“I've never met a human worth cloning,” says cloning expert Mark Westhusin from the cramped confines of his lab at Texas A&M University. “It's a stupid endeavor.” That's an interesting choice of adjective, coming from a man who has spent millions of dollars trying to clone a 13-year-old dog named Missy. So far, he and his team have not succeeded, though they have cloned two calves and expect to clone a cat soon. They just might succeed in cloning Missy later this year—or perhaps not for another five years. It seems the reproductive system of man's best friend is one of the mysteries of modern science.
Westhusin's experience with cloning animals leaves him vexed by all this talk of human cloning. In three years of work on the Missyplicity project, using hundreds upon hundreds of canine eggs, the A&M team has produced only a dozen or so embryos carrying Missy's DNA. None have survived the transfer to a surrogate mother. The wastage of eggs and the many spontaneously aborted fetuses may be acceptable when you're dealing with cats or bulls, he argues, but not with humans. “Cloning is incredibly inefficient, and also dangerous,” he says.
Even so, dog cloning is a commercial opportunity, with a nice research payoff. Ever since Dolly the sheep was cloned in 1997, Westhusin's phone at A&M College of Veterinary Medicine has been ringing busily. Cost is no obstacle for customers like Missy's mysterious owner, who wishes to remain unknown to protect his privacy. He's plopped down $3.7 million so far to fund the research because he wants a twin to carry on Missys fine qualities after she dies. But he knows her clone may not have her temperament. In a statement of purpose, Missy's owner and the A&M team say they are “both looking forward to studying the ways that her clone differs from Missy.”
The fate of the dog samples will depend on Westhusin's work. He knows that even if he gets a dog viably pregnant, the offspring, should they survive, will face the problems shown at birth by other cloned animals: abnormalities like immature lungs and heart and weight problems. “Why would you ever want to clone humans,” Westhusin asks, “when were not even close to getting it worked out in animals yet?” [397 words]
6. Mr. Westhusin thinks cloning is dangerous because_____ .
[A] animals are tortured to death in the experiments
[B]the public has expressed strong disapproval
[C] too many lives are wasted for laboratory use
[D] cloning becomes a quest only for profit
7. What is the problem confronting the Missyplicity project?
[A] The client holds a suspicious view toward it.
[B] There is a lack of funds to support the research.
[C] The owner is unwilling to disclose the information.
[D] Cloning dogs is a difficult biological problem.
8. Which of the following is true about animal cloning?
[A]Few private cloning companies could afford it
[B]Few people have realized its significance.
[C] An exact copy of a cat or bull can be made.
[D] It is becoming a prosperous industry.
9. From the passage we can infer that _____.
[A] Mr. Westhusin is going to clone a dog soon
[B] scientists are pessimistic about human cloning
[C] human reproductive system has not been understood
[D] rich people are only interested in cloning animals
10. Mr. Westhusin seems to believe that cloning______.
[A] is stupid and should be abandoned [B] has been close to success
[C] should be taken cautiously [D] is now in a dilemma
试题精解
6.威斯苏森先生认为克隆是危险的，因为_____。
[A] 实验中的动物被折磨至死 [B] 公众表达了强烈的不满
[C] 实验浪费了很多生命 [D] 克隆成为仅仅追求利益的行为
[精解] 答案C本题考查因果细节。根据题干定位到第二段末“Cloning... also dangerous”。其上文即该段倒数第二句中，威斯苏森先生指出，在猫或牛的克隆试验中，对动物卵的浪费以及许多动物的自然性流产都可以接受，但是克隆人就不行。因此可知，[C]是“危险”的真正含义。[A]中torture(折磨)一词无从推知;[B]项文中未提及;第三段首句虽然提到，狗的克隆有很大的商机，但不能由此推出[D]正确。
7.克隆密斯项目面临的问题是什么?
[A] 客户对它持怀疑态度。 [B] 没有足够的资金支持这项研究。
[C] 狗的主人不愿意透漏信息。[D] 狗的克隆是一个生物难题。
[精解] 答案D本题考查事实细节。题干中the Missyplicity project指克隆一只名叫密斯的狗的项目。第一段倒数第二句指出，克隆密斯可能成功也可能失败。该段最后一句解释其原因是：狗的生殖系统似乎是现代科学中一个神秘的领域。因此[D]为正确项。
第三段首句提到，克隆狗是一个商机，能带来丰厚的科研报酬。该段第三句又提到，对于像密斯的主人这样的消费者来说，高额的花销并不是什么障碍。由此可知，[B]不是项目存在的问题。[C]属于答非所问，第三段第三句提到，密斯的主人希望匿名以保护自己的隐私。但这对项目本身并不造成任何影响。[A]无从推知。
8.下面哪一项是关于动物克隆的正确说法?
[A] 很少有私人克隆公司能够承担。 [B] 很少有人意识到它的意义。
[C] 可以制造出与猫或牛一模一样的复制品。[D] 它正成为一个欣欣向荣的产业。
[精解] 答案D本题考查事实细节。第三段首句提到，克隆狗是能带来丰厚科研报酬的商机。下文无论是提到动医学院频繁接到的电话，还是举出一掷千金想克隆爱犬的富人的例子都是为了说明首句的观点。因此[D]正确。
第三段最后两句提到，密斯(狗)的克隆体与它本身存在差异之处。至于猫和牛的情况如何，文中没有涉及，排除[C]。[A]和[B]在文中也没有提及。
9.从文中我们可以推知_______。
[A] 威斯苏森很快将克隆出一只狗[B] 科学家对克隆人持悲观态度
[C] 人类的生殖系统还没有被了解[D] 富有的人只对克隆动物感兴趣
[精解] 答案B本题考查推理。文章一开始就引用专家威斯苏森的话，指出克隆人是愚蠢的尝试。第二段最后两句提到，克隆实验的低效性和危险性在克隆人中不可接受。文章末尾再次引用该专家的话，指出现在动物的研究还没成功，没有必要想到克隆人。由此可见以威斯苏森为代表的科学家对克隆人是持悲观态度的。[B]为正确项。
第一段最后两句提到，威斯苏森和他的团队可能会在年底成功克隆出密斯，也可能再过五年都不会成功。因此狗的克隆的成功是尚未确定的事情，排除[A]。第一段末句提到，狗的生殖系统是现代科学中神秘的领域。“人的生殖系统”在文中没有涉及，[C]无从推知。文中只提到一位富人有意克隆他的狗，但没有指出富人对克隆人不感兴趣，排除[D]。
10.威斯苏森先生似乎认为克隆________。
[A] 是愚蠢的，应该被放弃[B] 已经接近成功
[C] 应该谨慎对待 [D] 现在正处于进退维谷的境地
[精解] 答案C本题考查文中人物观点。注意题干问的是“克隆”，它包括了克隆人和克隆动物两个方面。第二段末句中，威斯苏森先生强调了克隆的低效性和危险性;文末他又指出，克隆动物的研究还没有接近成功时，更别提克隆人。因此，[C]概括了他对于克隆的整体态度。
文章第二句出现的a stupid endeavor是威斯苏森先生对克隆人的看法，不包括克隆动物，因此排除[A]。[B]与文章末句not yet close to getting it worked out相矛盾。从第二段倒数第二句可知，威斯苏森先生对于克隆动物是默许的，并不认为克隆处于进退维谷的境地，排除[D]。
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