题目内容
So biologists were ________ early this year when with the help of the Navy, they were able to ________ a particular blue whale for 43 days, monitoring its sounds.
- A.delighting:keep track of
- B.delighted:keep in touch of
- C.delighting:keep an eye out
- D.delighted:keep track of
delighting意为“让……高兴的”,delighted意为“某人感到高兴的”:说明人的用delighted:keep track of“跟踪”。
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 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 exsist; 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 c
loned embryos.
In a news conference in Seoul, the cloning team also condemnedthe reproductive cloning of humans as “unsafe and inefficient.” Human reproductive cloning already is banned in South Ko
rea. 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.
【小题1】 An Afghan hound is a kind of ______.
| A.cat | B.dog | C.cow | D.goat |
| A.horse | B.deer | C.mules | D.gaur |
| A.deer | B.mule | C.monkey | D.mouse |
| A.praised | B.doubted | C.refused | D.gave up |
| A.South Korea |
| B.the United States |
| C.both South Korea and the United States |
| D.neither South Korea nor the United States |
Most people regard zoos as safe places for animals, where struggles such as difficulty finding food and avoiding predators(捕食性动物) don't exist. Without such problems, animals in zoos should live to a ripe old age. But that may not be true for the largest land animals on Earth. Scientists have known that elephants in zoos often develop diseases, joint problems and behavior changes. Sometimes, they even become unable to have babies.
To learn more about how captivity(监禁) affects elephants, a team of international scientists led by Mason, a biologist, compared the life spans of female elephants born in zoos with female elephants living outdoors in the wild. Zoos keep detailed records of all the animals in their care, documenting factors such as birth dates, illnesses, weight and death. These records made it possible for the researchers to analyze 40 years of data on 800 elephants in zoos.
The team found that female elephants born in zoos lived an average of 16.9 years. Their wild counterparts(同类事物) who died of natural causes lived an average of 56 years——more than three times as long.
Scientists don't yet know for sure why wild elephants seem to live so much better than their zoo-raised counterparts. Mason thinks stress and obesity(肥胖) may be to blame. Zoo elephants don't get the same kind of exercise as they do in the wild, and most are very fat. Elephant social lives are also much different in zoos than in the wild, where they live in large groups.
Another finding from the study showed that elephants born in zoos were more likely to die earlier than elephants captured in the wild and brought to zoos. Mason suggests stress in the mothers in zoos might cause them to have babies that are less likely to survive.
The study raises some questions about acquiring more elephants to keep in zoos. While some threatened and endangered species living in zoos reproduce successfully and keep healthy populations, that doesn't appear to be the case with elephants.
1.The text tells us that zoo elephants are different from other zoo animals because they________
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A.develop health problems. |
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B.1ive to a ripe old age. |
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C.are not afraid of predators. |
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D.have difficulty eating food. |
2.What do the scientists find in their research?
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A.Female elephants live longer than male elephants. |
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B.Female zoo elephants die earlier than their wild counterparts. |
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C.Female zoo elephants live longer than their wild counterparts. |
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D.Both elephants in zoos and those in the wild live in large herds. |
3.Which of the following does the author suggest in the last paragraph?
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A.Zoo-born elephants should be attended more carefully |
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B.Elephants are no longer an endangered species. |
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C.It may not be a wise policy to keep elephants in the zoo. |
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D.Zoos should keep more animals except elephants. |
4.Which of the following can be the best title?
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A.Comparison between two species of elephants |
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B.Longer lives for wild elephants |
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C.Female elephants suffer from poor health. |
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D.Longer lives for zoo animals. |
Honesty may well be the policy, but it often deserts us when no one is watching, psychologists report today. Experiments with an honesty box to collect payments for hot drinks show that people are better at paying up when under the gaze(注视) of a pair of eyes. The surprise was that the eyes were not real, but photographed.
Researchers at Newcastle University set up the experiment in secret. They attached a poster to a cupboard of mugs above an-honesty box alongside a kettle ,with tea, coffee and milk. Over 10 weeks, they alternated each week between images of eyes and pictures of flowers.
Dr. Bateson, a behavioral biologist and leader of the study, said that even though the eyes were not real they still seemed to make people behave more honestly. They effect may arise from behavioral characteristics that developed as early humans formed social groups that increased their chances of survival. Individuals had to co-operate for the good of the group, rather than act selfishly.
"If nobody is watching us it is in our interests to behave selfishly. But when we think we're being watched we should behave better, so people see us as co-operative and behave the same way towards us, "Dr. Bateson said.
"We thought we'd get a slight effect with eyes, but it was quite striking how much difference they made. Even at a subconscious(潜意识的) level, it seems people respond to eyes, and that might be because eyes send a strong biological signal we have evolved(进化) to respond to."
The finding, which researchers believe sheds light on our evolutionary past, could be turned to practical use. The psychologists say images of eyes could promote ticket sales on public transport and improve monitor systems to prevent antisocial behavior.
1.This passage is mainly about _______________.
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A.the policy of honesty |
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B.an honesty box to collect money |
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C.evolution on honesty |
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D.an experiment on honesty |
2.The reason for doing the experiment secretly is that the researchers _____________.
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A.wanted to get a comparatively more exact result |
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B.had known they wanted to do something illegally |
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C.meant to get the co-operation of their colleagues |
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D.intended to sell the hot drinks at a higher price |
3.People behave honestly under watchful gaze of eyes because _____________.
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A.they want to leave a good impression |
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B.they fear to be laughed at by others |
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C.they've got the nature through evolution |
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D.they take the photo for a real pair of eyes |
4.The underlined phrase" sheds light on" in the last paragraph means _____.
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A.causes somebody to become cheerful |
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B.makes something easier to understand |
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C.comes upon something by accident |
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D.brings something into the broad daylight |