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.

　　同卵雙生是完全相同的兩個人嗎？與他們相比，克隆人和他的"原件"之間的相同之處是更多還是更少呢？本文作者本身是個同卵雙生人，她對這些和其他相關問題進行了探討。

　　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

　　我有一個"克隆人"姐姐，名叫黛安娜，住在賓州的匹茨堡。她長得跟我一個樣――金色的頭發，褐色的眼睛，白皙的皮膚。她比我高一厘米，但我們倆說話的聲音相同，舉手投足一蹙一顰完全一個樣。我們倆都未婚。我們都喜愛閱讀，愛吃墨西哥風味食品，冬天皮膚都會干燥。我們都打網球、打高爾夫。行吧，就算她比我風趣――可就比我風趣一丁點兒。

　　在由克隆人所引起的種種倫理、感情和實際問題的討論之中，同卵雙生――他們是具有相同的脫氧核糖核酸的兩個不同的人――是最相近的類比。事實上，比之于克隆人和他或她的"原件"，同卵雙生彼此更為相似，因為他們是在同一個子宮內孕育的、后來通常是由同一對父母在同一段時間內在相同的環境中撫養的。

　　但是盡管我跟我姐姐基因相同又在同一個家中大，我們卻是非常不同的兩個人。黛安娜是一家公司的律師；而我過去曾是一家雜志的編輯，現在是作者對外事務代理人。她畢業于布林馬爾學院，學的是古典文學；而我畢業于瓦薩爾學院，學的是宗教史。她喜歡穿有顏色的服裝；我則選擇黑色。她政治上保守，而我卻比較開明寬容。她是個實用主義者；而我則是個樂天派。

　　當然，維系同卵雙生之間的紐帶要比維系一般兄弟姐妹之間的紐帶更加刻骨銘心。當我走進一個房間，只需朝我姐姐看一眼就能準確地感知她當時的情緒――是高興、緊張、還是情緒低落。而且還知道她之所以會高興、緊張或情緒不高的原因。我猜想很少有人會有這種經驗，即使是孿生兄弟姐妹恐怕也未必都有類似的經驗。克隆人會有嗎？恐怕沒有，因為一個克隆人和他的"原件"的生活經歷太不相同了。維系我和我姐姐黛安娜之間的其他紐帶可能更多地是由于我們有相同的脫氧核糖核酸，在這一點上我們跟克隆人十分相近。我們倆用大致相同的方式對信息進行篩選，用大致相同的方式思考、觀察、詮釋世界。當我倆在一起時，常常會同時用同一個字或同一個句子對某事作出反應。在同一天我們倆可能身處二地，卻會不約而同地穿同樣的T恤衫。我們有兩個朋友，他們是孿生兄弟，兩人都是醫生，經歷大致相同。當年就讀醫學研究院時，兩人曾同時選了一門藥劑學，分坐在教室的兩端，記著各自的筆記，為考試分頭進行準備。但等試卷發下來，卻發現兩人答錯的竟是相同的那幾道題，連答錯的原因都完全相同！

　　盡管孿生人有種種相近或相同的習性，但是，要是你希望克隆――比方說――一個失去的孩子的話，你可能是自找心碎。想想看對于這個克隆人你會有多大的期盼。同卵雙生之間的比較已經夠令人頭疼。在黛安娜和我之間曾出現過的問題有：誰成績更好、在一場籃球賽中誰得分更多、誰的朋友更多。但我們倆都不認為自己生下來就是為了與對方的優點去進行比較，因而只好忍受這種比較。一個克隆兒童彈鋼琴可能沒有她的"原件"彈得那樣好，可能也沒有她那樣聰明。

　　同卵雙生生動地證明，具有完全相同的脫氧核糖核酸的兩個人并不完全相同。我和我姐姐可能筆跡相同――甚至有同一條"電線"將我們連在一起。我們之間有那么多相同相似之處，我們覺得十分好玩，但說到底，誰是誰是清清楚楚的。正如同每個人，其中包括每一個同卵雙生人，其指紋是獨特的，同樣，每一個人的靈魂也是獨特的。而你不能克隆靈魂。

　　注釋：

　　1.identical twins 同卵雙生

　　2.hazel n.（眼睛）淡褐色，黃褐色

　　3.mannerism n.言談舉止上的特點

　　4.relish vt.津津有味地吃，品味

　　5.analogy n.類比

　　6.gestate vt.懷（胎）

　　7.simultaneously adv.同時存在的

　　8.literary agent 受雇于并代表作家與出版商等打交道的代理人

　　9.liberal adj.開明的，容忍的

　　10.pragmatist n.實用主義者

　　11.sibling adj.兄弟的，姊妹的

　　12.applicable adj.合適的

　　13.filter vt.過濾，篩選

　　14.pharmacy n.藥劑學

　　15.medical school 醫學院

　　16.propensity n.習性

　　17.duplicate n.復制品

　　18.match up to 比得上，對付得了，與…相適應

　　19.at the end of the day 總而言之，說到底

　　20.fingerprint n.指紋

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