While the situation may be improving, much of the world is still under the shadow of COVID-19 and its associated containment measures. But according to a study published in the scientific journal Cell, an unlikely friend could help defeat the virus.

Known for their long legs and beautiful eyelashes, llamas (美洲驼) — specifically their antibodies (抗体) — are believed to play an important role in the fight against the virus.

Having experimented with antibodies from a llama called Winter years ago, a small lab at Ghent University in Belgium had a eureka moment earlier this year. They found that llama antibodies were able to neutralize (中和) both the MERS and SARS viruses — two strains of the coronavirus that caused previous outbreaks in 2012 and 2003, respectively.

Done in cooperation with the University of Texas, US, studies showed their effectiveness against COVID-19.

Jason McLellan, from the University of Texas at Austin and co-author of the study, said, “This is one of the first antibodies known to neutralize SARS-CoV-2.”

Antibodies are like your body’s defense system. Similar to tiny soldiers, they protect your body from invaders (入侵者) and destroy them before they can spread. But what makes llama antibodies so special is their small size, which enables them to better fight the virus by sticking to its spikes (刺突) more easily. This will prevent attachment and entry, which effectively neutralizes the virus.

The encouraging results have led to rapid development and testing of the antibodies so that they can be tested on humans as soon as possible. However, the study’s co-author, Xavier Saelens, from Ghent University noted that “there is still a lot of work to do to bring this into the clinic”. But he added that “if it works, llama Winter deserves a statue”.

【小题1】Who is the unlikely friend mentioned in the first paragraph?

A．A researcher.

B．A system.

C．A virus.

D．An animal.

【小题2】What does the underlined word “eureka” mean in paragraph 3?

A．It’s terrible.

B．I’m fed up.

C．I found it.

D．Let’s try harder.

【小题3】What’s Xavier Saelens’ attitude towards applying the antibodies to the clinical practice?

A．Indifferent.

B．Hopeful.

C．Negative.

D．Disapproving.

【小题4】What can we learn from the text?

A．The MERS virus caused a previous outbreak in 2003.

B．The small size enables llama antibodies to better fight the virus.

C．The llama antibodies’ tying to the spikes is able to kill the spikes.

D．It won’t be long before llama antibodies are ready for clinical use.