2017年職稱英語試題庫綜合類專項強化習題七
發布時間：2016-09-18 共1頁
Food Fright
Experiments under way in several labs aim to create beneficial types of genetically modified (GM) foods, including starchier potatoes and caffeine-free coffee beans. Genetic engineers are even trying to transfer genes from a cold-water 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.1 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.2”
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 stronger3. How so? The insecticides used to protect most of today’s crops are sprayed on the crops when needed4 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 “super weeds”5 that could take over whole fields. So where do you stand? Should GM foods 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?
詞匯: starchy /5stB:tFI/adj.淀粉的.含淀粉的 caterpillar /5kAtEpilE/n.毛蟲 caffeine /5kAfi:n/n.咖啡因 munch /mQntF/ v.大口地嚼 strawberry/5strC:bEri/n.草莓 flagship /5flA^FIp/n. (同類事物中的 )佼佼者 gene /dVi:n/n.基因 insecticide /in5sektisaid/n.殺蟲劑 frost /frCst/n.霜 decay /di5kei/ v.衰退 diabetes /7daiE5bi:ti:z/n.糖尿病 forum /5fC:rEm/n.論壇，討論會 supercharge /7sju:pE5tFB:dV/v.加大馬力，加大強度 herbicide /5hE:bisaid/ 11.除草劑 protein /5prEuti:n/n.蛋向質 crossbreed /5krCsbri:d/n.異種交配 kwashiorkor /7kwB:Fi5C:kC:/n.惡性營養不良癥 sprinkle /5spriNkl/v.灑，撒 milkweed /5mIlkwi:d/n.馬利筋底植物 (任何有乳汁狀pollen /5pClin/n.花粉 植物) outweigh /aut5wei/v.勝過monarch butterfly n.大蝴蝶 注釋:
1. GM beans and grains supercharged with protein might help people at risk of developing kwashiorkor:帶有強化蛋白的轉基因豆和轉基因谷物可能對于惡性營養不良癥的潛在患者有益。 supercharged with protein:用蛋白加以強化的。該過去分詞短語作定語，修飾 GM beans and grains。 at risk of developing kwashiorkor:處于可能患上惡性營養不良癥的危險之中
2. The future benefits will be enormous, and the best is yet to come:其未來的好處將是巨大的，昀大的好處還在后面呢。
3. Some insects that are not killed by GM foods might find themselves made stronger.一些沒有被轉基因食物殺死的昆蟲可能發現它們比以前更強壯了。 made stronger是過去分詞短語，是 find要求的賓語補足語。
4. The insecticides used to protect most of today’s crops are sprayed on the crops when needed …:用于保護當今大多數農作物的殺蟲劑在必要的時候被噴灑到農作物上…… used to protect most of today’s crops過去分詞短語修飾 insecticides。 when needed是 when the insecticides are needed的省略形式。
5. GM crops that have been made resistant to the herbicide might crossbreed with wild plants, creating
“superweeds” …：對除草劑產生抗藥性的轉基因谷物有可能和野生植物異種雜交，產生“超強野草”…練習:
1. Paragraphs 1、2 &. 3 try 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 cited 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 writer’s 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.
答案與題解 :
1. A第一、二段確實談到了轉基因食物給人類帶來的美好前景。
2. C 第五段談到，在 milkweed上噴灑花粉，造成以 milkweed為食物的大蝴蝶幼蟲死亡。本段昀后一句說： “This is a warning bell.”
3. B 答案的依據是第六段的第一句 : Some insects that are not killed by GM foods might find themselves made stronger.
4. D答案的依據是第八段的第二句 : Should GM foods be banned in the United States, as they are in parts of Europe?這個句子表明，有些歐洲國家巳禁止生產、銷售轉基因食品而美國沒有這條法令。
5. A我們確實無法判斷。作者既談到轉基因食物的好處，也談到轉基因食物的危害性，給讀者的印象是，他在客觀地介紹轉基因食物。
