The never-ceasing pace of scientific accomplishment often surpasses the progress of moral thought, leaving people struggling to make sense, initially at least, of whether heart transplants are ethical or test-tube babies desirable. Over the past three decades scientists have begun to investigate a branch of medicine that offers astonishing promise—the ability to repair the human body and even grow new organs—but which destroys early-stage embryos to do so. In "The Stem Cell Hope" Alice Park, a science writer at Time magazine, chronicles the scientific, political, ethical and personal struggles of those involved in the work. Embryonic stem cells are pluripotent (多能性的): they have the ability to change into any one of the 200- odd types of cell that compose the human body; but they can do so only at a very early stage. Once the bundle has reached more than about 150 cells, they start to specialize. Research into repairing severed spinal cords or growing new hearts has thus needed a supply of stem cells that come from entities that, given a more favorable environment, could instead grow into a baby. Immediately after the announcement of the birth of Dolly the sheep—the clone of an adult ewe whose mammary (乳腺的) cells Ian Wilmut had tricked into behaving like a developing embryo—American scientists were hauled before the nation’s politicians who were uneasy at the implication that people might also be cloned. Concern at the speed of scientific progress had previously stalled publicly funded research into controversial topics, for example, into in vitro fertilization. But it did not stop the work from taking place: instead the IVF industry blossomed in the private sector, funded by couples desperate for a baby and investors who had spotted a profitable new market. That is also what happened with human stem cells. After a prolonged struggle over whether to ban research outright—which pitted Nancy Reagan, whose husband suffered from Alzheimer’s disease, against a father who asked George Bush’s advisers, "Which one of my children would you kill"—Mr. Bush blocked the use of government money to fund research on any new human embryonic stem-cell cultures. But research did not halt completely: Geron, a biopharmaceutical (生物制的) company based in Menlo Park, California, had started "to mop up this orphaned innovation", as Ms Park puts it, by recruiting researchers whose work brought them into conflict with the funding restrictions. Meanwhile, in South Korea a scientist claimed not only to have cloned human embryos but also to have created patient-specific cultures that could, in theory, be used to patch up brain damage or grow a kidney. Alas, he was wrong. But a Japanese scientist did manage to persuade adult skin cells to act like stem cells. If it proves possible to scale up his techniques, that would remove the source of the controversy over stem-cell research. Three months after he took office, Barack Obama lifted restrictions on federal funding for research on new stem-cell cultures, saying that he thought sound science and moral values were consistent with one another. But progress has been slow: the first human trials in America, involving two people with spinal-cord injuries who have been injected with stem cells developed by Geron, are only just under way. The sick children who first inspired scientists to conduct research into stem cells in order to develop treatments that might help them are now young adults. As Ms Park notes, the fight over stem-cell research is not over, and those who might benefit from stem-cell medicine remain in need. We can infer from Paragraph 1 that ______.
A. scientific achievements occur at a slower rate than people’s expectation
B. repairing human bodies and growing new organs have already been realized
C. Alice Park has proved the meaning of stem cells in "The Stem Cell Hope"
D. people are concerned about moral and ethical implications of scientific research
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第一节 词语配伍 从上栏所给选项中选出与下栏各项意义相符的选项。[A] hospital[B] notebook[C] menu[D] hair[E] league[F] medicine[G] dictionary People go to it when falling ill.
With the breakneck speed at which today’s businesses move, there’s one mantra we’d all do well to remember: Change is constant. Even so, few businesses equip their employees with strategies for dealing with change. It’s often up to savvy employees to negotiate changes on their own. Few companies can guarantee they won’t need to redeploy workers or have them work a different shift. In fact, a quick search of the jobs on Yahoo! HotJobs found that 977 contained the words "subject to change. " When approached with changing roles and responsibilities, resist the urge to protest by pointing to your original job description. Employers expect their employees—unless they are under an employment contract—to be flexible, tackling whatever task they’re given with zeal. It’s OK to be concerned that you may lack some of the key skills and experiences required for the new position. If so, consider asking for additional training at a local college or other professional development organization. If classes are not in the budget, ask if you can expense instructional books related to the new job or visit your local library. Part of the fun of writing this newsletter is hearing all your stories. One came across my desk recently that I think gets to the heart of today’s tip. An employee was told that her company was adding a new managerial position that she would report into. Initially undaunted, she decided to interview for the managerial job (good for her), but when notified that she didn’t get the job, she shut down (bad for her). When I say "shut down", I’m being literal. She no longer speaks to co-workers. She does what her job description says—but nothing else. Having been a manager for more than a decade, I can tell you that this employee has forced herself into a dead end. It’s not enough to do your job while sending the message that you’d rather be "anywhere but here". Companies don’t stop and tend to bruised egos. The only way to win in this employee’s situation is to come to terms with the circumstances and adopt a professional demeanor, or move on. In fact, change can happen because you’re the best. Companies often redeploy star performers in an attempt to turn around problem areas. Management may also hope that a star employee’s good habits will rub off on others. Companies sometimes impose change on a strong performer expressly for that employee’s benefit. Smart executives move star employers to give them broader experience of operations and departments and to help groom them for senior management roles. Try not to focus on why you were tapped to change, but how you will turn it to your advantage. Don’t dwell too long on the topic or complain. The key is to be curious without appearing to be resistant. Convey that you’re eager to learn new skills and take on new challenges—and that more information will help you be more effective. Embrace your new role with enthusiasm and optimism. Remember that change is ultimately what you make of it. What is the expectation of the employers to their employees
A. Be optimistic. B. Be flexible.
B. C. Be courageous.
C. Be resistant.
With the breakneck speed at which today’s businesses move, there’s one mantra we’d all do well to remember: Change is constant. Even so, few businesses equip their employees with strategies for dealing with change. It’s often up to savvy employees to negotiate changes on their own. Few companies can guarantee they won’t need to redeploy workers or have them work a different shift. In fact, a quick search of the jobs on Yahoo! HotJobs found that 977 contained the words "subject to change. " When approached with changing roles and responsibilities, resist the urge to protest by pointing to your original job description. Employers expect their employees—unless they are under an employment contract—to be flexible, tackling whatever task they’re given with zeal. It’s OK to be concerned that you may lack some of the key skills and experiences required for the new position. If so, consider asking for additional training at a local college or other professional development organization. If classes are not in the budget, ask if you can expense instructional books related to the new job or visit your local library. Part of the fun of writing this newsletter is hearing all your stories. One came across my desk recently that I think gets to the heart of today’s tip. An employee was told that her company was adding a new managerial position that she would report into. Initially undaunted, she decided to interview for the managerial job (good for her), but when notified that she didn’t get the job, she shut down (bad for her). When I say "shut down", I’m being literal. She no longer speaks to co-workers. She does what her job description says—but nothing else. Having been a manager for more than a decade, I can tell you that this employee has forced herself into a dead end. It’s not enough to do your job while sending the message that you’d rather be "anywhere but here". Companies don’t stop and tend to bruised egos. The only way to win in this employee’s situation is to come to terms with the circumstances and adopt a professional demeanor, or move on. In fact, change can happen because you’re the best. Companies often redeploy star performers in an attempt to turn around problem areas. Management may also hope that a star employee’s good habits will rub off on others. Companies sometimes impose change on a strong performer expressly for that employee’s benefit. Smart executives move star employers to give them broader experience of operations and departments and to help groom them for senior management roles. Try not to focus on why you were tapped to change, but how you will turn it to your advantage. Don’t dwell too long on the topic or complain. The key is to be curious without appearing to be resistant. Convey that you’re eager to learn new skills and take on new challenges—and that more information will help you be more effective. Embrace your new role with enthusiasm and optimism. Remember that change is ultimately what you make of it. The best title of the passage can be ______.
Attitude Is Everything
B. Turn and Face the Strange
C. It Happens to the Best of Us
D. Change Is Constant
Ruth Handler invented something in 1959 which became so quintessentially American as to be included in the official " America’s Time Capsule" buried at the celebration of the Bicentennial in 1976: the Barbie doll. In the early 1950s, Handler saw that her young daughter, Barbara, and her girlfriends enjoyed playing with adult female dolls as much or more than with baby dolls. Handler sensed that it was just as important for girls to imagine what they themselves might grow up to become as it was for them to focus on what caring for children might be like. Inspired by her daughter’s fascination with adult paper dolls, Ruth Handier suggested making a three-dimensional doll through which little girls could act out their dreams. In 1959, Mattel introduced the Barbie doll (named after the Handlers’ daughter), a pint-sized model of the "girl next door. " Soon enough Barbie sprouted a coterie of friends and family. Ken (named for the Handlers’ son) , Barbie’s boyfriend, appeared in 1961. Meanwhile, the longtime Southern California resident defied prevailing trends in the toy industry of the late 1950s when she proposed an alternative to the flat-chest baby dolls then marketed to girls. "I believed it was important to a little girl’s self-esteem," Handler has said, "to play with a doll that has breasts. " Barbie, a teenage doll with a tiny waist, slender hips and impressive bust, became not only a best-selling toy with more than 1 billion sold in 150 countries, but a cultural icon analyzed by scholars, attacked by feminists and showcased in the Smithsonian Institution. "My whole philosophy of Barbie was that through the doll, the little girl could be anything she wanted to be," Handler wrote in her 1994 autobiography. "Barbie always represented the fact that a woman has choices. " Ruth Handier undeniably invented an American icon that functions as both a steady cynosure for girls’ dreams and an ever-changing reflection of American society. By 1966, Handler was 50 and Mattel ruled the highly competitive toy world: It controlled 12% of the $2-billion toy market in the United States. By 1970, however, her world began to unravel. Handler was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a mastectomy. New corporate managers began to diversify Mattel away from toys, and their machinations ultimately resulted in the Handlers’ ouster from the company they had founded. Although best known for her pivotal role as Barbie’s inventor, Handler devoted her later years to a second, trailblazing career: manufacturing and marketing artificial breasts for women who had undergone mastectomies. Herself a breast cancer survivor, she personally sold and fitted the prosthesis and crisscrossed the country as a spokeswoman for early detection of the disease in the 1970s, when it was still a taboo subject. The Nearly Me prosthetic breast was made of liquid silicone enclosed in polyurethane and had a rigid foam backing. Her goal was to make an artificial breast so real that "a woman could wear a regular brassiere (=bra) and blouse, stick her chest out and be proud." she said of" the prosthetics business. "It sure rebuilt my self-esteem, and I think I rebuilt the self-esteem of others." By 1980, sales of the Nearly Me artificial breast had surpassed $1 million. In 1991, Handler sold the company to a division of Kimberly-Clark. She died on April 27th, 2002. The family has asked that any memorial donations be made to the Stop Cancer Organization. Little girls like Barbara want to have a doll to ______ their dreams.
A. act and imitate
B. express
C. realize
D. do