特别广播英语第 184 课：Sacrificed to Science? 为科学而献身-4

In Professor Morton's laboratory, rabbits live together in large runs, filled with deep litter and boxes that they can hide in. 在莫顿教授的实验室里，大批兔子一起生活，到处是厚厚的干草和箱子供它们躲藏。

The researchers have also refined some experiments. In the US, one experiment in nerve regeneration involves cutting a big nerve in a rat's leg, leaving its leg paralysed. In Morton's lab, the researcher cuts a small nerve in the foot. He can see if it can regrow and the rat can still run around its cage. 研究者们还改进了一些实验。在美国，神经再生方面的发切断鼠脚里的一条小神经。他可以看到神经是否可以再生，而老鼠仍在笼子里四处跑。

Even with these new developments in research, only a tiny proportion of all tests are done without using animals at some stage. 尽管这些研究有了新成果，所有的裕只有极少数在某一阶段不使用动物。

The use of animals in experiments cannot stop immediately if medical research is to continue and consumer products are to be properly tested, and Professor Blakemore believes that sometimes there are no alternatives: 如果医学实验研究还要继续，消费性门牌号学要严格地进行检验，这样在实验中使用动物就不会立即停止。布莱克莫教授相信有时是无可选择的。

Wherever possible, for both ethical and scientific reasons, we do not use animals. 无论在何处，有可能的话，基于伦理和科学的原因，我们不应使用动物做实验。

But cells live in animals and we can only really see how they behave when they are inside animals. 但是细胞生活在动物体内，只有当细胞在动物体内时我们才能真正看清它们是如何活动的。

We cannot possibly reproduce in a test tube or a computer model all the complex reactions of the body to a drug or a disease. 我们不可能在试管中或电脑模型里复制出身体对疾病或芗的所有复杂反应。

When it comes to research into heart disease and its effects on the body, or diseases of the brain for example, we do not have adequate substitutes for the use of animals. 涉及到研究心脏病和它对身体的影响时，例如脑内疾病，我们没有代替使用动物的合适的替代物。

As research techniques become more advanced, the number of animals used in experiments may decrease, but stopping testing on animals altogether is a long way away. 随着研究技术变得更先进，实验中使用的动物数量可能会减少，但完全停止在动物身上实验还有很长的路要走。