By day he is just a normal cat but when the lights go out, he glows (发光) in the dark.

Scientists have genetically modified (更改) a cat as part of an experiment that could lead to treatments for diseases.

   Named Mr. Green Genes, he looks like a six-month-old cat but, under ultraviolet (紫外线的) light, his eyes, gums (牙龈) and tongue glow green. That is the result of a genetic experiment at the Audubon Center for Research of Endangered Species in New Orleans, US.

   Mr. Green Genes is the first fluorescent (荧光的) cat in the US and probably the world, said Betsy Dresser, the center's director.

   The researchers made him so they could learn whether a gene could be introduced harmlessly into a cat's genetic sequence (次序).

   If so, it would be the first step in a process that could lead to the development of ways to treat diseases via gene therapy (治疗).

   The gene, which was added to Mr. Green Genes' DNA, has no effect on his health, Ms Dresser said.

   Cats are ideal for this project because their genetic makeup is similar to that of humans, said Dr Martha Gomez, a scientist at the center.

   To show that the gene went where it was supposed to go, the researchers settled on one that would glow.

   The gene "is just a marker"， said Leslie Lyons, an assistant professor at the University of California, Davis. Lyons is familiar with the center's work.

   "The glowing part is the fun part," she said.

   Glowing creatures made international news earlier this month when the Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to three scientists who had discovered the gene through their work with jellyfish (水母).

51. Which of the following might be the best title for the passage?

A. A Glowing Cat         B. Mr. Green Genes

C. One Cat’s Life         D. An experiment on cats

52. What can we conclude from the passage?

A. Fortunately, scientists have found ways to treat diseases via gene therapy.

B. Scientists think cats’ genetic makeup is the same as that of human beings.

C. Three scientists who had discovered the gene were given Nobel Prize in  Physics.

D. Scientists have managed to introduce a gene into a cat’s genetic sequence.               

53. What does “settled on”  most probably mean in Paragraph 9?

A. chose       B. killed     C. took        D. raised

54. From the passage we can see that ____.

A. Mr. Green Genes was made by researchers to treat diseases

B. the cat named Mr. Green Genes can glow when it is dark

C. Mr. Green Genes is the first fluorescent cat in the world

D. Mr. Green Genes is a cat of seven months old up to now

55. Which of the following is WRONG according to the text?

A. The gene added to Mr. Green Genes’ DNA doesn’t affect its health at all.

B. The scientists came up with the idea of the glowing genes totally for fun.

C. Earlier this month glowing creatures became news all through the world.

D. Scientists had discovered the gene from the jellyfish they worked with.

D
Recently there was a major discovery in the scientific research—the mapping of all DNA in a human gene（基因） is complete．Couple of years ago, this seems an impossible task for scientist to accomplish．All this progress in science leads us to believe that the day, when the human being will be cloned, is not far away．Human cloning has always been a topic of argument, in terms of morality or religion．
Taking a look at why cloning might be beneficial, among many cases, it is arguable that parents who are known to be at risk of passing a genetic limitation to a child could make use of cloning．If the clone was free of genetic limitations．then the other clone would be as well．The latter could foe inserted in the woman and allowed to ripen to term．Moreover, cloning would enable women, who can't get pregnant, to have children of their own．
Cloning humans would also mean that organs could be cloned, so it would be a source of perfect transfer organs．This, surely would be greatly beneficial to millions of unfortunate people around the world that are expected to lose their lives due to failure of single （or more） organ （s）．It is also arguable that a ban on cloning may be unlawful and would rob people of the right to reproduce and limit the freedom of scientists．
Arguments against cloning are also on a perfectly practical side．Primarily, I believe that cloning would step in the normal "cycle" of life．There would be a large number of same genes, which reduce the chances of improvement, and, in turn, development—the fundamental reason how living things naturally adapt to the ever-changing environment．Life processes failing to do so might result in untimely disappearance．Furthermore, cloning would make the uniqueness that each one of us possesses disappear．Thus, leading to creation of genetically engineered groups of people for specific purposes and, chances are, that those individuals would be regarded as "objects" rather than people in the society．
Scientists haven't 100 per cent．guaranteed that the first cloned humans will be normal．Thus this could result in introduction of additional limitations in the human "gene-pool"．
Regarding such arguable topics in "black or white" approach seems very innocent to me personally．We should rather try to look at all "shades" of it．I believe that cloning is only legal if its purpose is for cloning organs; not humans．Then we could regard this as for "saving life" instead of "creating life"．I believe cloning humans is morally and socially unacceptable．
67．Which of the following is true according to the passage?
A．Genetic limitation will be beneficial for some women．
B．A large number of genes will prevent us from developing．         
C．Prohibition of cloning might limit the freedom of scientists．
D．First cloned humans might be normal according to scientists．
68．What's the author's opinion on cloning?
A．Cloning should be entirely banned．
B．Cloning should be used in creating life．
C．Cloning will take away the right to reproduce．
D．Cloning is acceptable if it is used for cloning organs．
69．Where can you read this article?
A．In a story book．        
B．In a magazine．
C．In a science fiction．   
D．In a brochure．
70．Which of the following shows the structure of the passage?

The government of Norway is planning to build an unusual storage center on an island in the Arctic Ocean. The place would be large enough to hold about two million seeds. The goal is to present all crops known to scientists. The British magazine New Scientist published details of the plan last month. The structure will be designed to protect the world’s food supply against nuclear war, climate change and other possible threats. It will be built in a mountain on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen. The mountain is less than one thousand kilometers from the North Pole, the northernmost position on earth.

     An international group called the Global Crop Diversity Trust is working on the project. The director of the group, Cary Fowler, spoke to New Scientist. He said the project would let the world rebuild agriculture if, in his word, “the worst came to the worst”. Norway is expected to start work next year. The project is expected to cost three million dollars. Workers will drill（钻孔） deep in the side of a sandstone mountain. Temperatures in the area never rise above 0??C. The seeds will be protected behind walls a meter thick and high-security door.

     The magazine report says the collection will represent the products of ten thousand years of farming. Most of the seeds at first will e from collections at seed banks in Africa, Asia and Latin America. To last a long time, seeds need to be kept in very low temperatures. Workers will not be present all the time. But they plan to replace the air inside the storage space each winter. Winter temperatures on the island are about eighteen degrees below 0??C. The cold weather would protect the seeds even if the air could not be replaced.

Mr. Fowler says the proposed structure will be the world’s safest gene bank. He says the plant seeds would only be used when all other seeds are gone for some reason. Norway first put forward the idea in the 1980s. But safety concerns delayed the plan. At that time, the Soviet Union was meeting in Rome of the Food and Agriculture Organization.

The project is meant to ______.

    A．increase the world’s food output in the future

    B．carry out some scientific experiments on plant genes

    C．build an exhibition centre of the world’s plant seeds

    D．protect crop seeds from dying out in case of possible disasters

Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the above passage?

    A．The government of Norway will perform the project alone.

    B．Seeds to be collected there were produced ten thousands years ago.

    C．Spitsbergen is chosen because it is free of the nuclear war forever.

    D．Temperature is a major consideration when choosing the storage place.

We can infer from the text that _______.

    A．Norway had meant to build the storage centre about 20 years before.   

B．The storage center will greatly promote world agriculture

    C．People will get newly-developed seeds from the center every year.

    D．There haven’t been any seed storage centres in the world before.

What is probably the best title of the passage?

    A．The Best Place to Store Seeds    

    B．Noah’s Ark（诺亚方舟）of Plant Seeds in Plan

    C．Concerns of World Food Supply  

    D．A New Way to Feed the World

Among all the fast growing science and technology, the research of human genes, or biological engineering as people call it, is drawing more and more attention now. Sometimes it’s a hot topic discussed by people.

   The greatest thing that gene technology can do is to cure serious diseases that doctors at present can almost do nothing with, such as cancer and heart disease. Every year, millions of people are murdered by these two killers. And to date, doctors have not found an effective way to cure them. But if the gene technology is applied, not only these two diseases can be cured completely, bringing happiness and more living days to the patients, but also the great amount of money people spend on curing their diseases can be saved, therefore it benefits the economy as well. In addition, human life span(寿命) can be prolonged.

   Gene technology can help people to give birth to more healthy and clever children. Some families, with the English imperial(皇帝的) family being a good example, have hereditary(遗传的) diseases. This means their children will for sure have the family disease, which is a great trouble for these families. In the past, doctors could do nothing about hereditary diseases. But gene technology can solve this problem perfectly. Scientists just need to find the wrong gene and correct it, and a healthy child will be born.

   Some people are worrying that the gene research can be used to manufacture(生产) human beings in large quantities. In the past few years, scientists have succeeded in cloning a sheep; therefore these people predict that human babies would soon be cloned. But I believe cloned babies will not come out in large quantities, for most couples in the world can have babies in very normal way. Of course, the governments must take care to control gene technology.

What does "these two killers" in the second paragraph refer to?

     A. Gene technology and another treatment of the two diseases.

     B. The two murderers who killed the cloned baby.

     C. The two diseases of cancer and heart disease.

     D. Hereditary diseases and cancer.

What’s the main idea of the third paragraph?

     A. Gene technology can help people to give birth to a baby.

     B. Gene technology can be used to clone human babies.

     C. How gene technology can be used to treat hereditary diseases.

     D. Gene technology can solve all the problems of the English imperial family.

In what way can gene technology help to treat hereditary diseases?

     A. Gene technology helps people with hereditary diseases to live longer.

     B. Using gene technology, scientists find the wrong gene and correct it.

     C. Using gene technology, human babies can be cloned.

     D. Doctors can cure cancer and heart disease with the help of gene technology.

What is the main purpose of writing this passage?

     A. Expressing the writer's idea that gene technology will benefit people.

     B. Telling people the advantages and disadvantages of gene technology.

     C. Telling the readers that gene technology will not benefit people.

     D. Explaining that gene technology will also do harm to the humanity.

Recently there was a major discovery in the scientific research — the mapping of all DNA in a human gene(基因) is complete. Couple of years ago, this seems an impossible task for scientist to accomplish. All this progress in science leads us to believe that the day, when the human being will be cloned, is not far away. Human cloning has always been a topic of argument, in terms of morality(道德) or religion.
Taking a look at why cloning might be beneficial, among many cases, it is arguable that parents who are known to be at risk of passing a genetic limitation to a child could make use of cloning. If the clone was free of genetic limitations, then the other clone would be as well. The latter could be inserted in the woman and allowed to ripen to term. Moreover, cloning would enable women, who can’t get pregnant, to have children of their own.
Cloning humans would also mean that organs could be cloned, so it would be a source of perfect transfer organs. This surely would be greatly beneficial to millions of unfortunate people around the world that are expected to lose their lives due to failure of single (or more) organ(s). It is also arguable that a ban on cloning may be unlawful and would rob people of the right to reproduce and limit the freedom of scientists.
Arguments against cloning are also on a perfectly practical side. Primarily, I believe that cloning would step in the normal “cycle” of life. There would be a large number of same genes, which reduce the chances of improvement, and, in turn, development — the fundamental reason how living things naturally adapt to the ever-changing environment. Life processes failing to do so might result in untimely disappearance. Furthermore, cloning would make the uniqueness that each one of us possesses disappear, thus leading to creation of genetically engineered groups of people for specific purposes, and chances are that those individuals would be regarded as “objects” rather than people in the society.
Scientists haven’t 100% guaranteed that the first cloned humans will be normal. Thus, this could result in introduction of additional limitations in the human “gene-pool”.
Regarding such arguable topics in “black or white” approach seems very innocent to me personally. We should rather try to look at all “shades” of it. I believe that cloning is only legal if its purpose is for cloning organs; not humans. Then we could regard this as for “saving life” instead of “creating life”. I believe cloning humans is morally and socially unacceptable.
【小题1】   Which of the following is true according to the passage？