Section ⅡReading Comprehension

　　Part A

　　When Dr. John W. Gofman, professor of medical physics at the University of California and a leading nuclear critic, speaks of “ecocide” in his adversary view of nuclear technology, he means the following: A large nuclear plant like that in Kalkar,the Netherlands, would produce about 200 pounds of plutonium each year. One pound, released into the atmosphere, could cause 9 billion cases of lung cancer. This waste product must be stored for 500,000 years before it is of no further danger to man. In the anticipated reactor economy, it is estimated that there will be 10,000 tons of this material in Western Europe, of which one table-spoonful of plutonium-239 represents the official maximum permissible body burden for 200,000 people. Rather than being biodegradable, plutonium destroys biological properties.

　　In 1972 the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration ruled that the asbestos level in the work place should be lowered to 2 fibers per cubic centimeter of air, but the effective date of the ruling has been delayed until now. The International Federation of Chemical and General Workers' Unions report that the 2-fiber standard was based primarily on one study of 290 men at a British asbestos factory. But when the workers at the British factory had been reexamined by another physician, 40—70 percent had X'ray evidence of lung abnormalities. According to present medical information at the factory in question, out of a total of 29 deaths thus far, seven were caused by lung cancer. An average European or American worker comes into contact with six million fibers a day. “We are now, in fact, finding cancer deaths within the family of the asbestos worker,” states Dr. Irving Selikoff, of the Mount Sinai Medical School in New York.

　　It is now also clear that vinyl chloride, a gas from which the most widely used plastics are made, causes a fatal cancer of the blood-vessel cells of the liver. However, the history of the research on vinyl chloride is, in some ways, more disturbing than the “Watergate cover-up.” “There has been evidence of potentially serious disease among polyvinyl chloride workers for 25 years that has been incompletely appreciated and inadequately approached by medical scientists and by regulatory authorities,” summed up Dr. Selikoff in the New Scientist. At least 17 workers have been killed by vinyl chloride because research over the past 25 years was not followed up. And for over 10 years, workers have been exposed to concentrations of vinyl chloride 10 times the “safe limit” imposed by Dow Chemical Company. (422 words)

　　Notes: plutonium 钚。asbestos 石棉。polyvinyl chloride 聚氯乙烯。

　　21. By “ecocide” the author most probably means

　　[A] waste utilization.

　　[B] ecological balance.

　　[C] radioactive reaction.

　　[D] massive bio-destruction.

　　22. According to the text, the author mentions plutonium in paragraph 1 to

　　[A] estimate the amount of nuclear material in Europe.

　　[B] exemplify one of the possible causes of lung cancer.

　　[C] highlight the measures needed to prevent lung cancer.

　　[D] show the destructive properties of industrial waste materials.

　　23. The style of the second paragraph is mainly

　　[A] factual.

　　[B] sarcastic.

　　[C] emotional.

　　[D] argumentative.

　　24. According to paragraph 3, some workers have been killed by harmful pollutants in that

　　[A] production could not be halted.

　　[B] they failed to take safety measures.

　　[C] research was not pursued to a solution.

　　[D] safety equipment was not adequately provided.

　　25. It can be inferred from the text that the author believes that

　　[A] nationwide application of anti-pollution devices can finally prevent cancer.

　　[B] tough legislation is needed to set lower limits of worker exposure to harmful chemicals.

　　[C] more research is required into the causes of cancer before further progress can be made.

　　[D] industrialization must be slowed down to prevent further spread of cancer�瞔ausing agents.

　　Text2

　　The topic of cloning has been a politically and ethically controversial one since its very beginning. While the moral and philosophical aspects of the issues are entirely up to the interpretation of the individual, the application of cloning technology can be studied objectively. Many in the scientific community advocate the use of cloning for the preservation and support of endangered species of animals, which aside from cloning, have no other practical hope for avoiding extinction.

　　The goal of the use of cloning to avoid extinction is the reintroduction of new genes into the gene pool of species with few survivors, ensuring the maintenance and expansion of genetic diversity. Likely candidates for this technique are species known to have very few surviving members, such as the African Bongo Antelope, the Sumatran Tiger, and the Chinese Giant Panda. In the case of Giant Panda, some artificial techniques for creating offspring have already been performed, perhaps paving the way for cloning as the next step in the process.

　　With the estimated population of only about 1000 Giant Pandas left in the world, the urgency of the situation has led to desperate measures. One panda was born through the technique of artificial insemination in the San Diego Zoo in the United States. “Hua Mei” was born in 1999 after her parents, Hsing-Hsing and Ling-Ling, had trouble conceiving naturally.

　　The plan to increase the Giant Panda population through the use of cloning involves the use of a species related to the Giant Panda, the American Black Bear. Egg cells will be removed from female black bears and then fertilized with Panda cells such as those from Ling-Ling or Hsing-Hsing. The fertilized embryo will then re-implanted into the black bear, where it will grow and mature, until a new panda is delivered from the black bear host.

　　Critics of cloning technology argue that the emphasis on cloning as a method by which to preserve species will draw funding away from other methods, such as habitat preservation and conservation. Proponents of cloning counter that many countries in which many endangered species exist are too poor to protect and maintain the species' habitats anyway, making cloning technology the only practical way to ensure that those species survive to future generations. The issue is still hotly debated, as both sides weigh the benefits that could be achieved against the risks and ethical concerns that constantly accompany any argument on the issue. (402 words)

　　Notes: ethically 道德上。gene pool基因庫。insemination n. 受精。fertilize 使受精。embryo 胚胎。proponent 支持者，擁護者。weigh A against B 權衡A和B的利弊。

　　26. The author raises the issue of ethical consideration in cloning in paragraph 1 in order to

　　[A] identify the issues that will not be addressed in the text.

　　[B] reveal an area of interest that will be explored later in the text.

　　[C] identify one of the main issues affecting the cloning controversy today.

　　[D] draw the reader's attention to a sensitive issue that bears consideration in the topic of cloning.

　　27. The author directs attention to “Hua Mei”, the baby panda born in the San Diego Zoo, in order to

　　[A] show that cloning as an artificial birth technique has succeeded.

　　[B] argue that pandas are a particularly likely candidate for cloning.

　　[C] show that artificial birth techniques other than cloning have succeeded.

　　[D] demonstrate the necessity of cloning and other artificial birth techniques to the survival of certain species.

　　28. Paragraph 4 is written in order to

　　[A] detail the process by which cloning in the panda population has been executed in the past.

　　[B] guide the reader to consider the possibility of cloning in restoring the panda

　　population.

　　[C] demonstrate that the use of cloning to repopulate the panda species is a feasible goal.

　　[D] inform the reader of how cloning would be carried out in the panda population.

　　29. The main purpose of the last paragraph is to

　　[A] argue in favor of one side on a particularly controversial topic of cloning.

　　[B] display both sides' arguments on another contentious issue in cloning.

　　[C] redirect the readers' attention to the previously raised issue of ethics in cloning.

　　[D] provide further relevant information to the evaluation of cloning as a preservation technique.

　　30. It can be inferred from the information given in the text that the best candidate for cloning would be

　　[A] Giant Pandas.

　　[B] an endangered species with many living related species.

　　[C] the species in which previous techniques of artificial reproduction have been

　　successfully applied.

　　[D] those for which cloning is the only feasible method by which to reproduce the species.

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