单选题 The first technological revolution in modern biology started when James Watson and Francis Crick described the structure of DNA half a century ago. That established the fields of molecular and cell biology, the basis of the biotechnology industry. The sequencing of the human genome nearly a decade ago set off a second revolution which has started to illuminate the origins of diseases.
Now the industry is convinced that a third revolution is under way: the convergence of biology and engineering. A recent report from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology says that physical sciences have already been transformed by their adoption of information technology, advanced materials, imaging, nanotechnolugy and sophisticated modelling and simulation. Phillip Sharp, a Nobel prize-winner at that university, believes that those tools are about to be brought to bear on biology too.
But the chances are that this will take time, and turn out to be more of a reformation than a revolution. The conventional health-care systems of the rich world may resist new technologies even as poor countries leapfrog ahead. There is already a backlash against genomics, which has been oversold to consumers as a deterministic science. And given soaring health-care costs, insurers and health systems may not want to adopt new technologies unless inventors can show conclusively that they will produce better outcomes and offer value for money.
If these obstacles can be overcome, then the biggest winner will be the patient. In the past medicine has taken a paternalistic stance, with the all-knowing physician dispensing wisdom from on high, but that is becoming increasingly untenable. Digitisation promises to connect doctors not only to everything they need to know about their patients but also to other doctors who have treated similar disorders. That essential reform will enable many other big technological changes to be introduced.
Just as important, it can make that information available to the patients too, empowering them to play a bigger part in managing their own health affairs. This is controversial, and with good reason. Many doctors, and some patients, reckon they lack the knowledge to make informed decisions. But patients actually know a great deal about many diseases, especially chronic ones like diabetes and heart problems with which they often live for many years. The best way to deal with those is for individuals to take more responsibility for their own health and prevent problems before they require costly hospital visits. That means putting electronic health records directly into patients’ hands.

单选题 Which of the following might be true about modern biology according to the first paragraph?
A. The molecular and cell structure are found during the first revolution.
B. Scientists sequenced the human genome half a century ago.
C. Scientists have completely understood the mystery of DNA.
D. The origins of some diseases have been found in the second revolution.

单选题 Who will get the most benefit in the new revolution in modern biology?
A. IT companies. B. The doctors.
C. The patients. D. The hospitals.

单选题 What will patients probably do with their chronic diseases in the future?
A. They will manage their own health affairs.
B. They will prevent problems before getting ill.
C. They will have more communications with doctors.
D. They will make their own electronic health records.

单选题 What does the word “bear” (Last line, Para. 2) probably mean?
A. Transform. B. Endure.
C. Burden. D. Give birth to.

单选题 What will a physician probably do in the future if he encounters a difficult and rare disease?
A. He will refer to other treatments on similar disorders via the internet.
B. He will brainstorm on it and try to cure the patient.
C. He will resort to the deterministic science of genomics.
D. He will freeze the case and wait for new cures to deal with it.