EigoPro 準1級読解 — Editing the Human Genome

Few biological tools have advanced as rapidly, or provoked as much unease, as CRISPR. Adapted from a defence mechanism that bacteria use against viruses, the technique allows scientists to locate a specific sequence within an organism's DNA and cut it with a precision that earlier methods could only approximate. In the laboratory, CRISPR has accelerated research into cancer, sickle-cell disease, and inherited blindness; in agriculture, it promises crops that resist drought and disease. Its therapeutic potential, in short, is difficult to overstate. Yet the same versatility that makes CRISPR so valuable also makes it dangerous. The most contentious application is editing the human germ line—the egg, sperm, or early embryo—because such changes are heritable, passed on to every subsequent generation. Treating a patient's faulty gene is, in principle, a private medical decision; rewriting the genome of all their descendants is not. When a Chinese scientist announced in 2018 that he had created the world's first gene-edited babies, the global scientific community reacted with near-universal condemnation, and he was later imprisoned. The episode crystallised a fear that had long been abstract: that the technology was outpacing any consensus about how it should be governed. The ethical questions extend beyond safety. Even if germ-line editing could be made flawless, who would decide which traits count as defects worth eliminating? Critics warn of a slide from curing disease toward selecting for height, intelligence, or other prized characteristics—enhancements available, in all likelihood, only to the wealthy. Proponents counter that refusing a proven cure on speculative grounds is its own kind of cruelty. What both sides concede is that the relevant decisions cannot be left to individual laboratories. The genome, they increasingly argue, is a shared inheritance, and editing it responsibly will require a degree of international cooperation that science has rarely achieved.

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この単元の問題を3問、解説つきで公開しています

準1級 · 読解 · 全5問

問 1

What is the main idea of the passage?

The dangers of gene editing clearly outweigh any of its possible benefits.
CRISPR offers immense medical promise but raises ethical questions that demand collective oversight.
CRISPR has already cured most inherited diseases in human patients.
International bodies have successfully agreed on rules for editing the human germ line.

Phrase

editing it responsibly will require a degree of international cooperation that science has rarely achieved

準1級読解科学ジャーナリズム主旨把握

⚡ひとことで

本文は「CRISPR は大きな医療的可能性を持つが、倫理問題ゆえ集団的な統治が要る」という論旨。

選択肢の解説Choice Analysis

「CRISPR offers immense medical promise but raises ethical questions that demand collective oversight.」

正解

本文は (1) CRISPR の治療的可能性は計り知れない→ (2) しかし生殖細胞系列の編集は遺伝するため最も論争的→ (3) 倫理問題は安全性を超え、決定は個別の研究室に委ねられない、と展開する。最終文 international cooperation が結論なので「大きな医療的可能性を持つが、集団的監督を要する倫理問題を提起する」が主旨。

「CRISPR has already cured most inherited diseases」
= 遺伝病の大半を既に治した ━ 本文は『研究を加速させた』『可能性』と述べるだけで、既に大半を治癒したとは言っていない。
「The dangers of gene editing clearly outweigh any of its possible benefits.」
= 危険が利益を明白に上回る ━ 本文は利益と危険を両論併記し、片方が明白に上回るとは結論していない。
「International bodies have successfully agreed」
= 国際機関が規則合意に成功した ━ 最終文は『科学が滅多に達成しない協力が必要になる』と未達を示唆しており正反対。

▦Collocation

パターン	意味	例
difficult to overstate	誇張しがたい(=計り知れない)	Its potential is difficult to overstate.
provoke unease	不安を引き起こす	The tool provoked much unease.
the most contentious application	最も論争的な応用	the most contentious application is...
a shared inheritance	共有の遺産	The genome is a shared inheritance.
international cooperation	国際協力	require international cooperation

❝例文

Its therapeutic potential is difficult to overstate.
その治療的可能性は計り知れない。
The new tool has provoked considerable unease.
その新しい道具はかなりの不安を引き起こした。
The genome is a shared inheritance, not private property.
ゲノムは私有物ではなく共有の遺産だ。

💡Tip · 覚えるコツ

主旨設問は両論併記型の論説では『譲歩 (Yet/but) のあとに筆者が落とす着地点』を探す。本文は最終段末の international cooperation が結論。

問 2

According to the passage, why is editing the human germ line considered especially contentious?

It can only be performed on adult patients who consent to it.
The changes are heritable and would be passed on to all future descendants.
It produces effects that disappear within a single generation.
It is technically impossible with current versions of CRISPR.

Phrase

such changes are heritable, passed on to every subsequent generation

準1級読解科学ジャーナリズム詳細把握

⚡ひとことで

生殖細胞系列の編集は遺伝し、以後の全世代に受け継がれるから論争的。

選択肢の解説Choice Analysis

「The changes are heritable and would be passed on to all future descendants.」

正解

第2段で『生殖細胞系列 (卵・精子・初期胚) の編集が最も論争的なのは such changes are heritable, passed on to every subsequent generation だから』と明言する。さらに『患者の遺伝子治療は私的決定だが、全子孫のゲノム書き換えは違う』と続く。よって『変更が遺伝し、未来の全子孫に受け継がれる』が正解。

「technically impossible」
= 技術的に不可能 ━ 本文は2018年に実際に編集児が生まれたと述べており、不可能ではない。
「It produces effects which disappear within just a single generation.」
= 一世代で消える ━ heritable=遺伝するなので正反対。
「It can only be performed on adult patients who have consented to it.」
= 同意した成人にのみ ━ 論点は子孫が同意できないこと。成人限定という記述はない。

▦Collocation

パターン	意味	例
the germ line	生殖細胞系列	editing the human germ line
be heritable	遺伝する	such changes are heritable
be passed on to ~	~に受け継がれる	passed on to every generation
subsequent generation	後続の世代	every subsequent generation
in principle	原則として	in principle a private decision

❝例文

Germ
line changes are heritable. — 生殖細胞系列の変更は遺伝する。
The trait was passed on to every subsequent generation.
その形質は以後の全世代に受け継がれた。
In principle, it is a private medical decision.
原則として、それは私的な医療判断だ。

💡Tip · 覚えるコツ

detail 設問は理由を問う because/why の直後の名詞句 (heritable, passed on) を選択肢の言い換え (will be passed on to all future descendants) と照合する。

問 3

What concern do critics raise in the final paragraph beyond questions of safety?

That individual laboratories are best placed to decide which traits to edit.
That gene editing could drift from curing disease toward selecting desirable traits for the wealthy.
That proponents want to ban all forms of genetic treatment outright.
That curing diseases with CRISPR is more expensive than conventional medicine.

Phrase

a slide from curing disease toward selecting for height, intelligence, or other prized characteristics

準1級読解科学ジャーナリズム詳細把握

⚡ひとことで

批判者は『病気治療→富裕層向けの形質選択』への滑り落ちを懸念。

選択肢の解説Choice Analysis

「That gene editing could drift from curing disease toward selecting desirable traits for the wealthy.」

正解

最終段で批判者は『病気を治すことから身長・知能などの prized characteristics を選ぶ方向への slide』を警告し、それらは『おそらく富裕層のみ available』と述べる。安全性を超えた懸念として、これを言い換えた『病気治療から富裕層向けの望ましい形質選択へ漂流しうる』が正解。

「more expensive than conventional medicine」
= 従来医療より高額 ━ 費用比較の記述はない。enhancements が富裕層のみという話と混同させる罠。
「That the proponents want to ban every form of genetic treatment outright and at once.」
= 推進派が全治療禁止を望む ━ 推進派は治療拒否を cruelty と呼び、禁止に反対している。正反対。
「individual laboratories are best placed to decide」
= 個別研究室が決めるのが最適 ━ 本文は『個別研究室に委ねられない』と明言しており逆。

▦Collocation

パターン	意味	例
a slide from A toward B	AからBへの滑り落ち	a slide from curing toward selecting
select for ~	~を選択する	selecting for intelligence
prized characteristics	珍重される特性	height, intelligence, or other prized characteristics
on speculative grounds	推測に基づいて	refuse a cure on speculative grounds
be left to ~	~に委ねられる	cannot be left to individual labs

❝例文

Critics warn of a slide toward designer babies.
批判者はデザイナーベビーへの滑り落ちを警告する。
Some fear editing will select for prized traits.
編集が珍重される形質を選ぶことを恐れる者もいる。
The decision cannot be left to individual labs.
その決定を個別の研究室に委ねることはできない。

💡Tip · 覚えるコツ

『beyond safety (安全性を超えて)』の合図のあとを読むと、安全性以外の論点 (公平性・優生学) が見つかる。費用比較肢は近接情報を流用した典型的なすり替え。

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EigoPro 準1級 読解 — Editing the Human Genome

この単元の問題を3問、解説つきで公開しています

editing it responsibly will require a degree of international cooperation that science has rarely achieved

such changes are heritable, passed on to every subsequent generation

a slide from curing disease toward selecting for height, intelligence, or other prized characteristics

EigoPro 準1級読解 — Editing the Human Genome