：被收养的孩子可以借此找到亲生亲属，家庭也可以借此找到当初被送养的孩子。
② 同位语 + either … or … + which 定语从句（Q28 背景）
Yet most ancestry testing only considers a single lineage, either the Y chromosome inherited through men in a father’s line or mitochondrial DNA, which is passed down only from mothers.
- 主干：most ancestry testing only considers a single lineage
- either A or B：同位语，解释 single lineage
- inherited through men …：过去分词短语修饰 chromosome
- which is passed down only from mothers：非限制性定语从句修饰 mitochondrial DNA
- 译：然而大多数祖源检测只考察单一世系：要么是沿父系经男性遗传的 Y 染色体，要么是只通过母亲传下来的线粒体 DNA。
③ even though 让步 + 插入 + 并列（Q28 出处）
This DNA can reveal genetic information about only one or two ancestors, even though, for example, just three generations back people also have six other great-grandparents or, four generations back, 14 other great-great-grandparents.
- 主干：This DNA can reveal genetic information about only one or two ancestors
- even though …：让步状语从句，for example 插入
- just three generations back / four generations back：时间状语，“往上推三代 / 四代”
- 译：这种 DNA 只能揭示一两位祖先的遗传信息，尽管比如往上推三代，人们还有另外六位曾祖辈；往上推四代，还有另外十四位高祖辈。
七、句型
- It is a wise father that knows his own child, but today …（化用名句开篇） 原句：It is a wise father that knows his own child 套用：It is a wise student who knows his own weaknesses, but today apps can point them out.
- All he needs to do is …（强调简单） 原句：All he needs to do is shell out 套用：All you need to do is download the app.
- A is also the latest rage among B.（描述热潮） 原句：DNA testing is also the latest rage among passionate genealogists 套用：Camping is also the latest rage among city dwellers.
- But some observers are skeptical.（转折质疑） 原句：But some observers are skeptical. 套用：Many people welcome the plan. But some observers are skeptical.
- Critics also argue that A is only as good as B.（指出依赖条件） 原句：Critics also argue that commercial genetic testing is only as good as the reference collections to which a sample is compared. 套用：Critics argue that online learning is only as good as the teachers behind it.
- This means that …, so … may differ depending on …（推导后果） 原句：This means that a DNA database may have a lot of data from some regions and not others, so a person’s test results may differ depending on the company that processes the results. 套用：This means that rules vary from school to school, so students’ experiences may differ depending on where they study.