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  3. The scientific establishment is playing a key role in research and development of genetic engineering biotechnology and in activ

The scientific establishment is playing a key role in research and development of genetic engineering biotechnology and in activ

admin2009-04-23  57
问题     The scientific establishment is playing a key role in research and development of genetic engineering biotechnology and in actively defending the industry under the banner of "sound science’ and "scientific progress". Scientific advice to the government is heavily biased in favor of the industry. Lord Sainsbury, current Minister for Science, was former chairman of the Sainsbury family’s supermarket chain, closely involved with the development of GE foods. Another prominent scientist, Derek Burke, advisor to the Parliamentary Committee on Science and Technology and former chair of the Advisory Committee on Novel Food Products, was a key participant, in the UK Government’s Technology Foresight exercises, and in a follow-up group that determined the pro-biotech funding policy of the BBSRC. Derek Burke is an outspoken and staunch defender of the industry. The public are being informed uncritically by scientists like Burke and others, consciously or unconsciously serving commercial interests, and legitimate concerns about safety are caricatured as irrational fear arising out of ignorance.
    The credibility of science and scientists has been steadily diminishing over the years as science has become more and more absorbed into the commercial sector. Science education at every level is being subverted to corporate aims: its chief purpose is to provide skilled but uncritical workers for industry. The UK Government has even run a competition for science students on how to commercially exploit scientific research. There has been no major open debate on genetic engineering within academic institutions that has been organized by the academic staff. With very few exceptions, students are not encouraged to ask questions about the ethics or the hazards of genetic engineering on either side of the Atlantic.
    Scientific evidence of actual and potential hazards, which has been steadily building up over the past ten years, is being ignored and dismissed. More seriously, independent scientists reporting findings damaging to the industry are gagged and victimized. Within the UK, Dr. Arpad Pusztai, senior scientist of the publicly-funded Rowlett Institute, and his collaborators were awarded a 1.6 million pound grant to carry out systematic safety testing of GE food. They found that the GE potato lines tested were toxic to young rats, and Pusztai informed the public in a brief interview which was part of a TV documentary. A few days later, he was removed from his job, denied access to his data, and forbidden to speak on the subject.
    The suppression of scientific findings is nothing new; it has been happening more and more within the past decade. Since the 1970s, scientific fraud has been increasing, as has the proportion of peer-reviewed scientific papers retracted. We have moved far away from the traditional ideals of science as science loses innocence and independence.
选项 A、criticism
B、approval
C、tolerance
D、apprehension
答案A
解析 the scientific establishment出现在文章的首句，这句话是说科研机构在基因工程生物工艺学的研发中起着关键的作用。但是，文章第二段首句提到，由于科学的商业色彩越来越浓，近年来，科学和科学家的可信性正在逐步减小。文章的后两段又指出，有科学家找到了基因食品有害的科学依据，但是却被科研机构镇压，而且近些年来这种镇压事件经常发生。由此可知，作者对科研机构所扮演的角色持有批判态度。
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