Of all the reasons, cloning for medical purposes has the most potential to benefit large numbers of people. How might cloning be used in medicine?
Much of what researchers learn about human disease comes from studying animal models such as mice. Often, animal models are genetically engineered to carry disease-causing mutations (变异) in their genes. Creating these transgenic animals is a time-intensive process that requires trial-and-error and several generations of breeding. Cloning technologies might reduce the time needed to make a transgenic animal model, and the result would be a population of genetically identical animals for study.
Stem cells are the body's building blocks, responsible for developing, maintaining and repairing the body throughout life. As a result, they might be used to repair damaged or diseased organs and tissues. Researchers are currently looking toward cloning as a way to create genetically defined human stem cells for research and medical purposes. To see how this is done, see Creating Stem Cells for Research, a component of the Stem Cells in the Spotlight module.
Farm animals such as cows, sheep and goats are currently being genetically engineered to produce drugs or proteins that are useful in medicine. Just like creating animal models of disease, cloning might be a faster way to produce large herds of genetically engineered animals. Find out more about this research in the feature article Pharming for Farmaceuticals.
Have you seen Jurassic Park? In this feature film, scientists use DNA preserved for tens of millions of years to clone dinosaurs. They find trouble, however, when they realize that the cloned creatures are smarter and fiercer than expected.
In reality? Probably not. It's not likely that dinosaur DNA could survive undamaged for such a long time. However, scientists have tried to clone species that became extinct more recently, using DNA from well-preserved tissue samples.
To clone or not to clone: that is the question. The prospect of cloning humans is highly controversial and raises a number of ethical, legal and social challenges that need to be considered. Of all the reason of cloning, which do people think is the most benefit to people?
| A.Medicine purpose. | B.protecting endangered animal |
| C.Cloning for some families. | D.Purifying human beings |
By the passage we can infer that the side effect people would research human disease using animal models is __________.
| A.the sample is not the same with human |
| B.the sample has less function than human |
| C.the sample often carries disease in the genes |
| D.the results can't adapt to human |
What function do stem cells play in body?
| A.Breeding. | B.Repairing. | C.Replacing. | D.Reproducing. |
According to the passage, which statement of the following is not right?
| A.Cloning animals have achieved now. |
| B.By cloning people can cure some deadly diseases. |
| C.Dinosaurs in the future film are smarter. |
| D.Cloning can bring human only happiness. |
The title of this passage probably is __________.
| A.Why clone? | B.The benefit of cloning. |
| C.Cloned animals. | D.Cloning in the future. |
They crossed in front of me as I was driving out of the store parking lot.My first reaction was filled with anger at being delayed for a whole ten seconds.But I quickly became patient when I realized that this was an elderly couple.
The man leaned on his wife who walked in front of him.He not only used her for support but it was obvious that he was blind.The two of them worked as one—each needing the other to function in this fast-changing world.
That little example of true strength changed my whole personal perception(理解)of life that day.Suddenly I wasn’t so mad about having to work a few extra hours on Saturdays.I had my strength,and I was still relatively young.
That picture of those two elderly people walking with dignity and strength stayed with me the entire week.My life wasn’t so bad after all.I had my health and a good job.I had a wonderful,supportive wife.I started to think—not only was I lucky to have these all, but also was that wonderful old couple,who,despite the trials and sufferings of a long life,still had the love and support of each other to carry them through this world.
There are so many people out there just like that couple.My wife and I sometimes picture ourselves in our old age, walking arm in arm into the sunset.That image always gives us a warm feeling of comfort.Just remember,none of us would be here if it wasn’t for our elders.We all should spend a little extra time and patience when it comes to helping our elder friends.When the author was about to drive away,the couple.
| A.entered the store | B.hit his car |
| C.got in his way | D.asked him for help |
What did the author think of the couple?
| A.They lived a happier life than he |
| B.They were admirable for their lasting love |
| C.They didn’t live a life without hardships |
| D.They wouldn’t be respected for walking together. |
From the passage,we learn
| A.the author hated working on Sundays |
| B.the author is satisfied with his life |
| C.old couples were advised to walk in the sunset |
| D.many people like that couple because they are blind |
What would be the best title for this passage?
| A.Spend an Extra Minute | B.Stay with Your Wife |
| C.Be Careful When Driving | D.Respect the Blind,Please |
Make a five-minute film and win!
Do you love the summer holidays but hate being bored? Then why don’t you enter the Film Street Summer Shorts Competition by making a short film this summer with your family and friends?
What you have to do
To enter the competition, you have to make a short film that is around 5 minutes long (It can be shorter but not longer!) on a digital camera, or mobile phone.
Awards
The best short film entered into our competition will be shown in Film Street’s Cinema and you’ll win a Cineworld Cinema pass for yourself and three more for other members of your filmmaking crew. If you have a Cineworld Cinema pass, you can watch as many films as you like for a year, for free, at any Cineworld Cinema.
Rules
We can’t show films that tell others about either your, or any other kids’, name or address.
We can’t show films that hurt, harm or insult other people.
We can’t show films that have bad language.
Copyright Checklist
Getting permission to use someone else’s work in your film can be expensive, so check your film to make sure that:
Your film is original and you haven’t copied someone else’s.
There are no scenes of branding on shop signs, books, magazines or CDs.
There are no scenes of someone else’s artwork.
Address and Date
Post your finished film on tape, CD or DVD by Monday, October 1st, 2008 to:
Film Street Summer Shorts Competition
First Light Movies
Unit 6, Third Floor, The Bond
180-182 Fazeley Street
Birmingham
So what’s stopping you? Start making your Film Street Summer Short now!Who is the passage mainly written for?
| A.Students. | B.Parents. | C.Teachers. | D.Actors. |
How many Cineworld Cinema passes will the winner of the competition be awarded in all?
| A.One. | B.Two. | C.Three. | D.Four. |
From the third paragraph we can learn that ________.
| A.the winner’s short film can be shown in any cinema |
| B.the competition is held by Cineworld Cinema |
| C.the winner can watch films for free for one year at any Cineworld Cinema |
| D.the winner will be paid for his short film |
The underlined word “original” is the closest in meaning to “”.
| A.interesting enough | B.exciting enough |
| C.good for children | D.made by yourself |
He was the baby with no name. Found and taken from the north Atlantic 6 days after the sinking of the Titanic in 1912, his tiny body so moved the salvage(救援)workers that they called him “our baby. ” In their home port of Halifax, Nova Scotia, people collected money for a headstone in front of the baby's grave, carved with the words: “To the memory of an unknown child. ” He has rested there ever since.
But history has a way of uncovering its secrets. On Nov. 5, this year, three members of a family from Finland arrived at Halifax and laid fresh flowers at the grave. “This is our baby,” says Magda Schleifer, 68, a banker. She grew up hearing stories about a great-aunt named Maria Panula, 42, who had sailed on the Titanic for America to be reunited with her husband. According to the information Mrs. Schleifer had gathered, Panula gave up her seat on a lifeboat to search for her five children -- including a 13-month-old boy named Eino from whom she had become separated during the final minutes of the crossing. "We thought they were all lost in the sea," says Schleifer.
Now, using teeth and bone pieces taken from the baby's grave, scientists have compared the DNA from the Unknown Child with those collected from members of five families who lost relatives on the Titanic and never recovered the bodies. The result of the test points only to one possible person: young Eino. Now, the family sees: no need for a new grave. "He belongs to the people of Halifax," says Schleifer. "They've taken care of him for 90 years. "
Adapted from People, November 25, 2002The baby travelled on the Titanic with his___________.
| A.mother | B.parents | C.aunt | D.relatives |
What is probably the boy's last name?
| A.Schleiferi | B.Eino. | C.Magda. | D.Panula. |
Some members of the family went to Halifax and put flowers at the child's grave on
Nov. 5__.
| A.1912 | B.1954 | C.2002 | D.2004 |
This text is mainly about how______________.
| A.the unknown baby's body was taken from the north Atlantic |
| B.the unknown baby was buried in Halifax, Nova Scotia |
| C.people found out who the unknown baby was |
| D.people took care of the unknown baby for 90 years |
Last year more than 13 Korean (韩国) TV series were introduced in China. Turn on the TV, and Korean beauties are appearing during peak viewing times(黄金时段). Some of the dramas are being repeated, but audiences continue to watch them. Why are the South Korean TV series loved by so many Chinese people? Cheng Yiting, a student from East China Normal University, gives us her reasons. She thinks that the good-looking actors with cool clothes and the beautiful sight in the dramas are the selling points for South Korean TV dramas. But what attracted the young audiences most is the pure and moving love stories.
And it seems that South Korean TV series has also won the hearts of middle-aged people. They are touched by the morals(道德)in the shows. These include the importance of respecting elders and social order. Though some people think South Korean TV series are too slow and too long, most of the Chinese audiences like them. Maybe we are really tired of Western TV series. Compared with that, South Korean TV series are not bad. Which of the following is NOT mentioned(提及)about South Korean TV series in the passage?
| A.Love | B.Morals |
| C.Social order | D.The youth self-respect |
What is the main reason why South Korean TV series are popular?
| A.The series are slow and long. |
| B.The actors wear cool clothes. |
| C.The stories with morals in them are pure and moving. |
| D.The actors are cool. |
What does the writer want to tell us?
| A.We are fed up with South Korean TV series. |
| B.South Korean TV series is a great success and popular in China. |
| C.South Korean TV series are better than Chinese TV series. |
| D.We can learn a lot from Korean TV series so we need to watch them again and again. |
Shopping is not as simple as you may think! There are all sorts of tricks at play each time we reach out for that particular brand of product on the shelf.
Colouring, for example, varies according to what the producers are trying to sell. Health foods are packaged in greens, yellows or browns because we think of these as healthy colours. Ice cream packets are often blue and expensive goods, like chocolates, are gold or silver.
When some kind of pain killer was brought out recently, researchers found that the colours turned the customers off because they made the product look weak and ineffective. Eventually, it came on the market in a dark blue and white package—blue because we think of it as safe, and white as calm.
The size of a product can attract a shopper. But quite often a bottle doesn’t contain as much as it appears to.
It is believed that the better-known companies spend, on average, 70 percent of the total cost of the product itself on packaging!
The most successful producers know that it’s not enough to have a good product. The founder of Pears soap, who for 25 years has used pretty little girls to promote (推销) their goods, came to the conclusion: “Any fool can make soap, but it takes a genius to sell it.”Which of the following may trick a shopper into buying a product according to the text?
| A.The cost of its package. | B.The price of the product. |
| C.The colour of its package. | D.The brand name of the product. |
The underlined part “the colours turned the customers off” (in Para.3) means that the colours _________.
| A.attracted the customers strongly |
| B.caused the customers to lose interest |
| C.tricked the customers into shopping |
| D.had weak effects on the customers |
Which of the following is the key to the success in product sales?
| A.The way to promote goods. |
| B.The discovery of a genius. |
| C.The team to produce a good product |
| D.The brand name used by successful producers. |
Which of the following would be the best title for this text?
| A.Choice of Good Products |
| B.Disadvantages of Products |
| C.Effect of Packaging on Shopping |
| D.Brand Names and Shopping Tricks |