Congratulations, It Will Be A Boy!
Until just a few years ago, making a baby boy or a girl was pretty much a hit-or-miss affair. Not anymore. Parents who have access to the latest genetic testing techniques can now predetermine their baby's sex with great accuracy, as Monique and Scott Collins learned to their delight two years ago, when their long-wished-for daughter Jessica was born after genetic prescreening(基因筛选).
And baby Jessica is just the beginning. Within a decade or two, it may be possible to screen kids almost before conception (怀孕) for an enormous range of attributes ( 特性), such as how tall they are likely to be, what body type they：will have, their hair and eye color, what .sort of illness they will be naturally resistant to, and even, conceivably(可想见地), their IQ and personality type.
In fact, if gene therapy lives up to its promise, parents may someday be able to go be-yond weeding out(筛去) undesirable traits and start actually inserting the genes they want-- perhaps even genes that have been crafted(创造) in a lab. Before the new millennium is many years old, parents may be going to fertility clinics(生殖诊所) and picking from a list of options the way car buyers order air conditioning and chrome-alloy(铬合金) wheels. "It is the ultimate shopping experience: designing your baby," says biotechnology critic Jere - my Rifkin, who is appalled by the prospect. "But in a society used to cosmetic surgery( 整容手术), this is not a big step. "
The prospect of designer(定制) babies, like many of the ethnical conundrums(难题)posed by the genetic revolution, is confronting the world so rapidly that doctors, ethicists (伦理学家), religious leaders and politicians are just starting to grapple with(与……进行格斗) the implications -- and trying to decide how they feel about it all.
They still have a bit of time. Aside from gender, the only traits they can now be iden-tified at the earliest stages of development are about a dozen of the most serious genetic diseases. Gene therapy in embryos(胚胎) is at least a few years away. And the gene or combination of genes responsible for most of our physical and mental attributes has not e-ven been identified yet. Besides, say clinicians, even if the techniques for making designer babies are perfected within the next decade, they should be applied in the service of disease prevention, not improving on nature.
31. What is gene therapy supposed to do if it lives up to its promise?
A. Screen a baby for sex.
B. Predetermine a baby's sex.
B. Insert genes.
D. Identify genetic disorders.
32. What can scientists do now?
A. Prescreen a baby's sex.
B. Screen babies for desirable attributes.
C. Insert genes that parents want.
D. Craft genes in a lab.
33. "Which of the following best expresses Jeremy Rifkin's attitude toward designing babies through gene therapy?
A. Strongly supportive.
B. Cautiously welcome.
C. Uncommitted.
D. Critical.
34. Which of the following statement is true?
A. Designing babies may cause ethical concerns.
B. Designing babies is purely scientific and will not cause ethical problems.
C. The prospect of designing babies has already led to strong criticism from various communities.
D. People are concerned about the possible harm done to science by designing babies.
35. What does the author mean when he says, "They still will have a bit of time. "
A. Designer babies will soon be a reality.
B. Nature will be altered by designer babies.
C. There is no need at the moment to be too worried about designer babies.
D. Scientists are working against time to design baby.
参考译文
恭喜你将生个男孩!
直到几年前，想转变胎儿的性别生男生女，还是一件碰运气不着边际的事。但现在不是了。了解最新的基因测试技术的父母如今能够精确地预先确定他们孩子的性别，正如两年前，Monique和Scott夫妇体会到的那样，他们通过基因筛选得到了的梦寐以求的女儿杰西卡。
杰西卡的诞生只是个开始。在未来十到二十年内，人们有很大的可能在怀孕前就为自己的孩子挑选各种生理特征，比如他们未来将有多高，体型是怎样的，头发和眼睛是什么颜色的，对哪些疾病有自然的免疫力，甚至极有可能选择他们的智商和个性。
事实上，如果基因疗法真的能够按照预期发展下去，那么将来父母不仅可以筛掉他们不想让孩子有的特征，还能额外加入一些他们希望孩子拥有的基因——甚至是在实验室中人为地创造基因。在新千年的初期，父母们也许就能够走进生殖诊所妇产医院，像买车人为汽车定购空调和铬合金车轮那样,从一张清单上为孩子选择基因。“这真是终极购物体验：设计自己的孩子，”生物技术批评家Jeremy Rifkin这样说到，他为基因技术的发展前景所震惊，“但是在一个已经习惯整容的社会，这也不是什么大不了的举措。”
就像基因革命所带来的许多道德上的困惑一样，通过基因疗法来设计婴儿的这一前景也使得各方人士，如医生、伦理学家、宗教领袖和政治家，开始试图掂量、理解这一技术的含义，并试图决定他们自己对待这一技术应该采取何种态度。
他们还有时间仔细考虑。在该技术发展的最初阶段，人们除了能够鉴别性别，还能利用这一技术鉴别十几种最严重的基因疾病。在胚胎中运用基因疗法至少是几年以后的事情。而那些决定我们身体和智力特征的基因或基因组还未被发现，除此之外，一些临床医生认为，即使在未来十年中设计胎儿的技术日臻完善，这些技术也应该用来服务于疾病预防，而不是用来改善人的性格。
责任编辑：sealion1986
