HowaFrenchmanisrevivingMcDonald’sinEurope
A.WhenDenisHennequintookoverastheEuropeanbossofMcDonald’sinJanuary2004,theworld’sbiggestrestaurantchainwasshowingsignsofrecoveryinAmericaandAustralia,butsalesinEuropeweresluggishordeclining.OneexceptionwasFrance,whereMrHennequinhaddoneasterlingjobasheadofthegroup’sFrenchsubsidiarytosellmoreBigMacstohiscompatriots.Histaskwastoreplicatethissuccessinall41oftheEuropeancountrieswhereanti-globalisers’favouriteenemyoperates.
B.SofarMrHennequinisdoingwell.LastyearEuropeansalesincreasedby5.8%andthenumberofcustomersby3.4%,thebestannualresultsinnearly15years.Europeaccountedfor36%ofthegroup’sprofitsandfor28%ofitssales.DecemberwasanespeciallygoodmonthascustomerstooktoseasonalmenuofferingsinFranceandBritain,andtoapromotioninGermanybasedonthegameofMonopoly.
C.MrHennequin’srecipeforrevivalistobemoreopenabouthiscompany’soperations,tobe“locallyrelevant”,andtoimprovetheexperienceofvisitinghis6,400restaurants.McDonald’sisblamedformakingpeoplefat,exploitingworkers,treatinganimalscruelly,pollutingtheenvironmentandsimplyforbeingAmerican.MrHennequinsayshewantstoengageinadialoguewiththepublictoaddresstheseconcerns.
D.Heintroduced“opendoor”visitordaysineachcountrywhichbecamehugelypopular.InPolandalonesome50,000visitorscametoMcDonald’sthroughthevisitors’programmelastyear.TheNutritionInformationInitiative,launchedlastyear,putdetailedlabelsonMcDonald’spackagingwithdataoncalories,protein,fat,carbohydratesandsaltcontent.Thedetailsarealsoprintedontray-liners.
E.MrHennequinalsowantspeopletoknowthat“McJobs”,thelow-paidmenialjobsatMcDonald’srestaurants,aremuchbetterthanpeoplethink.Butsomeofhiseffortshavebackfired:lastyearhesparkedacontroversywiththeintroductionofa“McPassport”thatallowsMcDonald’semployeestoworkanywhereintheEuropeanUnion.PoliticiansaccusedthefirmofaploytomakecheaplabourfromeasternEuropemoreeasilyavailabletoMcDonald’smanagersacrossthecontinent.
F.Tostayintouchwithlocalneedsandpreferences,McDonald’semployslocalbossesasmuchaspossible.ARussianisrunningMcDonald’sinRussia,thoughaSerbisinchargeofGermany.Thegroupbuysmainlyfromlocalsuppliers.Four-fifthsofitssuppliesinFrancecomefromlocalfarmers,forexample.(SomeoftheFrenchfarmerswhocampaignedagainstthecompanyinthelate1990ssubsequentlydiscoveredthatitwas,infact,buyingtheirproduce.)AndithirescelebritiessuchasHeidiKlum,aGermanmodel,aslocalbrandambassadors.
G.InhispreviousjobMrHennequinestablisheda“designstudio”inFrancetospruceuphiscompany’sdrabrestaurantsandadapttheinteriortolocaltastes.ThestudioisnowmastermindingimprovementseverywhereinEurope.Healsosetupa“foodstudio”,wherecooksdevisenewrecipesinresponsetolocaltrends.
H.GivenFrance’sreputationasthemostanti-AmericancountryinEurope,itseemsoddthatMcDonald’srevivalinEuropeisbeingledbyaFrenchman,usingideascookedupintheFrenchmarket.ButFranceisinfactthecompany’smostprofitablemarketafterAmerica.ThemarketwhereMcDonald’sisweakestinEuropeisnotFrance,butBritain.
I.“FixingBritainshouldbehispriority,”saysDavidPalmer,arestaurantanalystatUBS.Almosttwo-thirdsofthe1,214McDonald’srestaurantsinBritainarecompany-owned,comparedwith40%inEuropeand15%inAmerica.Thecompanysuffersfromthevolatilityofsalesatitsownrestaurants,butcanrelyonsteadyincomefromfranchisees.Soitshouldsellasmanyunderperformingoutletsaspossible,saysMrPalmer.
J.M.MarkWiltamuth,ananalystatMorganStanley,estimatesthatEuropeancompany-ownedrestaurants’marginswillincreaseslightlyto16.4%in2007.Thisisstilllessthaninthelate1990sandbelowAmerica’s18-19%today.ButitismuchbetterthanbeforeMrHennequin’sreign.HeisalreadybeingtippedasthefirstEuropeancandidateforthegroup’stopjobinIllinois.NobodywouldcallthataMcJob.
NotestoReadingPassage1
1.sterling高质量的
e.g.Hehasmanysterlingqualities.他身上有许多优秀的品质。
2.menial不体面的,乏味的(工作、职业)
3.spruceup打扮整齐、漂亮、装饰
4.mastermind指挥、谋划(一个计划或活动)
e.g.Thepoliceknowwhomastermindedtherobbery.警察知道是谁策划了那次抢劫。
5.underperform表现不佳表现出低于标准的工作水平、企业出现亏本
Questions1-6
DothefollowingstatementsreflecttheclaimsofthewriterinReadingPassage1?
WriteyouranswerinBoxes1-6onyouranswersheet.
TRUEifthestatementreflectstheclaimsofthewriter
FALSEifthestatementcontradictstheclaimsofthewriter
NOTGIVENifitisimpossibletosaywhatthewriterthinksaboutthis
1.McDonaldwasshowingthesignofrecoveryinallEuropeancountriesexceptFranceafterDenisHennequintookofficeasthebossofEuro-markets.
2.Startingfromlastyear,detailedlabelsareputonMcDonald’spackaginganddetailedinformationisalsoprintedontray-liners.
3.Franceissaidtobethemostanti-AmericancountryinEurope,buttheideasofthe“opendoor”visitingdaysand“McPassport”areinventedintheFrenchmarket.
4.BritainpossessestheweakestMcDonaldmarketamongEuropeancountriesandapproximately1214McDonald’srestaurantsarecompany-owned.
5.AccordingtoDavidPalmer,arestaurantanalystatUBS,DavidHennequinshouldtreattheproblemaboutMcDonaldinBritainasthemostimportantthing.
6.DavidPalmersuggestedthatthemanagementofMcDonalodinItalyshouldsellasmanyitsoutletswhichlosemoneyinbusinessaspossibleforrevival.
Questions7-10
ChoosetheappropriatelettersA-Dandwritetheminboxes7-10onyouranswesheet.
7.Theword“sterling”inline3ofParagraphAmeans__________.
A.difficult
B.menial
C.terrible
D.excellent
8.WhichofthefollowingstatementsontheaccusationofMacDonaldisNOTTRUE?
A.Ittendstomakepeoplefat.
B.Itsoperationsareveryvague.
C.Ittendstoexploitworkers.
D.Ittendstotreatanimalscruelly.
9.WhichofthefollowingmeasurestakenbyDenisHennequinproducedundesiredresult?
A.“FoodStudio”scheme.
B.“OpenDoor”visitordays.
C.The“McPassport”scheme.
D.TheNutritionInformationInitiative.
10.WhatdidDenisHennequindosoastorespondtolocaltrends?
A.setupa“FoodStudio”.
B.establisheda“DesignStudio”.
C.hiredcelebritiesaslocalbrandambassadors.
D.employedlocalbossesasmuchaspossible.
Questions11-14
Completeeachofthefollowingstatements(Questions11-14)withwordsornumbertakenfromReadingPassage1.
WriteNOMORETHANTHREEWORDSforeachanswer.
Writeyouranswersinboxes11-14onyouranswersheet.
11.AfterJanuary2004,McDonaldwasmakingimprovementfollowingaperiodofslumpinAmericaandAustralia,butsalesinEuropewere………………………….
12.BusinessofMcDonaldinFranceandBritainwasparticularlygoodinDecembersincecustomerstookto……………………………..
13.Comparedwithothercountries,FranceisMcDonald’s……………………….nexttoAmerica.
14.…………………….ofMcDonald’srestaurantsinAmericaarecompanied–ownedandthefigureismuchlowerthanthatinBritain.
1. FALSE
See the second sentence in Paragraph A “One exception was France, where Mr Hennequin had done a sterling job as head of the group’s French subsidiary to sell more Big Macs to his compatriots. His task was to replicate this success in all 41 of the European countries…”.
2. TRUE
See the last sentence in Paragraph D “The Nutrition Information Initiative, launched last year, put detailed labels on McDonald’s packaging with data on calories, protein, fat, carbohydrates and salt content. The details are also printed on tray-liners.”
3. NOT GIVEN
See Paragraph D, E and H “Given France’s reputation as the most anti-American country in Europe, it seems odd that McDonald’s revival in Europe is being led by a Frenchman, using ideas cooked up in the French market.”.
4. FALSE
See the last sentence of Paragraph H and first sentence of Paragraph L “The market where McDonald’s is weakest in Europe is not France, but Britain…Almost two-thirds of the 1,214 McDonald’s restaurants in Britain are company-owned…”
5. TRUE
See the first sentence of Paragraph I “Fixing Britain should be his priority,” says David Palmer, a restaurant analyst at UBS”.
6. NOT GIVEN
See the last sentence of Paragraph I “So it should sell as many underperforming outlets as possible, says Mr Palmer”.
7. D
See the first sentence of Paragraph A “One exception was France, where Mr Hennequin had done a sterling job as head of the group’s French subsidiary to sell more Big Macs to his compatriots”.
8. B
See the second sentence of Paragraph D “McDonald’s is blamed for making people fat, exploiting workers, treating animals cruelly, polluting the environment”
9. C
See the second sentence of Paragraph E “But some of his efforts have backfired: last year he sparked a controversy with the introduction of a “McPassport” that allows McDonald’s employees to work anywhere in the European Union..”
10. A
See the last sentence of Paragraph G “He also set up a “food studio”, where cooks devise new recipes in response to local trends”.
11. sluggish or declining
See the first sentence of Paragraph A “When Denis Hennequin took over as the European boss of McDonald’s in January 2004, the world’s biggest restaurant chain was showing signs of recovery in America and Australia, but sales in Europe were sluggish or declining.”
12. seasonal menu offerings
See the last sentence of Paragraph B “December was an especially good month as customers took to seasonal menu offerings in France and Britain, and to a promotion in Germany based on the game of Monopoly”.
13.most profitable market
See the second sentence of Paragraph H “But France is in fact the company’s most profitable market after America”.
14. 15%
See the second sentence of Paragraph I “Almost two-thirds of the 1,214 McDonald’s restaurants in Britain are company-owned, compared with 40% in Europe and 15% in America”.
暂无解析
newweapontofightcancer
1.Britishscientistsarepreparingtolaunchtrialsofaradicalnewwaytofightcancer,whichkillstumoursbyinfectingthemwithviruseslikethecommoncold.
2.Ifsuccessful,virustherapycouldeventuallyformathirdpillaralongsideradiotherapyandchemotherapyinthestandardarsenalagainstcancer,whileavoidingsomeofthedebilitatingside-effects.
3.LeonardSeymour,aprofessorofgenetherapyatOxfordUniversity,whohasbeenworkingonthevirustherapywithcolleaguesinLondonandtheUS,willleadthetrialslaterthisyear.CancerResearchUKsaidyesterdaythatitwasexcitedbythepotentialofProfSeymour’spioneeringtechniques.
4.Oneofthecountry’sleadinggeneticists,ProfSeymourhasbeenworkingwithvirusesthatkillcancercellsdirectly,whileavoidingharmtohealthytissue."Inprinciple,you’vegotsomethingwhichcouldbemanytimesmoreeffectivethanregularchemotherapy,"hesaid.
5.Cancer-killingvirusesexploitthefactthatcancercellssuppressthebody’slocalimmunesystem."Ifacancerdoesn’tdothat,theimmunesystemwipesitout.Ifyoucangetavirusintoatumour,virusesfindthemaverygoodplacetobebecausethere’snoimmunesystemtostopthemreplicating.Youcanregarditasthecancer’sAchilles’heel."
6.Onlyasmallamountofthevirusneedstogettothecancer."Theyreplicate,yougetamillioncopiesineachcellandthecellburstsandtheyinfectthetumourcellsadjacentandrepeattheprocess,"saidProfSeymour.
7.Preliminaryresearchonmiceshowsthatthevirusesworkwellontumoursresistanttostandardcancerdrugs."It’saninterestingpossibilitythattheymayhaveanadvantageinkillingdrug-resistanttumours,whichcouldbequitedifferenttoanythingwe’vehadbefore."
8.Researchershaveknownforsometimethatvirusescankilltumourcellsandsomeaspectsoftheworkhavealreadybeenpublishedinscientificjournals.Americanscientistshavepreviouslyinjectedvirusesdirectlyintotumoursbutthistechniquewillnotworkifthecancerisinaccessibleorhasspreadthroughoutthebody.
9.ProfSeymour’sinnovativesolutionistomaskthevirusfromthebody’simmunesystem,effectivelyallowingthevirusestodowhatchemotherapydrugsdo-spreadthroughthebloodandreachtumourswherevertheyare.Thebighurdlehasalwaysbeentofindawaytodelivervirusestotumoursviathebloodstreamwithoutthebody’simmunesystemdestroyingthemontheway.
10."Whatwe’vedoneismakechemicalmodificationstothevirustoputapolymercoataroundit-it’sastealthviruswhenyouinjectit,"hesaid.
11.Afterthestealthvirusinfectsthetumour,itreplicates,butthecopiesdonothavethechemicalmodifications.Iftheyescapefromthetumour,thecopieswillbequicklyrecognisedandmoppedupbythebody’simmunesystem.
12.Thetherapywouldbeespeciallyusefulforsecondarycancers,calledmetastases,whichsometimesspreadaroundthebodyafterthefirsttumourappears."There’sanawfulstatisticofpatientsinthewest...withmalignantcancers;75%ofthemgoontodiefrommetastases,"saidProfSeymour.
13.Twovirusesarelikelytobeexaminedinthefirstclinicaltrials:adenovirus,whichnormallycausesacold-likeillness,andvaccinia,whichcausescowpoxandisalsousedinthevaccineagainstsmallpox.Forsafetyreasons,bothwillbedisabledtomakethemlesspathogenicinthetrial,butProfSeymoursaidheeventuallyhopestousenaturalviruses.
14.Thefirsttrialswilluseuncoatedadenovirusandvacciniaandwillbedeliveredlocallytolivertumours,inordertoestablishwhetherthetreatmentissafeinhumansandwhatdoseofviruswillbeneeded.Severalmoreyearsoftrialswillbeneeded,eventuallyalsoonthepolymer-coatedviruses,beforethetherapycanbeconsideredforuseintheNHS.Thoughtheapproachwillbeexaminedatfirstforcancersthatdonotrespondtoconventionaltreatments,ProfSeymourhopesthatonedayitmightbeappliedtoallcancers.
Questions1-6
Dothefollowingstatementsagreewiththeinformationgiveninthereadingpassage?Forquestions1-6write
TRUEifthestatementagreeswiththeinformation
FALSEifthestatementcontradictstheinformation
NOTGIVENifthereisnoinformationonthisinthepassage
1.Virustherapy,ifsuccessful,hasanadvantageineliminatingside-effects.
2.CancerResearchUKisquitehopefulaboutProfessorSeymour’sworkonthevirustherapy.
3.Viruscankillcancercellsandstopthemfromgrowingagain.
4.Cancer’sAchilles’heelreferstothefactthatvirusmaystaysafelyinatumorandreplicate.
5.Toinfectthecancercells,agooddealofvirusesshouldbeinjectedintothetumor.
6.Researchesonanimalsindicatethatviruscouldbeusedasanewwaytotreatdrug-resistanttumors.
Question7-9
Basedonthereadingpassage,choosetheappropriateletterfromA-Dforeachanswer.
7.Informationaboutresearchesonviruseskillingtumorcellscanbefound
(A)onTV
(B)inmagazines
(C)oninternet
(D)innewspapers
8.Totreattumorsspreadingoutinbody,researcherstryto
(A)changethebody’immunesystem
(B)injectchemotherapydrugsintobloodstream.
(C)increasetheamountofinjection
(D)disguisethevirusesonthewaytotumors.
9.Whenthechemicalmodifiedvirusintumorreplicates,thecopies
(A)willsoonescapefromthetumorandspreadout.
(B)willbewipedoutbythebody’simmunesystem.
(C)willbeimmediatelyrecognizedbytheresearchers.
(D)willeventuallystopthetumorfromspreadingout.
Questions10-13
Completethesentencesbelow.Chooseyouranswersfromthelistofwords.Youcanonlyuseeachwordonce.
NBTherearemorewordsinthelistthanspacessoyouwillnotusethemall.
Inthefirstclinicaltrials,scientistswilltryto……10……adenovirusandvaccinia,soboththeviruseswillbelesspathogenicthanthe……11…….Theseuncoatedviruseswillbeapplieddirectlytocertainareastoconfirmsafetyonhumanbeingsandtheright……12……needed.Theexperimentswillfirstlybe……13……tothetreatmentofcertaincancers
Intheearlieststagesofman'sdevelopmenthehadnomoreneedofmoneythananimalshave.Hewascontentwithverysimpleformsofshelter,madehisownroughtoolsandweaponsandcouldprovidefoodandclothingforhimselfandhisfamilyfromnaturalmaterialsaroundhim.Ashebecamemorecivilized,however,hebegantowantbettershelter,moreefficienttoolsandweapons,andmorecomfortableandmorelastingclothingthancouldbeprovidedbyhisownneighborhoodorbytheworkofhisownunskilledhands.Forthesethingshehadtoturntotheskilledpeoplesuchassmiths,leatherworkersorcarpenters.Itwasthenthatthequestionofpaymentarose.
Atfirsthegotwhathewantedbyasimpleprocessofexchange.Thesmithwhohadnotthetimetolookafterlandorcattlewasgladtotakemeatorgrainfromthefarmerinexchangeforanaxeoraplough.Butasmoreandmoregoodswhichhadnofixedexchangevaluecameonthemarket,exchangebecametoocomplicatedtobesatisfactory.Anotherproblemarosewhenthosewhomadethingswantedtogetstocksofwoodorleather,oriron,buthadnothingtoofferinexchangeuntiltheirfinishedgoodswereready.Thusthedifficultiesofexchangeledbydegreestotheinventionofmoney.Insomecountrieseasilyhandledthingslikeseedsorshellsweregivenacertainvalueandthefarmer,insteadofpayingthesmithforanewaxebygivinghimsomemeatorgrain,gavehimsomanyshells.Ifthesmithhadanyshellsleftwhenhehadboughthisfood,hecouldgetstocksoftherawmaterialsofhistrade.Insomecountriesquitelargethingssuchascowsorcamelsorevenbigflatstoneswereusedfortrade.Later,piecesofmetal,bearingvaluesaccordingtotherarityofthemetalandthesizeofthepieces,orcoinswereused.Moneyasweknowithadarrived.
1.Exchangeofgoodsbecamedifficultbecause_________.
Amanbecamemorecivilized
Bsmithsbegantolookafterlandorcattleintheirsparetime
Cmoreandmoregoodswhichhadnofixedexchangealuescametothemarker
Dfarmershadn'tenoughgrainormeattoprovidefor
skilledworkers
2.Moneywasnotuseduntil_______.
Apaperwasinvented
Bpeoplepracticedasimpleprocessofexchange
CnothingcouldbeofferedinexchangeDtheexchangeofonethingforanotherbecametoocomplicated
3.Thebesttitleforthispassageis_____.
AWhatismoney
BWhataremoney'sfunctions.
CTheimportanceofmoney
DThebeginningofmoney
new weapon to fight cancer
1. British scientists are preparing to launch trials of a radical new way to fight cancer, which kills tumours by infecting them with viruses like the common cold.
2. If successful, virus therapy could eventually form a third pillar alongside radiotherapy and chemotherapy in the standard arsenal against cancer, while avoiding some of the debilitating side-effects.
3. Leonard Seymour, a professor of gene therapy at Oxford University, who has been working on the virus therapy with colleagues in London and the US, will lead the trials later this year. Cancer Research UK said yesterday that it was excited by the potential of Prof Seymour’s pioneering techniques.
4. One of the country’s leading geneticists, Prof Seymour has been working with viruses that kill cancer cells directly, while avoiding harm to healthy tissue. "In principle, you’ve got something which could be many times more effective than regular chemotherapy," he said.
5. Cancer-killing viruses exploit the fact that cancer cells suppress the body’s local immune system. "If a cancer doesn’t do that, the immune system wipes it out. If you can get a virus into a tumour, viruses find them a very good place to be because there’s no immune system to stop them replicating. You can regard it as the cancer’s Achilles’ heel."
6. Only a small amount of the virus needs to get to the cancer. "They replicate, you get a million copies in each cell and the cell bursts and they infect the tumour cells adjacent and repeat the process," said Prof Seymour.
7. Preliminary research on mice shows that the viruses work well on tumours resistant to standard cancer drugs. "It’s an interesting possibility that they may have an advantage in killing drug-resistant tumours, which could be quite different to anything we’ve had before."
8. Researchers have known for some time that viruses can kill tumour cells and some aspects of the work have already been published in scientific journals. American scientists have previously injected viruses directly into tumours but this technique will not work if the cancer is inaccessible or has spread throughout the body.
9. Prof Seymour’s innovative solution is to mask the virus from the body’s immune system, effectively allowing the viruses to do what chemotherapy drugs do - spread through the blood and reach tumours wherever they are. The big hurdle has always been to find a way to deliver viruses to tumours via the bloodstream without the body’s immune system destroying them on the way.
10. "What we’ve done is make chemical modifications to the virus to put a polymer coat around it - it’s a stealth virus when you inject it," he said.
11. After the stealth virus infects the tumour, it replicates, but the copies do not have the chemical modifications. If they escape from the tumour, the copies will be quickly recognised and mopped up by the body’s immune system.
12. The therapy would be especially useful for secondary cancers, called metastases, which sometimes spread around the body after the first tumour appears. "There’s an awful statistic of patients in the west ... with malignant cancers; 75% of them go on to die from metastases," said Prof Seymour.
13. Two viruses are likely to be examined in the first clinical trials: adenovirus, which normally causes a cold-like illness, and vaccinia, which causes cowpox and is also used in the vaccine against smallpox. For safety reasons, both will be disabled to make them less pathogenic in the trial, but Prof Seymour said he eventually hopes to use natural viruses.
14. The first trials will use uncoated adenovirus and vaccinia and will be delivered locally to liver tumours, in order to establish whether the treatment is safe in humans and what dose of virus will be needed. Several more years of trials will be needed, eventually also on the polymer-coated viruses, before the therapy can be considered for use in the NHS. Though the approach will be examined at first for cancers that do not respond to conventional treatments, Prof Seymour hopes that one day it might be applied to all cancers.
Questions 1-6
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the reading passage? For questions 1-6 write
TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this in the passage
1.Virus therapy, if successful, has an advantage in eliminating side-effects.
2.Cancer Research UK is quite hopeful about Professor Seymour’s work on the virus therapy.
3.Virus can kill cancer cells and stop them from growing again.
4.Cancer’s Achilles’ heel refers to the fact that virus may stay safely in a tumor and replicate.
5.To infect the cancer cells, a good deal of viruses should be injected into the tumor.
6.Researches on animals indicate that virus could be used as a new way to treat drug-resistant tumors.
Question 7-9
Based on the reading passage, choose the appropriate letter from A-D for each answer.
7.Information about researches on viruses killing tumor cells can be found
(A) on TV
(B) in magazines
(C) on internet
(D) in newspapers
8.To treat tumors spreading out in body, researchers try to
(A) change the body’ immune system
(B) inject chemotherapy drugs into bloodstream.
(C) increase the amount of injection
(D) disguise the viruses on the way to tumors.
9.When the chemical modified virus in tumor replicates, the copies
(A) will soon escape from the tumor and spread out.
(B) will be wiped out by the body’s immune system.
(C) will be immediately recognized by the researchers.
(D) will eventually stop the tumor from spreading out.
Questions 10-13
Complete the sentences below. Choose your answers from the list of words. You can only use each word once.
NB There are more words in the list than spaces so you will not use them all.
In the first clinical trials, scientists will try to ……10…… adenovirus and vaccinia, so both the viruses will be less pathogenic than the ……11…….These uncoated viruses will be applied directly to certain areas to confirm safety on human beings and the right ……12…… needed. The experiments will firstly be ……13……to the treatment of certain cancers
Dadwenttobuysome__________as__________formycousin.
Don'twashthosefossils!
StandardmuseumpracticecanwashawayDNA.
1.Washing,brushingandvarnishingfossils—allstandardconservationtreatmentsusedbymanyfossilhuntersandmuseumcuratorsalike—vastlyreducesthechancesofrecoveringancientDNA.
2.Instead,excavatorsshouldbehandlingatleastsomeoftheirbountywithgloves,andfreezingsamplesastheyarefound,dirtandall,concludesapaperintheProceedingsoftheNationalAcademyofSciencestoday.
3.AlthoughmanypalaeontologistsknowanecdotallythatthisisthebestwaytouptheoddsofextractinggoodDNA,Eva-MariaGeigloftheJacquesMonodInstituteinParis,France,andhercolleagueshavenowshownjusthowimportantconservationpracticescanbe.Thisinformation,theysay,needstobehammeredhomeamongthepeoplewhoareactuallyoutinthefielddiggingupbones.
4.Geiglandhercolleagueslookedat3,200-year-oldfossilbonesbelongingtoasingleindividualofanextinctcattlespecies,calledanaurochs.ThefossilsweredugupatasiteinFranceattwodifferenttimes—eitherin1947,andstoredinamuseumcollection,orin2004,andconservedinsterileconditionsat-20oC.
5.Theteam'sattemptstoextractDNAfromthe1947bonesallfailed.Thenewlyexcavatedfossils,however,allyieldedDNA.
6.Becausetheboneshadbeenburiedforthesameamountoftime,andinthesameconditions,theconservationmethodhadtobetoblamesaysGeigl."AsmuchDNAwasdegradedinthese57yearsasinthe3,200yearsbefore,"shesays.
Washin,washout
7.Becausemanypalaeontologistsbasetheirworkontheshapeoffossilsalone,theirmethodsofconservationarenotdesignedtopreserveDNA,Geiglexplains.
8.Thebiggestproblemishowtheyarecleaned.Fossilsareoftenwashedtogetheron-siteinalargebath,whichcanallowwater—andcontaminantsintheformofcontemporaryDNA—topermeateintotheporousbones."NotonlyistheauthenticDNAgettingwashedout,butcontaminationisgettingwashedin,"saysGeigl.
9.MostancientDNAspecialistsknowthisalready,saysHendrikPoinar,anevolutionarygeneticistatMcMasterUniversityinOntario,Canada.Butthatdoesn'tmeanthatbestpracticehasbecomewidespreadamongthosewhoactuallyfindthefossils.
10.GettingholdoffossilsthathavebeenpreservedwiththeirDNAinmindreliesoncloserelationshipsbetweenlab-basedgeneticistsandtheexcavators,sayspalaeogeneticistSvantePbooftheMaxPlanckInstituteforEvolutionaryAnthropologyinLeipzig,Germany.Andthatonlyoccursinexceptionalcases,hesays.
11.Pbo'steam,whichhasbeensequencingNeanderthalDNA,continuallyfacestheseproblems."WhenyouwanttostudyancienthumanandNeanderthalremains,there'sabigissueofcontaminationwithcontemporaryhumanDNA,"hesays.
12.Thisdoesn'tmeanthatallmuseumspecimensarefatallyflawed,notesPbo.TheNeanderthalfossilsthatwererecentlysequencedinhisownlab,forexample,hadbeenpartofamuseumcollectiontreatedinthetraditionalway.ButPboiskeentoseesamplesoffossilsfromeverymajorfindpreservedinlinewithGeigl'srecommendations—justincase.
Warmandwet
13.Geiglherselfbelievesthat,withcooperationbetweenbenchandfieldresearchers,preservingfossilsproperlycouldopenupavenuesofdiscoverythathavelongbeenassumedclosed.
14.Muchhumanculturaldevelopmenttookplaceintemperateregions.DNAdoesnotsurvivewellinwarmenvironmentsinthefirstplace,andcanvanishwhenfossilsarewashedandtreated.Forthisreason,Geiglsays,mostancientDNAstudieshavebeendoneonpermafrostsamples,suchasthewoollymammoth,oronremainsshelteredfromtheelementsincoldcaves—includingcavebearandNeanderthalfossils.
15.Betterconservationmethods,andafocusonfreshfossils,couldboostDNAextractionfrommoredelicatespecimens,saysGeigl.Andthatcouldshedmorelightonthestoryofhumanevolution.
(640wordsnature)
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
Questions1-6
AnswerthefollowingquestionsbyusingNOMORETHANTHREEWORDSforeachanswer.
1.Howdidpeopletraditionallytreatfossils?
2.WhatsuggestionsdoGeiglandhercolleaguesgiveonwhatshouldbedonewhenfossilsarefound?
3.Whatproblemsmaybeposediffossilbonesarewashedon-site?NameONE.
4.WhatcharacteristicdofossilboneshavetomakethemsusceptibletobecontaminatedwithcontemporaryDNAwhentheyarewashed?
5.Whatcouldbebetterunderstoodwhenconservationtreatmentsareimproved?
6.Thepassagementionedseveralanimalspeciesstudiedbyresearchers.Howmanyofthemarementioned?
Questions7-11
Dothefollowingstatementsagreewiththeinformationgiveninthepassage?PleasewriteTRUEifthestatementagreeswiththewriterFALSEifthestatementdoesnotagreewiththewriterNOTGIVENifthereisnoinformationaboutthisinthepassage.
7.IntheirpaperpublishedintheProceedingsoftheNationalAcademyofSciences，GeiglandhercolleagueshaveshownwhatconservationpracticesshouldbefollowedtopreserveancientDNA.
8.ThefossilbonesthatGeiglandhercolleaguesstudiedareallfromthesameaurochs.
9.Geneticistsdon'thavetoworkonsite.
10.OnlynewlyexcavatedfossilbonesusingnewconservationmethodssuggestedbyGeiglandhercolleaguescontainancientDNA.
11.Paaboisstillworriedaboutthepotentialproblemscausedbytreatmentsoffossilsintraditionalway.
Questions12-13
CompletethefollowingthestatementsbychoosingletterA-Dforeachanswer.
12.“Thisinformation”inparagraph3indicates:
[A]ItiscriticaltofollowproperpracticesinpreservingancientDNA.
[B]ThebestwayofgettinggoodDNAistohandlefossilswithgloves.
[C]Fossilhuntersshouldwearhome-madehammerswhilediggingupbones.
[D]Manypalaeontologistsknowhowoneshoulddointreatingfossils.
13.ThestudyconductedbyGeiglandhercolleaguessuggests:
[A]thefactthatancientDNAcannotberecoveredfromfossilbonesexcavatedinthepast.
[B]thecorrelationbetweentheamountofburyingtimeandthatoftherecoveredDNA.
[C]thepaceatwhichDNAdegrades.
[D]thecorrelationbetweenconservationpracticesanddegradationofDNA.
