# be relieved to see/hear/know something
* His mother was relieved to see him happy again妈妈看到他又开心了, 舒了口气。
9. to overturn: 1)掀翻; 使垮台 2)(文中含义)撤销(判决)
*His conviction was overturned by the Court of Appeal.上诉法庭撤销了他有罪的判决。
10. prior: 先前的 = former prior decision: 先前的决定
# prior to sth: 在sth 之前= before
* All the arrangements should be completed prior to your departure. 在你离开之前, 必须做好所有的安排。
11. a blessing: 1) 好事; (提升生活质量或令人开心的)事情
* The dishwasher has been a real blessing! 洗碗机一直以来是个好东西。 # it is a blessing (that)
* It's a blessing no-one was badly hurt. 没人严重受伤, 真是好事。
On July 29th they were relieved, at least temporarily. A federal appeals court overturned the prior decision, ruling that Muriad Genetics could indeed hold patents to two genes that help forecast a woman?s risk of breast cancer .The chief executive of Mytiad, a company in Utah, said the ruling was a blessing to firms and patients alike. 7月29日, 他们如释重负, 至少暂时是这样。 联邦上诉法院推翻了先前的判决, 裁定Myriad Genetic 公司的确可以拥有两项帮助预测女性乳腺癌风险的基因专利。 位于犹他州的Myriad 公司的首席执行官认为, 这份判决对于相关公司及患者都是一种福音。
12. a personalized medicine: 一种个性化的药物 13. make arguments against sb: 反驳sb 14. to suppress: 抑制, 阻止 15. innovation: (名词) 创新 16. to reward sth: 奖励sth 17. patent monopoly: 基因垄断 18. to restrict: 限制
19. a growing number of: 越来越多的 20. to urge: 督促
21. a task-force: 特别小组, 专责小组 22. to file: (动词) 发布(消息)
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23. a brief: 简短声明
to file a brief: 发布简短声明 24. molecule: 分子 25. fibre: 纤维
But as companies continue their attempts at personalized medicine, the courts will remain rather busy. The Myriad case itself is probably not over. Critics make three main arguments against gene patents: a gene is a product of nature, so it may not be patented; gene patents suppress innovation rather than reward it; and patents monopolies restrict access to genetic tests such as Myriad. A growing number seem to agree. Last year a federal task-force urged reform for patents related to genetic tests. In October the Department of Justice filed a brief in the Myriad case, arguing that an isolated DNA molecule “is no less a product of nature…than are cotton fibers that have been separated from cotton seeds.” 但随着生物技术公司继续努力研发个性化药品, 法庭上仍然会纠纷不断。 Myriad一案本身可能并没有就此终结。 针对基因专利, 批评家们提出了三个主要的反对理由: 基因是自然产物,因此不应得到专利保护; 基因专利抑制创新而不是鼓励创新; 像Myriad这样的基因垄断企业会限制其他公司进行基因测试。越来越多的人倾向于认同这些观点。去年联邦政府成立专项小组来督促基因测试方面的专利改革。 10月份司法部对Myriad一案发表简要声明, 认为分离出的基因分子就像从棉花籽分离出的棉花纤维一样, 也是自然产物。
26. to remain unanswered: 仍然没有得到回复。
Despite the appeals court?s decision, big questions remain unanswered. For example, it is unclear whether the sequencing of a whole genome violates the patents of individual genes within it. The case may yet reach the Supreme Court. 尽管上诉法院已经做出裁决, 但一些重大问题仍然没有解决。 例如, 尚不清楚一个完整的基因组排序是否会侵犯基因组内个体基因所获得的专利。 该案件可能会上诉到最高法院。
27. to advance: 前进, 发展= to develop 28. to file patents for sth: 为sth 申请专利 29. in the public domain: 在公共领域中
30. efficacy: (正式用语)效力, 效能= effectiveness
As the industry advances, however, other suits may have an even greater impact. Companies are unlikely to file many more patents for human DNA molecules----most are unlikely patented or in the public domain. Firms are now studying how genes interact, looking for correlations that might be used to determine the causes of disease or predict a drug?s efficacy. Companies are eager to win patents for “connecting the
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dots,” explains Hans Sauer, a lawyer for the BIO. 然而, 随着该产业的发展, 其他的诉讼可能会产生更大的影响。 生物公司已不可能申请到更多人体DNA分子的专利------大多数基因已受到专利保护或属于公共领域。 生物公司正在研究基因的相互作用, 以确定它们的彼此关系, 这些关系可以用来确诊病因或预测药物疗效。
31. a suit: =lawsuit 诉讼案
32. convention: 1)习俗 2) (文中含义) 行业大会 to hold a convention: 召开大会
33. session: 1) (特定活动的)一段时间, 时段 * a training session for teachers about computers 教师的计算机培训课 * question-and-answer sessions: 问答时间
2) (法庭或国会)会议 * the first televised session of parliament. 国会的第一次电视会议 * The court is now in session. 法庭正在庭审中。 (文中含义) 3) (美国大学的)学期 34. be packed: 挤满人的
* a packed courtroom: 挤满人的法庭; 座无虚席的法庭
# packed with * The island was packed with tourists。 岛上到处是旅游者。 Their success may be determined by a suit related to this issue, brought by the Mayo Clinic, which the Supreme Court will hear in its next term. The BIO recently held a convention which included sessions to coach lawyer on the shifting landscape for patents. Each meeting was packed.他们能否成功可能要取决于Mayo Clinic所提出的一起相关诉讼案, 最高法院将在下一个庭审期审理此案。 生物技术组织最近召开了一个大会, 期间开展了一系列研讨会, 针对不断变换的专利案情情形对律师进行培训。 每一次会议都是座无虚席。
文章结构:
本文是一篇关于基因专利的科普阅读文章。
第一段:通过一项法官裁决(基因不可获得专利)引出文章中心议题---基因是否可以申请专利。
第二段:讲联邦法官的裁决被上诉法院推翻, 生物公司获得反击胜利。 第三段:讲述批评家反对基因专利的种种理由以及人们的反对行动。
第四段:讲的是上诉法院的裁决并未根本解决问题, 很多重大问题悬而未决。 第五段:讲生物公司的现状和打算。
第六段:讲生物公司在为最高法院的诉讼做准备。
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试题分析:
31. It can be learned from Paragraph 1 that the biotech companies would like_____.
[A] their executives to be active [B] judges to rule out gene patenting [C] genes to be patentable
[D] the BIO to issue a warning
这是细节题, 涉及到整个段落的阅读,“题眼”信息并非简单的一句话, 需要对相关句子做综合分析。 根据信号词 biotech companies , 回文定位到首段第二句Companies had won patents for isolated DNA for decades, 但本句并未提及这些公司的“ would like”, 继续看第三句But in March 2012 a judge ruled that genes were unpatentable, 此句的But表示与第二句逻辑相反, 讲到法官对公司多年享受专利的否定。 紧随其后的第四句Executives were violently agitated, 明确表明生物公司对裁决的不满, 即自己的愿望是“希望与以前一样可以得到基因专利”。答案为( C )
32. Those who are against gene patents believe that_____.
[A] genetic tests are not reliable
[B] only man-made products are patentable [C] patents on genes depend much on innovation
[D] courts should restrict access to genetic tests
根据信号词against gene patents, 回文定位到第三段第三句Critics make three main arguments against gene patents: a gene is a product of nature, so it may not be patented; gene patents suppress innovation rather than reward it; and patents monopolies restrict access to genetic tests such as Myriads A growing number seem to agree., 选项(B) 是第一个原因的同义转述, 答案为(B)
33. According to Hans Sauer , companies are eager to win patents for_____.
[A] establishing disease correlations [B] discovering gene interactions [C] drawing pictures of genes
[D] identifying human DNA
根据信号词Hans Sauer和companies are eager to win patents, 回文定位到第五段尾句,“Companies are eager to win patents for “connecting the dots,” explains Hans Sauer, a lawyer for the BIO. 鉴于“原因分析题”, 答案通常在定位信息的上下文, 所以本题目的答案应该着重考虑定位句的上文, 即第五段第三句:. Firms are now studying how genes interact, looking for correlations that might be used to determine the causes of disease or predict a drug?s efficacy. 可见, 生物公司正在研究基因的相互作用, 以确定它们的彼此关系, 这些关系可以用来确诊病因。
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注: 回文定位的connecting the dots, 虽是最直接的答案信息, 但其自身属比喻性修辞, 故正确答案为(B)
34. By saying“Each meeting was packed”(Line 4,Para.6), the author means that______.
[A] the supreme court was authoritative
[B] the BIO was a powerful organization [C] gene patenting was a great concern
[D] lawyers were keen to attend conventions
结合上下文, The BIO recently held a convention which included sessions to coach lawyer on the shifting landscape for patents. Each meeting was packed. 可以看出正确答案为(C) 注:
35. Generally speaking, the author?s attitude toward gene patenting is______.
[A] critical [B] supportive [C] scornful [D] objective
纵观全文, 这是一片正反观点对比型的文章, 作者并未提及自己的主观倾向,作者态度是objective, 答案为( D )
Passage 4 生词释义:
1. recession: (名词)大萧条 2. this era of joblessness: 失业的时代 3. course: 历程
life course: 生活轨迹
4. character: 1)品行 * to reshape the character of young adults. 重塑年轻人的品行
2) 特点:the character of our society: 社会的特点
The great recession may be over, but this era of high joblessness is probably beginning. Before it ends, it will likely change the life course and character of a generation of young adults. And ultimately, it is likely to reshape our politics, our culture, and the character of our society for years. 大萧条或许已经结束, 但高失业率的时代很可能才刚刚开始, 在形势好转之前, 它可能会改变年轻一代人的生活轨迹与品行, 并最终有可能重塑我们多年来形成的政治、文化与社会特征。
5. to find silver linings: 这个短语是从英语谚语“Every cloud has a silver lining\
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