The juries(陪审团) entered.
I stood beside the lawyer and my brother, Jimmy. It reminded me of our childhood—as things often did—when we played the game “Simon Says”, we would react at the same time in harmony when hearing all kinds of orders, “Simon says jump, Simon says touch your toes”—it was almost the same. Almost. When we grew up, my brother had chosen a separate life, leaving me alone. I missed him a lot.
Today, though, we were together, standing in court, waiting for the sentence.
The guilty verdict(判决) was read. I sat down, but my brother cried, “No! I’m innocent. ” And then he turned to me, yelling, “How can you do this to me, James! I finally can make a new life by myself. ”
“Stop this, ” the judge yelled, “the juries have made the decision. ”
“But it’s not fair! ” my brother replied, “I didn’t kill anyone. ”
I wished I could explain, but I said nothing because this is the only way we can be together again.
The judge pulled his glasses from his face. “By law---”
“The law is unjust, ” my brother said.
The judge wiped his eyes, and, to my surprise, said calmly. “Yes, ” he nodded and set his glasses aside. “I agree with you about that. Law is meant to protect the innocent. And you certainly seem innocent. But how can I tell? You two are clones. Your faces, your fingerprints, even your DNA match exactly. That’s why when one is found guilty, all others. . . ”
The judge sighed, replaced his glasses, and banged the hammer. “I sentence you both to twenty years. ”
Together, the court guard led us away. My brother’s head bowed in defeat, but I walked upright, for I would no longer be alone.
【文章大意】本文是记叙文, 文章通过一个小故事探讨了克隆人世界的伦理争议。
1. Why did James think of their childhood?
A. He felt sorry for Jimmy.
B. He had been in court before.
C. He felt guilty about his crime.
D. He missed the good old days.
【解析】选D。细节理解题。 文章提到I missed him a lot, 他非常怀念自己的哥哥, 怀念小时候一起玩过的游戏。
2. What can we learn from the second paragraph?
A. They had nothing in common.
B. Cloned brothers behaved alike.
C. They once quarreled with each other.
D. Both of them didn’t like living together.
【解析】选B。细节理解题。文章提及we would react at the same time in harmony, 我们在游戏中, 听到各种指令时几乎反应一样, 可以得知B项正确。
3. What do we know about the law?
A. Cloned brothers should live together.
B. The Cloning of human beings is forbidden.
C. Cloned brothers are both guilty if one is guilty.
D. Cloned brothers can live apart when growing up.
【解析】选C。细节理解题。根据法官的表述来看, 如果克隆人兄弟一人犯罪, 其他兄弟也一同被判有罪。
4. What can be inferred from the text?
A. James remained silent because he was innocent.
B. Jimmy did kill someone when he left their hometown.
C. James knew nothing about the law concerning cloned people.
D. James killed someone so that he could stay with Jimmy again.
【解析】选D。推理判断题。根据故事中James的心理活动及法官的表述, James的犯罪动机是利用了法律对克隆人犯罪的认定规则来实现和哥哥的团聚。
