学习雷锋作文
And man made life人造生命 [2010.05.20] The Economist
TO CREATE life is the prerogative of gods. Deep in the human psyche, whatever the rational pleadings of physics and chemistry, there exists a n that biology is different, is more than just the sum of atoms moving about and reacting with one another, is somehow infud with a divine spark, a vital esnce. It may come as a shock, then, that mere mortals have now made artificial life.
Craig Venter and Hamilton Smith, the two American biologists who unravelled the first DNA quence of a living organism (a bacterium) in 1995, have made a bacterium that has an artificial genome—creating a living creature with no ancestor (e article). Pedants may quibble that only the DNA of the new beast was actually manufactured in a laboratory; the rearchers had to u the shell of an existing bug to get that DNA to do its stuff. Nevertheless, a Rubicon has been crosd. It is now possible to conceive of a world in which new bacteria (and eventually, new animals and plants) are designed on a computer and then grown to order.
That ability would prove mankind’s mastery over nature in a way more profound than even the detonation of the first atomic bomb. The bomb, however justified in the context of the cond world war, was purely destructive. Biology is about nurturing and growth. Synthetic biology, as the technology that this and myriad less eye-catching advances are ushering in has been dubbed, promis much. In the short term it promis better drugs, less thirsty crops (e article), greener fuels and even a rejuvenated chemical industry. In the longer term who knows what marvels could be designed and grown?
On the face of it, then, artificial life looks like a wonderful thing. Yet that is not how many will view the announcement. For them, a better word than “creation” is “tampering”. Have scientists got too big for their boots? Will their hubris bring Nemesis in due cour? What horrors will come creeping out of the flask on the laboratory bench?
Such questions are not misplaced—and should give pau even to tho, including this n天津春考
共工与颛顼ewspaper, who normally embrace advances in science with enthusiasm. The new biological science does have the potential to do great harm, as well as good. “Predator” and “dia” are just as much part of the biological vocabulary as “nurturing” and “growth”. But for good or ill it is here. Creating life is no longer the prerogative of gods.
管理标准1 In paragraph one, the author implies that to create life is .模板支撑
A against God’s will | B against people’s religious right |
C gods’ privilege | D a proof of men’s power |
| |
2 The statement “a Rubicon has been crosd” in paragraph two means that .
A the rearchers have violated the law of the nature
B the rearchers has solved the problem caud by Rubicon
C the rearchers have overcome the protest from religious people
D the rearchers have taken their decision and will never change
3 The author cites the example of the first atomic bomb to imply .
A mankind’s mastery over the nature
B the potential danger of creating life
C the harm brought about by scientific development
D the differences between physics and biology
4 In the last paragraph, the author urges people to .
制作兔子灯笼A applaud warmly for scientific development
B give due support to advances in creating life
C think twice about the influence of creating life
D accept whatever is good or ill in existence
5 According to the passage, the author holds a attitude towards creating life.
A supportive | B detached | C biad | D suspicious |
| | | |
考研词汇
divine[dɪˈvaɪn] a.神的，神圣的，非凡的，超人的，非常可爱的；n.牧师
conceive[kənˈsiv] v.①（of）设想，构思，想象；②以为；③怀胎，怀有
profound[prəˈfaʊnd a.①深刻的，意义深远的；②渊博的，造诣深的
［真题例句］ But the environment must also have a profound (①) effect, since if competition is important to the parents, it is likely to become a major factor in the lives of their children.［1995年阅读4］
［例句精译］ 但环境也一定对性格有深刻的影响，因为如果竞争对父母来说很重要的话，那它也可能成为孩子生活中的一个重要因素。
［真题例句］ 56.What do American parents expect their children to acquire in school?［2004年阅读4］
［B］ Profound (②) knowledge of the world.
［例句精译］ 56 美国的父母期望他们的孩子在学校获得什么？
［B］ 深谙世事。
artificial[ˌɑrtəˈfɪʃəl] a.①人工的，人造的；②人为的，娇揉造作的
［真题例句］ Indeed the quest for true artificial (①) intelligence has produced very mixed results.［2002年阅读2］
［例句精译］ 实际上对真正的人工智能的追求已经产生了各种各样的效果。
［真题例句］ The casual friendliness of many Americans should be interpreted neither as superficial nor as artificial (②), but as the result of a historically developed cultural tradition.［1997年阅读2］
梅花品质
［例句精译］ 很多美国人不经意表现的友好不应被看做是表面或虚假的应酬，而应该看成是文化传统历史发展的结果
embrace[ɛmˈbres] v.①拥抱；②包含
［真题例句］ In the American economy, the concept of private property embraces (②) not only the ownership of productive resources but also certain rights, including the right to determine the price of a product or to make a free contract with another private individual.［1994年阅读1］
［例句精译］ 在美国经济中，私有财产的概念不仅包括生产资料的所有权，也包括一定的权利，比如，产品价格的决定权或与其他私有个体的自由签约权。
背景常识介绍
人造生命是指从其它生命体中提取基因，建立新染色体。随后将其嵌入已经被剔除了遗传密码的细胞之中，最终由这些人工染色体控制这个细胞，发育变成新的生命体。2007年10月8日，美国科学家克雷格·文特尔表示，他目前已经在实验室成功地制造出一个合成的人造染色体。怎么做圆锥2010年5月20日，美国私立科研机构克雷格·文特尔研究所宣布世界首例人造生命——完全由人造基因控制的单细胞细菌诞生，并将“人造生命”起名为“辛西娅”。这项具有
里程碑意义的实验表明，新的生命体可以在实验室里“被创造”，而不是一定要通过“进化”来完成。
