欧洲人有七个女性祖先（二）
Europe's seven female founders

However, Professor Sykes went on to say that while his genetic work is rooted in fact, the names he has given to the women are hypothetical. He says the names are an attempt to personalise DNA codes, which have traditionally been labelled alphabetically. "For example, with the letter T, group T, I've just extended that to be the descendants of a woman called Tara," he said.

*hypothetical：“假设的，假定的”，是hypothesis(假设)的形容词形式。塞克斯教授说，虽然他的遗传研究工作是基于事实，七位女子的名字是他假定的。
*label：加标签于，用标签标明。比如：The luggage is properly label(l)ed for London.（行李上正确无误地贴好了运往伦敦的标签。）

The study is being seen as further evidence of the way in which genetic research can shed light on human history. His names for the women, which draw on Gaelic, Scandinavian and Persian heritage amongst others, reflect the huge geographic area from which modern Europeans descended.

*draw on：这里是“吸收，利用”的意思。塞克斯教授起的七个名字吸收了盖尔语、斯堪的纳维亚语和波斯语的传统。
*heritage：本义是“遗产”，这里指“继承物，传统”。比如：Her skin is very white, a heritage from her mother.（她皮肤白皙，是母亲遗传给她的。）

His discovery also reinforces the theory that modern human beings have their origins in ancient Africa. Professor Sykes found that the seven ancestral mothers have strong links to one of three clans that still exist in Africa today.

*reinforce：原指“增强，加强”，这里是“进一步证实”的意思。比如：This rainforces what you are saying.（这进一步证实了你正在说的话。）文中说，塞克斯教授的发现也进一步证实了现代人类起源于古非洲的理论。