研究生科技英语阅读答案

Unit1

GeneticallyModifiedFoods—FeedtheWorld?

I.ComprehensionandAppreciation

1.Whatistheauthor9soverallpositiononthisissue?Ishefororagainstgenetically

modifiedfoods?

HeisonthesideofGMfoods,andhethinksthatfearsthatgeneticallymodified,

pest-resistantcropsmightkillgoodinsectsaswellasbadappearunfounded.

2.DoyouknowGMfoodsarealreadypartofourlives?WhatkindofGMfoodshave

youhad?Howdoestheauthorsupportthefactthatthegeneticisoutofthebottle?

Haveyougotanyclueofallusionandparodyusedintheexpression“thegeneticis

outofthebottle”?

Theauthorusesthefactthatathirdofthecornandmorethanhalfthesoybeansand

cottongrownintheUSlastyearweretheproductofbiotechnologyandmorethan65

millionacresofgeneticallymodifiedcropswillbeplantedintheUSthisyeartoshow

thegeneticisoutofthebottle.

ItisfromeGenieinaBottle,thefirsthitsingleandsignaturesongfromChristina

Aguilera'sdebutalbum.

3.TheentryofGMfoodsintothefoodchainraisesthedebateaboutbiotechinmany

countries,whatisthegeneralattitudeofwealthycountriestowardthisissue?What

aboutthedevelopingcountriesonthisissue?

Inwealthycountries,thedebateaboutbiotechistemperedbythefactthatwehavea

richarrayoffoodstochoosefrom—andasupplythatfarexceedsourneeds.In

developingcountriesdesperatetofeedfast-growingandunderfedpopulations;the

issueissimplerandmuchmoreurgent:Dothebenefitsofbiotechoutweightherisks?

4.Whataretheeffectsofthefactthatnearly800millionpeoplearoundtheworldare

undernourished?

Theeffectsaredevastating.About400millionwomenofchildbearingageareiron

deficient,whichmeanstheirbabiesareexposedtovariousbirthdefects.Asmanyas

100millionchildrensufferfromvitaminAdeficiency,aleadingcauseofblindness.

Tensofmillionsofpeoplesufferfromothermajorailmentsandnutritional

deficienciescausedbylackoffood.

5.HowcanbiotechhelptocurethechildrenwithvitaminAdeficiency?

Biotechnologistshavedevelopedgeneticallymodifiedricethatisfortifiedwith

beta-carotene-whichthebodyconvertsintovitaminA-andadditionaliron.

6.HowdoyouliketheGM,pest-resistantcrops?Howdoestheauthorsupportthe

ideathatfearsthatGM,pest-resistantcropsmightkillgoodinsectsaswellasbad

appeargroundless?

TheGM,pest-resistantcropscanimprovefarmingproductivityinplaceswherefood

shortagesarecausedbycropdamageattributiontopests,drought,poorsoilandcrop

viruses,bacteriaorfungi.Theyarequiteamazingandseeminglyamircle.

Theauthoruses2examplestosupporthisideathatfearsthatGM,pest-resistantcrops

mightkillgoodinsectsaswellasbadappeargroundless:

(1).TheEuropeancomborer,forexample,destroys40milliontonsoftheworld's

corncropannually,about7%ofthetotal.Incorporatingpest-resistantgenesintoseeds

canhelprestorethebalance.

(2).Intrialsofpest-resistantcottoninAfrica,yieldshaveincreasedsignificantly.

7.Howdoesbiotechhelptosolvetheproblemofcropfailuresduetoviruses,

droughtsandsoilswithexcessaluminum?

Byincorporatingvarietiesofgenesintotheseeds,biotechcanhelptocreate

virus-resistantcrops,whichcanreducethatdamage,ascandrought-tolerantseedsin

regionswherewatershortageslimittheamountoflandundercultivation.Biotechcan

alsohelpsolvetheproblemofsoilthatcontainsexcessaluminum,whichcandamage

rootsandcausemanystaple-cropfailures.Agenethathelpsneutralizealuminum

toxicityinricehasbeenidentified.

8.Isbiotechtheonlychancefordevelopingcountriestoovercomehunger?

Biotechisfarfrombeingthewholeanswer.Indevelopingcountries,lostcropsare

onlyonecauseofhunger.Povertyplaysthelargestrole.

9.Whatproblemsisbiotechconfrontedwith?Aretheresomecompaniesresponding

totheneedsofpoorcountries?Howdidtheyhelpthepoorcountries?

Biotechhasitsown"distribution"problems.Private-sectorbiotechcompaniesinthe

richcountriescarryoutmuchoftheleading-edgeresearchongeneticallymodified

crops.Theirproductsareoftentoocostlyforpoorfarmersinthedevelopingworld,

andmanyofthoseproductswon'tevenreachtheregionswheretheyaremostneeded.

Toourgreatjoyandease,therearesomeofthesecompaniesrespondingtoneedsof

poorcountries.ALondon-basedcompany,forexample,hasannouncedthatitwill

sharewithdevelopingcountriestechnologyneededtoproducevitamin-enriched

"goldenrice0.

10.IfGMfoodsfailtotransformagricultureinmanydevelopingcountries,whatis

thedauntingquestiontheauthorvisualizesforthedevelopingcountries?Whyisit

daunting?

Biotechisnotapanacea,butitdoespromisetotransformagricultureinmany

developingcountries.Ifthatpromiseisnotfulfilled,therealloserswillbetheir

people,whocouldsufferforyearstocome.

ILVocabulary

1.alternative2.modification3・devastating4.rigorous5.collaborate

6.recoup7.incentive8.restriction9.subjectedto10.arrayof

11.attribute...to12.beingexposed...to13.incorporate...into14.fortified

with15.suffersfrom

III.Translation

(1)vocalgreenlobbies主张环保的游说集团

arableland耕地面积

vitaminAdeficiency缺乏维生素A

nutritionallyimprovedcrops增进营养成分的农作物

restorethebalance避免这一损失

staplecrops主要粮食作物

neutralizealuminumtoxicity中和铝的毒性

overallcropproductivity农业总产量

transportinfrastructures运输基础设施

targetrichmarkets把富裕国家的市场作为目标

(2)转基因食品来源于转基因生物体。转基因生物体自身发生了特定变化，基因

工程技术使得其DNA发生这种变化成为可能。这些技术比突变(突变育种)精确

的多，因为突变只使某个生物体暴露于辐射或化学物质从而创造-•种非特异性而

稳定的变化。人类改变食物机体的其他技术还包括选择性育种(植物育种和养殖

动物)，和体细胞无性系变异。

转基因食品于90年代初首次推出市场。通常情况下，转基因食品为转基因植物

产品：大豆，玉米，油菜，棉花子油。但动物产品也已得到开发。2006年研究

人员通过一种名为线虫的基因，在一头猪身上有争议的研发出叱3脂肪酸。研

究人员还开发了一种转基因品种的猪，它能够更高效地吸收植物磷，因此其粪便

的磷含量也减少高达60%o

批评家反对转基因食品的若干理由，包括理论或想象的安全问题，生态问题，经

济问题，上述问题的提出是由于转基因生物体受知识产权法支配。

2.TranslatethefollowingChineseintoEnglish.

(1)挑起争论tosparkadebate

转基因食品geneticallymodifiedfoods

解决问题toresolveissues

食物链thefoodchain

供大于求Thesupplyexceedstheneeds

世界人均耕地theworld'scultivablelandperperson

大幅度提高toincreasesignificantly

罪魁祸首toplaythelargestrole

从整体上看takenasawhole

尖端研究theleading-edgeresearch

(2)Findingitdifficulttoadapttotheclimatethere

(3)tohavenoaccesstothehealthservice

(4)animportantroleinprosperinganddeveloping

(5)adepressioninyieldandareductioninquality

(6)couldhavemadeagoodsalary

(7)Wecannotestimatethevalueofmodemscienceandtechnologytoomuch.

(8)Theinsurancecompanywillrecoupthefarmersforthelosscausedbytheflood.

(9)DuringtheSARSoutbreak,thelackofhygieneinpoorcountrieshaddevastating

consequencestoallpeopleoftheworld.

(10)ThisUniversityLibraryisoneofthelargestLibrariesinChina,withastackof

over2.3millionvolumes.ItsupportstheUniversity'sresearchandteachingacross

afullrangeofsubjects,andprovidesinformationabouttheLibrary'scollections

andservicesineachsubjectarea.

(ll)Therecessionhashitmiddle-incomeandpoorfamilieshardest,wideningthe

economicgapbetweentherichestandpoorestAmericansasjoblayoffsravaged

householdbudgets.

(⑵China'sgovernmentdeclaredtwostrainsofgeneticallymodifiedricesafeto

produceandconsume,takingamajorsteptowardendorsingtheuseof

biotechnologyinthestaplefoodcropofbillionsofpeopleinAsia.Chinaisthe

world'stopproducerandconsumerofrice,soitsuseofmodifiedvarietieshasthe

potentialtoalterthegrain*sglobalsupplypatterns.China*sofficialshavebeenless

constrainedbypublicpressureoverthesometimes-controversialuseof

biotechnologyinfoodthanofficialsinothercountries.Thegovernmenthaslong

supportedresearchintoagriculturalbiotechnologyaspartofadrivetoensurethe

nationremainsself-sufficientinstaplecrops.

IV.Cloze

1.species2.predictable3.unrelated4.different5.into

6.produce7.seeing8.also9.obvious10.inserted

11.nobody12.approved13.apparently14.humans15.risks

Unit2

TheBiologyofSkinColor:BlackandWhite

I.comprehensionandAppreciation

1.Howdoyoulikethistitle“TheBiologyofSkinColor:BlackandWhite"?

Itisagreatone.Ononehand,thephrase-BlackandWhiteislikelytoremindus

readersoftheallegedwhitesuperiorityovertheBlacksandracialdiscrimination

againstthembyassociationestablishedwiththewell-knownsong“BlackandWhite”

sungbyMichaelJakson.Ontheotherhand,theword-biologyprovidesthefollow-up

discussionascientificgroundandthereforemaychangethewaypeoplethinkabout

skincolor.

2.WhydidanthropologistNinaJablonskifeeldismayedwhenshewentthroughthe

literatureonhumanskin?

Shefeltdismayedbecauseshefoundsometheoriesonhumanskinadvancedbefore

the1970stendedtoberacist,andotherswerelessthanconvincing.Afterthe1970s,

whenresearcherswerepresumablymoreawareofthecontroversysuchstudiescould

kickup,therewasverylittleworkatall.

3.Jablonskiandherhusbandhaveformulatedthefirstcomprehensivetheoryofskin

color,andwhatdidtheirnewfindingsonskincolorshow?

Theirfindings,publishedinarecentissueoftheJournalofHumanEvolution,showa

strong,somewhatpredictablecorrelationbetweenskincolorandthestrengthof

sunlightacrosstheglobe.Buttheyalsoshowadeeper,moresurprisingprocessat

work:Skincolor,theysay,islargelyamatterofvitamins.

4.Whydidourancestorshavetodevelopabettercoolingsystem?Andwhatwasthe

answer?

Onceonthesavanna,theearlyhumansnotonlyhadtocopewithmoreexposureto

thesun,buttheyalsohadtoworkhardertogatherfood.Mammalianbrainsare

particularlyvulnerabletooverheating:Achangeofonlyfiveorsixdegreescancause

aheatstroke.Thatisthereasonwhyourancestorshadtodevelopabettercooling

system,andtheanswerwassweat,whichdissipatesheatthroughevaporation.

5.Howmanysweatglandsdoeseachhumanhaveafteramillionyearsofnatural

selection?Whydoeshumanskindrymuchquickerthanchimpanzeeskin?

Amillionyearsofnaturalselectionlater,eachhumanhasabout2millionsweat

glandsspreadacrosshisorherbody.Humanskinislesshairythanchimpanzeeskin,

anditdriesmuchquicker.

6.Whatistheweakpointofharilessskin?

Hairlessskinisparticularlyvulnerabletodamagefromsunlight.

7.WhatsortofconnectionsdidJablonskifindrespectivelyina1978studyandata

seminaronembryonicdevelopment?

Shefoundtheeffectsofultravioletlightonfolateina1978studythatshowedanhour

ofintensesunlightisenoughtocutfolatelevelsinhalfifyourskinislight.Andshe

madethesecondcrucialconnectionthatlowfolatelevelsarecorrelatedwith

neural-tubedefectssuchasspinabifidaandanencephaly,inwhichinfantsarebom

withoutafullbrainorspinalcordataseminaronembryonicdevelopment.

8.WhathadthebiochemistW.FarnsworthLoomissuggestedasfarbackasthe1960s?

IshishypothesisabsolutelysoundandreasonablebythetimeJablonskididher

research?

Hehadsuggestedthatskincolorisdeterminedbythebody'sneedforvitaminD.The

vitaminhelpsthebodyabsorbcalciumanddeposititinbones,anessentialfunction,

particularlyinfast-growingembryos.BythetimeJablonskididherresearch,

Loomis'shypothesishadbeenpartiallydisproved.

9.Whyhavepeopleinthetropicsdevelopeddarkskinandpeoplefarfromthe

equatordevelopedfairskin?

Peopleinthetropicshavedevelopeddarkskintoblockoutthesunandprotecttheir

body'sfolatereserves.Peoplefarfromtheequatorhavedevelopedfairskintodrinkin

thesunandproduceadequateamountsofvitaminDduringthelongwintermonths.

10.Whatisthesignificaneofthisresearch?

ThisresearchishelpfultoalertpeopletotheimportanceofvitaminDandfolatein

theirdiet.Moreimportant,thisworkwillbegintochangethewaypeoplethinkabout

skincolor,atopicthathascausedsomuchdisagreement,somuchsuffering,andso

muchmisunderstanding,andcompletelydisarmit.

ILVocabulary

1.dismayed2.formulated3.dissipate4.evaporation5.foragefor

6.dispersing7.hampered8.correlatedwith9.defect10.inhibits

11.overdose12.disproved13.blockout14.reserves15.complement

III.Translation

(1)wentthroughtheliteratureonthesubject查阅这一专题的文献

arecentissueoftheJournalofHumanEvolution最近一期的《人类进化杂志》

exposuretothesun强烈阳光

areparticularlyvulnerabletooverheating特别易受过热温度的伤害

toabsorbordisperseultravioletlight吸收或散射紫外线

children'sneural-tubedefects婴儿的神经管缺陷

overdosingonvitaminD过量摄取维生素D

harddatacorrelatingskincolortolightlevels与肤色与光线水平有关联的过

硬数据。ultravioletradiation紫外线辐射

alertpeopletotheimportanceofvitaminD使人们注意他们饮食中富含维生

素D的重要性

(2)20世纪80年代以前，研究人员只能对究竟有多少紫外线辐射到达地球表面

做出估计。但在1978年，美国航空航天局(NASA)发射了“臭氧总量测绘分光

计”。3年前，杰布隆斯基和卓别林得到了该分光计所测的全球紫外线测量数据。

他们把这些数据与已经发表的来自50多个国家的有关当地人口肤色的数据进行

了比较。令他们欣慰的是，它们之间有着明确无误的相关性：紫外线越弱，皮肤

就越白皙。杰布隆斯基进而表明，生活在纬度50度以上的人缺乏维生素D的风

险最高。“这曾是人类定居历史上最后的障碍之一，”杰布隆斯基说。“只是在人

类学会了捕鱼，因而能获得富含维生素D的食物后，他们才能够定居在这些地

区。“

2.

(1)中暑heatstroke

浅色的皮肤lightskin

早在20世纪60年代Asfarbackasthe1960s

阻挡紫外线blockthelight

明确无误的相关性anunmistakablecorrelation

缺乏维生素DvitaminDdeficiency

富含维生素D的食物foodrichinvitaminD

远离赤道的人Peoplefarfromtheequator

吸收阳光drinkinthesun

云雾迷漫的地方cloudyclimes

⑵Hewasnotseverelypunishedforhiscrime

⑶advanceourknowledgeoftheHIVvirus,

⑷whentakenaccordingtothedirection/instruction

⑸tohavenoaccesstothehealthservice

(6)Hehassomevagueideasaboutwhattodo

⑺Afterthreedaysofdismaytheysubmittedtohimandbeggedhisforgiveness.

⑻Nosoonerhadthecontroversywithintheadministrationbeensettledthananother

moreviolentstormburstoverthecountry

⑼TheUNanditsagenciesprotectvulnerablegroups,likechildren,refugees,

displacedpersons,minorities,indigenouspeopleandthedisabled.

(10)Arecentresearchfindsthatlisteningtoloudmusicwhiledrivingcanseriously

hamperreactiontimesandcauseaccidents.

(ll)DuringtheSARSoutbreak,thelackofeffectivemedicineshaddevastating

consequencestoallpeopleoftheworld.

(12)Whenitcomestoyourskin,thereisanextremelyimportantfactthatyoumust

keepinmind:Yourskinisthelargestorganofyourbody.Asanobviousresult,

skinhealthandmaintenanceiscrucial.Yourskindoeseverythingfromprotecting

youfromtheelementstoassistingyouwithbreathing.Yourskinkeepsyourbody

hydratedandregulatesyourbody*stemperature.Intheend,thisreallyisonlythe

beginningofallofthevariousvitalfunctionsthatyourskinprovidestoyouevery

momentofyourlife.

IV.Cloze

1hard2surprisingly3represents4out5identify6within7damaged

8down9comes10why

Unit3

CanDirtDoaLittleGood?

I.comprehensionandAppreciation

1.Whydoestheauthorbeginbysayinginfantsareenchantingallovertheworldas

thenewmovie“Babies“shows?Howdoyoulikethedescription“aroosterstruts

aroundlittleBayar'sbed,agoatdrinksfromhisbathwaterandlivestockserveas

babysitters”?

Hewantstoestablishsortofidentificationinthereaderstoevokesympathytowards

thebabieswithpoorhygiene.Itisveryvivid,thereadersmayfeelboththesenseof

humorusedandworkoutthepoorlivingconditionofthisbaby.

2.Dothefourbabiescapturedinthenewfilmsharethesamelivingcondition?How

aretheirlivingconditionsdiverseindetails?

No,theydon't.InanomadicfamilyinNamibia,Ponijaodrinksfrommuddystreams,

chewsondrybonesanduseshermanysiblings*bodypartsastoys.Onasmallfamily

farminMongolia,aroosterstrutsaroundlittleBayar'sbed,agoatdrinksfromhis

bathwaterandlivestockserveasbabysitters.Bycontrast,Mari,growingupin

high-rise,high-techTokyo,andHattie,whosedotingparentslivea"green"lifestylein

SanFrancisco,bothhavemodemconveniencesandsanitation.

3.Whathealthproblemsdotheupscaleurbaninfantshave?

Theyhavesomehealthproblems,suchasallergies,asthmaandautoimmunediseases

likeType1diabetes,multiplesclerosisandinflammatoryboweldisease.

4.Doesthefilmmakeanymentionofhygieneinanyofthecountriesofthefour

diversebabies?Andwhatcontroversydoestheimagesinthefilmevoke?

Thefilmmakesnomentionofhygieneinanyofthecountries.Well,theimagesinthe

filmevokeanintriguingmedicalcontroversy:Arewetooclean,withour

preoccupationforhand-sanitizers,disinfectantsandanti-microbialproducts?

5.WhatdoesDr.Weinstockthinkofdirt?Andwhatkindofclinicaltrialsishe

behind?

Dr.Weinstockthinksthatexposuretoacertainamountofdirtandgennscarriedby

livestockmayhelpthebodybuildupresistancetodisease.Heisbehindclinicaltrials

usingpigwhipwormeggstotreatpeanutallergies,MSandotherautoimmune

diseases.

6.Doesexposuretoavarietyofbacteria,virusesandparasiticwormsdogoodtothe

children?

Yes,itdoes.Exposuretoavarietyofbacteria,virusesandparasiticwormsearlyin

lifehelpsprimeachild'simmunesystem,muchlikesensoryexperiencesprogramhis

brain.Withoutsuchearlyinstruction,theimmunesystemmaygohaywireand

overreactwithallergiestofoods,pollenandpetdanderorturnonthebody'sown

tissue,settingoffautoimmunedisorders.

7.Howdoyouunderstandtheso-called“oldfriends,,theory?

Manyofthesemicroorganismsevolvedsymbioticallywithhumansovermillionsof

years.Theyareakeypartofhumandevelopment.Thevastmajorityofmicrobesare

harmless.Thereareonlyafewdozenthatcancauselethalinfections.Themost

importantthingisweshouldworkonwaystoseparategoodgermsfrombadones.

Studieshaveshownthatchildrenwhogrowupwithhouseholdpetshavefewer

allergiesandlessasthmathanthosewhodon*t.

8.Istheincidenceofallergicdiseasesinindustrializedcountriesasseriousasin

AfricaandAisa?

AccordingtotheInternationalStudyofAsthmaandAllergiesinChildhood,aglobal

researchinitiative,in1998,about1in5childreninindustrializedcountriessuffered

fromallergicdiseasessuchasasthma,allergiesandrashes.Theincidenceofpeanut

allergyintheU.S.tripledbetween1997and2008,accordingtoareportfromMount

SinaiSchoolofMedicineinNewYork.Butsuchdiseasesarestillrelativelyrarein

AfricaandruralAsia,asareType1diabetesandmultiplesclerosis.

9.Doesthepremisethatexposuretosomedirtdoesgoodtohumanhealthmeanthat

thereisnodangeratallinthemuddywaterandanimalfeces?

Asamatteroffact,thereareotherdangerslurkinginmuddywaterandanimalfeces.

Nearly70%ofthe8.8milliondeathsofchildrenunderage5worldwidein2008were

causedbyinfectiousdiseases,mostfrequentlypneumonia,diarrheaandmalaria,

accordingtoananalysisintheLancetlastweek.

10.IsthatOKforkidstoplayinthedirt?Doweneedtoliveintotalsanitation?

There'snothingwrongwithkidsplayinginthedirt.Theydon'thavetoliveintotal

sanitation,andtheywon*tdiefromeatingsomethingoffthefloor.It'sprobablymore

healthythannot.

II.Vocabulary

1.enchant2.upscale3.evoke4.intriguing5.preoccupation

6.trade...for7.eradicating8.virtually9.stimulating10.lurk

11.stunted12.harness13.teemwith14.vigilance15.suspended

IILTranslation

1.

(1)standardsofhygiene卫生状况

upscaleurbaninfants生活在高消费城市的婴儿

makesnomentionof没有提至

evokeanintriguingmedicalcontroversy激起了一场医疗争议

anti-microbialproducts抗菌产品

tradedoneproblemforanotherproblem将一种问题转化为另外一种问题

buildupresistancetodisease建立抵抗疾病的免疫系统

primeachild'simmunesystem帮助婴儿建立免疫系统

decontaminatedwater纯净水

(2)说起母乳喂养，有好消息也有坏消息。好消息是的是美国75%的母亲都开始

用母乳喂哺孩子，不好的消息是只有不到四分之一的妈妈坚持全年的母乳喂养。

而这只是美国儿科学会建议的母乳哺育婴儿的最低标准。

来自美国疾病控制和预防中心的研究人员发现，只有43%的美国母亲会坚持护理

六个月，尽管美国儿科学会提醒在此期间婴儿还需要母乳哺育。(情况还是这样,

尽管超级名模吉赛尔邦辰在上周大肆吹嘘支持国际法规定母亲至少要哺乳孩子

六个月)

一年下来，还有22%的妇女仍在坚持母乳喂哺。

疾病防控中心营养搭配，身体活动与肥胖科主任威廉迪茨说，“我们需要采取更

多地措施来保障母亲们在医院，工作场所以及社会中能得到应有的支持，支持母

亲们在婴儿出生后的最初几天里可以继续用母乳喂养，从而她们就可以完成那六

个月和十二个月的哺育指标了。”

大量的研究已经把母乳哺育同它母亲和婴儿的诸多益处联系了起来。母乳喂养的

孩子不容易得肥胖症耳部感染或糖尿病，而用母乳哺育孩子的妈妈得乳腺癌和子

房癌的风险也会降低。由于母乳喂养的婴儿更健康，母乳喂养率的显著提高一年

可以减少40亿美元的医疗保健支出。

2.

(1)免疫性疾病allergicdiseases

暴露于刺激免疫系统的细菌Exposuretoimmune-stimulatinggerms

公共卫生取得了长足的进步madeenormousstridesinpublichealth

从范围和后果上讲intermsofscaleandimpact

增强免疫harnesstheimmune-primingeffects

临床试验Clinicaltrials

肉眼不可见的invisibletothenakedeye

数目是人体细胞的10倍outnumberhumancellsbyabout10to1

在医院工作的人health-careworkers

Toallowdiverseeconomicsectorstocoexistwithstateeconomy

(2)noplacecancomparewiththeirownhometown.

(3)youareatriskoflosingyourdriver'slicense

(4)moreandmoreintriguing.

(5)thecontroversyhasbeensettled.

(6)Thegovernmentismakingeffortstoeradicateracialdiscriminating.

(7)Inpracticalappraisal,thebasicpremiseistodeterminethevalueoftheproperty.

(8)Thefinancialmarketsystemisbeingcompleted,andthedistributionand

utilizationefficiencyofsocialcapitalhaveincreasedsteadily.

(9)Onlywhenwegivefullplaytoman'sinitiativecanwemakefulluseofmachines

totransformnature.

(10)TheerainwhichtheChinesepeoplewereregardedasuncivilizedisnowended.

Weshallemergeintheworldasanationwithanadvancedculture.

(ll)NowaBristolUniversitydentalscientisthasdiscoveredthatacommonbacteria

responsiblefortoothdecayandgumdiseasecanbreakoutintothebloodstream

andhelpbloodclotstoform.Inturnthesecancauseheartattacksandstrokes,

whichtogethercausemorethan200,000deathsinBritaineveryyear.Peopleneed

tobeawarethataswellkeepingacheckontheirdiet,bloodpressure,cholesterol

andfitnesslevels,theyalsoneedtomaintaingooddentalhygienetominimize

theirriskofheartproblems.

IV.Cloze

1.to2.significant3.breast-fed4.who5.hypothesized

6.months7.laboratory8.rate9.terms10.revealed11.overfeed

Unit4

IsTimeTravelPossible?

I.comprehensionandAppreciation

1.Whatdoyouthinkabouttheopeningofthetext?

Itisaverygoodone.Aftertheintroductionofhisprofessionasaphysicistand

cosmologist,asolidgroundforhisbeingsomethingofadreamerisalsoestablished,

whichmakeswhathewilltellusreadersinthefollowingsoundreasonable.

2.Ifyouwanttoseehowtimetravelmightbepossible,whatneedyoudo?Andhow

manydimensionsdoallphysicalobjecthave?Andwhatarethey?

Weneedtolookattimeatthefourthdimensionasphysicistsdo.Allphysicalobjects

existinthreedimensions.Theyarewidth,heightandlength.

3.Whatexampledoestheauthorusetomakethe3ordinarydimensionseasier

understood?

Theauthortakestheeverydaycartravelasanexampletomakethe3ordinary

dimesionseasierunderstoodwiththeaimtoanintroductionabouttheexpected

dimension,thatis,thefourthdimension.

4.Howdoestheauthorliketimetravlemovies?

Accordingtohisstereotypedideasthattimetravelmoviesoftenfeatureavast,

energy-hungrymachinewhichcreatesapaththroughthefourthdimension,atunnel

throughtime,inwhichatimetraveller,abrave,perhapsfoolhardyindividual,

preparedforwhoknowswhat,stepsintothetimetunnelandemergeswhoknows

when,theauthorthinksthattheconceptmaybefar-fetched,andtherealitymaybe

verydifferentfromwhatisfeaturedinthemovies,buttheideaitselfisnotthatcrazy.

5.Couldportalstothepastorthefutureeverbepossiblewithinthelawsofnature?

Andwhatdoestheauthorcallthem?

Accordingtotheauthor,portalstothepastorthefuturearepossiblewithinthelaws

ofnature.Hecallsthemwormholes,andhesaysthetruthisthatwormholesareall

aroundus,onlythey'retoosmalltosee.Wormholesareverytiny.Theyoccurinnooks

andcranniesinspaceandtime.

6.Howdoestheauthorjustifyhisideaofwormholes?

Hearguesasfollows:Therearetinycrevices,wrinklesandvoidsintime.Downatthe

smallestofscales,smallereventhanmolecules,smallerthanatoms,wegettoaplace

calledthequantumfoam.Thisiswherewormholesexist.Tinytunnelsorshortcuts

throughspaceandtimeconstantlyform,disappear,andreformwithinthisquantum

world.Andtheyactuallylinktwoseparateplacesandtwodifferenttimes.

7.Aretimetunnelsarebigenoughforahumantopassthrough?Ifnot,why?

No,theyaretoosmallforahumantopassthroughforthesereal-lifetimetunnelsare

justabillion-trillion-trillionthsofacentimetreacross.

8.Aretherechancesthatagiantwormholecouldbeconstructedinspaceonedayin

thefuture?

Yes,thereare.Theoretically,agiantwormholecouldbeconstructedinspacewiththe

aidofgivenenoughpowerandadvancedtechnologyonedayinthefuture.

9.Whatdoestheauthordotoconvincethereaderstoaccepttheproblemofparadoxes,

awell-knownproblemwithtimetraveltothepast?

Herecreatesaparadoxicalsituationinwhichascientistusesthewormholetoshoot

hisearlierselfforitvilateafundamentalrulethatgovernstheentireuniverse-that

causeshappenbeforeeffects,andnevertheotherwayaround.

10.Howdoestheauthorconcludehisopinionsabouttimetravle?

Heconcludesthatanykindoftimetraveltothepastthroughwormholesoranyother

methodisprobablyimpossible,otherwiseparadoxeswouldoccur.

II.Vocabulary

Lshortcut2.attentive3.twisty4.indulgein5.emerge

6.far-fetched7.wrinkle8.capture