Origin Genomics Seeks to Show That Embryo Gene Editing’s Potential Benefits Outweigh Its Risks

Study the questions and tasks

Work through the material below, or start the interactive practice above to complete an attempt. Try the exercises before opening any answer or transcript sections, then use them to review your work.

Practice level

C2. Try this level if you can follow the instructions and understand most of the language; choose an earlier level if you need more support.

Question formats

Single choice

How to approach this practice

Read the passage for its main idea, then return to the relevant sentence or paragraph for each question. Base answers on the passage.

1. Question 1 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What is the article’s primary purpose?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. To report confirmed clinical success
   2. To define an unverified objective and its evidentiary limits
   3. To compare competing gene-editing companies
   4. To explain the technology’s technical mechanisms
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   To define an unverified objective and its evidentiary limits

   It carefully defines the company’s claim while limiting unsupported conclusions.

   It therefore supports a precise account of the company’s aim, but not a broader conclusion about the technology’s effectiveness or safety.

2. Question 2 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What does “That distinction” refer to?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. The distinction between embryos and babies
   2. The distinction between medical and numerical evidence
   3. The distinction between an objective and an established conclusion
   4. The distinction between coverage dates and timelines
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   The distinction between an objective and an established conclusion

   It refers to separating a proposed benefit from demonstrated safety.

   The central proposition is deliberately framed as something to be proved, rather than as an established conclusion.

3. Question 3 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Why does the article mention omitted technical details and results?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. To show that the company has abandoned research
   2. To explain why the source cannot establish effectiveness or safety
   3. To suggest that numerical estimates are irrelevant
   4. To identify the company’s undisclosed location
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   To explain why the source cannot establish effectiveness or safety

   Their absence restricts how broadly the supplied evidence can be interpreted.

   The package does not provide additional technical details, clinical results, numerical estimates, or a timeline for proving the claim.

4. Question 4 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What inference is best supported about Origin Genomics?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. It has already demonstrated safety
   2. It is seeking validation for a position not yet established
   3. It opposes embryo research categorically
   4. It has published extensive clinical results
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   It is seeking validation for a position not yet established

   Its stated goal implies that the relevant evidence has not yet settled the issue.

   The story also illustrates the difference between an organization’s objective and an independently established finding.

5. Question 5 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   How is the article organized overall?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Chronologically, from discovery to commercialization
   2. As a debate between two identified experts
   3. From stated objective through caveats to a restrained assessment
   4. From technical procedures to financial projections
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   From stated objective through caveats to a restrained assessment

   It moves from the claim to its limitations, implications, and verified boundaries.

   For now, the verified facts are limited but significant.

6. Question 6 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What does the final paragraph emphasize about the company’s goal?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Its goal has been independently confirmed
   2. Its goal concerns a balance that remains unsettled
   3. Its goal is unrelated to disease prevention
   4. Its goal is primarily commercial rather than medical
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Its goal concerns a balance that remains unsettled

   The wording presents the goal as an unresolved claim requiring examination.

   The issue is consequently best understood as a claim under examination: Origin Genomics wants to demonstrate that its technology could contribute to making healthy babies, while acknowledging—through the very need for proof—that the balance of benefits and risks has not been established in the supplied account.

7. Question 7 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Which relationship does the article draw between the need for proof and the risk-benefit balance?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Proof is unnecessary because the risks are minimal
   2. The need for proof indicates that the balance remains unsettled
   3. The balance has already been established by clinical results
   4. Proof would determine where the company is based
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   The need for proof indicates that the balance remains unsettled

   The need for proof itself signals that the balance remains unresolved.

   Whether it can substantiate that position remains the essential question identified by the coverage.

8. Question 8 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Why does the article refrain from assigning a location?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. The company operates anonymously
   2. The source package does not specify one
   3. The article focuses exclusively on laboratory procedures
   4. The location is legally confidential
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   The source package does not specify one

   The supplied package contains no verified location information.

   The source package does not specify where the company is based or where the work is taking place, so no location is assigned here.

What to review next

Find the words that support each answer. For a mistake, compare the question with the evidence and identify the detail or inference you missed.

A focused practice result shows how you did on these tasks. Use several activities across skills to decide what to study next; one practice score does not certify an overall CEFR level.

Before you practise: a worked example

Look for evidence in the text. Separate what the writer says from what you already know about the topic.

The library normally closes at six, but on Fridays it stays open until eight. When does it close on Friday?

The answer is eight. But introduces an exception to the normal closing time, so the first time mentioned is not the answer.

This teaching example is separate from the scored questions. After your test, compare any mistakes with the explanation and revisit the topic before trying again.