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次の文の下線をほどこした部分(1),(2)を和訳しなさい。
In many ways, our age is no different from any other: most people work hard merely to survive, while a few live in the lap of luxury; many perish in wars and conflicts, the causes of which they have no control over; the cycle of birth, reproduction, and death is fundamentally the same for us as it was for our distant ancestors. Yet certain features of the contemporary world are quite new. (1)For example, I can pick up the phone and speak to a relative on the other side of the globe, and I can see that it is indeed a globe that I inhabit by looking at a photograph taken from space; many people's everyday lives are enhanced by, and unimaginable without, computers, televisions, and other electronic appliances; medicine can treat forms of illness and injury that would have brought certain death for earlier generations. On the other downside, but equally unprecedented, the nuclear weapons that many countries now have are sufficient in number to wipe out almost all life on the planet, and our skies and oceans are polluted by substances that only exist because we make them in chemical factories.
Whether good or bad in their effects, none of these technologies would exist without science. It is possible to develop ploughs, wheels, bandages, and knives without much in the way of theory, but without the scientific theories and methods developed mainly in the last few hundred years, there would be no electronic devices, spacecraft, micro-surgery, or weapons of mass destruction. The products of science and technology have a huge effect on the way we live our lives and how we shape our environment; if you are in any doubt about this, try and imagine going through an average day without using anything powered by electricity or containing plastic.
The importance of science derives not only from its use in technology. Science enjoys unparalleled prestige in society compared with other institutions, and everyone is likely to agree about the need to fund and understand modern science, while many may deride modern art or literature. Furthermore, most people are likely to trust the word of a scientist much more than they do that of a journalist, lawyer, or politician (although that may not be saying much). (2)Rightly or wrongly, science is often thought to be the ultimate form of objective and rational inquiry, and scientists are widely regarded as being able to gather and interpret evidence and use it to arrive at conclusions that are "scientifically proven," and so not just the product of ideology or prejudice. Most of us consult a doctor when we have something wrong with us, and if the doctor prescribes some drug or other therapy, we take it assuming that it will help with our symptoms and not itself cause us harm. Often, modern medicine is explicitly claimed to be "evidence-based" and hence scientific. Similarly, if the scientists appointed by the government say that a particular food or chemical is unsafe, its use and sale will be banned. [京都大]
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