My Sister,My Clone
Are identical twins 1 identical persons？ Compared to them， do clones resemble their originals more or less closely？ These and other questions are discussed by someone who is herself a twin.
同卵双生是完全相同的两个人吗？与他们相比，克隆人和他的"原件"之间的相同之处是更多还是更少呢？本文作者本身是个同卵双生人，她对这些和其他相关问题进行了探讨。
I have a clone. She lives in Pittsburgh， Pennsylvania， and her name is Diana. She's my body double： blond hair， hazel2 eyes and fair skin. She's 1cm taller， but we have the same voices and the same mannerisms3. We're both unmarried. We love to read， we relish4 Mexican food， and we get the same patches of dry skin in winter. We both play tennis and golf. O.K.， she's funnier than I am――but just a little.
In the debate over the ethical， emotional and practical implications of human cloning， identical twins――distinct beings who share the same DNA――present the closest analogy5. Identical twins are in fact more similar to each other than a clone would be to his or her original， since twins gestate6 simultaneously7 in the same womb and are raised in the same environment at the same time， usually by the same parents.
But even with our genes and backgrounds the same， my sister and I are very different people. Diana is a corporate lawyer； I'm a former magazine editor， now a literary agent8. She studied classics at Bryn Mawr； I studied the history of religion at Vassar. She favors clothes that have actual colors in them； I opt for black. She's politically conservative； I'm more liberal9. She's pragmatist10； I'm an optimist.
Of course， there are ways in which identical twins are bound together that are more profound than the usual sibling11 links. When I walk into a room it takes no more than a glance before I can sense my twin's mood ―― if she's happy or tense or upset. I know what it's about and why. It's something I suspect few people， maybe not even all twins， experience. Would clones？ I suspect not， since their life experiences would be so different. Other connections between Diana and me may be more related to our matching DNA and thus more applicable12 to clones. My twin and I filter13 information in much the same way， and we think， perceive and interpret things similarly. When we're together， we often respond simultaneously with the same word or sentence. We have put on the same T shirt on the same day in different cities. We have friends who are twins， both doctors， who have similar experiences. They took a pharmacy14 class together in medical school15 but sat across the classroom from each other and took separate notes. They studied separately for the exam. When it was returned， they had missed the same questions， for the same reasons.
Despite these shared propensities16， people who hope they can create a duplicate17 of， say， a lost child may be setting up that clone for heartbreak. Imagine the expectations that would be created for such a person. Comparisons are tough enough on identical twins. Between Diana and me， there were issues such as who got the better grade， who scored more points in a basketball game， who had more friends. But neither of us had to live with the idea that she was created to match up to18 the other's best features. A cloned child might not play the piano as well as the original. Or be as smart.
Identical twins are living proof that identical DNA doesn't mean identical people. My sister and I may have the same handwriting――and wire that connects us. We have fun with our similarities， but at the end of the day19， there's no confusion about who is who. Just as the fingerprints20 of all individuals， even identical twins， are unique， so are their souls. And you can't clone a soul.
我的"克隆人"姐姐
我有一个"克隆人"姐姐，名叫黛安娜，住在宾州的匹茨堡。她长得跟我一个样――金色的头发，褐色的眼睛，白皙的皮肤。她比我高一厘米，但我们俩说话的声音相同，举手投足一蹙一颦完全一个样。我们俩都未婚。我们都喜爱阅读，爱吃墨西哥风味食品，冬天皮肤都会干燥。我们都打网球、打高尔夫。行吧，就算她比我风趣――可就比我风趣一丁点儿。
在由克隆人所引起的种种伦理、感情和实际问题的讨论之中，同卵双生――他们是具有相同的脱氧核糖核酸的两个不同的人――是最相近的类比。事实上，比之于克隆人和他或她的"原件"，同卵双生彼此更为相似，因为他们是在同一个子宫内孕育的、后来通常是由同一对父母在同一段时间内在相同的环境中抚养的。
但是尽管我跟我姐姐基因相同又在同一个家中大，我们却是非常不同的两个人。黛安娜是一家公司的律师；而我过去曾是一家杂志的编辑，现在是作者对外事务代理人。她毕业于布林马尔学院，学的是古典文学；而我毕业于瓦萨尔学院，学的是宗教史。她喜欢穿有颜色的服装；我则选择黑色。她政治上保守，而我却比较开明宽容。她是个实用主义者；而我则是个乐天派。
当然，维系同卵双生之间的纽带要比维系一般兄弟姐妹之间的纽带更加刻骨铭心。当我走进一个房间，只需朝我姐姐看一眼就能准确地感知她当时的情绪――是高兴、紧张、还是情绪低落。而且还知道她之所以会高兴、紧张或情绪不高的原因。我猜想很少有人会有这种经验，即使是孪生兄弟姐妹恐怕也未必都有类似的经验。克隆人会有吗？恐怕没有，因为一个克隆人和他的"原件"的生活经历太不相同了。维系我和我姐姐黛安娜之间的其他纽带可能更多地是由于我们有相同的脱氧核糖核酸，在这一点上我们跟克隆人十分相近。我们俩用大致相同的方式对信息进行筛选，用大致相同的方式思考、观察、诠释世界。当我俩在一起时，常常会同时用同一个字或同一个句子对某事作出反应。在同一天我们俩可能身处二地，却会不约而同地穿同样的T恤衫。我们有两个朋友，他们是孪生兄弟，两人都是医生，经历大致相同。当年就读医学研究院时，两人曾同时选了一门药剂学，分坐在教室的两端，记着各自的笔记，为考试分头进行准备。但等试卷发下来，却发现两人答错的竟是相同的那几道题，连答错的原因都完全相同！
尽管孪生人有种种相近或相同的习性，但是，要是你希望克隆――比方说――一个失去的孩子的话，你可能是自找心碎。想想看对于这个克隆人你会有多大的期盼。同卵双生之间的比较已经够令人头疼。在黛安娜和我之间曾出现过的问题有：谁成绩更好、在一场篮球赛中谁得分更多、谁的朋友更多。但我们俩都不认为自己生下来就是为了与对方的优点去进行比较，因而只好忍受这种比较。一个克隆儿童弹钢琴可能没有她的"原件"弹得那样好，可能也没有她那样聪明。
同卵双生生动地证明，具有完全相同的脱氧核糖核酸的两个人并不完全相同。我和我姐姐可能笔迹相同――甚至有同一条"电线"将我们连在一起。我们之间有那么多相同相似之处，我们觉得十分好玩，但说到底，谁是谁是清清楚楚的。正如同每个人，其中包括每一个同卵双生人，其指纹是独特的，同样，每一个人的灵魂也是独特的。而你不能克隆灵魂。
注释：
1.identical twins 同卵双生
2.hazel n.（眼睛）淡褐色，黄褐色
3.mannerism n.言谈举止上的特点
4.relish vt.津津有味地吃，品味
5.analogy n.类比
6.gestate vt.怀（胎）
7.simultaneously adv.同时存在的
8.literary agent 受雇于并代表作家与出版商等打交道的代理人
9.liberal adj.开明的，容忍的
10.pragmatist n.实用主义者
11.sibling adj.兄弟的，姊妹的
12.applicable adj.合适的
13.filter vt.过滤，筛选
14.pharmacy n.药剂学
15.medical school 医学院
16.propensity n.习性
17.duplicate n.复制品
18.match up to 比得上，对付得了，与…相适应
19.at the end of the day 总而言之，说到底
20.fingerprint n.指纹
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