The Case of the Disappearing Fingerprints
One useful anti-cancer drug can effectively erase the whorls and other characteristic marks that give people their distinctive fingerprints. Losing __1__ could become troublesome. A case released online in a letter by Annals of Oncology indicates how big a __2__ of losing fingerprints is.
Eng-Huat Tan, a Singapore-based medical doctor describes a 62-year old man who has used capecitabine to __3__ his nasopharyngeal cancer. After three years on the __4__ ，the patient decided to visit U. S. relatives last December. But he was stopped by U. S. customs officials __5__ 4 hours after entering the country when those officials couldn't get fingerprints from the man. There were no distinctive swirly __6__ appearing from his index finger.
U. S. customs has been fingerprinting incoming foreign visitors for years, Tan says. Their index fingers are __7__ and screened against digital files of the fingerprints of bad guys— terrorists and potential criminals that our federal guardians have been tasked with keeping out of the country. Unfortunately, for the Singaporean traveler，one potential __8__ effect of his drug treatment is a smoothing of the tissue on the finger pads. __9__ ，no fingerprints.
“It is uncertain when fingerprint loss will __10__ to take place in patients who are taking capecitabine，” Tan points out. So he cautions any physicians who __11__ the drug to provide their patients with .a doctor’s note pointing out that their medicine may cause fingerprints to disappear.
Eventually, the Singapore traveler made it into the United States. I guess the name on his passport didn’t raise any red flags. But he，s also now got the explanatory doctor’s note — and won’t leave home __12__ it.
By the way, maybe the Food and Drug Administration, __13__ approved use of the drug
11 years ago, should consider __14__ its list of side effects associated with this medicine. The current list does note that patients may experience vomiting, stomach pain and some other side effects. But no where __15__ it mention the potential for loss of fingerprints.
詞匯：
fingerprint n.指紋
whorl n.羅紋，籮狀指紋
annals n.年報(bào)
oncology n,腫瘤學(xué)
capecitabine n.卡培他濱
nasopharyngeal adj. 鼻炎的
swirly adj. 旋渦狀的
digit n. 開始
vomit v. 嘔吐
注釋： 1. capecitabine卡培他濱。是一種口服的化療藥物，用于治療轉(zhuǎn)移性乳腺癌、大腸癌、咽喉癌等，以減緩腫瘤生長(zhǎng)。
2. index finger:食指
3. U. S. customs: 美國(guó)海關(guān)。customs視作一個(gè)組織，用作單數(shù)名詞，所以在文章中后接has。
4. terrorists and potential criminals that our federal guardians have been tasked with keeping out of the country:我們的聯(lián)邦衛(wèi)士的職責(zé)是要把那些恐怖分子和疑似罪犯檔在國(guó)門之外。關(guān)系代詞that引導(dǎo)的是一個(gè)限制性定語(yǔ)從句，修飾terrorists叫d potential criminals。that在定語(yǔ)從句中作keeping的賓語(yǔ)。
5. traveler:旅行者。traveler是美國(guó)英語(yǔ)的拼法。英國(guó)英語(yǔ)的拼法是traveller。
6. the tissue on the finger pads:指尖上的肉墊組織
7. Eventually, the Singapore traveler made it into the United States:那位新加坡旅客終于進(jìn)入了美國(guó)。make it into金為“進(jìn)入”。
8. red flags:(表示危險(xiǎn)的)紅旗，即危險(xiǎn)信號(hào)。揮動(dòng)紅旗表示危險(xiǎn)，最初用于鐵路，后來(lái)西方公司等用英文詞red flags或紅色小旗表示業(yè)績(jī)下降等。
9. the Food and Drug Administration:美國(guó)食品和藥物局
10. The current list does note:現(xiàn)有的副作用清單中確實(shí)列出。在肯定句謂語(yǔ)動(dòng)詞前加用do/ does/did,是為了強(qiáng)調(diào)該動(dòng)詞，漢語(yǔ)可譯為“確實(shí)”。如：
He speaks Chinese, English, French, Spanish and Russian.
He does speak Chinese, English, French, Spanish and Russian.
(他確實(shí)會(huì)說(shuō)漢語(yǔ)，英語(yǔ)，法語(yǔ)，西班牙語(yǔ)和俄語(yǔ)。)