首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
Homo sapiens were not always so special. In the ancient past, other human forms lived beside us. The Neanderthals in Eurasia. Sm
Homo sapiens were not always so special. In the ancient past, other human forms lived beside us. The Neanderthals in Eurasia. Sm
admin
2017-12-31
89
问题
Homo sapiens were not always so special. In the ancient past, other human forms lived beside us. The Neanderthals in Eurasia. Small, hobbit-like humans in Indonesia. The mysterious Denisovans in the Ural mountains. But our time alone may be nearing its end. Through the power of technology, humans are set to take on the role of Intelligent Designer. We can upgrade ourselves and surmount evolution. Ultimately, we can become entirely new beings that set the stage for a posthuman future.
The scenario has played out for decades in science fiction but the prospect is raised more seriously by Yuval Noah Harari, an Israeli historian, in his latest book, Sapiens. In it he sees trouble ahead. The latest human enhancements will be accessible only to the rich, leading to a 21st-century society more unequal than any that came before. The revolution Harari has in mind is borne of engineering and exploits mechanical, electronic, chemical and genetic progress. In place of treatments that correct biological deficits, like failing hearts, poor hearing and weak eyesight, will be procedures that improve on natural performance, making the fortunate recipients biologically better than the rest.
"In the 20th century, the main task of medicine was to bring everybody to a certain level of health and capability. It was by definition an egalitarian aim," Harari told the Guardian. "In the 21st century medicine is moving onwards and trying to surpass the norm, to help people live longer, to have stronger memories, to have better control of their emotions. But upgrading like that is not an egalitarian project, it’s an elitist project. No matter what norm you reach, there is always another upgrade which is possible. " The haves and have-nots are far from new. Cochlear implants which wire directly into the auditory nervous system have transformed the lives of a minority of deaf people. But they cost £40,000 apiece. Similarly, genetic tests that radically change patient care are beyond the means of many individuals and countries’ healthcare systems.
Harari argues that as science progresses the upgrades that become available will increasingly widen the gap between rich and poor. Research on implantable devices called brain-computer interfaces(BCIs)are in trials to help disabled people move their defunct limbs or robotic prosthetics. More advanced devices could link people’s brains directly to the internet, giving them vast and faithful memory storage, and seamless access to information, even if that does include endless footage of cats in hats.
Genetic engineering will be more disruptive still. A new genome editing procedure called Crispr has given scientists their first real hope of making safe, precise changes to the human genome. They have already used it to correct cells with genetic faults that cause cataracts and cystic fibrosis. Similar therapies might allow improvements to human performance. Western history has made many of today’s researchers flinch at studies into the genetic basis of intelligence. But the Beijing Genomics Institute, the world’s largest genomics research centre, has taken on the job. If the project bears fruit, it might drive attempts to boost human intelligence by genetically modifying embryos.
George Church, a geneticist at Harvard University, suggests another radical possibility. He has developed tools that can scramble the genetic code leaving it functional but unrecognisable to invading viruses. His first goal is to engineer a bacterium that is resistant to viral infection. But he does not dismiss the possibility of changing human DNA too leading to a biologically new kind of human. "In the 21st century, there is a real possibility of creating biological castes, with real biological differences between rich and poor," said Harari. "The end result could be speciation. We’re used to being the only human species around, but there is no law of nature that says there can only be one species of human. With this kind of upgrading treatment we could have, in the not too distant future, more than one human species on Earth again. "
Anders Sandberg, a researcher at the Future of Humanity Institute at the Oxford Martin School, said that while technology might drive an evolutionary split in humankind, the divide would not separate rich and poor. "Speciation might well happen, but instead of class, I think it’ll be much more driven by culture. You might get a country that decides it wants to bring down its healthcare budget by subsidising an upgrade that makes people healthier. The end result might be that the Singaporeans become their own species. Or it could be a technological speciation, like Mac users versus PC users, which is probably even more horrifying," Sandberg said.
Harari says the rich will always have first access to the latest enhancements. "When the aim is to upgrade, by definition, you want to be better than others. So no matter how much the cost goes down, there will always be the next treatment which is only available to the rich. The differences might become so big that if you miss the train it will be too late. "
The expression "endless footage of cats in hats"(para. 4)is used to refer to______.
选项
A、those stories of human pets and animals
B、favourite anecdotes of pets’ play games
C、all kinds of less meaningful messages and stories
D、various kinds of encyclopaedic knowledge and information
答案
C
解析
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/LSSO777K
本试题收录于:
NAETI高级口译笔试题库外语翻译证书(NAETI)分类
0
NAETI高级口译笔试
外语翻译证书(NAETI)
相关试题推荐
Thiscommercial________wasthesubjectofcontroversyonthelegislationmeeting.
ThinkTwice:It’sAllRightAlegendaryfigureinmusichistory,Dylan,bornin1941,is【C1】________oneofthemostinfluent
ThesumofallfearsforAmerica’snational-securityestablishmentisthatChinawillnotonlymatchitsmilitarycapabilitiesb
下面你将听到的是一段有关金融改革的讲话。我国金融改革的不断深化将为外资银行与中资银行的合作带来新的机遇。银监会鼓励外资银行通过参股中资银行,在业务、客户和市场方面获得突破;同时,在公司治理、内控、风险管理和经营理念方面带来先进的经验和做法,使中、
ThecompanybeganbyofferingcomputersoftwaresolutionstolocalbusinessesinthegreaterSeattlemetropolitanarea.
ChinesepeoplehaveshownevidentinterestinAfricanproducts.
Iremembermeetinghimoneeveningwithhispushcart.Ihadmanagedtosellallmypapersandwascominghomeinthesnow.Itwa
Ingeneral,oursocietyisbecomingoneofgiantenterprisesdirectedbyabureaucraticmanagementinwhichmanbecomesasmall,
A、None.B、One.C、Two.D、Three.C
Societywasfascinatedbyscienceandscientificthingsinthenineteenthcentury.Greatbreakthroughsinengineering,theuseo
随机试题
比较马斯洛的需求层次理论和赫茨伯格的双因素理论,马斯洛提出的五种需求中,属于保健因素的是【】
生长素的分泌部位在
患者,女。23岁,已婚。停经80天,阴道少量出血10天,无腹痛,妇科检查子宫增大如孕40天大小,B超检查可见胎囊,未见胎心、胎动。应首选的措施是
化疗时患者的白细胞计数低于多少时,应该考虑停药()
消除不完全竞争(垄断)可利用的工具包括()。
A市B区绿杨街道办事处位于绿杨路上,办事处刘主任目睹了近期发生在绿杨路上的几起恶性交通事故。通过调研,刘主任向分管工作的张副区长汇报,建议绿杨路上禁止通行混凝土搅拌车和重型工程车。经研究,张副区长认为这一建议或可暂时缓解该路当前交通安全问题,请该办事处代区
根据物权法的规定,下列财产不得设定抵押权的是()。
A是3阶矩阵,有特征值λ1=λ2=2,对应两个线性无关的特征向量为ξ1,ξ2,ξ3=-2对应的特征向量是ξ3.(I)问ξ1﹢ξ2是否是A的特征向量?说明理由;(Ⅱ)问ξ2﹢ξ3是否是A的特征向量?说明理由;(Ⅲ)证明任意3维非零向量β都是A2的特征向
设一棵树的度为3,其中度为3、2、1的节点个数分别为4、1、3。则该棵树中的叶子节点数为()
1Cooperativecompetition.Competitivecooperation.Confused?Airlineallianceshavetravellersscratchingtheirheadsover
最新回复
(
0
)