Charles Darwin wed his cousin Emma and spawned 10 children, including four brilliant scientists. Albert Einstein’s second wife Elsa was his first cousin. Queen Victoria said “I do” to hers. So have millions worldwide. In parts of Saudi Arabia, 39% of all marriages are between first cousins.
In the U. S., though, the practice bears a stigma of inbreeding just this side of incest. The taboo is not only social hut legislative; 24 states ban the marriage of first cousins: five others allow it only if the couple is unable to bear children. A major reason for this ban is the belief that kids of first cousins are tragically susceptible to serious congenital illnesses.
That view may have to change. A comprehensive study published recently in the Journal of Genetic Counseling indicates such children run an only slightly higher risk of significant genetic disorders like congenital heart defects — about two percentage points above the average 3% to 4%. Says the study’s lead author, Robin Bennett, president-elect of the National Society of Genetic Counselors, which funded the study: “Aside from a thorough medical family history, there is no need to offer any genetic testing on the basis of consanguinity alone”.
Publication of the study will do more than tweak public awareness; it will enlighten doctors who have urged cousin couples not to have children. “Just this week,” says Bennett, “I saw a 23-year-old woman who had had a tubal ligation because her parents were cousins and her doctor told her she shouldn’t have children.”
The American proscription against cousin marriages grew in the 19^th century as wilderness settlers tried to distinguish themselves from the “savage” Indians, says Martin, author of the book Forbidden Relatives: The American Myth of Cousin Marriage. “The truth is that Europeans were marrying their cousins and Native Americans were not.”
And doesn’t God have stern words on the subject Christie Smith, 37, a Nevada writer, says she felt guilty when she fell in love with her first cousin’s son Mark. “I was trying so hard to convince myself not to have these feelings,” she recalls, “that I went to the Bible looking for confirmation that it was wrong. And what I found was the exact opposite: support for cousin marriages.” The patriarch Jacob married two of his first cousins, Rachel and Leah. Smith married Mark in 1999.
The medical ban is lifted; the social stain may take longer to disappear.

A:the ban on cousin marriages is lifted B:cousin marriages are permitted again C:the prejudice against cousin marriages dies hard D:cousin marriages may not be as bad as people think

______, box cannot be lifted by a boy of five.

A:So a heavy B:So heavy a C:A such heavy D:Such heavy a

No one knows how man learned to make words. Perhaps he began by making sounds like those made by animals. Perhaps he grunted like a pig when he lifted something heavy. (78)Perhaps he made sounds like those he heard all round him—water splashing, bees humming, a stone falling to the ground. Somehow he learned to make words. As the centuries went by, he made more and more new words. This is what we mean by language.
People living in different countries made different kinds of words. Today there are about fifteen hundred different languages in the world. Each contains many thousands of words. A very large English dictionary, for example, contains four or five hundred thousand words. But we do not need all these. Only a few thousand words are used in everyday life.
The words you know are called your vocabulary. You should try to make your vocabulary bigger. Read as many books as you can. There are plenty of books written in easy English for you to read. You will enjoy them. When you meet a new word, find it in your dictionary. Your dictionary is your most useful book.
Man ______ to make sounds.

A:used words B:followed many things in nature C:lifted heavy things D:grunted like a pig

______ box cannot be lifted by a boy of five.

A:a So a heavy B:So heavy a C:A such heavy. D:Such heavy a

No one knows how man learned to make words. Perhaps he began by making sounds like those made by animals. Perhaps he grunted like a pig when he lifted something heavy. (78)Perhaps he made sounds like those he heard all round him—water splashing, bees humming, a stone falling to the ground. Somehow he learned to make words. As the centuries went by, he made more and more new words. This is what we mean by language.
People living in different countries made different kinds of words. Today there are about fifteen hundred different languages in the world. Each contains many thousands of words. A very large English dictionary, for example, contains four or five hundred thousand words. But we do not need all these. Only a few thousand words are used in everyday life.
The words you know are called your vocabulary. You should try to make your vocabulary bigger. Read as many books as you can. There are plenty of books written in easy English for you to read. You will enjoy them. When you meet a new word, find it in your dictionary. Your dictionary is your most useful book.
Man ______ to make sounds.

A:used words B:followed many things in nature C:lifted heavy things D:grunted like a pig

______ box cannot be lifted by a boy of five.

A:a So a heavy B:So heavy a C:A such heavy. D:Such heavy a

Passage 2

A:used words B:followed many things in nature C:lifted heavy things D:grunted like a pig