The Gene Industry

Major companies are already in pursuit of commercial applications of the new biology. They dream of placing enzymes in the automobile to monitor exhaust and send data on pollution to a microprocessor that will then adjust the engine. They speak of what the New York Times calls " metal-hungry microbes that might be used to mine valuable trace metals from ocean water ". They have already demanded and won the right to patent new lifeforms.

Nervous critics, including many scientists, worry that there is corporate, national, international, and inter-scientific rivalry in the entire biotechnological field. They create images not of oil spills, but of " microbe spills " that could spread disease and destroy entire populations. The creation and accidental release of extremely poisonous microbes, however, is only one cause for alarm. Completely rational and respectable scientists are talking about possibilities that stagger the imagination.

Should we breed people with cow-like stomachs so they can digest grass and hay, thereby relieving the food problem by modifying us to eat lower down on the food chain? Should we biologically alter workers to fit the job requirement, for example, creating pilots with faster reaction times or assembly-line workers designed to do our monotonous work for us? Should we attempt to eliminate " inferior " people and breed a " super -race "? (Hitler tried this, but without the genetic weaponry that may soon issue from our laboratories.) Should we produce soldiers to do our fighting? Should we use genetic forecasting to pre-eliminate " unfit " babies? Should we grow reserve organs for ourselves, each of us having, as it were, a " savings bank " full of spare kidney, livers or hands?

Wild as these notions may sound, every one has its advocates (and opposers) in the scientific community as well as its striking commercial application. As two critics of genetic engineering, Jeremy Rifkin and Ted Howard, state in their book Who Should Play God? " Broad Scale genetic engineering will probably be introduced to America much the same way as assembly lines, automobiles, vaccines, computers and all the other technologies. As each new genetic advance becomes commercially practical, a new consumer need will be exploited and a market for the new technology will be created."

1. According to the passage, the exhaust from a car engine could probably be checked by

A) using metal-hungry microbes .

B) making use of enzymes.

C) adjusting the engine.

D) patenting new life forms.

2. According to the passage, which of the following would worry the critics the most?

A) The unanticipated explosion of population

B) The creation of biological solar cells.

C) The accidental spill of oil.

D) The unexpected release of destructive microbes.

3. Which of the following notions is NOT mentioned?

A) Developing a " savings bank " of one's organs.

B) Breeding soldiers for a war.

C) Producing people with cow-like stomachs.

D) Using genetic forecasting to cure diseases.

4. According to the passage, Hitler attempted to

A) changed the pilots biologically to win the war.

B) develop genetic farming for food supply.

C) kill the people he thought of as inferior.

D) encourage the development of genetic weapons for the war.

5. What dose Jeremy Rifkin and Ted Howard's statement imply?

A) The commercial applications of genetic engineering are inevitable.

B) American will depend on other countries for biological progress.

C) Americans are proud of their countries for biological progress.

D) The potential application of each new genetic advance should be controlled.

參考答案:

1.B 第一段雖然提到了感冒常發(fā)生于冬天，但緊接下去說得很清楚：受涼并不導(dǎo)致感冒，所以A不是正確答案。文章第四段第一句說得明白：感冒通常是與感冒的人身體直接接觸而傳染的，而不是由打噴嚏或咳嗽傳染的，所以C項(xiàng)也不是正確答案。至于D更是錯(cuò)誤。答案B與第一段第三句的意義相吻合，因此是正確答案。

2.A 第五段的第一句話“Hygiene is your best defense”意思是“衛(wèi)生是你的最佳防御”，與A項(xiàng)相吻合，因此A項(xiàng)是正確答案。同一段中提到的用消毒肥皂洗手，雖然也是保持衛(wèi)生的手段之一，但僅是一個(gè)具體措施，不是全部措施，所以B項(xiàng)不是正確答案。C項(xiàng)提到的服阿司匹林是治感冒的手段之一，而非預(yù)防手段(況且沒有說到“一天服兩片”!)D項(xiàng)提到的多喝水在文中也指治療手段，所以c和D都不是正確答案。

3.B 第二段中提到兒童平均一年得八次感冒，這是一個(gè)統(tǒng)計(jì)數(shù)據(jù)而不是兒童得感冒的原因;文中并沒有說“兒童從不洗手”;文中也沒有說“兒童不喜歡吃檸檬”;所以A、C、D都不對(duì)。B項(xiàng)與第二段最后一句意思一樣，是正確答案。

4.C 第三段提到有150種感冒病毒，而人們絕不會(huì)被同一種病毒侵害兩次，因?yàn)榈昧艘淮胃忻昂髮?duì)相應(yīng)的病毒就獲得了免疫力，所以只有C項(xiàng)才符合第三段的內(nèi)容。

5.D 本題談的是文中提及的感冒癥狀。文中并沒有提到得了感冒就胃疼，實(shí)際上文中根本就沒有“stomachache”這個(gè)詞或相關(guān)的字眼，所以D項(xiàng)是正確答案。

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