Question

【題目】 From talking robots and video phones, technology has become so advanced that the previously impossible seems to occur on a daily basis. And yet—we still have no cure for the common cold.

Why can’t we stop the common cold? According to Peter Barlow, a scientist at Edinburgh Napier University, the main challenge lies in the many different types of cold viruses that are produced by the rhinoviruses (鼻病毒). There are at least 160 types. They change so easily that they quickly become resistant to drugs. In other words, a single cure isn’t likely to work on every type of cold.

However, researchers from Stanford University have found a possible answer. They discovered a protein that the viruses need. Without it, they can't spread inside your body.

To identify the gene which produces the specific protein needed by the viruses, researchers used a gene-editing technique to test all genes one by one for thousands of cells. These modified (改變的) cells were then exposed to a range of rhinoviruses which cause the common cold.

All the viruses were unable to copy inside cells without a gene that produces a specific protein, called methyltransferase (甲基轉(zhuǎn)移酶) SETD3.

Then, they tested genetically modified mice, which were completely unable to produce the protein. The mice were able to live healthy, normal lives without the protein.

“Lacking that gene protected the mice completely from the common cold,” associate professor Jan Carette, from Stanford, told the BBC.

“These mice would always die, but they survived and we saw a very strong protection.”

Carette said the plan is to find a drug which can keep back the protein for a limited time, rather than produce genetically modified humans.

“We have identified a fantastic target that all rhinoviruses require and depend on. Take that away and the virus really has no chance,” said Carette.

【1】Why does the author mention talking robots and video phones in the first paragraph?

A.To stress the importance of technology.

B.To encourage readers to share their ideas.

C.To introduce the topic of the text.

D.To recognize the progress of science.

【2】What can we learn about the protein needed by the viruses?

A.It helps the viruses copy inside our bodies.

B.It stops the viruses from changing easily.

C.It protects the viruses against drugs.

D.It forces the viruses to spread fast.

【3】What does Jan Carette intend to do?

A.To identify a fantastic target.

B.To slow copying speed of some genes.

C.To produce genetically modified humans.

D.To find a drug to temporarily block the protein.

【4】What is the best title for the text?

A.A New Experiment on Viruses.

B.New Defense Found for Viruses.

C.A Chemical Curing Modified Viruses.

D.Gene-editing Technology to Control Viruses.

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】C

【2】A

【3】D

【4】B

【解析】

本文是一篇說明文，介紹了研究人員通過試驗(yàn)發(fā)現(xiàn)了感冒病毒所需的蛋白質(zhì)，我們可以通過阻斷這種蛋白質(zhì)來防御感冒病毒。

【1】推理判斷題。根據(jù)第一段中的“And yet—we still have no cure for the common cold.”可知，盡管技術(shù)已經(jīng)很先進(jìn)，但是我們?nèi)匀粵]有治愈感冒的方法，再根據(jù)第三段中的“However, researchers from Stanford University have found a possible answer. They discovered a protein that the viruses need.”可知，然而，斯坦福大學(xué)的研究人員找到了一個(gè)可能的答案，他們發(fā)現(xiàn)了感冒病毒需要的蛋白質(zhì)（我們可以通過阻斷這種蛋白質(zhì)來防御感冒病毒），由此可知，第一段提到會(huì)說話的機(jī)器人和可視電話就是為了引出文章主題——我們發(fā)現(xiàn)了防御感冒病毒的新方法，故C項(xiàng)正確。

【2】推理判斷題。根據(jù)第五段“All the viruses were unable to copy inside cells without a gene that produces a specific protein, called methyltransferase (甲基轉(zhuǎn)移酶) SETD3.”可知，所有這些病毒都無法在細(xì)胞內(nèi)復(fù)制，因?yàn)樗鼈凅w內(nèi)沒有產(chǎn)生一種特殊蛋白質(zhì)的基因，這種蛋白質(zhì)被稱為甲基轉(zhuǎn)移酶SETD3，由此可知這種蛋白質(zhì)有助于病毒在我們體內(nèi)復(fù)制，故A項(xiàng)正確。

【3】細(xì)節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)倒數(shù)第二段中的“Carette said the plan is to find a drug which can keep back the protein for a limited time,”可知，簡(jiǎn)·卡蕾特說，他們的計(jì)劃是找到一種能在有限時(shí)間內(nèi)阻斷這種蛋白質(zhì)的藥物，也就是說，簡(jiǎn)·卡蕾特打算找到一種藥物來暫時(shí)阻斷蛋白質(zhì)，故D項(xiàng)正確。

【4】主旨大意題。通讀全文，特別是根據(jù)第三段中的“They discovered a protein that the viruses need.”及最后一段內(nèi)容可知，本文主要介紹了研究人員通過試驗(yàn)發(fā)現(xiàn)了感冒病毒所需的蛋白質(zhì)，我們可以通過阻斷這種蛋白質(zhì)來防御感冒病毒，故B項(xiàng)正確。