Question

What is the author's gut feeling?

• A. Scientists will invent a mechanism that might trigger a genome and convert it into the bacterium
• B. Scientists will succeed in creating a synthetic genome which has the characteristics of a natural one
• C. Scientists will improve upon the synthetic gene and find an alternative which is akin to the proto-cell of the bacterium
• D. Scientists will find a way to insert the bacterial genome into the proto-cell and somehow trigger it to make the bacterium itself
• A. Control
• B. Petrify
• C. Bewilder
• D. Challenge
• A. To estimate the role played by direct properties attributable to one's parentage
• B. To underline the significance of the biological process whereby genetic factors are transmitted from one generation to the next
• C. To emphasize the importance of the total of inherited attributes that rarely come by natural descent
• D. To highlight the purpose of genetic endowment which can traced through the family face
• A. Thomas Hardy's poem, Heredity, reflects the DNA in a human being's genome
• B. Creating life in a lab will surely raise pertinent questions pertaining to ethics
• C. Scientists, in future, will be able to create life under artificial conditions
• D. Cloning of Dolly, the sheep, has invited the wrath of people because the sheep soon died a miserable death
• A. They circumvented nature's constraint of direct descent
• B. They bypassed nature's laws and produced a natural gene
• C. They invented an imperishable gene which is synthetic in nature
• D. They ignored the theory of inheritance and created an intrinsic gene
• A. Assembling the complex biological molecule
• B. Gene sequencing
• C. Assisted reproduction
• D. Stitching together of an artificial cell
• A. They analyzed the DNA sequence of the synthetic gene in the laboratory for the first time
• B. They contrasted the properties of a synthetic gene with that of a natural one
• C. They created a gene sequence in artificial conditions which could undergo mutation
• D. They produced the first synthetic genome in the laboratory which is analogous to the natural one
• A. It will invite people's indignation
• B. It would be a wonderful prospect for humanity
• C. It might change the face of the earth
• D. It will be looked down as a sin
• A. The method of biochemical synthesis
• B. The biochemical machinery of a host cell
• C. The biochemical genome of a host cell
• D. The DNA sequence of a host cell

Answer 1

The Correct Option is D

The question asks about the author's gut feeling, meaning a personal prediction stated near the end of the passage rather than a proven fact.

1. Scientists will invent a mechanism that might trigger a genome and convert it into the bacterium: This option reverses the actual sequence the author predicts, since the genome must first enter the proto-cell before any trigger step happens.
2. Scientists will succeed in creating a synthetic genome which has the characteristics of a natural one: This already happened in the passage and is reported as a completed achievement, not a future gut feeling.
3. Scientists will improve upon the synthetic gene and find an alternative which is akin to the proto-cell of the bacterium: The passage never mentions improving the gene into a proto-cell alternative, so this is an invented idea.
4. Scientists will find a way to insert the bacterial genome into the proto-cell and somehow trigger it to make the bacterium itself: The passage states plainly that if only they find a way to insert the bacterial genome into the proto-cell and trigger it, and adds that this is not a pipedream and the author's bet is they will do it within a few years.

The correct option is the fourth one, since it directly restates the author's own prediction in the passage.

Answer 2

The word flummox appears in the line about how a more advanced organism could flummox even the ethicist, so the substitute word must fit that sense of confusion.

1. Control: This means to direct or manage something, which has no link to the idea of confusion in the sentence.
2. Petrify: This means to terrify someone into being frozen with fear, a stronger and different emotion than mere confusion.
3. Bewilder: This means to confuse or puzzle someone completely, which matches exactly how a complex organism could baffle even an expert ethicist.
4. Challenge: This means to test someone's ability, which is milder than the total confusion the sentence implies.

The correct option is Bewilder, since it captures the exact sense of being confused that the passage intends.

Answer 3

The author opens the passage with Hardy's poem about the family face living on through generations, then immediately links it to DNA in our genome.

1. To estimate the role played by direct properties attributable to one's parentage: This narrows the idea to parentage alone, while the poem is used to introduce the wider biological process of DNA transmission.
2. To underline the significance of the biological process whereby genetic factors are transmitted from one generation to the next: This matches the author's own explanation that the poem reflects the DNA in our genome and the passing of traits across generations.
3. To emphasize the importance of the total of inherited attributes that rarely come by natural descent: This is self-contradictory, since inherited attributes by definition come through natural descent, not rarely.
4. To highlight the purpose of genetic endowment which can traced through the family face: This focuses too narrowly on the phrase family face rather than the broader genetic transmission process the author describes.

The correct option is the second one, since the author explicitly uses the poem to introduce how genetic material passes down generations.

Answer 4

This is a not true question, so we must find the one statement that contradicts the passage rather than confirms it.

1. Thomas Hardy's poem, Heredity, reflects the DNA in a human being's genome: The author states this directly, so it is true and gets eliminated.
2. Creating life in a lab will surely raise pertinent questions pertaining to ethics: The passage says this surely raises ethical questions, so it is true.
3. Scientists, in future, will be able to create life under artificial conditions: The author predicts this outcome within a few years, so it is true.
4. Cloning of Dolly, the sheep, has invited the wrath of people because the sheep soon died a miserable death: The passage states the opposite, that cloning Dolly has not raised any outrage, and it never mentions the sheep dying a miserable death.

The correct option is the fourth one, since the passage directly contradicts the claim about Dolly causing outrage.

Answer 5

The passage describes the JCVI scientists' work right after the Hardy poem reference, calling it a way of bypassing nature's usual rule of descent.

1. They circumvented nature's constraint of direct descent: This matches the passage almost word for word, where the author says JCVI scientists bypass nature's constraint of direct descent.
2. They bypassed nature's laws and produced a natural gene: This is contradictory, since a gene made by bypassing nature's laws in a lab would be synthetic, not natural.
3. They invented an imperishable gene which is synthetic in nature: The passage never claims the synthetic genome is imperishable or permanent.
4. They ignored the theory of inheritance and created an intrinsic gene: The passage does not say the scientists ignored inheritance theory, only that they bypassed natural descent.

The correct option is the first one, since it directly echoes the passage's description of JCVI's work.

Answer 6

The last paragraph names one specific technology that is both recently initiated and already accepted on ethical and moral grounds.

1. Assembling the complex biological molecule: This refers to synthesizing the genome itself, which the passage treats as raising ethical questions, not as already accepted.
2. Gene sequencing: The passage never labels gene sequencing as a recently initiated or ethically settled technology.
3. Assisted reproduction: The passage states this exact phrase, calling it a recently initiated technology that has become ethically and morally acceptable.
4. Stitching together of an artificial cell: This describes the JCVI lab process, which the author says surely raises ethical questions rather than being accepted.

The correct option is the third one, since it is named directly as the accepted recent technology.

Answer 7

The passage reports the overall result of the JCVI project in its opening and second paragraphs, describing both the achievement and its match to nature.

1. They analyzed the DNA sequence of the synthetic gene in the laboratory for the first time: The passage confirms the sequence matched the natural one, but analyzing it is not described as the main outcome.
2. They contrasted the properties of a synthetic gene with that of a natural one: The passage confirms identity between the two, not a contrast of differing properties.
3. They created a gene sequence in artificial conditions which could undergo mutation: Mutation is never mentioned as part of this research in the passage.
4. They produced the first synthetic genome in the laboratory which is analogous to the natural one: This matches both the statement that they produced the first synthetic genome and the confirmation that its DNA sequence was identical to the natural one.

The correct option is the fourth one, since it combines both key facts about the outcome stated in the passage.

Answer 8

The passage ends by contrasting the calm reaction to Dolly's cloning with a much stronger reaction expected if a human were cloned.

1. It will invite people's indignation: The passage states that cloning a human certainly does raise outrage, which is another word for indignation or anger.
2. It would be a wonderful prospect for humanity: This is the opposite of what the author suggests, since the tone is one of concern, not celebration.
3. It might change the face of the earth: The passage never makes this broad claim about global transformation.
4. It will be looked down as a sin: The passage speaks of outrage and ethics, not of religious judgment or sin.

The correct option is the first one, since outrage and indignation describe the same reaction the author predicts.

Answer 9

The passage draws a clear distinction between how the DNA pieces were made and how they were joined together afterward.

1. The method of biochemical synthesis: This describes making the DNA pieces chemically, not the separate stitching step the question asks about.
2. The biochemical machinery of a host cell: The passage states directly that the stitching together was done using the biochemical machinery of a host cell.
3. The biochemical genome of a host cell: The passage refers to biochemical machinery, not a biochemical genome, so this misquotes the source.
4. The DNA sequence of a host cell: The stitching uses the host cell's machinery, not its own DNA sequence.

The correct option is the second one, since it matches the passage's exact description of the stitching process.