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  3. Genetically modified maize (玉米) causes cancer: that was the gist of one of the most controversial studies in recent memory, publ

Genetically modified maize (玉米) causes cancer: that was the gist of one of the most controversial studies in recent memory, publ

admin2022-08-18  15
问题     Genetically modified maize (玉米) causes cancer: that was the gist of one of the most controversial studies in recent memory, published in September 2012 by Food and Chemical Toxicology. Well, actually, it doesn’t. On November 28th the journal retracted (撤回) it. It would be too much to say that GM foods have thereby been proven safe. But no other study has so far found significant health risks in mammals as a result of eating them.
    The article was by Gilles-Eric Seralini of the University of Caen, in France, and his colleagues. It described what happened to rats fed with NK603 maize, a variety made resistant to a herbicide called glyphosate (草甘膦) by a genetic modification made by Monsanto, an American firm.
    In Dr. Seralini’s experiment, rats fed with the modified maize were reckoned more likely to develop tumours than those which had not been. Females were especially badly affected: their death rates were two or three times as high as those of control groups. (Rats fed with diluted (稀释的) glyphosate also suffered health damage.)
    The article was explosive. Jean-Marc Ayrault, France’s prime minister, said that if its results were confirmed his government would press for a Europe-wide ban on NK603 maize. Russia suspended imports of the crop. Kenya banned all GM crops. The article came out two months before a referendum (公投) in California that would have required the labelling of all GM foods. It played a role in the vote, though in the event the proposition was defeated. The paper had all the more impact because it contradicted previous studies on GM foods.
    But Dr. Seralini’s paper was also explosive for reasons unrelated to its content. It stirred up controversy before it was even published because the authors insisted that journalists who were given advance copies could not seek independent comment on the contents when writing their articles, and would face a large fine if they did so. This was an unusual and widely criticised requirement, which had the effect of ensuring that third-party criticism of the paper did not appear during the important early days when a huge amount of public attention was focused on the findings. That may help explain the panicky reactions in France, Kenya and Russia.
    Though the paper has been retracted, that is unlikely to be end of the matter. The journal’s publisher said there was "no evidence of fraud or intentional misrepresentation of the data", which are the usual justifications for retraction. Scientific opinion runs strongly against the conclusion that GM foods are harmful—but not universally so.
Why did the author say Dr. Seralini’s article was explosive?
选项 A、The French government banned NK603 maize because of it.
B、All GM foods were labelled in California because of it.
C、Russia suspended imports of NK603 maize because of it.
D、Kenya banned some of the GM crops because of it.
答案C
解析 细节题。根据题干中的Dr. Seralini’s article，was explosive定位到原文第四段。该段首句中指出Dr. Seralini的文章是爆炸性的，随后紧接着提到该文章对各国产生的影响。其中，俄罗斯中止了NK603型转基因玉米的进口，因而C项表述符合原文，故选C。
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