A
What will people die of 100 years from now?If you think that is a simple question,you have not been paying attention to the revolution that is taking place in biotechnology(生物技术).With the help of new medicine,the human body will last a very long time.Death will come mainly from accidents,murders and wars.Today’s leading killers,such as heart disease,cancer,and aging itself,will become distant memories.
In discussion of technological changes,the Internet gets most of the attention these days.But the change in medicine can be the real technological event of our times.How long can humans live?Human brains are known to decide the final death.Cells(细胞) are the basic units of all living things,and until recently,scientists were sure that the life of cells could not go much beyond 120 years because the basic materials of cells,such as those of brain cells,would not last forever.But the upper limits will be broken by new medicine.Sometime between 2050 and 2100,medicine will have advanced to the point at which every 10 years or so,people will be able to take medicine to repair their organs(器官).The medicine,made up of the basic building materials of life,will build new brain cells,heart cells,and so on—in much the same way our bodies make new skin cells to take the place of old ones.
It is exciting to imagine that the advance in technology may be changing the most basic condition of human existence,but many technical problems still must be cleared up on the way to this wonderful future.
21.According to the passage,human death is now mainly caused by .
A.diseases and aging
B.accidents and wars
C.accidents and aging
D.heart disease and wars
解析:根据文章第一段的最后一句可知,现在人类死亡的主要原因是心脏病、癌症和衰老等等。
答案:A
22.In the author’s opinion,today’s most important advance in technology lies in .
A.medicine B.the Internet
C.brain cells D.human organs
解析:根据文章第二段的第二句“Butthechangeinmedicinecanbetherealtechnologicaleventofourtimes.”可知,作者认为,当今最重要的技术发展在于医学。
答案:A
23.Humans may live longer in the future because .
A.heart disease will be far away from us
B.human brains can decide the final death
C.the basic materials of cells will last forever
D.human organs can be repaired by new medicine
解析:根据第一段的最后一句可知,现在人类死亡的主要原因是心脏病、癌症和衰老等,故可排除A项;根据第二段的第四句可知,脑细胞决定我们的死亡早已被人所知,故可排除B项;根据第二段最后一句的关键信息“Themedicine...willbuildnewbraincells,heartcells,andsoon...”可排除C项。根据第二段的倒数第二句“Sometimebetween2050and2100...peoplewillbeabletotakemedicinetorepairtheirorgans.”可知选D项。
答案:D
24.We can learn from the passage that .
A.human life will not last more than 120 years in the future
B.humans have to take medicine to build new skin cells now
C.much needs to be done before humans can have a longer life
D.we have already solved the technical problems in building new cells
解析:全文主要介绍了科技发展——尤其是医学的发展给人类带来的巨大突破。但文章最后一段告诉人们,要想实现这个目标仍有好长的路要走。
答案:C
