The Gene Industry
Major companies are already in pursuit of commercial applications of the new biology. They dream of placing enzymes in the automobile to monitor exhaust and send data on pollution to a microprocessor that will then adjust the engine. They speak of what the New York Times calls metal-hungry microbes that might be used to mine valuable trace metal from ocean water. They have already demanded and won the right to patent new lifeforms.
Nervous critics, including many scientists, worry that there is corporate, national, international, and inter-scientific rivalry in the entire biotechnological field. They create images not of oil spills, but of microbe spills that could spread disease and destroy entire populations. The creation and accidental release of extremely poisonous microbes, however, is only one cause for alarm. Completely rational and respectable scientists are talking about possibilities that stagger the imagination.
Should we breed people with cow-with stomachs so they can digest grass and hay, thereby relieving the food problem by modifying us to eat lower down on the food chain? Should we biologically alter workers to fit the job requirement, for example, creating pilots with faster reaction times or assembly-line workers designed to do our monotonous work for us? Should we attempt to eliminate inferior people and breed a super-race? Should we produce soldiers to do our fighting? Should we use genetic forecasting to pre-eliminate unfit babies? Should we grow reserve organs for ourselves, each of us having, as it were, a savings bank full of spare kidney, livers, or hands?
Wild as these notions may sound, every one has its advocates in the scientific community as well as its striking commercial application. As two critics of genetic engineering, Jeremy Rifkin and Ted Howard, state in their book Who Should Play God? , Broad scale genetic engineering will probably be introduced to America much the same way as assembly lines automobiles, vaccines, computers and all the other technologies. As each new genetic advance becomes commercially practical, a new consumer need will be exploited and a market for the new technology will be created.
1. According to the passage, the exhaust from a car engine could probably be checked by
A) using metal-hungry microbes.
B) making use of enzymes.
C) adjusting the engine.
D) patenting new life forms.
2. According to the passage, which of the following would worry the critics the most?
A) The unanticipated explosion of population.
B) The creation of biological solar cells.
C) The accidental spill of oil.
D) The unexpected release of destructive microbes.
3. Which of the following notions is NOT mentioned?
A) Developing a savings bank of ones organs.
B) Breeding soldiers for a war.
C) Producing people with cow-like stomachs.
D) Using genetic forecasting to cure diseases.
4. According to the passage, Hitler attempted to
A) change the pilots biologically to win the war.
B) develop genetic farming for food supply.
C) kill the people he thought of as inferior.
D) encourage the development of genetic weapons for the war.
5. What does Jeremy Rifkin and Ted Howards statement imply?
A) the commercial applications of genetic engineering are inevitable.
B) America will depend on other countries for biological progress.
C) Americans are proud of their computers, automobiles and genetic technologies.
D) The potential application of each new genetic advance should be controlled.
答案: BDDCA
2011届高考英语 知识复习清单(8)
英语复习精品语法课件:情态动词和虚拟语气
2017届高三英语备考复习课件13
英语复习精品语法课件:动词和动词短语
2017最新命题题库大全2005-2011高考英语试题分项解析汇编 专题14 状语从句
2011届高考英语 知识复习清单(10)
全国各地英语三模考试题选编-完形填空(黑龙江省哈三中)
2017最新命题题库大全2005-2011高考英语试题分项解析汇编 专题12 数词与主谓一致
2011届高考英语 知识复习清单(2)
2017届高三英语备考复习课件15
2017届高三英语备考复习课件9
2011届高考英语 知识复习清单(6)
2017届高三英语备考复习课件22
2017届高三英语备考复习课件18
2017届高三英语备考复习课件7
2017届高三英语备考复习课件1
2011届高考英语 知识复习清单(11)
2011届高考英语 知识复习清单(13)
2017届高三英语备考复习课件5
2011届高考英语 知识复习清单(15)
2017最新命题题库大全2005-2011高考英语试题分项解析汇编 专题13 定语从句
2017届高三英语备考复习课件20
2017最新命题题库大全2005-2011高考英语试题分项解析汇编 专题08 代词
2017最新命题题库大全2005-2011高考英语试题分项解析汇编 专题10 冠词
2017届高三英语备考复习课件14
2017届高三英语备考复习课件10
2011届高考英语 知识复习清单(7)
2017届高三英语备考复习课件11
2017届高三英语备考复习课件6
2017届高三英语备考复习课件16
不限 |
英语教案 |
英语课件 |
英语试题 |
不限 |
不限 |
上册 |
下册 |
不限 |