There is ambition and there is Silicon Valley ambition. For where else on a map could a pin be placed when asked to guess where billionaire philanthropists had declared their intention to cure, prevent or manage all human disease before the end of the century?
It was clear from the start that the announcement from Priscilla Chan and her husband, Mark Zuckerberg, nudged at the boundaries of belief. Writing in praise in the US journal, Science, David Baltimore, a Nobel laureate at California Institute of Technology concedes the goal “may raise eyebrows”. Even Cori Bargmann, the renowned neurobiologist who will lead the charge, is aware how it might be perceived. It is “ambitious”, she says, “but not completely ridiculous”.
It is tempting to dismiss the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative as hubris. But the best part of a century is a long time in medicine. Most babies born in 1900 did not live to see the age of 50. Medicine has not been the only reason for the dramatic rise in life expectancy since, but it was a crucial factor. “By 2100 we’ll be shocked by how much we’ve achieved, and we’ll be more shocked with initiatives like this,” says Jim Smith, chief of strategy at the UK’s Medical Research Council.
If not hubris, then what about one-upmanship? Bill Gates wants to eradicate malaria in a generation. Elon Musk wants a Mars colony in a decade. Yuri Milner has set his sights on sending a spacecraft to a star at one-fifth the speed of light. How better to leave your mark higher on the wall than to make every human disease obsolete within your child’s lifetime? Or at least find a way to manage awful conditions, so they no longer mar people’s lives?
But audacious goals are precisely what are needed. “We have to be bold about the scale of the challenge we face in improving human health,” says Steve Caddick, professor of chemical biology at University College London and director of innovation at the Wellcome Trust, the world’s largest biomedical research charity. “What is truly important about this kind of approach is that it creates the hope you need to go from exploratory science to making the world a better place.” He goes on: “Aspiration is essential. This idea that if we put our minds to it, almost anything is possible—that is what can sustain people through the peaks and troughs of decades of research.”
42. .The underlined sentence in Paragraph 1 means that Silicon Valley entrepreneurs （ ）.
43. .According to Cori Bargmann and David Baltimore, the Zuckerbergs’ project may be （ ）.
44. .In Paragraph 3, the author emphasizes that （ ）.
45. .In Paragraph 4, the author implies that ________ （ ）can leave the highest mark on the wall.
46. .In Paragraph 5, “peaks and troughs” most likely means （ ）.
47. Which of the following is the best title for the passage?
问题1选项
A.aim to achieve a lot more compared with their peers
B.have the ability to cure all diseases of the human race
C.control the most sophisticated technologies in the world
D.have equally ambitious visions compared with their peers
问题2选项
A.delightful to others
B.detrimental to humanity
C.crucial to disease prevention
D.too difficult for others to believe
问题3选项
A.medical research is needlessly time-consuming
B.medical research is crucial to raising life expectancy
C.research in other fields is not as important as medicine
D.people will be shocked by the ineffectiveness of medicine
问题4选项
A.Bill Gates
B.Elon Musk
C.Yuri Milner
D.Mark Zuckerberg
问题5选项
A.“dos and don’ts”
B.“pros and cons”
C.“ups and downs”
D.“nuts and bolts”
问题6选项
A.Raising Life Expectancy
B.Billionaire Philanthropists
C.Cure All Diseases?—Brilliantly Bold
D.Ridiculous Ambition—The Chan Zuckerberg Plan
第1题:A
第2题:D
第3题:B
第4题:D
第5题:C
第6题:C
第1题:
【选项释义】
The underlined sentence in Paragraph 1 means that Silicon Valley entrepreneurs（ ）.
第1段中的划线句子意味着硅谷的企业家（ ）。
A. aim to achieve a lot more compared with their peers A. 与他们的同龄人相比，他们的目标是取得更大的成就
B. have the ability to cure all diseases of the human race B. 有能力治愈人类的所有疾病
C. control the most sophisticated technologies in the world C. 控制着世界上最尖端的技术
D. have equally ambitious visions compared with their peers D. 与他们的同龄人相比，有同样雄心勃勃的愿景
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】根据题干关键词The underlined sentence可以定位到文章第一段第一句“有雄心壮志，有硅谷的雄心壮志（Silicon Valley ambition）”，说明即使是雄心壮志也各有不同，硅谷企业家的雄心壮志超出了其他个人或团体的通常水平。他们追求更大的成就，设定更远大的目标，比他们的同龄人取得更多的成就。因此A选项“与他们的同龄人相比，他们的目标是取得更大的成就”正确。
【干扰项排除】
B选项“有能力治愈人类的所有疾病”，由billionaire philanthropists had declared their intention to cure, prevent or manage all human disease（亿万富翁慈善家们宣布，他们打算治愈、预防或控制所有人类疾病）可知，硅谷的企业家的目标是治愈所有的疾病，而不是已经有这个能力，属于过度推断；
C选项“控制着世界上最尖端的技术”在文中没有提及，属于无中生有；
D选项“与他们的同龄人相比，有同样雄心勃勃的愿景”，文章说的是比他们的同龄人取得更多的成就，而不是同样的雄心壮志，属于曲解原文。
第2题:
【选项释义】
According to Cori Bargmann and David Baltimore, the Zuckerbergs’ project may be（ ）.
根据科里•巴格曼和大卫•巴尔的摩的说法，扎克伯格夫妇的项目可能是（ ）。
A. delightful to others A. 令他人高兴的
B. detrimental to humanity B. 对人类有害无益的
C. crucial to disease prevention C. 对预防疾病至关重要的
D. too difficult for others to believe D. 对别人来说太难相信的
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据题干关键词Cori Bargmann and David Baltimore可以定位到文章第二段第二、三、四句“来自加州理工学院的诺贝尔奖得主大卫•巴尔的摩在美国《科学》杂志上发表了一篇赞扬的文章，他承认这个目标‘可能会令人惊讶（may raise eyebrows）’。就连领导这项研究的著名神经生物学家科里•巴格曼也意识到人们可能会如何看待它。她说，这是‘雄心勃勃但并非完全荒谬的（ambitious but not completely ridiculous）’”，说明科里•巴格曼和大卫•巴尔的摩认为扎克伯格夫妇的项目会令人惊讶。因此D选项“对别人来说太难相信的”正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“令他人高兴的”，B选项“对人类有害无益的”和C选项“对预防疾病至关重要的”在文中均没有提及，属于无中生有。
第3题:
【选项释义】
In Paragraph 3, the author emphasizes that（ ）.
在第3段中，作者强调，（ ）。
A. medical research is needlessly time-consuming A. 医学研究不必要地耗费时间
B. medical research is crucial to raising life expectancy B. 医学研究对提高预期寿命至关重要
C. research in other fields is not as important as medicine C. 其他领域的研究没有医学那么重要
D. people will be shocked by the ineffectiveness of medicine D. 人们会对医学的无效性感到震惊
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】根据题干关键词Paragraph 3可以定位到文章第三段第四句“自那以后，医学并不是预期寿命大幅上升的唯一原因，但它是一个关键因素（but it was a crucial factor）”，说明医学是提高预期寿命的关键因素。因此B选项“医学研究对提高预期寿命至关重要”正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“医学研究不必要地耗费时间”和C选项“其他领域的研究没有医学那么重要”在文中没有提及，属于无中生有；
D选项“人们会对医学的无效性感到震惊”，由By 2100 we’ll be shocked by how much we’ve achieved, and we’ll be more shocked with initiatives like this（到2100年，我们会对所取得的成就感到震惊，像这样的倡议也会让我们更加震惊）可知，人们感到震惊的是取得的成就和这份倡议，而不是医学的无效性，属于偷换概念。
第4题:
【选项释义】
In Paragraph 4, the author implies that（ ）can leave the highest mark on the wall. 在第4段中，作者暗示（ ）可以名留青史。
A. Bill Gates A. 比尔•盖茨
B. Elon Musk B. 埃隆•马斯克
C. Yuri Milner C. 尤里•米尔纳
D. Mark Zuckerberg D. 马克•扎克伯格
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】根据题干关键词leave the highest mark on the wall可以定位到文章第四段倒数第一、二句“在你孩子的有生之年内，还有什么比让所有人类疾病都在那时消失（make every human disease obsolete）能更好地留下自己的痕迹呢？或者至少找到一种管理可怕疾病的方法（find a way to manage awful conditions），使其不再影响人们的生活？”，说明作者认为能名留青史的是治愈、预防或管理所有人类疾病的人，而只是马克•扎克伯格夫妇的目标。因此D选项“马克•扎克伯格”正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“比尔•盖茨”，B选项“埃隆•马斯克”和C选项“尤里•米尔纳”，文章提到了这些人雄心壮志的目标，但不认为他们能像马克•扎克伯格的目标那样在人类健康方面留下更大的影响，属于曲解原文。
第5题:
【选项释义】
In Paragraph 5, “peaks and troughs” most likely means（ ）.
在第5段中，“peaks and troughs”最有可能意味着（ ）。
A.“dos and don’ts” A. “该做的和不该做的”
B.“pros and cons” B. “优点和缺点”
C.“ups and downs” C. “起和落”
D.“nuts and bolts” D. “螺母和螺栓”
【考查点】词汇推断题。
【解题思路】根据题干关键词peaks and troughs可以定位到文章第五段最后一句“抱负是必不可少的。如果我们用心去做，几乎一切皆有可能——这种想法可以支撑人们度过数十年研究的peaks and troughs”，抱负支撑人们度过的应该是在研究中所经历的高峰和低谷时期。因此C选项“起和落”正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“该做的和不该做的”，B选项“优点和缺点”和D选项“螺母和螺栓”在文中均无法体现，属于无中生有。
第6题:
【选项释义】
Which of the following is the best title for the passage? 以下哪项是这篇文章的最佳标题？
A. Raising Life Expectancy A. 提高预期寿命
B. Billionaire Philanthropists B. 亿万富翁的慈善家
C. Cure All Diseases?—Brilliantly Bold C. 治愈所有的疾病？——聪明的胆识
D. Ridiculous Ambition—The Chan Zuckerberg Plan D. 荒谬的野心——陈-扎克伯格计划
【考查点】主旨大意题。
【解题思路】文章讨论了一群亿万富翁慈善家马克•扎克伯格和普莉希拉•陈的宏伟目标，即在本世纪末治愈、预防或管理所有人类疾病。这个目标被认为是非常大胆的，文章中强调了这种雄心勃勃的目标对于改善人类健康所需要的远大抱负，以及这种追求创造希望，并能激励人们在长期研究中坚持不懈的重要性。因此C选项“治愈所有的疾病？——聪明的胆识”正确。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“提高预期寿命”和B选项“亿万富翁的慈善家”只在文章的某部分提及，不能概括全文的主旨大意，属于以偏概全；
D选项“荒谬的野心——陈-扎克伯格计划”，由文章可知，作者没有试图贬低该计划的目标，而是强调了这种雄心勃勃的目标的重要性和希望的力量，与反向干扰。
