Listening exercise

 04 November 2005
Anonymous sperm donors exposed
local wma audio file
Source page: http://www.newscientist.com/podcast.ns
(You can download the entire original podcast here, if you like;
the whole file is over 10MB, but the sound quality will be better)

Vocabulary:

swab
saliva
online
genealogical service
to track down
genetic father
despite the fact that
anonymous
unexpected
result
biotechnology
primarily for
family background/tree
to sketch in
distant branches
to hand in
DNA
to analyze
to share
markers
to predict
how related to
to fit in together
distant roots
to be released
closer to home
the Y chromosome
unique
to be passed from x to y
virtually unchanged
surname
to descend from
to expose

genetic links
DNA test
to closely match
clients
online service
genetic similarity
better than 50% chance
importantly
to search the birth records
to provide s.o. with
to pinpoint
individual
it took him a total of
at which point
to contact
to conceive
to follow s.o.'s example
obsolete
especially upsetting
to be appreciated
implication
it's only going to get easier
to start thinking about
to facilitate
to live in fear of
to be detected
offspring
to spend years of their life
to go beyond
police
to perform a search
crime scene
to identify

Listening comprehension questions:
1. What kind of biotechnological service is now available over the Internet?
2. What are most people who use the service looking for?
3. What is special about the Y chromosome?
4. What last piece of information finally helped the boy find his biological father?
5. Why may the "whole idea of anonymous sperm donation" become "obsolete"?
6. What changes did reporter Alison Motluk suggest regarding sperm donation, and why?
7. How might this technology help the police?
8. What are some of the moral and practical concerns associated with sperm donation? If you are a male, would you be willing to become a sperm donor? What qualms might you have (i.e. what issues might make you hesitate)? If you are female, would you ever consider bearing a child fathered by an anonymous sperm donor, and if so, under what circumstances? What concerns would you have about doing so?

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