VR technology was used by doctors in Brazil and Britain who were involved in the operation involving the joined twins. The twin boys are named Arthur and Bernardo. The two were joined at the head and shared some brain tissue. Doctors in Brazil had attempted to separate the boys in the past, but they were unsuccessful. Then the hospital that cared for the twins for the past two-and-a-half years decided to contact a British charity that has financed and provided medical teams to support similar separations.

The charity is called Gemini Untwined. Its creator is Noor ul Owase Jeelani. He is a surgeon at London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children. Jeelani specializes in separating joined twins, especially those linked at the head. Gemini Untwined has helped carry out several successful surgeries of child twins since it was established in 2018. But Jeelani said the separation of Arthur and Bernardo was the most difficult operation yet. He explained in a statement that this is because the boys shared important veins in the brain. At four years old, the twins were also the oldest with connected brain tissue to try separation surgery, Jeelani added.

The process to separate the twins was long and intense. Jeelani said a total of seven surgeries, involving more than 100 medical workers, were required. The surgeries were completely successful. Jeelani added a major reason for the successful separation was the VR training the medical teams from Britain and Brazil received in the months leading up to the real-life operations.

The teams used brain scans of the boys to create a digital map of their shared heads and brain tissue. Using this data, doctors performed several trial operations with the use of VR equipment. The simulated surgeries permitted the teams to try out different methods that were used in the actual operations.

VR technology is currently used in a number of ways in the medical field, including past separation surgeries involving twins. But Jeelani said it was the first time the technology has been used for this purpose in Brazil. “In some ways these operations are considered the hardest of our time,” Jeelani added. “And to do them in virtual reality was just really man-on-Mars stuff.” 

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1.What can we know about Gemini Untwined?

A It is a Brazilian charity and contacts the hospital first.

B It hasn’t provided medical teams to any hospitals.

C Its creator is good at separating joined twins.

D It was established six years ago.

解析：选C。C细节理解题。根据第二段第二句的“Its creator is Noor ul Owase Jeelani.”和第四句的“Jeelani specializes in separating joined twins”可知，诺尔·吉拉尼擅长分离连体婴儿。故选C。

2.What did the medical teams do before the surgeries?

A Contacted charities around the world.

B Paid a visit to the twins’ mother.

C Received the VR training.

D Encouraged one another.

解析：选C。C细节理解题。根据第三段第四句“Jeelani added a major reason for the successful separation was the VR training the medical teams from Britain and Brazil received in the months leading up to the real-life operations.”，可知手术是在医生经过虚拟现实技术培训后才开展的。故选C。

3.Which paragraph shows us the details of how VR helped the twins?

A Paragraph 4.

B Paragraph 3.

C Paragraph 2.

D Paragraph 1.

解析：选A。A 段落大意题。第四段描述虚拟现实技术是如何运用到这场手术中的。这个医疗团队把双胞胎的大脑数据扫描进电脑，然后所有人戴上VR头盔，进入自己创建的“虚拟手术室”。吉拉尼指挥两国的医生协作完成虚拟手术，为现实中的手术做练习。故选A。

4.The underlined sentence indicates that _________.

A VR technology was useful in a number of ways in all kinds of fields

B people use electronic equipment to experience VR technology

C the technology was something really unusual and complex

D VR training was wonderful for the surgeons involved

解析：选C。C 推理判断题。根据划线句子前面的“In some ways these operations are considered the hardest of our time”可知，在虚拟现实里完成如此困难的手术，简直就像人类登陆火星。人类登陆火星很难，因此可推测作者想要表达的是这项技术是非常不寻常和复杂的。故选 C。