新视野大学英语视听说教程 4 Unit 8-4

 

Task3: The First Cloned Cat
Script
In the age-old battle of cats and dogs, score one for the cats. Researchers at Texas A&M University recently announced that they have successfully cloned a cat name Rainbow—the first pet ever cloned—after several years of unsuccessful efforts to clone a dog name Missy.
The ork, financed by a company hoping to provide pet-cloning services to wealthy owners, adds cats to a growing list of successfully cloned animals that includes pigs, sheep, cattle and mice.
The success demonstrates cloning is a technology that could be transferred to other animal families as well. The accomplishment¹ may provide new tools for studying diseases such as cats’ AIDS, a valuable research model for AIDS in humans.
Research into animal cloning remains² an important scientific alternative until the issue of human cloning is settled. And that seems unlikly in the immediate³ future, for it involves religious and moral principles. There are, for example, groups that insist no one should be allowed to take on the role of God the Creator.
To create cloned cat embryos⁴ for the experiment, researchers transferred DNA⁵ from adult cat cells into egg cells stripped of their own genetic⁶ information. Out of 82 attempts with cloned embryos, one attempt resulted in a failed pregnancy⁷, and another yielded a kitten named CC, delivered from a surrogate mother on December 22. The kitten’s name refers to “Carbon Copy” and “Copycat”, the name of the cloning project.
Cloning attempts with dogs have proven unsuccessful in part because dogs’reproductive cycles are more complicated.
The technique may also work with endangered cats such as the African wildcat, fishing cat and blackfooted cat.
Ironically, the increased knowledge of cat reproduction may best be suited for developing cat contraceptives to control the U.S. cat population.
1.Which of the following would be the best title for the passage?
1. What did researchers at Texas A&M University recently announce?
2. Which animals are NOT mentioned in the passage as having been cloned?
3. According to the passage, why is human cloning unlikely to happen in the near future?
4. What does the passage say about the pregnancy and birth in cat cloning?
Keys: 1.A  2.B  3.C  4.B  5.C
 

1 accomplishment   

n.完成，成就，（pl.）造诣，技能

参考例句：

• The series of paintings is quite an accomplishment.这一系列的绘画真是了不起的成就。
• Money will be crucial to the accomplishment of our objectives.要实现我们的目标，钱是至关重要的。

2 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

3 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

4 embryos   

n.晶胚；胚，胚胎( embryo的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Somatic cells of angiosperms enter a regenerative phase and behave like embryos. 被子植物体细胞进入一个生殖阶段，而且其行为象胚。 来自辞典例句
• Evolution can explain why human embryos look like gilled fishes. 进化论能够解释为什么人类的胚胎看起来象除去了内脏的鱼一样。 来自辞典例句

5 DNA   

(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸

参考例句：

• DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。

6 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

7 pregnancy   

n.怀孕，怀孕期

参考例句：

• Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕早期常有恶心的现象。
• Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage.怀孕期吸烟会增加流产的危险。