题目内容：

    Chinese scientists recently have produced two monkeys with the same gene, Zhong Zhong and Hua Hua, using the same technique that gave us Dolly the sheep. These monkeys are not actually the first primates(灵长类)to be cloned. Another one named Tetra was produced in the late 1990s by embryo(胚胎)splitting, the division of an early-stage embryo into two or four separate cells to make clones. By contrast, they were each made by replacing an egg cell nucleus(卵原子核)with DNA from a differentiated body cell. This Dolly method, known as somatic(躯体的) cell nuclear transfer(SCNT), can create more clones and allows researchers greater control over the edits they make to the DNA.

Success came from adopting several new techniques. These included a new type of microscopy(显微术) to better view the cells during handling or using several materials that encourage cell reprogramming, which hadn’t been tried before on primates. Still, the research process proved difficult, and many attempts by the team failed. Just two healthy baby monkeys born from more than 60 tested mothers. This leads to many researchers’ pouring water on the idea that the team’s results bring scientists closer to cloning humans. They thought this work is not a stepping stone to establishing methods for obtaining live born human clones. Instead, this clearly remains a very foolish thing to attempt, and it would be far too inefficient, far too unsafe, and it is also pointless.

But the scientists involved emphasize that this is not their goal. There is now no barrier for cloning primate species, thus cloning humans is closer to reality. However, their research purpose is entirely for producing non-human primate models for human diseases; they absolutely have no intention, and society will not permit this work to be extended to humans. Despite limitations, they treat this breakthrough as a novel model system for scientists studying human biology and disease.

1.What do we know about the technology called SCNT?

A. It created the first primates.

B. It may contribute to editing the DNA.

C. It can divide an early-stage embryo into several cells.

D. It produced two cloned monkeys with different genes.

2.What does the author mean by “pouring water on the idea” in paragraph 2?

A. Keeping a hot topic of it. B. Paying no attention to it.

C. Having a low opinion of it. D. Adding supportive evidence to it.

3.What is the scientists’ purpose to clone these monkeys?

A. To prepare for their research on human cloning.

B. To serve as a stepping stone to their reputation.

C. To help with the study of human diseases.

D. To clone other animals for scientific use.

4.What can we infer from the passage?

A. Cloning humans is already on its way.

B. New techniques seem to be pointless.

C. Society won’t agree to clone another monkey.

D. The success rate of this cloning of monkey was not high.