On July 29th they were relieved, at least temporarily. A federal appeals court overturned the prior decision, ruling that Myriad Genetics could indeed hold patents to two genes that help forecast a woman’s risk of breast cancer. The chief executive of Myriad, a company in Utah, said the ruling was a blessing to firms and patients alike.

逐句精讲

第1句

In 2010, a federal judge shook America‘s biotech industry to its core. Companies had won patents for isolated DNA for decades—by 2005 some 20% of human genes were patented.

• federal judge 联邦法官

• shake…to its core 彻底震惊了……

• biotech industry 生物技术行业

• patent /ˈpeɪtnt]/ n. 专利证书，专利权

• isolated /ˈaɪsəleɪtɪd/ a. 孤立的，个别的

译：2010年, 一名联邦法官彻底震惊了美国生物技术行业。几十年来，许多公司已经获得分离DNA专利——截至2005年，约20%的人类基因已被申请专利。

第2句

But in March 2010 a judge ruled that genes were unpatentable. Executives were violently agitated.

• unpatentable /ʌn'peɪtəntəbl/ adj. 不能取得专利权的

• agitated /['ædʒɪteɪtɪd/ a. 紧张不安的，焦虑的

译：但在2010年3月，一名法官做出裁决：基因不可申请专利，（生物技术公司的）主管们极度焦躁不安。

第3句

The Biotechnology Industry Organization(BIO), a trade group, assured membersthat this was just a “preliminary step” in a longer battle.

• preliminary /prɪ'lɪmɪneri/ a. 初步的，预备的

译：然后，作为一个贸易团体，生物技术工业组织(BIO)向其成保证这只是长期斗争的“初步阶段”

第4句

On July 29th they were relieved, at least temporarily.A federal appeals court overturned the prior decision, ruling that Myriad Genetics could indeed hold patents to two genes that help forecast a woman’s risk of breast cancer.

• relieved /rɪ'liːvd/ a. 宽慰的，不再忧虑的
• overturn /ˌoʊvər'tɜːrn/ v. 推翻，撤销（判决）
• prior /ˈpraɪər/ a. 先前的
• forecast /'fɔːrkæst/ v. 预测，预报

译：7月29日，他们如释重负，至少暂时是这样。联邦上诉法院推翻了先前的判决，裁定Myriad基因公司的确可以拥有两项帮助预测女性乳腺癌风险的基因专利。

第5句

The chief executive of Myriad, a company in Utah, said the ruling was a blessingto firms and patients alike.

• rule v. 裁决，裁定

• a blessing to .... 对....是一种幸运

译：位于犹他州的Myriad公司的首席执行官认为，这一裁决对公司和患者来说都是一种福音。

Question

1. It can be learned from Paragraph 1 that the biotech companies would like ______.

［A］their executives to be active

［B］judges to rule out gene patenting

［C］genes to be patentable

［D］the BIO to issue a warning

2 雯姐翻牌

每天都会选取一些大家留言中的疑问进行解答

英语知识、考试、学习方法等等都可以提问哦

答：大家都做对了，很棒哦～

3

每日一练

请在留言区翻译每个选项并说明正确和错误的原因

1. Those who are against gene patents believe that_______

［A］ genetic tests are not reliable

［B］ only man-made products are patentable

［C］ patents on genes depend much on innovation

［D］ courts should restrict access to genetic tests

原文

But as companies continue their attempts at personalized medicine, the courts will remain rather busy. The Myriad case itself is probably not over. Critics make three main arguments against gene patents: a gene is a product of nature, so it may not be patented; gene patents suppress innovation rather than reward it; and patents monopolies restrict access to genetic tests such as Myriads. A growing number seem to agree. Last year a federal task-force urged reform for patents related to genetic tests. In October the Department of Justice filed a brief in the Myriad case, arguing that an isolated DNA molecule “is no less a product of nature…than are cotton fibres that have been separated from cotton seeds.”

Despite the appeals court's decision, big questions remain unanswered. For example, it is unclear whether the sequencing of a whole genome violates the patents of individual genes within it. The case may yet reach the Supreme Court.

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