More than four decades ago British scientist Robert Edwards first witnessed the miracle of human life growing inside a test tube at his Cambridge lab. Since that ground-breaking moment, more than four million babies have been born through IVF and in 2010 his great contribution to science was finally recognized as he was awarded the Nobel Prize for medicine.
The prize for Dr. Edwards, who was given a Daily Mirror Pride of Britain Award in 2008, includes a £900,000 check. The Nobel Assembly described IVF as a “milestone in modern medicine”.
With the help of fellow scientist Patrick Steptoe, the Manchester-born physiologist developed IVF — leading to the birth of the world’s first test tube baby. Dr. Steptoe died 10 years later but their work has transformed fertility treatment and given hope to millions of couples.
It was a scientific breakthrough that transformed the lives of millions of couples. They said: “His achievements have made it possible to treat infertility, a disease which makes human unable to have a baby. This condition has been afflicting a large percentage of mankind including more than 10% of all couples worldwide.”
Louise Brown, the world’s first test tube baby, made international headlines when she was born in Oldham, Gtr Manchester, in 1978 to parents Lesley and John who had been fruitlessly trying for a baby since 1969.
Ivf-in-vitro fertilization is the process whereby egg cells are fertilized outside the body before being implanted in the womb. After a cycle of IVF, the probability of a couple with infertility problems having a baby is one in five—the same as healthy couples who conceive naturally.
Professor Edwards, who has five daughters and 11 grandchildren, began his research at Cambridge University in 1963, after receiving his PhD in 1955. He once said: “The most important thing in life is having a child. Nothing is more special than a child.” With the help of fellow scientist Patrick Steptoe, Prof. Edwards founded the Bourn Hall clinic in Cambridge shire, which now treats more than 900 women a year. Each year, more than 30,000 women in Britain now undergo IVF and 11,000 babies are born as a result of the treatment.
But his work attracted widespread criticism from some scientists and the Catholic Church who said it was “unethical and immoral”.
Martin Johnson, professor of reproductive sciences at the University of Cambridge, said the award was “long overdue”. He said: “We couldn’t understand why the Nobel has come so late but he is delighted — this is the cherry on the cake for him.”
Professor Edwards was too ill to give interviews but a statement released by his family said he was “thrilled and delighted”.
1.What is Robert Edwards’ contribution to science?
A. Enabling millions of couples to live a better life.
B. Helping couples with infertility to have tube babies.
C. Seeing the wonder of the first tube baby growing
D. Challenging a disease which stops human having a baby.
2.Why did Professor Edwards begin his research on tube baby?
A. Because a special child did make a difference to an ordinary family.
B. Because the birthrate around the world was unexpectedly low then.
C. Because he thought it of great significance to have a child in life.
D. Because his fellow scientist wanted to give hope to the unlucky couples.
3.It can be inferred from Paragraph 8 and Paragraph 9 that ________.
A. Professor Edwards deserved the prize for his breakthrough
B. different opinions were voiced on Professor Edwards’ finding
C. some people envied Professor Edwards for his being awarded
D. the prize was late because the finding was first considered immoral
4.What might be the best title for the passage?
A. Life Stories of Robert Edwards
B. Preparations for Having a Baby
C. Nobel Prize for IVF Expert Edwards
D. Treatment of Infertility in a Lab
Why do human beings still risk their lives under ground and doing one of the dirtiest and most dangerous jobs in the world? It is an increasingly urgent question, given the recent mining accidents in Sago, W. Va and Huntington, Utah. A small group of engineers and robotics experts look forward to a day in the not-too-distant future when robots and other technology do most of the dangerous mining work.
Robotic technology, in particular, holds much promise, McAteer says, especially when it comes to mapping mines and rescuing trapped miners — the special operations of the mining industry.
One of the first mining robots was developed five years ago at Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Institute. It was called Groundhog. It used lasers(激光器) to “see” in dark tunnels and map abandoned mines—some of the most dangerous work in the business.
The latest design is called Cave Crawler. It’s a bit smaller than Groundhog, and even more advanced. It can take photos and videos and has more sensors that can detect the presence of dangerous gases. Incredibly, the robot has a real sense of logic. If it comes across an obstacle it gets momentarily confused. It has to think about what to do and where to go next. Sometimes it throws a fit just like a real person.
The greatest problem, though, is cost. The money of the earliest research project was provided by the government, but that money had dried up, and it’s not clear where future money will come from. Partly for that reason, and partly because of advances in safety, mining is not nearly as dangerous as it was in the past. Since 1990, fatalities(致命性) have declined by 67% and injuries by 51% , according to the National Mining Association.
Some experts predict that robots in mines will serve much of the same function that they do in the automotive industry. The robots do the most boring and dangerous jobs，but won’t get rid of the need for human workers.
1.The latest robot is more advanced than Groundhog, mainly because ________.
A. it can map abandoned mines
B. it has a real sense of logic
C. it can see in the dark tunnels
D. it’s smaller than Groundhog
2.The underlined phrase “throws a fit” in paragraph 4 probably means“________”.
A. gets sickB. gets angry
C. becomes hungryD. becomes cheerful
3.We can infer from the last paragraph that ________.
A. the mine robots will have a very bright future
B. robots in mines will serve much in the automotive industry
C. there will be no need for human workers in mines
D. robots in mines only do some simple jobs now
4.We can infer from the text that ________.
A. robots cannot do dangerous work in dark areas
B. the mining robots do most of the mining work at present
C. groundhog can discover the presence of dangerous gases
D. experts are trying to make robots help miners with dangerous work
假如你是李华，请根据下图中围绕“拒为低头族”(stop phubbing)这个话题写一篇150词左右的英语短文。
词汇：phubbing(低头族) = phone(手机) + snubbing(snub冷落的进行时态)
内容包括：
1.你身边有“低头族”吗？他们的表现；
2.“低头族”给学习和生活带来的影响；
3.就如何“拒为低头族”提1-2点建议。
要求：
1.文章开头已给出，不计入总词数；
2.可以使用亲身经历或虚构的故事；
3.文中不得出现真实姓名和学校名称。
Nowadays, many people are addicted to their phones. __________________________
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请认真阅读下列短文，并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填入一个最恰当的单词。
The back-to-school season is upon us, and once again, parents across the country have loaded their kids’ backpacks up with snack packs and school supplies. It’s a good moment to reflect on what else we should be giving our kids as they head off to school.
American parents are feeling particularly anxious about that question this year. The educational process feels more than ever like a race, one that starts in pre-school and doesn’t end until your child is admitted to the perfect college. Most parents are more worried than they need to be about their children’s grades, test scores and IQ. And what we don’t think about enough is how to help our children build their character—how to help them develop skills like perseverance, optimism, responsibility, and self-control, which together do more to determine success than S.A.T. scores or I.Q.
There is growing evidence that our anxiety about our children’s school performance may actually be holding them back from learning some of these valuable skills. If you’re concerned only with a child’s G.P.A., then you will likely choose to minimize the challenges the child faces in school. With real challenge comes the risk of real failure. And in a competitive academic environment, the idea of failure can be very scary, to students and parents alike.
But experiencing failure is a critical part of building character. Recent research by a team of psychologists found that adults who had experienced little or no failure growing up were actually less happy and confident than those who had experienced a few significant setbacks in childhood. “Overcoming those obstacles,” the researchers assumed, “could teach effective coping skills, help engage social support networks, create a sense of mastery over past adversity, and foster beliefs in the ability to cope successfully in the future.”
By contrast, when we protect our children from every possible failure—when we call their teachers to get an extension on a paper; when we urge them to choose only those subjects they’re good at—we are denying them those same character-building experiences. As the psychologists Madeline Levine and Dan Kindlon have written, that can lead to difficulties in adolescence and young adulthood, when overprotected young people finally confront real problems on their own and don’t know how to overcome them.
In the classroom and outside of it, American parents need to encourage children to take chances, to challenge themselves, to risk failure. In the meantime, giving our kids room to fail may be one of the best ways we can help them succeed.
Back to School: Why Perseverance Is More Important than Good Grades? | |
Common phenomena | Parents throughout America 1.______ their kids’ backpacks up with snacks and school supplies. |
Many American parents don’t 2._______ enough importance to their kids’ character building. | |
The writer’s 3._________ | Parents should pay more attention to their kids’ character building. |
Evidence and 4._____ findings | Parents’ anxiety about their kids’ performance may 5. them from learning some valuable skills. |
Parents concerned only with a kid’s G.P.A. have a 6. to minimize the challenges the child faces. | |
Adults who have experienced a few significant setbacks in childhood are 7. and more confident than those who haven’t. | |
Denying kids character-building experiences can 8. in difficulties in adolescence and young adulthood. | |
The writer’s suggestions | 9.________ kids to be risk-takers. |
Give kids room to experience 10.____________. | |
动词填空
1.If only he ______________ (tell) me the news! I needn’t have been so busy then.
2.It’s natural that the kid ______________ (do) something wrong; you cannot blame him excessively.
3.Jim must have read the novel; otherwise he ______________ (not know) all the answers to these questions.
4.With the incomes ______________ (rise) continuously, some people now can afford expensive clothing of the fastest fashion.
5.If I’ve got nothing to share, I may leave my micro-blog ______________ (untouch) for weeks.
6.His brother, who ______________ (serve) in the army for five years, is now running a farm in our village.
7.Sam is going to talk about the history of his country, but I’d rather he ______________ (focus) more on its culture.
8.The boy is always studying very hard, ______________ (aim) to be admitted to Fudan University.
9.Tom was familiar with every street in the town as if he ______________ (live) there.
10.In my opinion, earning a large sum of money isn’t equal to ______________ (live) a happy life.
请根据所给汉语或首字母写出空缺处单词的适当形式，使句子完整，语法正确，每空只填一个单词。
1.It’s the company’s policy to s_________ short-term profits for the sake of long-term growth.
2.The Red Cross is trying to get more young people involved in doing v________ work.
3.Without food, many of the victims in the disaster died of s________.
4.They have v__________ reasons for refusing to do it.
5.It is the building t_________ of a Gothic church.
6.The public remain _____________(持怀疑态度) of the claim that the local government has made great efforts to prevent water pollution.
7.Because of damage to their homes, many people had to stay in ___________(临时的) shelters for a few months.
8.The electronic dictionary is ____________ (优雅地) shaped like a pen.
9.He is one of those who are not satisfied with the _________________(招待，接待).
10.The exhibition was held to break down the cultural ___________(障碍) between the two countries.
