Vegetarian vampires(吸血鬼)can breathe a sigh of relief．Scientists say they have discovered a way of squeezing “blood” out of rice．
Scientists successfully used rice seeds to produce the human serum albumin(人血清白蛋白)(HSA)in the lab, according to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences from the US on October 31．
HSA is a kind of protein made by the liver to help transport certain hormones(荷尔蒙, steroids(类固醇)and fatty acids in the blood．People with serious burns, liver diseases and other medical conditions need more HSA．
Donated human blood used to be the only source of extra HAS, but this is in short supply．In China, demand for HSA is so high that some illegal producers have been found to be selling fake HSA, which made it even more urgent to find another source of the protein．
The rice method was developed by scientists at Wuhan University in China together with researchers from Canada and New York．They used bacteria to put the gene for making HSA into the rice plants and grew them over a few generations．In the final product, the HSA took up more than 10 percent of the total soluble(可溶的)protein in the rice seeds and could be easily separated from the rice protein．
The research team did several tests to compare the rice and human versions of HSA．They found that the two types of protein not only looked exactly the same but also had similar effects when used to treat illness．Both types of HSA proved equally effective in treating mice with liver disease．Moreover, mice that were given HSA derived(源自)from rice did not have stronger immune reactions(排异反应)than those that were given the HSA obtained directly from human blood．
“Scientists have been using plants to produce HSA for two decades, but the yield is too low,” said Yang Daichang, a scientist a Wuhan University, who led the research．
In this experiment, she said, it took researchers only two days to extract about 46 percent of the protein from the plant．This meant that 2.75 grams of HSA could be taken from every kilogram of brown rice．According to researchers, this amount is more than enough to make commercial production feasible(可行的)．
Yang said that the team hopes to begin testing the new HSA on humans within the next two years．
(1)
Which of the following about HSA is TRUE according to the article?
[ ]
A．
It is a kind of hormone．
B．
It is produced in the kidneys．
C．
It helps make steroids and fatty acids in the blood．
D．
It is in short supply and demand cannot be met．
(2)
According to the article, ________ need more HSA than the others．
[ ]
A．
those who are very thin
B．
those with serious burns
C．
those who donate blood
D．
those who have a headache
(3)
What did scientists find from the tests into the rice-derived HSA that were conducted on mice?
a．The rice and human versions HSA looked much the same．
b．Mice accepted the rice-derived HSA not worse than the human HSA．
c．The rice-derived HSA can help mice with liver disease recover completely．
d．The rice-derived HSA is as effective as human HSA for mice with liver disease．
[ ]
A．
a, b, d
B．
a, c, d
C．
b, d, e
D．
b, c, e
(4)
The underlined word “extract”(Paragraph 8)probably means________．
[ ]
A．
adapt
B．
obey
C．
obtain
D．
accomplish
(5)
What can be inferred from the last three paragraphs?
[ ]
A．
The rice-derived HSA is expected to solve the shortage of HSA．
B．
the new technique enables scientists to get HSA easily, but the yield is too low．
C．
It has been completely proven that The rice-derived HSA also works well on humans．
D．
It has taken scientists ten years to finally find a way of using plants to produce HSA．