Section Ⅱ Reading Comprehension

　　Part A

　　Directions:

　　Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1. (40 points)

　　Text 1

　　It was the biggest scientific grudge match since the space race. The Genome Wars had everything：two groups with appealing leaders ready to fight in a scientific dead heat, pushing the limits of technology and rhetoric as they battled to become the first to read every last one of the 3 billion DNA “letters” in the human body. The scientific importance of the work is unquestionable. The completed DNA sequence is expected to give scientists unprecedented insights into the workings of the human body, revolutionizing medicine and biology. But the race itself, between the government’s Human Genome Project and Rockville, Md., biotechnology company Celera Genomics, was at least partly symbolic, the public/private conflict played out in a genetic lab.

　　Now the race is over. After years of public attacks and several failed attempts at reconciliation, the two sides are taking a step toward a period of calm. HGP head Francis Collins (and Ari Patrinos of the Department of Energy, an important ally on the government side) and Craig Venter, the founder of Celera, agreed to hold a joint press conference in Washington this Monday to declare that the race was over (sort of), that both sides had won (kind of) and that the hostilities were resolved (for the time being).

　　No one is exactly sure how things will be different now. Neither side will be turning off its sequencing machines any time soon—the “finish lines” each has crossed are largely arbitrary points, “first drafts” rather than the definitive version. And while the joint announcement brings the former Genome Warriors closer together than they’re been in years, insiders say that future agreements are more likely to take the form of coordination, rather than outright collaboration.

　　The conflict blew up, this February when Britain’s Wellcome Trust, an HGP participant, released a confidential letter to Celera outlining the HGP’s complaints. Venter called the move “a lowlife thing to do.” But by spring, there were the first signs of a thaw. “The attacks and nastiness are bad for science and our investors,” Venter told Newsweek in March, “and fighting back is probably not helpful.” At a cancer meeting earlier this month, Venter and Collins praised each other’s approaches, and expressed hope that all of the scientists involved in sequencing the human genome would be able to share the credit. By late last week, that hope was becoming a reality as details for Monday’s joint announcement were hammered out. Scientists in both camps welcomed an end to the hostilities. “If this ends the horse race, science wins.” With their difference behind them, or at least set aside, the scientists should now be able to get down to the interesting stuff: figuring how to make use of all that data.

　　1. The recent Genome Wars were symbolic of _____.

　　[A] the enthusiasm in scientific research

　　[B] the significance of the space race

　　[C] the public versus private conflict

　　[D] the prospect of the completion of DNA sequence

　　2. The tone of the author in reporting the joint press conference this Monday is _____.

　　[A] astonished [B] enthusiastic [C] disappointed [D] objective

　　3. It is implied in the third paragraph that _____.

　　[A] the “finish lines” refers to completion of DNA research.

　　[B] former Genome Warriors will never fight again.

　　[C] the former warriors are now collaborators

　　[D] both sides will still work on independently

　　4. The word “thaw”(Line 3, Paragraph 4) most probably means _____ .

　　[A] aggravation of tension

　　[B] improvement in relation

　　[C] intensification in attacks

　　[D] ending of coordination

　　5. The critical issue facing the scientists is to _____.

　　[A] apply the newly-found knowledge to the benefit of mankind

　　[B] end their horse race for the success of science

　　[C] get down to their genome research

　　[D] set their differences aside

　　答案

　　1.C 2.D 3.D 4.B 5.A

　　总体分析

　　本文介绍了基因组测序过程中两个科研机构之间的分歧与合作。

　　第一段：介绍了基因组之战的参战方，斗争的内容及其象征意义。

　　第二、三段：介绍了现在的和平阶段并对这次的和解发表评论。双方将通过共同召开记者招待会来宣布和解，但这次和解对他们之间的关系不一定会带来实质性的变化。

　　第四段：回顾了双方由矛盾爆发到走向和解的过程，并指出了他们下一步面临的关键问题。