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1、11、And man-made life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。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。TO CREATE life
2、is the prerogative of gods. Deep in the human psyche, whatever the rational pleadings of physics and chemistry, there exists a sense that biology is different, is more than just the sum of atoms moving about and reacting with one another, is somehow infused with a divine spark, a vital essence. It m
3、ay come as a shock, then, that mere mortals have now made artificial life.Craig Venter and Hamilton Smith, the two American biologists who unraveled the first DNA sequence of a living organism (a bacterium) in 1995, have made a bacterium that has an artificial genomecreating a living creature with n
4、o ancestor. Pedants may quibble that only the DNA of the new beast was actually manufactured in a laboratory; the researchers had to use the shell of an existing bug to get that DNA to do its stuff. Nevertheless, a Rubicon has been crossed. It is now possible to conceive of a world in which new bact
5、eria (and eventually, new animals and plants) are designed on a computer and then grown to order.That ability would prove mankinds 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 Second World War, was pur
6、ely destructive. Biology is about nurturing and growth. Synthetic biology, as the 2technology that this and myriad less eye catching advances are ushering in has been dubbed, promises much. In the short term it promises better drugs, less thirsty crops, greener fuels and even a rejuvenated chemical
7、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 bo
8、ots? Will their hubris bring Nemesis in due course? What horrors will come creeping out of the flask on the laboratory bench?Such questions are not misplacedand should give pause even to those, including this newspaper, who normally embrace advances in science with enthusiasm. The new biological sci
9、ence does have the potential to do great harm, as well as good. “Predator” and “disease” 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.1. In paragraph one, the author implies that to
10、create life is_.A. against Gods willB. against peoples religious rightC. gods privilegeD. a proof of mens power2. The statement “a Rubicon has been crossed” in paragraph two means that_.A. the researchers have violated the law of the natureB. the researchers have solved the problem caused by Rubicon
11、C. the researchers have overcome the protest from religious peopleD. the researchers have taken their decision and will never change3. The author cites the example of the first atomic bomb to imply_.A. mankinds mastery over the nature3B. the potential danger of creating lifeC. the harm brought about
12、 by scientific developmentD. the differences between physics and biology4. In the last paragraph, the author urges people to_.A. applaud warmly for scientific developmentB. give due support to advances in creating lifeC. think twice about the influence of creating lifeD. accept whatever is good or i
13、ll in existence5. According to the passage, the author holds a _ attitude towards creating life.A. supportive B. detached C. biased D. suspicious词汇：Divine a.神的，神圣的，非凡的，超人的，非常可爱的;n.牧师Conceive v.(of)设想，构思，想象;以为; 怀胎，怀有Profound a.深刻的，意义深远的;渊博的，造诣深的真题例句 But the environment must also have a profound () ef
14、fect, since if competition is important to the parents, it is likely to become a major factor in the lives of their children.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。Artificial a.人工的，人造的;人为的，娇揉造作的真题例句 Indeed the quest for true artificial () intelligence has produced very mixed resul
15、ts.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 (), but as the result of a historically developed cultural tradition.4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 v.拥抱;包含真题例句 In the American
16、 economy, the concept of private property embraces () 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.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。5参考译文：人造生命造物是上帝的特权。无论从物理还是化学的角度来说，人造生命有多么合情合理，人类内心一直有这样一种观念生物是特殊的，它不仅仅是一定数量的原子晃来
