Genetic Engineering Genetic engineering began when the DNA molecule （分子), the most basic

基因工程抗体(genetic engineering antibody)(名词解释)

k the growth ofblood vessels in tumors．

A.irritation

B.genetic engineering

C.nuclear weapon

D.nuclear power

century medicine did little to increase the natural life-span of healthy humans.The next medical revolution will change that,because genetic engineering has the potential to conquer cancer,grow new blood vessels in the heat,block the growth of blood vessels in tumors,create new organs from stem cells and perhaps even reset the primeval genetic coding that causes cells to age.

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, lives 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".

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

(教材课文原文)

{A. By; B. In; C. Until} 2050, the world's population {A. projected; B. is projected; C. has been projected} to rise to 9 billion from just over 7 billion currently. Proponents of genetically modified foods say they are safe and can boost harvests {A. even though; B. even; C. though} in bad conditions by protecting against pests, weeds and drought. This, they argue, will be essential to meeting the needs of a booming population in decades to come and avoiding starvation.

{A. Furthermore; B. Moreover; C. However} Doug Gurian-Sherman, senior scientist for the food and environment program at the Union of Concerned Scientists, an advocacy group, said genetic engineering for insect resistance has provided only a modest increase in yields since the 1990s and drought-resistant strains have only {A. modestly; B. modest; C. moderate} reduced losses from drought.

fundamental level – the gene.The study of genetics has （） a new industry called biotechnology.As the name suggests, it （） biology and modem technology through such techniques as genetic engineering.Some of the new biotech companies specialize in agriculture and are working feverishly to （）seeds that give a high yield, that （） diseases, drought and frost, and that reduce the need for （） chemicals.If such goals could be achieved, it would be most （）.But some have raised concerns about genetically engineered crops.

In nature, genetic diversity is created within certain （）.A rose can be crossed with a different kind of rose, but a rose will never cross with a potato.Genetic engineering, （） usually involves taking genes from one species and inserting them into another （）to transfer a desired characteristic.This could mean, for example, selecting a gene which leads to the production of a chemical with anti-freeze （） from an artic fish, and inserting it into a potato or strawberry to make it frost-resistant（），then, biotechnology allows humans to（）the genetic walls that separate species.

Like the green revolution,（）some call the gene revolution contributes to the problem of genetic uniformity---some say even more so （） geneticists can employ techniques such as cloning and （） culture(培养), processes that produce perfectly （） copies.Concerns about the erosion of biodiversity, therefore, remain.Genetically altered plants, however, raise new（）, such as the effects that they may have on us and the environment.“We are flying blindly into a new （）of agricultural biotechnology with high hopes, few constraints, and little idea of the potential（）,” said science writer Jeremy Rifkin.

1.A.manipulationB.managementC.manufactureD.maturity

2.A.got along withB.given rise toC.come up withD.lived up to

3.A.broodsB.breedsC.blendsD.blasts

4.A.hatchB.trainC.duplicateD.patent

5.A.restrictB.resistC.reverseD.retrieve

6.A.hostileB.hydraulicC.hazardousD.harmless

7.A.beneficialB.disappointingC.surprisingD.extreme

8.A.linesB.limitsC.spaceD.ages

9.A.after allB.on the other handC.in any caD.as a rest

10.A.to the pointB.in no caseC.in an attemptD.with regard

11.A.qualityB.propertyC.priorityD.quantity

12.A.In essenceB.In partC.In advanceD.In return

13.A.brakeB.blazeC.breachD.brand

14.A.whatB.asC.whereD.so

15.A.thatB.becauseC.ifD.when

16.A.skinB.tissueC.organD.muscle

17.A.resemblingB.alikeC.similarD.identical

18.A.issuesB.heightC.difficultiesD.goals

19.A.spotB.eraC.deadlineD.scheme

20.A.navigationB.mysteryC.outcomesD.destination

production.Brazil is the world’s second largest producer of soybeans behind the United States and ahead of Argentina.Most European and Asian retailers want to remain GM free.Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Brazil are going on a media offensive to prevent the legalization of genetically modified crops.Environmentalists and consumer groups for years have been able to thwart government and companies’ attempts to legalize altered food.In radio dramas that are being broadcast in remote regions, Brazilian NGOs are telling soy farmers the use of genetically modified seeds could endanger their health, their fields and their business.We are not saying that genetic engineering is, in principle, something bad; we say that we need more science to be sure that it will work in an appropriate way with no harm in the future, said campaign coordinator Jean-Marc von der Weid.This is both for health and environmental reasons.The other question is on economics.What we think is that in Brazil, if we approve the GMOs, we will lose a spectacular advantage that we have now.We are selling more to the international market, mostly for Europe and Asia, than we have done in our history, because we are not GMO contaminated.

Another opposition group, ActionAid, has been organizing grass-roots support in Brazilian farming regions to rouse consumer sentiment against legalization.ActionAid public policy director Adriano Campolina says he is fighting for farmers to remain independent.When the small-scale farmer or a big farmer starts using this kind of seed, this farmer will be completely dependent on the transnationals, which control intellectual property rights over these seeds, he said.

Brazilian scientist Crodowaldo Pavan said there should be checks on what multinationals can do, but that doesn’t mean GM seeds should be banned.He says fears over their usage are unfounded.Despite the official ban, Dr.Pavan says up to one third of Brazil’s soy crop is genetically modified, because GM seed is being smuggled from Argentina.Brazil’s government has invested heavily in a GM project by the U.S.biotech company, Monsanto, but the project was put on ice following a successful court challenge by consumers.

The anti-GMO groups are hoping the politicians’ preoccupation with the October presidential election will give them time to gather enough support to defeat any future attempts to legalize genetically altered crops.

1.According to the passage, the issue in dispute in Brazil is ___________.

A、contamination of the environment by genetically modified crops

B、Brazils standing in the international market

C、the October presidential election

D、the legalization of genetically modified organisms

2.According to the passage, Brazil is the worlds _____________ soybean producer.

A、largest

B、second largest

C、third largest

D、fourth largest

3.Which of the following statements is NOT true about NGOs in Brazil？ ()

A、They believe genetically modified crops will harm the farmers health.

B、They believe genetic engineering is altogether a bad practice.

C、They believe scientific methods should be introduced to ensure GM brings no harm.

D、They believe GMOs will harm Brazil economically.

4.Which of the following statements is true about the organization called ActionAid？ ()

A、They encourage the farmers to produce genetically modified products.

B、They encourage the farmers to depend on themselves for seeds.

C、They strongly support the legalization of genetically modified products.

D、They encourage the farmers to upgrade their farms to bigger ones.

5.What does the Brazilian scientist Crodowaldo Pavan say about genetically modified products？ ()

A、Genetically modified seeds should be banned.

B、Brazil government should crack down on the smuggling of genetically modified seeds.

C、The fear over the use of genetically modified seeds is uncalled for.

D、Consumers should file more law suits to protect their rights.

ities while concocting new life-forms. When Dr. Frankenstein made his monster, he wrestled with the moral issue of whether he should allow it to reproduce, "Had I the right, for my own benefit, to inflict the curse upon everlasting generations？" Will such questions require us to develop new moral philosophies？

Probably not. Instead, we'll reach again for a time-tested moral concept; one sometimes called the Golden Rule and which Kant, the millennium's most prudent moralist, conjured up into a categorical imperative, Do unto others as you would have them do unto you; treat each person as an individual rather than as a means to some end.

Under this moral precept we should recoil at human cloning, because it inevitably entails using humans as means to other humans' ends and valuing them as copies of others we loved or as collections of body parts, not as individuals in their own right. We should also draw a line, however fuzzy, that would permit using genetic engineering to cure diseases and disabilities but not to change the personal attributes that make someone an individual (IQ, physical appearance, gender and sexuality).

The biotech age will also give us more reason to guard our personal privacy. Aldous Huxley in Brave New World, got it wrong: rather than centralizing power in the hands of the state, DNA technology has empowered individuals and families. But the state will have an important role, making sure that no one, including insurance companies, can look at our genetic data without our permission or use it to discriminate against us.

Then we can get ready for the breakthroughs that could come at the end of the next century and the technology is comparable to mapping our genes: plotting the 10 billion or more neurons of our brain. With that information we might someday be able to create artificial intelligences that think and experience consciousness in ways that are indistinguishable from a human brain. Eventually we might be able to replicate our own minds in a "dry-ware" machine, so that we could live on without the "wet-ware" of a biological brain and body. The 20th century's revolution in infotechnology will thereby merge with the 21st century's revolution in biotechnology. But this is science fiction. Let's turn the page now and get back to real science.

Dr. Frankenstein's remarks are mentioned in the text

A．to give an episode of the DNA technological breakthroughs.

B．to highlight the inevitability of a means to some evil ends.

C．to show how he created a new form. of life a thousand years ago.

D．to introduce the topic of moral philosophies concerning biotechnology.