2017年英语六级写作练习题：动物实验

　　Some people strongly oppose animal experimentation, believing that it causes pain to animals, while some other people consider it necessary. What is your opinion?

　　概述：动物一直被人类用作各种用途(for practical purposes),包括娱乐(马戏团)、消遣(宠物)、 食用(家禽和家畜)、调查和研究(实验室动物)、商用(毛皮和药材)，诸如此类。动物保护是现在 常被讨论的话题。

　　保护动物主要有以下一些意义：

　　• 维护生态系统(maintain natural ecosystems),保持生态平衡，确保可持续发展(consistent with the principle of sustainable development);

　　• 人类可以从动物身上获得灵感(draw on animal-based research for inspiration);

　　• 人类可以探知物种的起源(the origin of life),进行科学研究(scientific research);

　　• 动物有生存的权利(animal rights),应该维护动物的权益(animal welfare)

　　解析：

　　支持把动物作为实验对象的观点：

　　• 动物不能够进行道德的判断，也不会尊重其他动物的权利(recognize the rights of other species),没有能力做道德上的选择(have no capacity to make moral choices),因此动物比人类 低等，不能够等同于人类;

　　• 人类目前找不到替代动物的实验品(replacements);

　　• 动物的神经系统不如人类发达，痛楚已经最小化(minimize pain),而如果在人体上做实验是 不人道的 (Vivisection practiced on human beings is inhumane.);动物和人相似 (bear a resemblance to humans)，对外部的影响和人类反应类似(respond similarly to external disturbances)，因此最适宜做人类的替代品;

　　• 人类的利益应该建立在动物利益之上(human interests should be placed above animal welfare), 利用动物做实验有助于科技的发展。

　　反对把动物作为实验对象的观点：

　　• 动物的生存权(the right to life )需要被保护，禁止虐待行为(the prohibition of torture);

　　• 很多时候，动物实验的目的只是为了一些商业用途(industrial products),这是不道德的;

　　• 动物实验的结果和信息是不可靠的，具有误导性〔unreliable and misleading)，毕竟人类和动物有很大的不同(many differences between humans and animals)

　　范文

　　Perhaps no subject in the moral community is as controversial as animal testing. Animals, many people believe, merit more humane treatment. When animal-based experiments have long been the centre of criticism, I am of the opinion that such experiments are essential to both the well-being of human beings and that of animals.

　　There is little doubt, first of all, that most of the animal-based experiments are conducted for the development of technology and to date, there is little chance of finding satisfying substitutions for animals, Animals are used mainly because they bear a close resemblance to humans, either in behaviour or in cell structure. They respond to external disturbances (such as electrical shock) nearly in the same manner as humans do. There is much evidence that most of what people know about themselves, including pain, stress, reproduction and nutrition, is based on findings of animal-based experiments. Animal testing proves one of the main approaches to predict the risk when drugs or other products are used on humans.

　　Another fact to support animal-based experiment is that animals are not the equivalent of humans, and can be used as resources for human purposes. Animals have no capacity to recognize the rights of other species. Nor will they take in consideration the interests of other species. It is possibly one of the main reasons why animals feed on each other. Humans, by comparison, use animal experimentations not only for their own interests but also for the interests of animals. For example, some medical discoveries can be used by veterinary surgeons to give medical care and treatment to sick animals.

　　Despite the justifications given for vivisection, researchers have the obligation to reduce animal testing and animal suffering. There is a growing recognition that animal tests are mostly done for commercial purposes and most of them are avoidable. For instance, the cosmetic industry has been exploiting animal experimentation simply for diversifying products and maximizing profits. The fewer cosmetic products people use, the fewer animals they have to slaughter. When scientists are empowered to carry out cruel experiments like vivisection, such powers should not be abused.

　　To summarize, one can subscribe to the notion that animals can be taken as resources intended for the benefit of humans, although meanwhile it is certain that suffering should be controlled to the minimum during experimentation.

　　近义词表

　　1. merit=deserve:值得

　　2. substitution=replacement:替代品

　　3. resemblance=sameness=similarity:相似

　　4. equivalent=counterpart;匹配的人或者物

　　5. capacity=ability-capability=competence=aptitude=power: 能力

　　6. feed on=eat=survive on:以…为食

　　7. slaughter=kill=massacre=slay=butcher:屠杀，屠宰