2004年12月六级试题及答案(A卷)_第4页

　　Questions 36 to 40 are based on the following passage.

　　"I've never met a human worth cloning," says cloning expert Mark Westhusin from 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 cows and expect to clone a cat soon. They just might succeed in cloning Missy this spring - or perhaps not for another 5 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 upset by all this talk of human cloning. In three years of work on the Missy project, using hundreds upon hundreds of dog's eggs, the A&M team has produced only a dozen or so embryos (胚胎) carrying Missy's DNA. None have survived the transfer to a surrogate (代孕的) mother. The wastage of eggs and the many spontaneously aborted fetuses (胎) 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 has been ringing with people calling in hopes of duplicating their cats and dogs, cattle and horses. "A lot of people want to clone pets, especially if the price is right," says Westhusin. Cost is no obstacle for Missy's mysterious billionaire owner; he's put up $3.7 million so far to fund A&M's research.

　　Contrary to some media reports, Missy is not dead. The owner wants a twin to carry on Missy's fine qualities after she does die. The prototype is, by all accounts, athletic, good-natured and supersmart. Missy's master does not expect an exact copy of her. 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 clones differ from Missy."

　　Besides cloning a great dog, the project may contribute insight into the old question of nature vs. nurture. It could also lead to the cloning of special rescue dogs and many endangered animals.

　　However, Westhusin is cautious about his work. He knows that even if he gets a dog 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 we're not even close to getting it worked out in animals yet?"

　　36. By "stupid endeavor" (Line 2, Para. 1), Westhusin means to say that ________.

　　A) animal cloning is not worth the effort at all

　　B) animal cloning is absolutely impractical

　　C) human cloning should be done selectively

　　D) human cloning is a foolish undertaking

　　37. What does the first paragraph tell us about Westhusin's dog cloning project?

　　A) Its success is already in sight.

　　B) Its outcome remains uncertain.

　　C) It is doomed to utter failure.

　　D) It is progressing smoothly.

　　38. By cloning Missy, Mark Westhusin hopes to ________.

　　A) study the possibility of cloning humans

　　B) search for ways to modify .its temperament

　　C) examine the reproductive system of the dog species

　　D) find out the differences between Missy and its clones

　　39. We learn from the passage that animal clones are likely to have ________.

　　A) a bad temper C) defective organs

　　B) immune deficiency D) an abnormal shape

　　40. It can be seen that present cloning techniques ________.

　　A) still have a long way to go before reaching maturity

　　B) have been widely used in saving endangered species

　　C) provide insight into the question of nature vs. nurture

　　D) have proved quite adequate for the cloning of humans

　　Part III Vocabulary(20 minutes)

　　Directions: There are 30 incomplete sentences in this part. For each sentence there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D). Choose the ONE answer that best completes the sentence. Then mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with a single line through the centre.

　　41. My grandfather, a retired worker, often ________ the past with a feeling of longing and respect.

　　A) considers C) contrives

　　B) contemplates D) contacts

　　42. Medical students are advised that the wearing of a white coat ________ the acceptance of a professional code of conduct expected of the medical profession.

　　A) supplements C) signifies

　　B) simulates D) swears

　　43. The doctors ________ the newly approved drug into the patient when he was critically ill.

　　A) injected C) projected

　　B) ejected D) subjected

　　44. Apart from philosophical and legal reasons for respecting patients' wishes, there are several practical reasons why doctors should ________ to involve patients in their own medical care decisions.

　　A) enforce C) endeavor

　　B) endow D) enhance

　　45. This is a long ________ - roughly 13 miles down a beautiful valley to the little church below.

　　A) terrain C) degeneration

　　B) descent D) tumble

　　46. She was deeply ________ by the amount of criticism her play received.

　　A) deported C) involved

　　B) deprived D) frustrated

　　47. Some scientists are dubious of the claim that organisms ________ with age as an inevitable outcome of living.

　　A) depress C) deteriorate

　　B) default D) degrade

　　48. Many manufacturers were accused of concentrating too heavily on cost reduction, often at the ________ of the quality of their products.

　　A) expense C) expansion

　　B) exposure D) expectation

　　49. One witness ________ that he'd seen the suspect run out of the bank after it had been robbed.

　　A) convicted C) retorted

　　B) conformed D) testified

　　50. Nothing Helen says is ever ________. She always thinks carefully before she speaks.

　　A) simultaneous C) spontaneous

　　B) homogenous D) rigorous

　　51. She gave ________ directions about the way the rug should be cleaned.

　　A) explicit C) transient

　　B) brisk D) opaque

　　52. It took a lot of imagination to come up with such a(n) ________ plan.

　　A) inherent C) vigorous

　　B) ingenious D) exotic

　　53. A ________ official is one who is irresponsible in his work.

　　A) timid C) suspicious

　　B) tedious D) slack

　　54. Most mathematicians trust their ________ in solving problems and readily admit they would not be able to function without it.

　　A) conception C) intuition

　　B) perception D) cognition

　　55. He had an almost irresistible ________ to talk to the crowd when he entered Hyde Park.

　　A) impulse C) stimulation

　　B) instinct D) surge