Question

    A team of Israeli scientists “printed” a heart with a patient’s own cells (细胞) first in the world, researchers say.

Past researchers had been able to print simple tissues (生物组织) without blood vessels (血管), the team said. The new development is the first time “anyone anywhere has successfully engineered and printed an entire heart filled with cells, blood vessels and so on,” Tal Dvir of Tel Aviv University told The Jerusalem Post.

Dvir and his team reported the findings Monday in Advanced Science. The heart, about the size of a rabbit’s, is too small for a human, but the process used to create it shows the potential for one day being able to 3D-print pieces and maybe full transplants (移植), the team said. Because the heart is made from the patient’s own biological material, it reduces the chance that the transplant would fail, according to the research paper. The team used fatty tissues, then separated and “reprogrammed” the materials. The cells that become heart cells were then created.

The development is being praised as a “major breakthrough” in medicine and one that could help battle heart disease, the leading cause of death in the United States, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Patients will no longer have to wait for transplants or take medicines to prevent their side effects,” Tel Aviv University said in a statement. “Instead, the needed hearts, lungs etc. will be printed, fully personalized for every patient.” The research is still a long way off from clearing the way to transplant the 3D-printed hearts into humans, the team says.

Dvir told the news organization Bloomberg that the heart the team printed will need another month before cells develop full to beat. Tests on animals would need to be done before the technology could be tried in humans, he added. It would take a whole day and billions, rather than millions, of cells to print a human heart, Dvir told Bloomberg.

But Dvir remains hopeful. “Maybe, in 10 years, such printers will be seen and used in the finest hospitals around the world,” he told The Times of Israel.

1.Why is the heart transplant less likely to fail?

A.Because the number of heart donators has been increasing.

B.Because the transplant technology has been improved.

C.Because the heart is created with the receiver’s own cells.

D.Because every hospital has easy access to such printers.

2.What can we infer about the 3D-printed heart?

A.This heart can be transplanted into humans immediately.

B.This heart has been printed just for rabbits due to the size.

C.It made heart transplant much less difficult than before.

D.The new technology hasn’t gained much praise in medicine.

3.Dvir’s attitude towards the future of the technology is___________.

A.positive B.worried C.doubtful D.unclear

4.What is the text mainly concerned with?

A.The personalized heart transplant.

B.Heart 3D-printed using human cells.

C.A scientist discovering a new technology.

D.Heart disease, the leading cause of death.

Answer

1.C

2.C

3.A

4.B

【解析】

本文属于新闻报道，介绍了一项重大医学突破，既特拉维夫大学的研究人员使用患者自己的细胞和生物材料“打印”出世界上第一个3D心脏。

1.细节理解题。从第三段Because the heart is made from the patient’s own biological material,…可以判断，这种3D心脏源于病人自身的生物体物质，所以排异少，成功概率高。故选C。

2.推理判断题。根据第三段“…it reduces the chance that the transplant would fail,…”“它减少了移植失败的机会”和第四段中的“Patients will no longer have to wait for transplants or take medications to prevent their side effects,”“ 患者将不再需要等待移植或服用药物来预防副作用”可以推断出，心脏移植失败的概率在以前是很大的。故选C。

3.态度判断题。最后一段开头remain hopeful,可以判断作者对此技术是充满信心的，积极的。故选A。

4.主旨大意题。本文是新闻报道，介绍了一项重大医学突破，既特拉维夫大学的研究人员使用患者自己的细胞和生物材料“打印”出世界上第一个3D心脏。故选B。