Cloning is suggested as a means of bringing back a relative, usually a child, killed tragically. Some parents can understand that wish, but it must first be recognized that the copy would be a new baby and not the lost child. Here lies the difficulty, for the sad parents are seeking not a new baby but a return of the dead one. Since the original would be fondly remembered as having particular talents and interests, would not the parents expect the copy to be the same? It is possible, however, that the copy would develop quite differently. Is it fair to the new child to be placed in a family with such unnatural expectations?
Copying is also suggested as a means by which parents can have the child of their dreams. Couples might choose to have a copy of a film star, baseball player or scientist, depending on their interest. But because personality is only partly the result of genetic inheritance(遗传), conflicts would be sure to arise if the cloned child failed to develop the same interests as the original. What if the copy of Einstein shows no interest in science? Or the baseball player turns to acting? Success also depends upon fortune. What if the child does not live up to the hopes and dreams of the parents simply because of bad luck?
Every child should be wanted for itself, as an individual. In making a copy of oneself or some famous person, a parent is deliberately(深思熟虑地) specifying(详细说明) the way he or she wishes that child to develop. In recent years, particularly in the U.S., much importance has been placed on the right of individuals to reproduce in ways that they wish. So I suggest there is a greater need to consider the interests of the child and to reject these proposed uses of cloning.
40. What happens to parents in cloning a lost child?
A. Parents expect too much from the copy.
B. Parents may get a quite different copy.
C. Parents are sure to have an identical copy.
D. Parents lose the talents of the lost child.
41. What, in the author’s opinion, affects the success of parents’ dreams?
A. The cloned child’s interest in Einstein.
B. The cloned child’s natural talent.
C. The cloned child’s personality.
D. The efforts of the parents.
42. In the third paragraph, the author implies that ______.
A. the cloned child is viewed as independent
B. the right of growing in his own way is taken away from the cloned child
C. parents carefully protect the rights of the cloned child
D. parents are eager to wish the cloned child to be somebody.
43. In this passage, the author is mainly concerned about ______.
A. the future of a cloned child
B. the possibility of cloning people
C. the importance of cloning a lost child
D. the problems of cloning life