Question (閱讀文章前的小問題) ： 1. Try to remember that when you first heard of the scientific event about the sheep, Dolly, which was cloned from the other sheep, what was your response to it ？ 還記得之前有關複製羊，桃莉的新聞嗎？試著回想一下當時聽到這樣的消息時，你有何反應呢？ 2. Since the scientific research of cloning almost confirms the possible reproduction of living beings, and humankind included, what is your attitude and thinking toward this discovery? 科學進步至今，生物複製的技術甚至確定有一天會有複製人的出現。對於「生物複製」或「複製人」，你有何看法？ 3. In Doyle’s essay, we find issues related to theological, ethnical, and moral aspects, what do you think of his query ？ Do you agree with him or you have your disagreement ？ 在文章裡， Doyle 提到，「複製人」牽涉到問題包括 神學方面、人種方面、以及道德層面。你同意他這樣的質疑嗎？ 4. Have you seen the film, “Island ( 絕地重生 )” ？ What can you interpret that this film is trying to present ？ 你有看過「絕地重生」這部電影嗎？如果有看過的話，你認為他所要傳達的想法是什麼？ 5. Since the biological technology of cloning has been criticized, then what do you think that the cloning can proceed with benefit and without theological, ethnical, and moral issues ？ 既然生命複製的技術受到批判，那麼有什麼解決之道可讓生命複製技術繼續發展，而不會涉及 神學、人種、以及道德層面等的問題

文章 (根據 "DNA - A Blueprint for Life")

With the discovery of DNA, it became quite possible that the 21^st century might become known for its Biological Revolution, just as the 20th century is known for its Information Revolution and the 19th for its Industrial Revolution. That is because unlocking the secrets of DNA meant that, for the first time in human history, scientists began to think they might have the power to create life itself. This could be done through a process called cloning. Cloning involves three major steps. First, DNA is removed from a cell of a living being. The next step is to put the DNA into an egg that has had its nucleus removed. The final step is to place that egg into the womb of a substitute mother, where it develops into a living creature. This new creature will be an exact copy of the original cell donor.

Following this process, scientists succeeded in creating the world's first clone in a laboratory in Scotland in the 1990s. It was a sheep, and the scientists called her Dolly. Dolly lived and grew strong and healthy. Scientists were encouraged by this development and quickly moved to experiment with cloning mice, pigs, and monkeys. Not that it was at all easy to succeed in the attempt to clone living organisms. After all, it had taken some 400 tries to create Dolly. And scientists estimated it might take as many as 6000 tries to clone a cow. Still, with the advent of Dolly, it was clear that scientists had successfully unlocked one of the key steps in the creation of life. It seemed only a matter of time before scientists would be able to clone a human being.

The possibility of cloning human life opens the door to many exciting possibilities. Organ transplants would be much easier and common if there were clones from which the necessary parts could be obtained. All of us might thus be able to live longer, and healthier, lives. Parents unable to produce a child of their own would be given another chance. Other parents, whose children were dying, might clone them.

But as we think about all the benefit of cloning, we are at the same time worried about our new knowledge and power. After all, the uses of DNA can have both positive and negative results, just as the power of the atom can be unleashed for the benefit or destruction of all humankind. As we move closer to being able to replic ate the process of human reproduction itself, we are confronted with a new way of viewing ourselves and the world we live in. What if we create human beings for the sole purpose of improving the lives of other human beings? For example, how would you feel if you were created so that your heart could be used by someone else with a damaged heart? Is human life equally valuable to us if we know we can produce it in the laboratory? A ban on cloning of human beings is in force in America and Europe while our legislators and best thinkers consider the theological, ethical and moral ramifications of cloning. What is at stake is our very conception of what it truly means to be a human being.

--Written by David Doyle and Su-O Lin

Structur e of the essay (文章架構):

1. In the first paragraph, we are told of the age of Biological Revolution with the discovery of DNA that scientists have been thinking about the power to create life itself for the first time in the human history, namely, the cloning of human body. At the same time, the process of cloning, based on the article, has three major steps. 2. In the second paragraph, scientists' experiment of cloning has had its successful achievement in a laboratory in Scotland in the 1990s, and it was a sheep, named Dolly. Meanwhile, such a surprising work on cloning makes human cloning possible. 3. In the third paragraph, we are convinced that the human cloning opens a door to the organ transplant that we can always have chances to live longer and healthier lives since the damaged parts of body can be dumped and a new organ can be obtained from the cloned bodies. 4. In the last paragraph, however, there is an alert that there is a negative problem along with this cloning plan; Issues of theological, ethical and moral ramifications of cloning emerge as what we become concentrated on; after all, "how would you feel if you were created so that your heart could be used by someone else with a damaged heart?" and "Is human life equally valuable to us if we know we can produce it in the laboratory?" is a critical issue we have to be aware of.

The Term s (單字解釋) ：

DNA （ deoxyribonucleic acid ）	脫氧核糖核酸 ( 染色體和基因的組成部分 )
Biological Revolution	生物革命
Information Revolution	知識革命
Industrial Revolution	工業革命
Cloning	to produce a copy or imitation of 複製
Replic ate	to repeat, duplicate, or reproduce, esp. for experimental purposes 複製
Reproduction	the act or process of reproducing 繁育； 複製
Cell	a usually microscopic structure containing nuclear and cytoplasmic material enclosed by a semipermeable membrane and, in plants, a cell wall; the basic structural unit of all organisms 細胞
Egg	卵子
Nucleus	細胞核
Womb	the place in which anything is formed or produced 子宮
Substitute mother	代理母親
Cell donor	細胞捐贈
Organisms	An individual form of life, such as a plant, animal, bacterium, protist, or fungus 有機體
Experiment	a test, trial, or tentative procedure 試驗
Advent	Arrival 到來
Organ transplants	to transfer from one part of the body to another or from one person or animal to another 器官移植
Atom	原子
Unleashed	To release or loose from or as if from a leash 解開 ... 的皮帶；解除 ... 的束縛

by Rubypier