基因編輯技術
A start-up called Colossal Laboratories & Biosciences recently announced an ambitious project to resurrect the woolly mammoth that went extinct 4,000 years ago.
一家名為「Colossal Laboratories & Biosciences」的新創公司最近宣布了一項野心勃勃的計畫：讓在4,000年前滅絕的猛獁象復活。
start-up(n.)新創公司colossal(adj.)巨大的;龐大的a colossal statue巨大的雕像extinct(adj.)滅絕的、絕種的、消失的go or become extinct 滅絕=die out=be wiped out
Led by Harvard University genetics professor George Church, a group of scientists are seeking to create a cold-resistant elephant that bears all of the core biological traits of the woolly mammoth.
在哈佛大學遺傳學教授丘奇的帶領下，有一群科學家正試著創造出具有猛獁象所有核心生物學特徵，能適應寒冷氣候的大象。
Led by…=While they are led by…在…的帶領之下genetics(n.)遺傳學gene(n.)基因seek to RV試圖;尋求(seek-sought-sought)resistant(adj.)對⋯⋯有抵抗能力、耐⋯⋯的a water-resistant sunblock防水防曬乳
To achieve this, they plan to use gene-editing technology to rewrite the genes of the Asian elephant, the mammoth’s closest living relative, by inserting strands of mammoth DNA.
為了實現這個目標，他們計劃使用基因編輯技術，置入猛獁象DNA改寫亞洲象的基因，因為亞洲象是現代與猛獁象在基因上最相似的動物。
gene-editing technology基因編輯技術rewrite(v.)重寫;修訂;修改rewrite a speech重寫演講稿insert(v.)插入;置入insert the key ininto the lock.將鎖匙插入鎖中strand(n.)(線、繩等的)縷;股;鏈
The resulting animal would be a mammoth-elephant hybrid that resembles and behaves much like the behemoth that roamed the Earth’s freezing tundra thousands of years ago.
創造出的生物將會是猛獁象和大象的混種，外觀和行為就像是數千年前徜徉在冰凍苔原上的猛獁象。
hybrid(n.)(動物或植物的)雜交種;混合種、(兩種完全不同的東西的)混合、油電混合車roam(v.)閒逛(於);漫步(於);漫遊(於)tundra(n.)凍原帶;苔原帶
The researchers believe that bringing back the mammoth could fill a void in the ecosystem left by the mammoths when they disappeared around 4,000 years ago.
研究者認為，復活猛獁象可以填補牠們在4,000多年前滅絕時於生態系統中留下的空缺。
void(n.)空洞;空間;空白=a large hole or empty spacefill a void 填補空缺ecosystem(n.)生態系統
It is claimed that returning the behemoth to the Arctic could restore the vast grassland that once surrounded the Arctic and reduce forests that absorb more heat from the sun.
研究者稱，若猛獁象重返北極圈，可以恢復曾經環繞北極的廣闊草原，減少吸收較多太陽熱能的森林。
It is claimed that…據稱…restore(v.)修復;使恢復the Arctic北極=the North Polethe Antarctic南極=the South Pole
It is argued that the “de-extinction” of mammoths could help combat climate change by protecting the permafrost from thawing and releasing greenhouse gases such as methane.
他們主張，猛獁象的「去滅絕」可以保護永久凍土，避免永久凍土融化而釋放甲烷等溫室氣體，因此有助於對抗氣候變遷。
It is argued that…他們主張…de-extinction(n.)去滅絕(是讓滅絕的生物復活的過程)protect…from…保護…使其免於…permafrost(n.)永久凍土thaw(v.)(使)融化、(使)解凍greenhouse gases溫室氣體methane(n.)甲烷
While some find the idea of bringing extinct species back from the dead exciting and fascinating, critics question the ethics and practicality of the project.
雖然有些人覺得讓已滅絕的物種死而復生這樣的提案很令人振奮、很有趣，但批評者質疑這項計畫的倫理與可行性。
species(n.)(單複數同型)物種question(v.)質疑ethics(n.)道德觀;倫理practicality(n.)可行性=feasibilitypractical(adj.)可行的=feasible=workable
Some argue that the mammoth and the modern Asian elephant are both social animals; it is hard to know what will happen when the elephant-mammoth hybrid is born and whether it will get along with other elephants.
部分人主張猛獁象和現代亞洲象都是群居動物，很難知道大象和猛獁象的混種出生後會發生什麼事，也不清楚牠是否能與其它大象和平共處。
get along with…與…處得來
Others contend that it would take decades to raise a herd of woolly mammoths large enough to have an environmental impact.
另外有人主張，要對抗氣候變遷，就得培育出足夠多的猛獁象群，要花上幾十年的時間才做得到。
a herd of~獸群a herd of cattle／elephants／goats一群牛／大象／山羊