To paraphrase1 18th-century statesman Edmund Burke, all that is needed for the triumph of a misguided cause is that good people do nothing. One such cause now seeks to end biomedical research because of the theory that animals have rights ruling out their use in research. Scientists need to respond forcefully to animal rights advocates, whose arguments are confusing the public and thereby2 threatening advances in health knowledge and care. Leaders of the animal rights movement target biomedical research because it depends on public funding, and few people understand the process of health care research. Hearing allegations of cruelty to animals in research settings, many are perplexed3 that anyone would deliberately4 harm an animal.
For example, a grandmotherly woman staffing an animal rights booth at a recent street fair was distributing a brochure that encouraged readers not to use anything that opposed immunizations, she wanted to know if vaccines5 come from animal research. When assured that they do, she replied, Then 1 would have to say yes. Asked what will happen when epidemics6 return, she said, Dont worry, scientists will find some way of using computers. Such well-meaning people just dont understand.
Scientists must communicate their message to the public in a compassionate7, understandable wayin human terms, not in the language of molecular8 biology. We need to make clear the connection between animal research and a grandmothers hip9 replacement10, a fathers bypass operation, a babys vaccinations11, and even a pets shots. To those who are unaware12 that animal research was needed to produce these treatments, as well as new treatments and vaccines, animal research seems wasteful13 at best and cruel at worst.
Much can be done. Scientists could adopt middle school classes and present their own
research. They should be quick to respond to letters to the editor, lest animal rights
misinformation go unchallenged and acquire a deceptive14 appearance of truth. Research
institutions could be opened to tours, to show that laboratory animals receive humane15 care.
Finally, because the ultimate stakeholders are patients, the health research community
should actively16 recruit to its cause not only well-known personalities17 such as Stephen
Cooper, who has made courageous18 statements about the value of animal research, but all
who receive medical treatment. If good people do nothing there is a real possibility that an
uninformed citizenry will extinguish the precious embers of medical progress.
1. The author begins his article with Edmund Burkes words to .
A. call on scientists to take some actions
B. criticize the misguided cause of animal rights
C. warn of the doom19 of biomedical research
D. show the triumph of the animal rights movement
2. Misled people tend to think that using an animal in research is .
A. cruel but natural
B. inhuman20 and unacceptable
C. inevitable21 but vicious
D. pointless and wasteful
3. The example of the grandmotherly woman is used to show the publics .
A. discontent with animal research
B. ignorance about medical science
C. indifference22 to epidemics
D. anxiety about animal rights
4. The author believes that, in face of the challenge from animal rights advocates,
scientists should .
A. communicate more with the public
B. employ hi-tech means in research
C. feel no shame for their cause
D. strive to develop new cures
5. From the text we learn that Stephen Cooper is -
A. a well-known humanist
B. a medical practitioner23
C. an enthusiast24 in animal rights
D. a supporter of animal research