Should we breed people with cow-like stomachs so they can digest grass and hay, thereby relieving the food problem by modifying us to eat lower down on the food chain? Should we biologically alter workers to fit the job requirement, for example, creating pilots with faster reaction times or assembly-line workers designed to do our monotonous work for us? Should we attempt to eliminate " inferior " people and breed a " super -race "? (Hitler tried this, but without the genetic weaponry that may soon issue from our laboratories.) Should we produce soldiers to do our fighting? Should we use genetic forecasting to pre-eliminate " unfit " babies? Should we grow reserve organs for ourselves, each of us having, as it were, a " savings bank " full of spare kidney, livers or hands?
Wild as these notions may sound, every one has its advocates (and opposers) in the scientific community as well as its striking commercial application. As two critics of genetic engineering, Jeremy Rifkin and Ted Howard, state in their book Who Should Play God? " Broad Scale genetic engineering will probably be introduced to America much the same way as assembly lines, automobiles, vaccines, computers and all the other technologies. As each new genetic advance becomes commercially practical, a new consumer need will be exploited and a market for the new technology will be created."
1. According to the passage, the exhaust from a car engine could probably be checked by
A) using metal-hungry microbes .
B) making use of enzymes.
C) adjusting the engine.
D) patenting new life forms.
2. According to the passage, which of the following would worry the critics the most?
A) The unanticipated explosion of population
B) The creation of biological solar cells.
C) The accidental spill of oil.
D) The unexpected release of destructive microbes.
Wild as these notions may sound, every one has its advocates (and opposers) in the scientific community as well as its striking commercial application. As two critics of genetic engineering, Jeremy Rifkin and Ted Howard, state in their book Who Should Play God? " Broad Scale genetic engineering will probably be introduced to America much the same way as assembly lines, automobiles, vaccines, computers and all the other technologies. As each new genetic advance becomes commercially practical, a new consumer need will be exploited and a market for the new technology will be created."
1. According to the passage, the exhaust from a car engine could probably be checked by
A) using metal-hungry microbes .
B) making use of enzymes.
C) adjusting the engine.
D) patenting new life forms.
2. According to the passage, which of the following would worry the critics the most?
A) The unanticipated explosion of population
B) The creation of biological solar cells.
C) The accidental spill of oil.
D) The unexpected release of destructive microbes.