原文视听

If you want to do well,
如果你想要表现好
I feel that should be a personal achievement
我认为就应该靠个人努力
as opposed to enhanced by artificial mechanisms.
而不是通过来人为的机制来提高
If a lot of people took it,
如果大量的人服用它
then people would have to
那么人们就必须服用
take it to be able to compete with their peers.
这样才能和同龄人竞争
To be perfectly honest, doing what it does, if it was legal,
坦诚地说 如果这么做是合法的
and it was safe, everyone would be doing it.
并且安全的 那么每个人都会服用
Already it's being put to use among professionals.
现在一些专业人士已经开始服用了
Professors are using it to help them work,
教授们用它们来帮助工作
and surgeons are looking at it
外科医生们服用它
as a way of staying alert during long and complex surgery.
是为了在长时间复杂手术中保持敏锐
But for Professor Sahakian
但是对于萨哈金教授
the question remains
依然存在一个问题
will it actually make our lives better?
它真的能改善我们的生活吗
Suppose we took cognitive enhancing drugs
假如我们服用提高认知的药物
and we got all our work done in a short period of time,
我们在短时间内把工作做完
we could go home, spend time with our
我们就可以回家 和家人在一起
family and improve our work/life balance. That would be great.
改善工作与家庭之间的平衡 那很不错
But it's more likely with the
但是 当今社会
type of society that we seem to be moving towards
正朝向无休止地工作发展
that it will be this 24/7
因此更有可能出现的情况是
society so we'll take these drugs so we can
我们服用这些药物
work longer, so we can travel more and do
是为了让做工作时间更长 旅行更多
more work so it will
然后做更多的工作
disrupt our work/life balance even more.
因此会使工作与生活的平衡变得更糟

重点解释

I feel that should be a personal achievemen as opposed to enhanced by artificial mechanisms.我认为就应该靠个人努力而不是通过来人为的机制来提高

as opposed to与 ... 形成对照

I am here on business as opposed to a holiday.
我在这里是办公事而不是度假。

We mustn't regard them as opposed to each other.

我们不应当认为它们是互相对立的。

then people would have to take it to be able to compete with their peers.那么人们就必须服用这样才能和同龄人竞争

be able to会； 能

A good lawyer might be able to get you off.

请位好律师有可能使你免受追究。

You'll be able to come, won't you?

你能来的，对吗?

compete with与 ... 竞争

Jane feels she can never compete with these snobbish, elegant people.

简·爱感到她永远无法同这些高雅却势利的人们竞争。