研究⽣英语阅读教程（基础级2版）课⽂05及其翻译
Science and Technology (->technique)人力资源助理考试
By Judith Raughman (Editor)
[1] (optimistic->)Optimism and empowerment. As the century drew to a clo (end), the potential for human invention and understanding appeared (emed) boundless (limitless). Scientific understanding expanded daily, from the fundamental (basic) building blocks of matter to the source code of all life to the origins, and perhaps the eventual (finally) demi (end), of the univer. The technological advances (progress) of the 1990s ushered in (led to) what appeared to be a social and economic revolution that would rival (match / compete with) the Industrial Revolution two centuries earlier (information revolution), creating a new society of technologically connected citizens with a world of digitized information, commerce, and communication at its fingertips. The new "Digital Age", reprented by the "Information Superhighway" was not all-inclusive, threatened to leave many (people) behind, including older citizens and tho (people) who could not afford (pay for) the new technology. Still (Furthermore), by 1999 more than three-quarters of the U. S. population was "plugged in" to the new digital society (age), and most Americans felt that technological advances were improvin
g their quality of life. Optimism was the reigning tone [key-note speaker/ speech] of the decade. New advances in science and technology emed to promi eventual (final) solutions to problems ranging from eliminating toxic (poisonous) waste to grocery shopping — genetic engineers developed microbes that would eat industrial sludge and rearchers at the Massachutts Institute of Technology's (MIT) Media Lab worked to devi (design) a refrigerator that could n (feel) when it was out of milk and u the Internet to order more. The 1990s allayed (relieved/ reduced) the fear that a technologically advanced society was necessarily heavily centralized, with Big Brother watching every move (=movement). Instead (On the contrary), with the creation of the Internet and the World Wide Web, and their emphasis on decentralization, equality, and the open sharing of resources, many individuals found that greater access (right) to information incread their n (feeling) of personal freedom and power.
[2] Ethics and the Natural. With the explosion of knowledge came public concern (worry) over where all of the new discoveries and technologies might be taking society. The cloning of an animal in 1997 suggested (show) that human cloning had become viable (feasible) as well (too), raising concerns — no longer quite theoretical — that humanity might be moving toward a "brave (adventurous) new world" of genetically engineered people. The Human Genome Project, launched i
n 1990 with a mission (missionary/ task) to decode the entire human genetic makeup, held (rai) promis (hope) for an end (terminate) to genetic disorders, but threatened to open the way for "designer babies", who could be genetically altered to suit their parents' wishes. While many (people) argued that plant and animal breeders had been fooling around with genetics for centuries in order to better (improve) the lot of humankind, others pointed out that new advances (progress) in genetics allowed rearchers to cross boundaries t by nature, implanting human genes in animals in order to turn them into medicine factories, creating plants that produced plastics and glowed in the dark, even attempting (trying) to create “terminator" eds that stifled (suppress) their own reproductive capacity (ability) in order to maintain (keep) the ed manufacturer's cash flow. The question of what was "natural" came under rious consideration (discussion), as no aspect of the environment and the organisms in it emed safe from genetic tinkering. Yet, while experiments with human cloning or customizing a child's genetic makeup emed abhorrent (horrible/ terrible) to most Americans, there was general support for genetic rearch that could help to identify
(recognize) and cure genetic dias or make food sources healthier and more plentiful for a growing global population. [3] (private->)Privacy. Privacy was an overarching (most important) concern (worry) with many of the technological and scientific advances of the 1990s. The Internet wa
s an amazing (surprising) new tool for sharing information, yet it was also a powerful means (tools) for finding information that was intended to be private, including government and military crets, the source codes to proprietary (private) software, and even a neighbor's social curity number. Companies and individuals alike (ad. similarly) worried that their private information would be compromid when (since) sophisticated computer technologists could "hack" into protected computer systems and era or steal important data. Computer virus, lf-replicating codes (program) written by malicious individuals, could steal into personal computer systems through e-mail or the Web and wreak havoc with (make a mess of) the data stored there. Protecting privacy over the Internet was not easy, and many people worried that government attempts (try) to intervene would only cripple (disable/ paralyze) the development of the Internet. Similar fears were sparked (vt. sparkled) when concerned (relevant) groups lobbied (persuade) the government to outlaw pornography and other disturbing materials on the Web in the name of "protecting the children". While most Americans agreed that children should not be expod to (touch/ watch) such material, attempts (efforts) to regulate (control) the content of individual Web pages and newsgroups conflicted with the idea of the Internet as an open, decentralized mass medium, where even the most absurd or repellant (disgusting) ideas could receive a hearing (have some audience). Digital surveillance in the workplace also became an issue (problem), as (when) some companies spied on (watch) their workers' u of the Internet and e-mail. [sur-: above; from above]
[4] Genetics and Privacy. Advances (progress) in genetics also threatened personal privacy. With the Human Genome
Project scheduled (planned) to be finished early in the twenty-first century, and private companies competing to win patents on genetic discoveries, many individuals worried about what scientists might do with a complete understanding of the human genetic code. While genetic dias could be discovered and perhaps cured, this information might also be ud to discriminate against people predispod (inclined to) to certain genetic malfunctions, or to group (vt./ classify) individuals bad on their genetic data. The idea that scientists would own patents on the human genetic code was disturbing, as well, as (for/ since) it meant that human life could become a proprietary (private) resource (property).
[5] Big Science And Little Science. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) continued to wow (surpri) the world, nding the giant Hubble Telescope into orbit to gather and transmit never-before-en images (picture) of deep space that offered (gave) increasingly tantalizing (attractive) clues to the origins of the univer. The arch for extraterrestrial life continued during the decade, as NASA scientists found possible evidence of bacterial life in a meteor from Mars, and distant planets were discovered that might contain water. NASA nt space p
robes (n./vt.) to land on the surface of Mars, nt national hero John Herschel Glenn Jr. back into space to study aging, and made plans to build an International Space Station with rearch teams from other countries. Still (Furthermore), some critics wondered if all of the money spent on space rearch might not be better ud to fund new discoveries here on Earth, almost as if the (divide->)diversion of space was no longer as necessary when (since) there were so
结合能matter at the molecular level, building new devices (equipment) atom by atom that could be ud in miniaturized manufacturing, drug-delivery system, and tiny (small) minicomputers. With the discovery of a new family of carbon molecules known as fullerenes, nanotechnology rearchers had a new raw material to work with (process). The science was still very experimental at the turn (beginning) of the century, but rearchers and government officials saw great potential for this science of the tiny (small). (1, 151 words)
deliver milk/ a baby
ABOUT THE TEXT
This text is excerpted from the book American Decades 1990-1999, edited by Judith Baughman (Editor), Victor Bondi (Editor), Vincent Tompkins (Editor) and Gale Group, which is the last volume of the American Decades 1900-2000 Series. The ries is the latest installment of the Gale ries documenting the history and social trends of the United States of America during the 20th century. The current text is the overview (summary) of the book's one chapter on Science and Technology.
EXERCISES
I. Reading Comprehension
Answer the following questions or complete the following statements.
1. This article is mainly about _____.
A. how to tackle the problems in the new "Digital Age"
B. the direction of scientific and technological development
C. both the positive and negative effects of the technological advances
D. the great impact on our ethics and privacy brought by the technological advances
2. The "new society" mentioned in the first paragraph refers to a society which _____.
A. reprents the digital age
B. emphasizes on humanity
C. is highly civilized
D. benefits everyone except older citizens
泡泡少儿英语招聘3. The phra "plugged in" in the first paragraph is clost in meaning to _____.
A. interested in
the bends
B. accustomed to
C. fascinated by
D. connected to
4. Which of the following is NOT responsible for the incread n of personal freedom and power?
A. A technologically advanced society is centralized.
B. There is much greater access to information than before.
C. People can have the open sharing of resources online.
D. The notion of equality is emphasized on the Internet.
5. Concerned about the potential effect of the Human Genome Project, most Americans would _____.
A. welcome human cloning to improve their standard of living
B. support the genetic rearch which could help to cure genetic dias
C. welcome creating plants that produced plastics and glowed in the dark
D. support making genetically altered babies to suit their parents' wishes
6. How could the "terminator" eds maintain the ed manufacturer's cash flow?
A. They are so reproductive that they will outll other kinds of eds.
B. The patents on the "terminator" eds would guarantee the manufacturer big profit.
C. The farmers have to buy eds again as the "terminator" eds grow into plants unable to produce eds themlves.
D. Becau the plants, into which the "terminator" eds grow, could produce plastic and glow in the dark, the eds ll extremely well.
7. Many people who think government should not outlaw pornography on the Web believe that _____.
A. there were still a large number of people who have need for pornography
B. everyone could voice his ideas, no matter how weird or offensive they are
C. the government had no right to interfere with the development of the Internet
D. the government might be encouraged to spy on each suspicious computer
8. The development of genetic science might threaten personal privacy in that _____.
A. the data of the people with genetic dias will be published
B. people may be treated differently bad on their genetic data
C. patents on the human genetic code will bring scientists enormous profits
D. scientists will u information about human life for personal gains
9. "Little science" in this text refers to _____.杭州计算机培训
A. the study of life in outer space
B. the study of the origin of life
C. the study of molecules
D. the study of nanotechnology
10. What is the critics' attitude towards the large scale of space rearch as mentioned in the last paragraph?
A. They believe that such a rearch would be a waste of resources.
B. They doubt its necessity becau there are new and interesting projects on Earth.
C. They are concerned that space rearch would prove to be fruitless.
D. They believe that space rearch is not so important as nanotechnology.
II. Vocabulary
A. Read the following ntences and decide which of the me choices below each ntence is clost in meaning to the underlined word.
1. The demi (death) of the industry has caud untold miry to thousands of hard-working (diligent) tradesmen.
A. size
B. expansion
C. development
D. termination
2. There were difficulties for her about making the whole surgery financially viable (feasible) and eventually (finally) she left.
A. practicable
B. sufficient
C. deficient
D. impractical
3. Learning some basic information about preparing and delivering (~ a speech) formal prentations can help allay (relieve/ reduce) some of the fear involved in public speaking. [oral prentation]
A. ea [(1)n. feel at ~; (2)to relieve pain]
B. express
C. prevent
D. dispo (get rid of)
havebeendone4. Whatever the cau (may be), the incident could easily cripple (damage/ paralyze) the peace talks.
A. influence
B. damage
C. end
D. complicate (a./ vt.)
5. Government can and must provide opportunity, not smother it; foster (develop/ cultivate)
A. retain
C. crash
D. abandon (abundant: a. enough)
6. He listened keenly to his guests, treated what he heard with complete discretion and never said a malicious word. [malice: n.->malicious: a.] [be keen on sth.]
A.disheartening (discouraging<->encourage)
B. sympathetic [sym-: same; pathy: feeling
C. harsh (vere)
D. polite [be sympathetic with sb./ sympathize with sb.]
7. After the summit (peak) meeting, peace reigned throughout the region once more (again).
A. emerged (appeared)
B. continued
C. dominated
D. resumed (restore)
8. There are many people who still find the act of abortion abhorrent (disgusting/ horrible/ terrible).
A. shocking (=surprising)
B. (tolerate->)tolerable
C. uncontrollable [high ~<->low ~]
D. distasteful (disgusting)
9. The police have got the evidence to sue him, which is shot with a miniature (hidden) camera.
A. small
B. digital
C. concealed (hidden)
D. sophisticated [shoot, shot shot/ gun shot]
10. The chief [chef=cook] has asmbled (collected) 300 tantalizing (attractive) recipes for all occasions and lifestyles, plus down to earth (=practical) advice on matching food with wine.
A. disturbing
B. tempting
C. promising
D. offending (=offensive/ ~ talk)
B. Choo the best word or expression from the list given for each blank. U each word or expression only once and make proper changes where necessary.
predispod to decode wreak havoc compromi malfunction
at one's fingertips usher in discriminate toxic customizemba调剂
1. You have to admit how wonderful the rvice center is —it just puts anything you may possibly need at your fingertips!
2. He belonged to a generation that took it for granted that after the war a brave new world was to be ushered in (be led to somewhere).
3. We must understand the double language ud today and carefully decode its meaning.
4. The civil war has wrought havoc on the economy.fast
5. The government's future may be plunged (dive) into jeopardy (danger) unless the coalition () partners manage to (try to) reach a compromi. [win-win situation]
牛津小学英语说课稿6. This heat can cau certain circuit-board components to malfunction or fail altogether.
volunteer是什么意思
7. Evidence showed the herbs were not toxic (poisonous) and did not contain poisons or common drugs.
8. It was alleged (claimed) that the restaurant discriminated against black customers. [Negro]
9. Some people are genetically predispod (inclined to do sth.) to cancers.
