A new gene therapy is bringing hope to children born with a specific type of genetic deafness. This year, researchers at China’s Fudan University and Harvard Medical School (HMS) announced that the groundbreaking treatment had    1    the hearing of five of the six test patients.

The study was    2    six children between the ages of one and seven. Of the six, four had cochlear implants (人工耳蜗). They allowed them    3    in one ear. When the implants were    4   , all participants were completely deaf. The two youngest    5   , ages one and two, had no implants.

The    6    children were born with a rare genetic disability. For the lack of the    7    OTOF gene, they cannot hear things. In the trial, the children were all injected in the cochlea (耳蜗) with two harmless viruses.    8    virus contained half of the normal gene.    9    the gene reached the target cells, it began to work. Within four to six weeks after the    10   , the researchers began testing for signs of hearing improvement.

At the end of the 26 weeks, five of the six children showed substantial    11    in hearing. The three older children could    12    and respond to speech with their implants turned off. Two could    13    recognize speech in a noisy room and    14    a phone conversation. The youngest children also showed improvement in their    15    to recognize speech. HMS Associate Professor Zheng-Yi Chen, who co-led the study, said that the one-year-old began to respond to sounds and    16    simple first words like “mama.” The team is    17    why one of the participants showed no improvement in hearing. They suspect the child’s body may have    18    the viruses.

More    19    are needed before the treatment can be offered to everyone. But once ready, it will    20    the lives of the estimated 200,000 people worldwide.

1.1.

A weakened

B replaced

C damaged

D restored

解析：选D。D 考查动词。根据前文关键词“is bringing hope to”“the groundbreaking treatment”可知这种新的基因疗法有益于一群特殊的耳聋人群。故选D。

2.2.

A conducted on

B led by

C valued by

D funded by

解析：选A。A 考查动词短语。根据后文的“six children”“Of the six, four had...”由此可知，实验对象是6个小孩。故选A。

3.3.

A to listen

B to hear

C to smell

D to taste

解析：选B。B 考查动词。根据第一段的“deafness”“the hearing”等可知，参加实验的小孩耳朵听不见，安装人工耳蜗使他们能够“听见”声音。故选B。

4.4.

A broken down

B switched off

C turned on

D fallen down

解析：选B。B 考查动词短语。句意：当人工耳蜗被“关闭”，孩子们就完全听不见了。故选B。

5.5.

A students

B strangers

C members

D participants

解析：选D。D 考查名词。根据前文“Of the six, four had cochlear implants (人工耳蜗).”和后文“had no implants”可知6个小孩中，有4个安装了人工耳蜗，另外2个没有。故选D。

6.6.

A beloved

B experienced

C involved

D aged

解析：选C。C 考查形容词。根据后文的“children”可知此处讲的是“参与实验的”孩子们。故选C。

7.7.

A different

B normal

C major

D unusual

解析：选B。B 考查形容词。根据后文的“half of the normal gene”可知，参与实验的孩子们因为缺乏某种“正常的”基因而丧失听力。故选B。

8.8.

A Both

B Each

C All

D None

解析：选B。B 考查代词。根据前文的“two harmless viruses”和后文的“... virus contained half of the ...”可知一共有两种病毒，“每种病毒”包含一半的正常基因。故选B。

9.9.

A Once

B Until

C Since

D Although

解析：选A。A 考查连词。句意：基因到达目标细胞，基因开始工作。前后两个分句在逻辑上存在条件关系，once在此引导条件状语从句，意为“一旦……就……”。故选A。

10.10.

A check

B experiment

C injection

D test

解析：选C。C 考查名词。根据前文的“In the trail, the children were all injected ...”可知他们被“注射”，名词形式为injection。故选C。

11.11.

A protection

B destruction

C pollution

D improvement

解析：选D。D 考查名词。根据前文“signs of hearing improvement”可知，此处讲的是孩子们在听力方面的“改善”。故选D。

12.12.

A understand

B reply

C believe

D imagine

解析：选A。A 考查动词。根据后文“and respond to speech”可知题空处与respond对应，均修饰speech，意为：孩子们能够“理解”并回应话语。故选A。

13.13.

A hardly

B only

C even

D nearly

解析：选C。C 考查副词。句意：其中两个孩子“甚至”可以在嘈杂的房间里识别语音。故选C。

14.14.

A cheer for

B give up

C hang up

D participate in

解析：选D。D 考查动词短语。根据前文“recognize speech in a noisy room and”可知题空处与recognize speech in a noisy room对应，均表示孩子在听力方面的改善，故participate in参与“电话对话”最合适。故选D。

15.15.

A ability

B tool

C gift

D belief

解析：选A。A 考查名词。根据前文“also showed improvement in”可知两个小一点的孩子也在听的“能力”方面有所改善。故选A。

16.16.

A wrote

B learned

C formed

D typed

解析：选C。C 考查动词。根据前文的“began to respond to sounds and”及句意：这个一岁的小孩开始对声音做出反应，并“形成”像“妈妈”这样简单的第一个单词。故选C。

17.17.

A afraid

B unsure

C curious

D embarrassed

解析：选B。B 考查形容词。根据后文“They suspect”可知研究人员“不确定”为什么有一个参与者在听力方面没有改善。故选B。

18.18.

A transformed

B absorbed

C separated

D rejected

解析：选D。D 考查动词。句意：他们怀疑这个小孩体内有排斥被注射病毒的抗体。故选D。

19.19.

A trials

B opportunities

C theories

D limitations

解析：选A。A 考查名词。根据前文“The team is unsure why one of the participants showed no improvement in hearing.”以及第二段第一句的“six children between the ages of one and seven”可知，此次实验只有6人参与，且对象都是小孩，且其中一个在听力方面没有得到改善。由此可推知，需要更多的实验来证明此种治疗方法的可行性。故选A。

20.20.

A protect

B sustain

C change

D save

解析：选C。C 考查动词。句意：一旦准备就绪，它将“改变”全球约20万人的生活。故选C。