阅读理解 Biotechnology Biotechnology in one form or another has flourished since prehistoric times. When the first human beings realized that they could plant their own crops and breed their own animals, they learned to use biotechnology. The discovery that fruit juices fermented(发酵) in wine, or that milk could be converted into cheese or yogurt(酸乳酶) or that beer could be made by fermenting solutions of malt(麦芽) and hops(啤酒花) began the study of biotechnology. When the first bakers found that they could make a soft, spongy(多乳的) bread rather than a firm, thin cracker they we''re acting as fledgling(缺乏经验的) biotechnologists. The first animal breeders, realizing that different physical traits could be either magnified or lost by mating appropriate pairs of animals, engaged in the manipulations of biotechnology. What then is biotechnology? The term brings to mind different things. Some think of developing new types of animals. Others dream of almost unlimited sources of human therapeutic (治疗的) drugs. Still others envision (想象) the possibility of growing crops that are more nutritious(有养分的) and naturally pest-resistant (有抵抗力的) to feed a rapidly growing world population. This question elicits (引发) almost as many first-thought responses as there are people to whom the question can be posed. In its purest form, the term "biotechnology" refers to the use of living organisms or their products to modify human health and the human environment. Prehistoric biotechnologists did this as they used yeast cells to raise bread dough(生面团) and to ferment alcoholic beverages, and bacterial cells to make cheeses and yogurts and as they bred their strong, productive animals to make even stronger and more productive offspring. Throughout human history, we have learned a great deal about the different organisms that our ancestors used so effectively. The marked increase in our understanding of these organisms and their cell products gains us the ability to control the many functions of various cells and organisms. Using the techniques of gene splicing(叠接) and recombine DNA technology, we can now actually combine the genetic elements of two or more living cells. Functioning lengths of DNA can be taken from one organism and placed into the cells of another organism. As a result, for example, we can cause bacterial cells to produce human molecules cows can produce more milk or the same amount of feed, and we can synthesize the rapeutic molecules that have never before existed.
单选题 The human beings began to use biotechnology______.
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】生物技术的出现，是人们在认识到他们能够种植作物，饲养动物时即开始的，C)是正确答案；A)用脚走路是人类出现时的特征，远早于生物技术的产生，A)不正确；在人类种植作物以前，无须使用生物技术，B)不正确；生物技术的出现，是人类生产实践的产物，而不是科学家们研究探索的结论，它和人类的生产劳动同时产生，D)不正确。
单选题 According to the passage, which of the following is NOT an application of biotechnology?
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】文中提到的使用生物技术的例子，包括A)用大麦和啤酒花发酵制成啤酒；C)用牛奶制成奶酪；D)将适当的动物进行交配以扩大他们的优点，A)、C)、D)均不符合题意；B)用面粉和糖制成美味的硬薄饼干，不是利用生物技术，而是中文举的用生物技术制做软的、蓬松的面包的一个反证，B)是正确答案。
单选题 The term" biotechnology" may bring different things to mind except______.
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】人们对“生物技术”一词的反映往往是利用生物技术所带来的东西。第2段开始即列举了几种常见的，包括A)新的动物种类；B)更具有营养和自然防止虫害的作用，A)、B)不符合题意，后文在提到古代生物技术应用时又提到了可饲养更强壮、更多产的动物后代，C)也是生物技术的产物，不符合题意；D)迅速增长的世界人口数量不是生物技术发展带来的直接影响，文中提到它，是为了表明生物技术发展对它带来的正面作用，故D)正确。
单选题 The sentence "This question elicits..."(para. 2) means ______.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】文中这一句话的字面意思是“生物技术是什么”这一问题问到多少人，便会引起多少种回答，亦即见仁见智的意思，故A)人们对“生物技术是什么”有各种不同的回答是正确解释，B) 这问题曾向许多人提起、C)这一问题的回答应当场作出、D)只有被问及“生物技术是什么”的人们才能回答，都曲解了原文的含义，所以都不正确。
单选题 Biotechnology enables us ______.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】第2段后半部分讲了生物技术的新发展，其中包括“gene splicing and recombinant DNA”，表明DNA可以重组，A)可以改变人类DNA，正确；生物技术可使在喂养数量不变的情况下，牛奶产量增加，而不是靠增加奶牛数量提高产量，B)不正确；文中提到“gains us the ability to control the many functions of various cells and organisms”是控制而非增加细胞和有机体的功能，C)不正确；生物技术可导致产生新的分子，而不是发现新的分子，D)亦不正确。