中石油职称英语是中石油系统内部组织的一种职称英语考试。考试五大题型：词汇、语法、阅读理解、完型填空、翻译。

　　3.Clones: A Milestone in Medical Science(参考译文：克隆—医学科学的一个里程碑)

　　1.Take a cell,practically any cell,from your body,and through appropriate biological repairing,you can cause it to grow into a duplicate of yourself-identical from eyelashes to toenails.With this system,you can neatly reproduce yourself without any partner.Human cloning,it's called.

　　1.从你的身体上取一个细胞，实际上可以是任何细胞，通过适当的生物修理，你能够使它生长成为一个完整的你自己的复制品，从眼睫毛到脚趾甲，完全相同。使用这个系统，你能够不需要任何（性）伙伴完整地重制你自己，这被称作“人类克隆”。
 

　　2.Is this science fact or science fiction?In the spring of 1996,a book was published telling the supposedly true story of an elderly millionaire who,at great expense,succeeded in producting a clone-an exact genetic copy of himself.According to the account,the cloned child,now 4 years old,is living with his "father" in California.

　　2.这是科学的事实还是科学的小说？1996年春天，已经发行的一本书讲述一个据说是真实的故事，一个老年的百万富翁花费巨资，成功地生产出一个克隆，一个完全的他自己的基因复制。据报道，该克隆儿童现在已经4岁，与他的“父亲”一起生活在加利福尼亚。
 

　　3.The book caused a small uproar.Clone movies and clone jokes sprang up overnight.A group of scientists demanded that the federal government reveal all the studies it has funded on cloning and related field of cell biology.But some distinguished biologists offered their opinion that the book was pure fantasy.They pointed out that cell researchers simply do not yet know enough to pull off such a feat,even if they are anxious to.

　　3.这本书造成一个小骚动。一夜间克隆电影和克隆笑话扩散开。一个科学家组织要求联邦政府展示它曾经和正在提供资金的有关克隆和相关细胞生物学领域的所有研究项目。但是，一些著名生物学家提出了他们的观点，认为该书是纯粹的科幻小说。他们指出，很简单，细胞学研究者完全不具备足够知识去实现这样的壮举，尽管他们渴望能做到。
 

　　4.Yet the cloning story touches a highly sensitive nerve.People began to realize that we are on the threshold of a new age in the biosciences.Knowledge of genetic engineering is emerging that allows scientists to tinker with,and change,the very stuff of life.The assumption on which human cloning rests is that all genetic cells,though now specialized,still contain exact copies of the original set of genetic instructions needed to make an entire individualcand could do so if a way is found to switch them back on.If so,the recipe for cloning people should be quite simple,at least in theory.

　　4.但是克隆故事已经触动到高度敏感的神经。人们开始意识到我们正处在一个生物科学新纪元的开端。正在兴起的基因工程的知识，使科学家可用其修补和改变那些生命之源。人类克隆的假设基于：虽然现在是专门的细胞，但所有的基因细胞都保留着一套正确的原始基因复制，它用来指导重塑一个完整的个体人，同样的道理，如果能够找到一个方法也可以逆向复制。如果的确如此，人类克隆应该非常简单，至少理论上如此。

　　5.Although it may look simple on paper,it isn't in practice. To date scientists have succeeded in cloning some small animals.But it is still a far cry from the much more complicated experiment on the carbon copy of human beings.Even when technically possible,the potential of human cloning challenges our entire value system.We must talk about the implications now ,before any crisis occurs.

　　5.虽然在理论上人类克隆看上去简单，但其从未进入试验。目前科学家已经成功克隆了一些小动物。但是，复制活人这样复杂的试验依然是遥不可及的。即使技术上可能时，人类克隆的潜在性向我们人类整个价值体系发出挑战。我们必须在任何危机发生之前的今天，讨论有关的含义。

　　6.What would happen if human cloning became a reality? One favorite expectation is the creation of a new breed of Einstein's.But scientists quickly denied the possibility.It is more than genetic make-up that makes an individual.People are all products of a particular historical time and of special environment,with so many minute things affecting the way they develop each and every day.A duplicate background-and therefore a duplicate individual-could never be created.

　　6.如果人类克隆成为真实，将会发生什么？一个最好的期待是，一个爱因斯坦的新生命。但是科学家们迅速否定了这个可能性。一个人物个体的产生不仅仅依靠基因的构成。每一个人都是特定历史时间和特殊环境的产物，有那么多微小的事情影响着每个人发展方向的每一天。因此，一个复制的背景，或一个复制的个人，将永远不能被创造。

　　7.Fortunately,cloning research is not a technique for reproductive purposes,but to cure human diseases.Already biologists studying the cell's inner workings and the various methods of cloning have made exciting discoveries that may finally lead to breakthroughs in fighting against cancer.It may also be used to control the aging process,and conquer presently incurable human genetic diseases.

　　7.幸运的是，克隆研究不是一项以复制为目的的技术，反之，而是为了治疗人类的疾病。生物学家在研究细胞的内部活动方式和克隆的各种办法方面，已经有了令人兴奋的发现，可能最终实现战胜癌症的突破。它还可能被用于控制人的老化过程，以及征服目前还不可治疗的人类基因疾病。