题目内容
British and American scientists are raising genetically modified(转基因的) pigs in the hope of providing organs for transplant(移植) to humans, the project leader wrote in a newspaper Sunday.
Scientists in London and California have begun conducting the genetic experiments to find a solution to record–long waiting lists for organ transplants, Robert Winston said in an opinion piece written for Britain's Sunday Times.
In Britain alone, around 8,000 patients are waiting for a transplant.
"People needing a new heart or liver are waiting for someone else to die – usually a violent death in a traffic accident," Winston wrote in the newspaper. He said his team was "trying to modify pigs so their organs might save the lives of humans."
The scientists are introducing human genes into the animals to reduce the chances of the organs being rejected by patients, as has been common in previous attempts to use animal tissues, said Winston, who heads the Institute of Reproductive and Developmental Biology at London's Hammersmith Hospital.
Working with Dr. Carol Redhead of the California Institute of Technology, Winston's team has injected human genes directly into male piglets(猪仔), adding them to the animal's sperm(精子).
He said that pigs involved in experiments had successfully produced transgenic sperm, but acknowledged that British and European laws had prevented the team from using the pigs to mate.
The Sunday Times newspaper reported that the experiments would be moved to the United States following difficulties with funding and regulations in Britain. It said the pigs would be bred in Missouri.
"Our U.S. friends will benefit from our technology and the income we might have produced for Britain will be lost," Winston wrote.
Some scientists have previously blamed the idea of using animal organs for human transplant, saying the technique risks spreading animal viruses to humans. Winston said his research project is attempting to breed virus-free pigs.
49. Scientists are introducing human genes into the animals to ____________.
| A. make the organs healthier | B. reduce the pain of animals |
| C. make the organs live longer | D. reduce the chances of rejection |
50. Some scientists have blamed the idea of using animal organs for human transplant because ____________.
| A. the technique is not perfect now |
| B. humans may be infected with animal viruses |
| C. it is against laws and regulations |
| D. it may cause a conflict between humans and animals |
51. According to Winston, it seems ___________ to Britain to move the experiments to the United States.
| A. a pity | B. a pride | C. a disaster | D. a good idea |
52. It can be inferred from the passage that ____________.
| A. animal organs are commonly used for human transplant now |
| B. lots of patients need animal organ transplants now |
| C. examples of the animal tissues being rejected have happened |
| D. it is not safe to use animal organs for human transplant |
DBAC
If you look for a book as a present for a child，you will be spoiled for choice even in a year there is no new Harry Potter． J．K Rowling’s wizard is not alone．The past decade has been a harvest for good children’s books, which has set off a large quantity of films and an increased sales of classics such as The Lord of the Rings．
Yet despite that, reading is increasingly unpopular among children．According to statistics in 1997, 23% said they didn’t like reading at all．In 2003, 35% didn’t．And around 6% of the children leave primary school each year unable to read properly．
Maybe the decline is caused by the increasing availability of computes games．Maybe the books boom has affected only the top of the educational pile．Either way, Chancellor Cordon Brown plans to change things for the bottom of the class．In his pre-budget report, he announced the national project of Reading Recovery to help the children struggling most．
Reading Recovery is aimed at six year olds, who receive four months of individual daily half-hour classes with a specially trained teacher．An evaluation this year reported that children on the school made 20 months’ progress in just one year, whereas similarly weak readers without special help made just five months’ progress ,and so ended the year even further below the level expected for their age．
International research tends to find that when British children leave primary school, they read well, but read text often for fun than those elsewhere．Reading for fun matters because children who are keen on reading can report lifelong pleasure and loving books is an excellent indicator of future educational success．According to the OECD, being a regular and enthusiastic reader is of great advantage．
【小题1】Which of the following is true of Paragraph 1?
| A．Many children’s books have been adapted from films． |
| B．Many high-quality children’s books have been published． |
| C．The sales of classics have led to the popularity of films． |
| D．The sales of presents for children have increased． |
| A．the number of top students increased with the use of computers |
| B．a decreasing number of children showed interest in reading |
| C．a minority of primary school children read properly |
| D．a huge percentage of children read regularly |
| A．An evaluation of it will be made sometime this year． |
| B．Weak readers on the project were the most hardworking． |
| C．It aims to train special teachers to help children with reading． |
| D．Children on the project showed noticeable progress in reading． |
| A．take greater advantage of the project |
| B．show the potential to enjoy a long life |
| C．are likely to succeed in their education． |
| D．would make excellent future researchers |
| A．to overcome primary school pupils reading difficulty． |
| B．to encourage the publication of more children’s books |
| C．to remind children of the importance of reading for fun |
| D．to introduce a way to improve early children reading |
