英语四级 2025年12月·第3套 Part III Section C (2) 阅读理解（四选一）试卷排版
英语四级2025年12月·第3套 Part III Section C (2) 阅读理解（四选一）：共 5 题、占整卷 20%（710 分制折算约 142 分）、卷面选文共 349 个英文单词。本页按真题原卷版式还原该模块卷面（不含解析）；逐题解析在「题目解析」页，全文逐句精读在「原文精读」页；本模块真题可免费下载 PDF/Word，入口见上方本题行。
试卷原卷
真题卷第3套(2025-12) • 英语四级
Part III Section C (2)
Directions: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D). You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.
Passage Two
Questions 51 to 55 are based on the following passage.
With genetic testing becoming increasingly popular, many people are left wondering exactly how accurate it is. Whether you are taking a DNA test to build your extended DNA family tree, or want precise information on inborn(先天的) health conditions, it is important to understand how accurate genetic tests are, and what information we can rely upon.
How accurate DNA tests are relies greatly upon the kind of test being taken, on the specific question you ask, and on how complex the genetics behind a trait(特征) is. For example, tests for traits that depend on a single gene provide much more reliable results, because you can see whether a disease-causing trait is present.
Ancestry tests claim to reveal our genetic identities. But saying you are 30 percent East Asian or American hardly reflects your real ancestry.
What about using DNA tests to discover distant family members? There are tools to compare one's DNA with others' to find distant relatives based on their genetic identification. These kinds of applications are generally accurate. It's relatively easy to tell whether two DNA samples belong to close relatives. With distant relatives, results become hazier.
Genetic health tests claim to be able to detect certain hereditary(遗传的) diseases, or other health conditions. While certain rare diseases can be easily identified, most potential health conditions cannot be identified by genetic testing alone. The large majority of our traits and diseases also depend upon non-genetic factors, such as lifestyle, the environment, and many others.
Genetic tests for multi-factorial traits are often very tricky to interpret. Height, for example, depends on hundreds of genes, each contributing a little to the outcome, together with a bunch of environmental factors. A test can look at many genes at once, but it's difficult to predict how they will play together. Then you should also account for non-genetic factors that are not written in the DNA.
Tests that offer to find your perfect romantic match and those claiming to predict personality or talents based on your DNA are pure nonsense. At the moment, the scientific bases for these applications are non-existent or incredibly weak.
51.
What does the passage say is of importance regarding genetic tests?
A)Knowing their accuracy.
B)Evaluating their applicability.
C)Utilizing the information they provide.
D)Weighing the consequences they have.
52.
What kind of genetic tests tend to be comparatively reliable?
A)Those complex enough to reveal the genetics behind a trait.
B)Those looking for traits responsible for certain diseases.
C)Those focusing on the specific questions being asked.
D)Those looking for traits determined by a single gene.
53.
What do we learn about genetic health tests from the passage?
A)They are unable to identify certain hereditary diseases by themselves.
B)They are generally unable to separate genetic and non-genetic factors.
C)They cannot independently identify the majority of potential diseases.
D)They cannot tell apart the impact of lifestyle and that of the environment.
54.
What makes genetic tests for multi-factorial traits tricky to interpret?
A)The challenge in determining the role of each individual gene.
B)The difficulty of foretelling how the various genes will interact.
C)The difficulty of telling genetic factors from environmental ones.
D)The enormous work to identify the hundreds of genes involved.
55.
What does the passage say about DNA tests to predict personality or talents?
A)They are solid scientific bases for application.
B)They are helpful in finding a romantic match.
C)They do not look promising at the moment.
D)They do not make any sense at present.
选文出处：本文选自2021年11月9日刊登在 livescience.com（生活科学网）上的一篇由 Timothy Williamson 撰写、标题为“How accurate are DNA tests?”（《DNA 检测到底有多准？》）的文章。