The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2020 to two women scientists, Charpentier and Doudna, “for the development of a method for gene editing."
The discovery of these genetic scissors was unexpected.During Charpentier' s studies of Streptococcus pyogenes, one of the bacteria that cause the most harm to humans, she discovered a previously unknown molecule(分子），tracrRNA. Her work showed that tracrRNA is part of bacteria's ancient immune system, CRISPR/Cas. Charpentier published her discovery in Nature in 2011 and described how tracrRNA works with the Cas9 protein(蛋白质）to follow and kill viruses by cutting up their DNA.
Then in that same year,Charpentier began to cooperate with Doudna, an experienced biochemist in RNA.Together, they succeeded in recreating the bacteria's genetic scissors in a test tube and simplifying the scissors' molecular components so they were easier to use.They then reprogrammed the genetic scissors. In their natural form, the scissors recognize DNA from viruses,but Charpentier and Doudna proved that they could be controlled so that they can cut any DNA molecule at a predetermined site. Where the DNA is cut, it is then easy to rewrite the code of life.
Since the CRISPR/Cas9 genetic scissors were discovered in 2012, their use has exploded though there are concerns that the technology could be misused. This tool has contributed to many important discoveries in basic research, and plant researchers have been able to develop crops that withstand mould, pests and drought. In medicine, clinical trials of new cancer therapies are underway,and the dream of being able to cure inherited diseases is about to come true.
1. According to Charpentier's studies of Streptococcus pyogenes, tracrRNA_____| A．can change life's DNA precisely |
| B．causes the most harm to human beings |
| C．is a previously unknown immune system |
| D．works with Cas9 protein to split viruses' DNA |
a. Charpentier began to cooperate with Doudna.
b. Charpentier published her discovery in 2011.
c.Charpentier studied Streptococcus pyogenes.
d. The bacteria's genetic scissors were recreated.
e.The genetic scissors were then reprogrammed
| A．a-b-d-c-e |
| B．c-a-b-e-d |
| C．a-d-e-c-b |
| D．c-b-a-d-e |
| A．Concerns about the misuse of genetic scissors. |
| B．The widely-spread use of the genetic scissors. |
| C．The important discoveries in basic research. |
| D．Contributions to cure for inherited diseases. |
| A．Cooperation:Secret to Success in Scientific Researches |
| B．Genetic Scissors:a Tool for Rewriting the Code of Life |
| C．Charpentier & Doudna:Women Scientists Acknowledged |
| D．The Nobel Prize in Chemistry: a Promoter of Gene Editing |
Recently, two researchers, Jose Millan and Michele Tavella from the Federal Polytechnic School in Lausanne, Switzerland, demonstrated (展示) a small robotic wheelchair directed by a person's thoughts.
In the laboratory, Tavella operated the wheelchair just by thinking about moving his left or right hand. He could even talk as he watched the vehicle and guided it with his thoughts.
“Our brain has billions of nerve cells. These send signals through the spinal cord (脊髓) to the muscles to give us the ability to move. But spinal cord injuries or other conditions can prevent these weak electrical signals from reaching the muscles.” Tavella says. “Our system allows disabled people to communicate with external world and also to control devices.”
The researchers designed a special cap for the user. This head cover picks up the signals from the scalp (头皮) and sends them to a computer. The computer interprets the signals and commands the motorized wheelchair. The wheelchair also has two cameras that identify objects in its path. They help the computer react to commands from the brain.
Prof. Millan, the team leader, says scientists keep improving the computer software that interprets brain signals and turns them into simple commands. “The practical possibilities that BCI technology offers to disabled people can be grouped in two categories: communication, and controlling devices. One example is this wheelchair.”
He says his team has set two goals. One is testing with real patients, so as to prove that this is a technology they can benefit from. And the other is to guarantee that they can use the technology over long periods of time.
1. BCI is a technology that can ________.
| A．help to update computer systems |
| B．link the human brain with computers |
| C．help the disabled to recover |
| D．control a person's thoughts |
| A．By controlling his muscles. |
| B．By talking to the machine. |
| C．By moving his hand. |
| D．By using his mind. |
| A．scalp→computer→cap→wheelchair |
| B．computer→cap→scalp→wheelchair |
| C．scalp→cap→computer→wheelchair |
| D．cap→computer→scalp→wheelchair |
| A．make profits from them |
| B．prove the technology useful to them |
| C．make them live longer |
| D．learn about their physical condition |
| A．Switzerland, the BCI Research Center |
| B．New Findings About How the Human Brain Works |
| C．BCI Could Mean More Freedom for the Disabled |
| D．Robotic Vehicles Could Help to Cure Brain Injuries |
3 . Being a young boy, I began to learn what people said was not always what they really meant or felt. And I knew it was possible to get others to do what I wanted if I read their real feelings and responded suitably to their needs. At the age of eleven, I sold rubber door-to-door after school and quickly worked out how to tell if someone was likely to buy from me. When I knocked on a door, if someone told me to go away but their hands were open and they showed their palms (the inside surfaces of their hands), I knew it was safe to continue because they weren't angry although they may have a dismissive(不屑的) attitude. If someone told me to go away in a soft voice but used a pointed finger or closed hand, I knew it was time to leave.
As a teenager, I became a salesperson, and my ability to read people earned me enough money to buy my first house. Selling gave me the chance to meet people and study them close and to know whether they would buy or not.
I joined the life insurance(保险)business at the age of twenty. And I went on to break several sales records for my company, becoming the youngest person to sell over a million dollars’ worth of business in my first year. This achievement allowed me to become a member of the well-known Million Dollar Round Table(MDRT), which recognizes the world’s top achievers in life insurance. I was lucky that the skills I’d learned as a boy in watching body language while selling could be used in this new area, and were directly related to the success I could have in any business closely connected with people.
1. Which of the following meant the author must give up the rubber sale?| A．A customer’s gentle voice. | B．A customer’s open palms. |
| C．A customer’s finger shape. | D．A customer’s sign of anger. |
| A．To prove the magic of his studying body language |
| B．To show off his unusual insurance-selling achievements |
| C．To attract more people to buy his life insurance |
| D．To simply let readers know about his good luck |
①He bought his first house
②He got the chance to meet people and watch body language
③He became a member of MDRT
④He broke the first sales record for the insurance company
| A．①②④③ | B．②①④③ | C．①④②③ | D．①④③② |
| A．The study of selling products. | B．The life insurance business.. |
| C．The research of body language. | D．The work for the MDRT |
| A．intelligent but overconfident | B．open-minded and determined |
| C．thinking and sharp-eyed | D．grateful and gentle |
4 . GE’s Bill Run nas a message for anyone who’s confused or doubtful about the company’s new focus on the" Industrial Internet’.The long story made short is that the amount of data being produced by industrial machine” is going to be more than anything you’re ever seen” , and analyzing this data is going to make everyone’s life easier.
Take gas turtbine (涡轮机）at power plants for example. “We’re almost putting a data center on a gas turbine,” Ruh said during a session at GigaOM’s Mobilize conference on Wednesday morning，referring to the hundreds of sensors(传感器）the company is placing on those machines to get data. If those sensors, combined with anyone’s software for managing and analyzing the data, are able to improve efficiency by just one percent, they could save nearly $6 billion a year.
Think about the air travel. Forty-one percent of unplanned downtime for airlines is caused by mechanical errors, Ruh explained, so GE wants to be able to predict when its engines or other airline systems will fail. With this knowledge, carriers can fix problems during scheduled downtime and save everyone's precious time.
Speaking of sensors, Ruh noted just how much potentially predictive data they’re getting. “Using a sensor,” he said,“we could get hundred terabytes(百万兆字节）a day.”
However, he acknowledged that the great effects of the Industrial Internet—cost savings, carbon-footprint reductions and efficiency gains—will come with changes in the employment sector that might not be good for everyone involved. ‘‘Some new kinds of jobs that don’t exist today will get created，”Ruh said. “It takes time and energy for people to get adapted to it.”
1. Which of the following is the best title of the passage?| A．The Industrial Internet—a new kind of machine. |
| B．The Industrial Internet—a large amount of data. |
| C．The Industrial Internet一another name for the Internet. |
| D．The Industrial Internet一a way to get data by sensors. |
| A．the time during which you are upset |
| B．the time during which you have nothing to do |
| C．the time during which a machine is not working |
| D．the time during which the price is very low |
| A．Data—sensors—high efficiency. |
| B．Machines—sensors—high efficiency. |
| C．Sensors一data一high efficiency. |
| D．Sensors一machines一high efficiency. |
| A．More jobs will disappear. |
| B．It brings along some disadvantages. |
| C．Changes will not appear in employment. |
| D．Everyone can adapt to new jobs immediately. |
