The Gene Industry
Major companies are already in pursuit of commercial applications of the newbiology.They dream of placing enzymes（酶）in the automobile to monitorexhausts and send
data on pollution to a microprocessor（微处理机）that willthen adjust the engine. They speak of what the New York
Times calls “metal-hungry microbes（渴望吃金属的微生物）that might be used to mine valuable trace metals from ocean water”.They have already demanded and won the
right to patent new lifeforms.
Nervous critics,including many scientists,wony that there iscorporate,national,intema- tional , and inter-scientific rivalry in the entirebiotechnological（生物工艺学）field.
They create images not of oii spills,but of“microbe spills”that could spreaddisease and destroy entire pop- ulations. The creation and accidental releaseof extremely
poisonous microbes,however,is only one cause for alarm.Completely rational andrespectable scientists are talking about possibilities that stagger theimagination.
Should we breed people with cow-like stomachs so they can digest grass andhay,thereby relieving the food problem by modifying us to eat lower down on thefood chain?
Should we biologi- cally alter workers to fit the job requirement,forexample,creating pilots with faster reaction times or assembly-line workersdesigned to do our
monotonous work for us?Should we attempt to eliminate“inferior”people and breeda“super-race”?(Hitler tried this,but without the genetic weaponry that may soonissue
from our laboratories.)Should we produce soldiers to do our fighting? Should weuse genetic forecasting to pre-eliminate“unfit”babies?Should we grow reserveorgans for
ourselves,each of us having,as it were,a“savings bank”full of sparekidneys,livers or hands?
Wild as these notions may sound,every one has its advocates(and opposers)in thescientific community as well as its striking commercial application.As twocritics of genetic
engineering,
Jeremy Rifkin and Ted Howard,state in their book Who Should Play God?“Broadscale genetic engineering will probably be introduced to America much the same way as
assembly lines,automobiles,vaccines,computers and all the other technologies.Aseach new genetic advance becomes commercially practical,a new consumer needwill be
exploited and a market for the new technology will be created.”

Which of the following notions is NOT mentioned?

A.Developing a“savings bank”of one's organs.

B.Breeding soldiers for a war.

C.Producing people with cow-like stomachs.

D.Using genetic forecasting to cure diseases.