Food Fright
Experiments under way in several labs aim to create beneficial types of genetically modified foods, including starchier potatoes and caffeine-free coffee beans. Genetic engineers are even trying to transfer genes from a cold-winter fish to make a frost-resistant tomato.
A low-sugar GM strawberry now in the works might one day allow people with health problems such as diabetes to enjoy the little delicious red fruits again. GM beans and grains supercharged with protein might help people at risk of developing kwashiorkor. Kwashiorkor, a disease caused by severe lack of protein, is common in parts of the world where there are severe food shortages.
Commenting on GM foods, Jonathon Jones, a British researcher, said: The future benefits will be enormous, and the best is yet to come.
To some people, GM foods are no different from unmodified foods. A tomato is a tomato, said Brian Sansoni, an American food manufacturer.
Critics of GM foods challenge Sansonis opinion. They worry about the harm that GM crops might do to people, other animals, and plants.
In a recent lab study conducted at Cornell University, scientists tested pollen made by Bt corn, which makes up one-fourth of the U.S. corn crop. The scientist sprinkled the pollen onto milkweed, a plant that makes a milky juice and is the only known food source of the monarch butterfly caterpillar. Within four days of munching on the milkweed leaves, almost half of a test group of caterpillars had died. Monarchs are considered to be a flagship species for conservation. said Cornell researcher Linda Raynor. This is a warning bell.
Some insects that are not killed by GM foods might find themselves made stronger. How so? The insecticides used to protect most of todays crops are sprayed on the crops when needed and decay quickly in the environment. But GM plants produce a continuous level of insecticide. Insect species feeding on those crops may develop resistance to the plants and could do so in a hurry, say the critics. Insects may also develop a resistance to the insecticide Bt.
At the forum on GM food held last year in Canada. GM crops that have been made resistant to the herbicide might crossbreed with wild plants, creating superweeds that could take over whole fields.
So where do you stand? Should GM food be banned in the United States, as they are in parts of Europe? Or do their benefits outweigh any of the risks they might carry?
1. Paragraphs 1,23 tries to give the idea that
A) GM foods may bring about great benefits to humans.
B) We cannot recognize the benefits of GM foods too early.
C) GM foods may have both benefits and harm.
D) GM foods are particularly good to the kwashiorkor patients.
2. Why is the case of the pollen-sprayed milkweed citied in Paragraph 6?
A) It is cited to show GM foods can kill insects effectively.
B) It is cited to show GM foods contain more protein.
C) It is cited to show GM foods also have a dark side.
D) It is cited to show GM foods may harm crops.
3. What happens to those insects when not killed by the spray of insecticide?
A) They may lose their ability to produce offspring.
B) They may have a higher ability to adapt to the environment.
C) They move to other fields free from insecticide.
D) They never eat again those plants containing insecticide.
4. Which of the following statements concerning banning GM foods is true according to the passage?
A) Underdeveloped countries have banned GM foods.
B) Both Europe and the U.S. have banned GM foods.
C) Most European countries have not banned GM foods.
D) The United States has not banned GM foods.
5. What is the writers attitude to GM foods?
A) We cannot tell from the passage.
B) He thinks their benefits outweigh their risks.
C) He thinks their risks outweigh their benefits.
D) He thinks their benefits and risks are balanced.
答案: ACBDA
Mash-up 混搭
2016年12月英语六级作文预测(七):成功的前提
中国菜 Chinese Cuisine
瑞典诊所帮男士测量尺寸选购避孕套
2013高考英语听力提升素材
2013高考英语冲刺-专项篇 3阅读理解
圣诞节从哪来?圣诞老人的原型到底是谁?
河南省商丘市第三高级中学2013届高考英语第二轮专项复习《名词》教学设计(一)
2013高考英语听力提升素材
日本女孩撞脸元朝公主画像笑翻网友
重庆市铜梁中学2013届高三下学期二轮复习定时练习(一)英语试题
2013高考英语听力提升素材
国内英语资讯:Top political advisor meets HK business delegation
2013高考英语听力提升素材
2013高考英语听力提升素材
如何用英语和前任说再见?
国内英语资讯:Chinese premier congratulates New Zealands new PM
2016年中国电影票房总额有望再创新高
国内英语资讯:Xi offers congratulations to Ghanaian president-elect
利亚亲政府军据报在阿勒颇打死82名平民
国际英语资讯:News Analysis: Brexit effect feeds through to UK inflation figures
2013高考英语冲刺-基础篇 语法项目单句训练(按考试说明)(二)
国际英语资讯:Italian new PM wins confidence vote at Lower House
2013高考英语听力提升素材
2013高考英语冲刺-技巧篇
2013高考英语听力提升素材
2013高考英语冲刺-专项篇 4基础写作
国内英语资讯:Chinese vice premier urges to improve living condition in rural areas
重庆市铜梁中学2013届高三下学期二轮复习定时练习(二)英语试题
Made in China: Boeing, Airbus and Comac jets
不限 |
英语教案 |
英语课件 |
英语试题 |
不限 |
不限 |
上册 |
下册 |
不限 |