2. 外语
  3. If you want to spark a heated debate at a dinner party, bring up the topic of genetically modified foods. For many people, the c

If you want to spark a heated debate at a dinner party, bring up the topic of genetically modified foods. For many people, the c

admin2011-01-04  61
问题     If you want to spark a heated debate at a dinner party, bring up the topic of genetically modified foods. For many people, the concept of genetically altered, high-tech crop production raises all kinds of environmental, healthy, safety and ethical questions. Particularly in countries with long a grain traditions—and vocal green lobbies—the idea seems against nature.
    In fact, genetically modified foods are already very much apart of out lives. A third of corn and more than half the soybeans and cotton grown in the U. S. last year were the product of biotechnology, according to the Department of Agriculture. More than 65 million a-cres of genetically modified crops will be planted in the U. S. this year. The genetic genie(妖怪) is out of the bottle.
    Yet there are clearly some very real issues that need to be resolved. Like any new prod-uct entering the food chain, genetically modified foods must be subjected to rigorous testing. In wealthy countries, the debate about biotech is tempered by the fact that we have a rich array of foods to choose from and a supply that far exceeds our needs. In developing countries desperate to feed fast-growing and underfed populations, the issue is simpler and much more urgent: Do the benefits of biotech outweigh the risks?
    The statistics on population growth and hunger are disturbing. Last year the world’s population reached 6 billion. The U. N. estimates that nearly 800 million people around the world are undernourished. The effects are devastating. About 400 million women of child-bearing age are iron deficient, which means their babies are exposed to various birth defects. As many as 100 million children suffer from vitamin A deficiency, a leading cause of blindness.
    How can biotech help? Biotechnologists have developed genetically modified rice that is fortified with beta-carotene—which the body converts into vitamin A—and additional iron, and they are working on other kinds of nutritionally improved crops. Biotech can also improve farming productivity in places where food shortages are caused by crop damage attributable to pests, drought, poor soil and crop viruses, bacteria or fungi.
The author’s attitude toward genetically modified foods is
选项 A、enthusiastic
B、cautious
C、disapproving
D、optimistic
答案B
解析 通读全文可知本文作者对待转基因食品既没有十分热心(enthusiastic)、乐观(optimistic)，也没有反对(disapproving)，态度是非常慎重的(cautious)。文章开头就指出转基因食品引发了各种各样的问题，接着又讲了它带给人们的益处，总之是说它既有利又有弊。因此本题的正确答案为B。
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