<-NARRATOR:-> Listen to a conversation between a student and his biology professor.

旁白：听一段学生和他的生物老师的对话。

<-MALE STUDENT:-> Professor Landry…?

学生：你好，Landrea教授。

<-FEMALE PROFESSOR:-> Hi, Dennis! You're right on time. Come on in and have a seat.

教授：你好，Dennis。你很准时。进来坐下吧。

<-MALE STUDENT:-> Great, thanks…

学生：太好了！谢谢。

<-FEMALE PROFESSOR:-> So, like I told you in class, I just wanted to take a few minutes to meet with everyone, to make sure your class presentations for next week are all in order and coming along well.And as you know, you're supposed to report on some area of recent research in genetics-something, you know…original.

教授：就像我在课上说的，我想花几分钟时间和每个人谈谈，确定你们下周的报告进展顺利并有逻辑性。你知道，你应该报告一些最近遗传学领域的研究，一些新颖的发现。

<-MALE STUDENT:-> Well,I think I've found just the thing.It actually occurred to me a couple nights ago, while I was eating dinner in the cafeteria…Tell me, Professor…do you like broccoli?

学生：我想我已经找到了！事实上是在几天之前，当我在咖啡店吃晚餐时突发奇想。告诉我教授，你喜欢吃西兰花吗？

<-FEMALE PROFESSOR:-> [taken aback] Broccoli? You mean, the vegetable broccoli?

教授：西兰花？你是说蔬菜西兰花？

<-MALE STUDENT:-> Yeah.

学生：是的。

<-FEMALE PROFESSOR:-> [hesitantly] Well… I guess, not really…

教授：我想我不爱吃。

<-MALE STUDENT:-> Me neither. I've never liked it-or most other vegetables, for that matter: brussels sprouts, asparagus, cauliflower-you name it.They just taste bitter and…well,nasty to me. My mother always called me a picky eater.

学生：我也不喜欢。我从来不喜欢它，，也不喜欢许多其他蔬菜，抱子甘蓝，芦笋，菜花……说的出名字的。它们尝起来很苦而且对我来说很恶心。我母亲总说我挑食。

<-FEMALE PROFESSOR:-> [wondering where this might be leading] O-kayyy…and?

教授：好的，然后呢？

<-MALE STUDENT:-> And so I got to wondering… I mean, I’m obviously not the only person like this.So is this just because of some, like, trauma from our childhoods-some bad experience we've had with vegetables- or could there be some genetic explanation for why some people are picky eaters and others aren't?<-FEMALE PROFESSOR:-> [catching on now] OK, I see. Well, I suppose it’s a possibility…

学生：所以我开始思考，我的意思是，肯定不是只有我一个人这样。所以这只是因为我们童年的精神创伤？对于这些蔬菜，我们有过不好的经历？或者是否存在一些基因上的解释，为什么一些人挑食，一些人不挑食？教授：好的，我明白了，我想有这个可能。

<-MALE STUDENT:-> Actually, it turns out it's more than a possibility.I started doing some research in the library that night. And I found out that a biologist at the National Institutes of Health has been looking at that very question recently.

学生：事实上，它不只是可能。那天晚上我开始在图书馆搞研究，我发现国家卫生研究院的一名生物学家最近也在研究这个问题。

<-FEMALE PROFESSOR:-> Well, I guess that's not too surprising-and this is great stuff, actually! So what's the verdict?

教授：我猜这不足为奇。这其实是很好的素材。那么结论是什么？

<-MALE STUDENT:-> Well, this guy seems to have discovered a particular gene that actually makes it possible for people to taste the bitterness in certain green vegetables!But people who have a mutation in that gene cannot taste the bitterness.

学生：这个人似乎发现了一种特殊的基因使人们能够尝到某些绿色蔬菜的苦味。但是受到基因突变的人无法尝到这种苦味。

<-FEMALE PROFESSOR:-> [mulling it over] Well, that’s…certainly fascinating…But…so this biologist is basically claiming that people who like to eat these vegetables actually have some sort of sensory deficit?[humorously] Sorta makes us picky eaters the normal ones, doesn’t it? I mean, that's kinda turning things on their head, isn't it?

教授：这太神奇了！但是……所以这名生物学家基本上是在说，喜欢吃这些蔬菜的人其实是因为某种感觉缺失？这让我们挑食者成了更正常的人，不是吗？我的意思是这有点让人搞不明白，不是吗？

<-MALE STUDENT:-> [matter-of-factly, not snidely] Well, then again, it wouldn’t be the first time, would it? Think of it this way…Humans originally needed to have a stronger sensitivity to bitter-tasting foods, so they could learn what plants were good for them and which ones might be poisonous.But at some point, as people figured out what they could safely eat, this need became less crucial,and a segment of the population lost that ability.<-FEMALE PROFESSOR:->OK,well-you make a compelling case! I can't wait to hear more about this when you deliver your report.

学生：而且这也不是第一次了，对吗？这么想吧...人类起初需要对尝起来发苦的食物更敏感，因此他们可以了解什么食物有益，什么食物也许有毒。但是在某种情况下，当人们了解了什么食物可以放心使用后，这种需求就变得不那么重要了，而且很多人会丧失这种能力。教授：好的，你做了一个很吸引人的方案。我迫不及待地想要在你做报告时了解更多。