1. Washing， brushing and varnishing fossils — all standard conservation treatments used by many fossil hunters and museum curators alike — vastly reduces the chances of recovering ancient DNA.

2. Instead， excavators should be handling at least some of their bounty with gloves， and freezing samples as they are found， dirt and all， concludes a paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences today.

3. Although many palaeontologists know anecdotally that this is the best way to up the odds of extracting good DNA， Eva-Maria Geigl of the Jacques Monod Institute in Paris， France， and her colleagues have now shown just how important conservation practices can be. This information， they say， needs to be hammered home among the people who are actually out in the field digging up bones.

4. Geigl and her colleagues looked at 3，200-year-old fossil bones belonging to a single individual of an extinct cattle species， called an aurochs. The fossils were dug up at a site in France at two different times — either in 1947， and stored in a museum collection， or in 2004， and conserved in sterile conditions at -20 oC.

5. The team’s attempts to extract DNA from the 1947 bones all failed. The newly excavated fossils， however， all yielded DNA.

6. Because the bones had been buried for the same amount of time， and in the same conditions， the conservation method had to be to blame says Geigl. "As much DNA was degraded in these 57 years as in the 3，200 years before，" she says.Wash in， wash out

7. Because many palaeontologists base their work on the shape of fossils alone， their methods of conservation are not designed to preserve DNA， Geigl explains.

8. The biggest problem is how they are cleaned. Fossils are often washed together on-site in a large bath， which can allow water — and contaminants in the form of contemporary DNA — to permeate into the porous bones. "Not only is the authentic DNA getting washed out， but contamination is getting washed in，" says Geigl.

9. Most ancient DNA specialists know this already， says Hendrik Poinar， an evolutionary geneticist at McMaster University in Ontario， Canada. But that doesn’t mean that best practice has become widespread among those who actually find the fossils.

10. Getting hold of fossils that have been preserved with their DNA in mind relies on close relationships between lab-based geneticists and the excavators， says palaeogeneticist Svante P??bo of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig， Germany. And that only occurs in exceptional cases， he says.

11. P??bo’s team， which has been sequencing Neanderthal DNA， continually faces these problems. "When you want to study ancient human and Neanderthal remains， there’s a big issue of contamination with contemporary human DNA，" he says.

12. This doesn’t mean that all museum specimens are fatally flawed， notes P??bo. The Neanderthal fossils that were recently sequenced in his own lab， for example， had been part of a museum collection treated in the traditional way. But P??bo is keen to see samples of fossils from every major find preserved in line with Geigl’s recommendations — just in case.Warm and wet

14. Much human cultural development took place in temperate regions. DNA does not survive well in warm environments in the first place， and can vanish when fossils are washed and treated. For this reason， Geigl says， most ancient DNA studies have been done on permafrost samples， such as the woolly mammoth， or on remains sheltered from the elements in cold caves — including cave bear and Neanderthal fossils.

15. Better conservation methods， and a focus on fresh fossils， could boost DNA extraction from more delicate specimens， says Geigl. And that could shed more light on the story of human evolution.(640 words nature )

Glossary Palaeontologists 古生物学家Aurochs 欧洲野牛Neanderthal (人类学)尼安德特人，旧石器时代的古人类。

Permafrost (地理)永冻层

- Questions 1-6 Answer the following questions by using NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.

1. How did people traditionally treat fossils?

2. What suggestions do Geigl and her colleagues give on what should be done when fossils are found?

3. What problems may be posed if fossil bones are washed on-site? Name ONE. 4. What characteristic do fossil bones have to make them susceptible to be contaminated with contemporary DNA when they are washed?

5. What could be better understood when conservation treatments are improved?

6. The passage mentioned several animal species studied by researchers. How many of them are mentioned?

Questions 7-11 Do the following statements agree with the information given in the passage? Please write TRUE if the statement agrees with the writer FALSE if the statement does not agree with the writer NOT GIVEN if there is no information about this in the passage

7. In their paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ， Geigl and her colleagues have shown what conservation practices should be followed to preserve ancient DNA.

8. The fossil bones that Geigl and her colleagues studied are all from the same aurochs.

9. Geneticists don‘t have to work on site.

10. Only newly excavated fossil bones using new conservation methods suggested by Geigl and her colleagues contain ancient DNA.

11. Paabo is still worried about the potential problems caused by treatments of fossils in traditional way.

Questions 12-13 Complete the following the statements by choosing letter A-D for each answer. 12. “This information” in paragraph 3 indicates：

[A] It is critical to follow proper practices in preserving ancient DNA.

[B] The best way of getting good DNA is to handle fossils with gloves.

[C] Fossil hunters should wear home-made hammers while digging up bones.

[D] Many palaeontologists know how one should do in treating fossils.

13. The study conducted by Geigl and her colleagues suggests：

[A] the fact that ancient DNA can not be recovered from fossil bones excavated in the past.

[B] the correlation between the amount of burying time and that of the recovered DNA.

[C] the pace at which DNA degrades.

[D] the correlation between conservation practices and degradation of DNA.

答案

1. washing， brushing， varnishing 见第一段。

2. handling with gloves / freezing samples ( any one of the two ) 见第二段。

3. losing authentic DNA / being contaminated / contamination ( any one of the three) 见第八段“Not only is the authentic DNA getting washed out， but contamination is getting washed in”(答being contaminated或 contamination比较保险)

4. they are porous porous 的意思是多孔的。见第八段“…… which can allow water — and contaminants in the form of contemporary DNA — to permeate into the porous bones.”

5. human evolution 见第十五段。其中“shed light on sth”的意思是使某事显得非常清楚，使人了解某事。

6. 4 分别为第四段的“an extinct cattle species， called an aurochs”，即欧洲野牛，已经绝迹;第十一段“Neanderthal”， 是人类学用语，尼安德特人，旧石器时代的古人类;第十四段“woolly mammoth”和“cave bear”，其中mammoth是猛犸，一种古哺乳动物。

7. T 见第二段。

8. T 见第四段“Geigl and her colleagues looked at 3，200-year-old fossil bones belonging to a single individual of an extinct cattle species， called an aurochs.”即他们研究的骨化石是一头欧洲野牛身上的。

9. NG

10. F 见第十二段第一、二句话。

11. T 见第十二段末句“But P??bo is keen to see samples of fossils from every major find preserved in line with Geigl’s recommendations — just in case.”意即为保险起见，Paabo还是非常希望见到用Geigl建议的方法保存的化石样本。“just in case” 的意思是以防万一，就是Paabo对用传统保存处理的化石不放心的意思。

12. A 见第三段。This information就是前一句中“…… just how important conservation practices can be”(to preserve good DNA)。“be hammered”之中hammer一词的意思是不断重复强调。

13. D 面信息。需要理解文章各处关于Geigl和她的同事所作的研究

写作

　 教育类

　　1.教授知识还是实用技能

　　赞成教授知识：

(1) 那些只强调实用技能和技术、忽视书本功能的人目光短浅。

Those who stress only practical skills and techniques but ignore the function of books are short-sighted.

(2) 牢靠掌握书本知识的人比那些没有掌握的人更能调整自己，适应未来的生活。

Those who have a good command over the knowledge provided in the books can adjust themselves and adapt better to the future than those without.

(3) 只有催促学生多读、多写、多做练习，才能提高教育。

Only by urging students to read more, write more and do more exercises can education be improved.

赞成教授实用技能：

(1) 如果教育只造就了不能把理论用在实践当中的人，那它就是失败的。

Education is nothing but a failure if it only cultivates people who are unable to put theory into practice.

(2) 我们应该鼓励学生了解社会，以便他们更能适应真正的生活，而不是只给他们提供书本知识。

Instead of offering student book knowledge only, we should encourage them to get to know the society so that they could better adapt themselves to real life.

(3) 教育是人的自我延伸。它不单单发生在学校，而且是要一辈子来追求的。

Education is a gradual extension of oneself. It not only takes place in school buildings but also requires a life-long pursuit.

　　2. 男女分校

赞成：

(1) 在同性别的学校里，学生可以集中精力，不会因为早恋而分心。

In schools of the same sex, student could devote themselves fully to the study without distractions by puppy love.

(2) 一些诸如性教育之类的敏感课程可以在单性学校里自由地教授。

Some sensitive subjects such as sex education can be taught freely in schools of the same sex.

反对：

(1) 单姓学校不能提供真实的社会环境，所以其学生缺乏对社会的现实准备，他们成人后将在这个社会中工作。

Single-sex schools fail to provide a read social environment, so students there lack the realistic preparation for the society, in which they will be expected to function when they become adults.

(2) 学生需要广泛的交流来增加经验，而不是和异性隔离开来。应该牢记的是任何违反自然规则的行为都会导致不良后果。

Students are in need of extensive exchanges to get more experiences, instead of being isolated from the opposite sex. What should be remembered is that any action violating the rule of nature will lead to undesirable outcomes.

　　3. 兼职利弊

赞成：

(1) 在培养年轻人的独立性的意义上来说，学生兼职是有益的。

In the sense of cultivating young people’s independent spirit, part-time jobs are of great benefits.

(2) 兼职经验使学生了解什么是工作，能让他们对未来的工作做好心理准备。

Part-time job experience gives students an insight into what work is about and makes them prepare psychologically for their future jobs.

(3) 兼职能帮助学生在实践中应用自己的知识，同时，他们的经验将是他们更了解自己在课堂和书本上学到的东西。

Part-time jobs can help students apply their knowledge into practice, and, in return, their experience will make them know better what they have learned in classes and books.

反对：

(1) 学生兼职不好，因为他们会变成以钱为中心。

It is not good for students to do part-time jobs because they will become money-centered.

(2) 学生的主要任务是努力学习。社会经验可以在完成学业以后获取。

The main task of students is to study hard. Social experience can be gained later after they finish their studies.

4. 家长应管教孩子

赞成：

(1) 现在年轻人都是以自我为中心，对别人漠不关心，不够体贴。这个事实主要是因为在孩童时期父母的过分纵容。

The fact that young people nowadays are self-centered, indifferent, and inconsiderate is largely the outcome of parental permissiveness in their childhood.

(2) 我们这个时代里青少年犯罪的泛滥主要是因为父母的溺爱。

The spread of juvenile delinquency in our age is largely due to parental permissiveness.

(3) 如果让孩子向做什么就做什么，就会彻底毁了孩子的一生。

If parents let their children do whatever they want to, they will ruin their children’s life entirely.

反对：

(1) 父母使用暴力来维持纪律和权威是不正当的。

Parents are not justified in using violence to keep discipline and maintain authority over their children.

(2) 只有轻松的家庭环境才能有助于孩子身体和心理的成长。

Only a relaxed family atmosphere can help the physical and psychological growth of children.

(3) 真相是现在的父母对孩子不够关心，时常疏忽他们的发展，因为父母只对自己的事业感兴趣。

The truth is: parents nowadays do not take enough care of their children and often neglect their development because the parents are only interested in their careers.

5. 高中毕业先工作一年再上大学

赞成：

(1) 一年的工作经验让学生对社会现实和残酷竞争有初步的了解，对学生以后的工作非常重要。

One-year working experience provides initial understanding of social reality and cruel competition in the world, which is of vital importance to students’ future career.

(2) 学生能明确自己的奋斗目标，把握自己的人生方向，在步入学校后会更努力实现自己的梦想。

Students may get to know what they want to achieve and what they want in their life. They will try harder to fulfill their dream once they go to college.

(3) 工作经验使学生学会合作和让步，掌握未来成功所需的人际交往和技巧。

Working experience enables students learn to cooperate and compromise and master interpersonal skills needed for future success.

反对：

(1) 社会复杂，到处都是危险，这会增加家长的担心。

The complicated society is full of dangers for students, which increases families’ concerns.

(2) 在上大学之前工作是浪费时间，应该在年轻的时候多学点东西。

Working before college education is a waste of time. Students should gain more knowledge when they are still young.