单选题
The idea of test-tube babies may make you either delighted
at the wonders of modern medicine or irritated while considering the moral, or
legal, or technological implications of starting life in a laboratory. But if
you've ever been pregnant yourself, one thing is certain: You wonder what it's
like to carry a test-tube baby. Are these pregnancies normal? Are the babies
normal? The earliest answers come from Australia, where a group
of medical experts at the Queen Victoria Medical Center in Melbourne have taken
a look at the continent's first nine successful "in vitro" pregnancies. The
Australians report that the pregnancies themselves seemed to proceed according
to plan, but at birth some unusual trends did show up. Seven of the nine babies
turned out to be girls. Six of the nine were delivered by Caesarean section
(剖腹产手术). And one baby, a twin, was born with a serious heart defect and a few
days later developed life-threatening problems. What does it
all mean? Even the doctors don't know for sure, because the numbers are so
small. The proportion of girls to boys is high, but until there are many more
test-tube babies no one will know whether that's something that just happened to
be like that or something special that happens when egg meets sperm in a test
tube instead of a Fallopian tube (输卵管). The same thing is true of the single
heart defect; it usually shows up in only 15 out of 60,000 births in that part
of Australia, but the fact that it occurred in one out of nine test-tube babies
does not necessarily mean that they are at special risk. One thing the doctors
can explain is the high number of Caesareans. Most of the mothers were older,
had long histories of fertility problems and in some cases had had surgery on
the Fallopian tubes, all of which made them likely candidates for Caesareans
anyway. The Australian researchers report that they are quite
encouraged. All the babies are now making normal progress, even the twin with
the birth defects.
单选题
What would people be most concerned about according to the author?
A. Whether the test-tube babies would be legally accepted by society.
B. Whether the test-tube babies would be normal from pregnancy to
birth.
C. Whether modern medicine is advanced enough for test-tube babies'
delivery.
D. Whether there would be always more girls than boys out of the test-tube
babies.
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】细节题。根据第一段，试管婴儿这一事物可能使你为现代医学的奇迹而高兴，也可能使你为这种生命开始于实验室的方式的道德、法律及技术含义而担忧。但如果你自己曾经有过身孕，有一点是确定的：你想知道孕育试管婴儿是什么样，试管婴儿的受孕和出生是否会正常。(...one thing is certain: You wonder what it's like to carry a test-tube baby. Are these pregnancies normal? Are the babies normal?)故B是正确答案。
单选题
What does the Latin word "in vitro" (Lines 2～3, Para. 2) most probably
mean?
单选题
Which of the following explanations regarding the high number of
Caesarean operations is NOT true?
A. Some mothers have passed the best age for a natural delivery.
B. Some mothers have physical problems with pregnancy.
C. Some mothers volunteer to be the candidates of the Caesarean
operations.
D. Some mothers have had surgical operations on the Fallopian
tubes.
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】是非题。在第三段后半部分，试管婴儿剖腹产的比例大，有三个原因：一是大多数母亲年龄都较大(Most of the mothers were older)，二是她们大多数都有长期生殖方面的问题(had long histories of fertility problems)，三是她们中有一些曾作过输卵管手术(in some cases had had surgery on the Fallopian tubes)。这些原因都有可能使她们成为剖腹产手术的对象。所以只有C说有些母亲自愿成为剖腹产手术的对象，这是不对的。故C是本题正确选项。
单选题
What is the author's attitude toward the idea of test-tube babies?