The researchers, led by Hwang Woo-suk, insist they cloned an Afghan hound, only to help investigate (研究) human disease, including the possibility of cloning stem cells (干细胞) for treatment purposes.

But others immediately renewed calls for a global ban (禁令)on human reproductive cloning before the technology moves any farther.

"Successful cloning of an increasing number of species confirms the general impression that it would be possible to clone any species of mammals, including humans," said Ian Wilmut, a reproductive biologist at the University of Edinburgh who produced the first cloned mammal, Dolly the sheep, from an adult cell nearly a decade ago.

Researchers have since cloned cats, goats, cows, mice, pigs, rabbits, horses, deer, mules and gaur, a large wild ox of Southeast Asia. So far, efforts to clone a monkey or another primate with the same techniques have failed.

Uncertainties about the health and life span (寿命) of cloned animals continue to exist; Dolly died at a young age in 2003 after developing cancer and arthritis.

Wilmut and others complimented Hwang's achievement, reported Wednesday in the journal Nature. But they said politicians and scientists must face the larger issue — how to go on with the research without crossing the moral boundary of copying human life in the lab.

"The ability to use the technology is hopeful," said Robert Schenken, president of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. "However, the paper also points out that in dogs as in most species, cloning for reproductive purposes is unsafe."

The cloned puppy was the lone success from more than 100 dogs implanted (嵌入)with more than 1,000 cloned embryos.

In a news conference in Seoul, the cloning team also condemned(谴责)the reproductive cloning of humans as "unsafe and inefficient." Human reproductive cloning already is banned in South Korea. Other nations, including the United States, are divided on whether to ban just human cloning or cloning of all kinds, including the production of stem cells.

56. An Afghan hound is a kind of ______.

A. cat           B. goat          c. cow          D. dog

57. A ______ is a large wild ox of Southeast Asia.

A. horse          B. deer          C. mules        D. gaur

58. Accrding to the passage, scientists haven’t been able to clone a ______ so far.

A. deer           B. mule         C. mouse        D. monkey

59. The underlined word complimented is probably similar in meaning to ______.

A. praised         B. doubted       C. refused      D. gave up

60. The cloning of human beings is banned in ______. 

A. South Korea                        B. the United States

C. both South Korea and the United States   D. neither South Korea nor the United States

All Eskimos live most of their lives close to sea or fresh water. They may follow game inland for several hundred miles, but they always return to the shores of rivers, lakes, or seas. Eskimo land has a bare look. Large rocks, pebbles, and sand cover much of the surface. Plants called lichen (地衣) grow on the rocks, and where there is enough soil, grass, flowers, and even small bushes manage to live. No trees can grow on Eskimo land, so geographers sometimes call it the Arctic plains. There are some animals in Eskimo land, such as rabbits, which eat the plants. Other animals, like the white fox and the gray wolf, eat the rabbits. The Eskimo is a meat-eater, too, and may even eat a wolf when food is scarce.
The Eskimo year has two main parts: a long, cold winter and a short, cool summer. Spring and fall are almost too short to be noticed. Summer is the best time, as food is usually plentiful. But it is also the time when Eskimos are very busy. Winter is never far away, and the men must bring home extra meat for the women to prepare and store, for seldom can enough animals be killed in winter to feed a family.
The Far North is sometimes called the land of the midnight sun. This is true in the middle of summer, for between April 21st and August 21st the sun never sets in Northern Greenland. But in midwinter the Far North is a land with no sunshine at all. Around Oct. 21st the Eskimos of Northern Greenland see the sun set directly south of them, and they don’t see it again until February 22nd. All places on earth get about the same amount of daylight during a year. As a result, if summer is lighter, winter has to be darker.
Winter nights in the Far North are seldom pitch-black. As in the rest of the world, the stars and moon provide a little light. The northern lights also help the Eskimo to see. And with the ground covered with snow, even a little light is reflected back to the Eskimo’s eyes.
【小题1】Which of the following statements is NOT true?

In their book Time to Eat the Dog: The Real Guide to Sustainable Living, Robert and Brenda Vale say keeping a medium?sized dog has the same ecological impact as driving 10,000 km a year in a 4.6 liter Land Cruiser.?
“We’re not actually saying it is time to eat the dog. We’ re just saying that we need to think about and know the ecological impact of some of the things we do and that we take for granted.”?
Constructing and driving the jeep for a year requires 0.41 hectares of land, while growing and manufacturing a dog’s food takes about 0.84 hectares — or 1.1 hectares in the case of a large dog such as a German shepherd.?
Convincing flesh?eating cats and dogs to go vegetarian for the sake of the planet is a non?starter, the Vales say. Instead they recommend keeping “greener”, smaller, and more sustainable pets, such as goldfish, chickens or rabbits.?
The book’s playful title, and serious suggestion that pet animals may be usefully “recycled”, by being eaten by their owners or turned into pet food when they die, may not appeal to animal fans.?
Annoying as the idea may be, the question is valid given the planet’s growing population and limited resources, Robert Vale said.?
“Issues about sustainability are increasingly becoming things that are going to require us to make choices which are as difficult as eating your dog. It’s not just about changing your light bulbs or taking a cloth bag to the supermarket,” he said.?
“It’s about much more challenging and difficult issues,” he added. “Once you see where cats and dogs fit in your overall balance of things, you might decide to have the cat but not also to have the two cars and the three bathrooms and be a meat eater yourself.”?
56. The authors gave their book the playful title to________.?
A. make it amusing                    B. create a vivid image?
C. show　writing skills                 D. arouse people’ s concern
57. In Paragraph 3 the writer mainly wants to tell us________.?
A. the amount of consumed land ?
B. the neglected ecological impact?
C. some familiar examples ?
D. some actual figures?
58. What does “sustainability” mean according to the passage??
A. Going vegetarian. ?
B. Raising cats and dogs.?
C. Using a cloth bag. ?
D. Keeping a greener life.?
59. Who may not like the idea of “recycling” pet animals??
A. Manufacturers.                  B. Drivers. ?
C. Animal fans.                     D. The authorities.?
60. What do the authors think of living a sustainable life??
A. Challenging.          B. Inspiring.          C. Inviting.         D. Touching.

One summer several years ago, my family was enjoying a barbecue on the beach. After the barbecue, my father-in-law invited me to go fishing.  Fishing was his hobby, but I   36  went fishing. We walked a little way along the beach and reached a rock by the shore, and I    37   the hook into the sea from there.  Frankly speaking, I am a (n)   38  person, and although I had not felt a tug (猛拽) on the line, I reeled up the hook after five minutes or so. I had caught    39 . It was a starfish. It trembled uneasily when I   40  the hook from its ugly mouth. I threw the starfish back into the sea. After another five minutes I caught another starfish and I threw it back again.
After a while, I caught yet another starfish. That was  41  time, and this time I really got angry. I hit the starfish on the rock   42  throwing it into the sea. I was not in the   43  to continue fishing any more.
When I was   44  the fishing tools, I noticed a little girl looking at the starfish on the rock. We   45  looks with each other. The little girl spoke to me in a   46  voice. “Sir, would you mind if I   47  the starfish back into the sea?”“Not at all,” I replied. “"But you know, there are too many starfish in the sea, and they eat many shellfish.   48 , they look so ugly. I don't like them.”
“I understand,” said the little girl. “But if the starfish cannot get back to the sea, it will be   49  by the sun and die. My dead grandfather once told me that there are no living creatures that have no right to exist in the world. God   50  every creature because it was needed by nature. Poisonous snakes, spiders, and starfish were born into this world with a certain   51  for their existence.”
“All right, dear, please throw the starfish back into the sea,” I said to the little girl, feeling   52 . The girl picked up the starfish and gently put it into the sea, and she  53  at me and said, “Thank you, sir.”
Many people like "cute" creatures such as dogs, cats, and rabbits, while they tend to dislike “ugly” creatures such as snakes, spiders, and starfish.  However, the “cuteness” and “ugliness” of things are decided   54  only on one’s personal opinions. There are no living creatures that have no  55  in the world-- this is what I learned from the little girl.

Failing doesn’t make a failure. True failures are those who don’t learn from their    1  .

Smart persons not only learn from their own mistakes—they pay  2 to the mistakes of others, equate error with opportunity, and learn valuable  3 as well, as this story illustrates (说明).

A lion, a fox, and a wild pig went   4  for rabbits together. By the end of the day, they had a large pile of rabbits to   5 .

The lion said to the wild pig, “Pig, you divide the rabbits up among the three of us in a   6  that you think is fair.” The pig divided the rabbits up into three   7   piles, and said to the lion, “There we are. One   8 for each of us. How’s that?” The lion   9  sprang at the wild pig and 10 him.  

Then, the lion threw all the rabbits into one big pile again.

He  11 to the fox. “Well now, Mr. Fox, why don’t you  12 the rabbits between the two of us in a way that you think is fair?”

The fox walked over to the pile of rabbits, took the  13 one for himself, and left the rest in a big pile. “This rabbit is for me, Mr. Lion, and that big pile is for you.” said the fox.

At that point, the lion laughed, “Where did you learn to divide so  14 , Mr. Fox?” And Mr. Fox replied, “The wild pig  15 me.”

1.                A．teachers        B．mistakes        C．failures   D．experiences

2.                A．respect         B．tribute         C．court D．attention

3.                A．experience      B．skills           C．lessons   D．service

4.                A．hunting         B．searching       C．hiking    D．fishing

5.                A．share          B．eat            C．attack    D．enjoy

6.                A．case           B．situation        C．mood    D．way

7.                A．same          B．equal          C．big  D．different

8.                A．rabbit          B． animal         C．pile  D．group

9.                A．gradually       B．curiously        C．immediately   D．seriously

10.               A．killed          B．punished       C．praised    D．sold

11.               A．came          B．ran            C．returned  D．turned

12.               A．part           B．divide          C．raise  D．separate

13.A largest     B. narrowest        C. smallest        D. worst

14.               A．unfairly        B．fairly           C．hurriedly  D．badly

15.               A．informed       B．told           C．reminded  D．taught