A
During the outbreak of novel coronavirus, cities are locked down and borders are closed. Science, on the contrary, is becoming more open. And this "open science" is already making a difference.
Soon after the epidemic started in China, a research team from Fudan University in Shanghai successfully sequenced(测定序列)the DNA of the virus. But they didn't keep the information to themselves. Instead, they placed the sequences on GenBank, an open-access data platform, so researchers around the world could download them for free and start studying the virus.
Due to this openness, pharmaceutical(制药的)companies across the globe are now able to work simultaneously(同时地)to develop a vaccine. "There may be room for multiple different vaccines for different purposes and different age groups," Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Health Security in the US, told Al Jazeera. "The bigger menu we have of vaccines, the more resilient(有适应力的)we'll be against coronavirus outbreaks in the future."
Major drug companies around the world are also sharing their study results. Remdesivir, a drug originally developed by US company Gilead Sciences to treat Ebola, is found to be promising in fighting against the novel coronavirus. Currently, two trials of the drug are already underway in China, and the results might be available as soon as April, according to The Verge.
This openness in science is going to be even more critical in the future. "With climate change, increasing globalization, and population shifts, epidemics will not go away, and might even become more frequent," Dan Barouch, a Harvard Medical School professor, told Harvard Magazine.
He said, "No one group can do everything. It has to be a coordinated(合作的)approach. But I do think that the world has a greater sense of readiness this time to develop knowledge, drugs, and therapeutics(疗法)very rapidly."
Every epidemic is indeed a crisis, but it can also be a learning opportunity. One redeeming(补偿的)factor of the COVID-19 outbreak is that it is helping science adapt for the better.
21. What does the article mainly talk about?
A. Coordinated efforts to fight the epidemic.
B. Something positive we've learned from the epidemic.
C. The significance of openness and sharing of scientific knowledge.
D. What needs to be done to prevent future epidemics.
22. What is the positive effect of the research team from Fudan University placing the genetic sequence of the virus onto GenBank?
A. They alerted the world to the danger of the virus.
B. They helped remove people's fear of the virus.
C. They showed the world how to produce a vaccine.
D. They invited collective efforts worldwide to develop a vaccine.
23. What is the author's purpose of mentioning remdesivir in the text?
A. To introduce a possible cure for the epidemic.
B. To compare the treatment of Ebola and the novel coronavirus.
C. To prove that many drug companies readily share their discoveries.
D. To show that the novel coronavirus will soon be contained.
24. What does the underlined word "critical" in paragraph 5 probably mean?
A. expressing disapproval. B. extremely important.
C. serious, uncertain and possibly dangerous. D. making fair, careful judgments.
25. Which of the following would Dan Barouch probably disagree with?
A. Epidemics will be less frequent thanks to scientific development.
B. The world is becoming better prepared to deal with epidemics.
C. No single group can fight against the epidemics independently.
D. The increase in globalization may worsen future epidemics.
