2017考研英语拓展阅读：人类在未来200年内将进化成半机器人

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2017考研英语拓展阅读：类在未来200年内将进化成半机器人

　　Wealthy humans are likely become cyborgs within 200 years as they gradually merge with technology like computers and smart phones, a historian has claimed.

　　一位历史学家称，随着人们慢慢的融合到如电脑、智能手机等科技中，有钱人极有可能在200年内进化成半机器人。

　　Yuval Noah Harari, a professor at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, said the amalgamation of man and machine will be the ‘biggest evolution in biology’ since the emergence of life four billion years ago.

　　耶路撒冷希伯莱大学的尤瓦尔.诺亚.哈拉里教授表示，人类和机器的融合将会是自40亿年前生命出现以来“生物学上最大的进化”。

　　Prof Harari, who has written a landmark book charting the history of humanity, said mankind would evolve to become like gods with the power over death, and be as different from humans of today as we are from chimpanzees.

　　哈拉里教授已经写完了一本描述人类历史的里程碑式的著作，他说人类将进化成如同神灵一样、拥有超越死亡的力量，成为跟现在的人类不同的样子，差异之大不亚于从猿到人的变化。

　　He argued that humans as a race were driven by dissatisfaction and that we would not be able to resist the temptation to ‘upgrade’ ourselves, whether by genetic engineering or technology.

　　哈拉里教授主张，人类作为一个种族，他的欲望是无止境的，我们将无法抵抗住自我“升级”的诱惑，不管这种升级是借助遗传工程还是科技。

　　“We are programmed to be dissatisfied, “ said Prof Harari. “Even when humans gain pleasure and achievements it is not enough. They want more and more.

　　哈拉里教授说，“我们天生是贪婪的，即使在人类获得了成就和愉快的时候，也不会满足，总是想要更多更多 。”

　　“I think it is likely in the next 200 years or so homo sapiens will upgrade themselves into some idea of a divine being, either through biological manipulation or genetic engineering of by the creation of cyborgs, part organic part non-organic.

　　“我认为在将来大约200年左右，现代人将自我升级成某种概念的神圣存在，或者是通过生物学处理，或者是遗传工程，创造出半有机、半非有机的电子人。”

　　“It will be the greatest evolution in biology since the appearance of life. Nothing really has changed in four billion years biologically speaking. But we will be as different from today’s humans as chimps are now from us."

　　他说，“这将会是自生命出现以来生物学上最大的进化。从生物学的角度而言，4亿年的进化并没有真正地改变什么。但200后，人与现在人的差别可能就像现在人与黑猩猩的差别。”

　　However he warned that the ’cyborg’ technology would be restricted to the wealthiest in society, widening the gap between rich and poor in society. In the future the rich may be able to live forever while the poor would die out.

　　然而，哈拉里教授称，“进化成电子人”这一技术将仅限于富人，进而拉大贫富差距。将来，有钱人可能会长生不老，而穷人依然会寿终正寝。

　　Prof Harari said humans had become such a dominant species because of our ability to invent ‘fictions’ which held society together, such as religion, money and the idea of fundamental human rights, which have no basis in nature.

　　哈拉里教授表示,人类能够成为统治物种，正是因为我们的“想象力”使得社会联系在一起，比如宗教、金钱以及基本人权等这些没有自然基础的概念。

　　“God is extremely important because without religious myth you can’t create society . Religion is the most important invention of humans. As long as humans believed they relied more and more on these gods they were controllable.

　　“神是相当重要的，因为没有宗教，人就无法创造出社会。宗教是人类最重要的发明。只要人类相信这些，越来越依靠这些“神”，他们就是可控的。”

　　“But what we see in the last few centuries is humans becoming more powerful and they no longer need the crutches of the Gods. Now we are saying we do not need God just technology.

　　“但是我们在过去几个世纪里所看到的是，人类变得越来越强大，不再需要上帝的拐杖。现在，我们不需要上帝了，只需要技术。”

　　“The most interesting place in the world from a religious perspective is not the Middle East, it’s Silicon Valley where they are developing a techno-religion. They believe even death is just a technological problem to be solved.

　　“从宗教的观点来看，世界上最有趣的地方不是中东，而是硅谷。这里的人们发展出一种被称之为“技术宗教”的观念。他们相信死亡只是一个技术问题。”

　　Prof Harari most recent book is entitled Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind which was originally published in Hebrew under the title A Brief History of Mankind, has been translated in to more than 30 languages.

　　哈拉里教授最新的著作是《人类简史：从动物到上帝》, 最初命名为《人类简史》，以希伯来语出版的，现已被译成了30多种语言畅销全球。

来源：每日电讯报

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