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  3. The promise of finding long term technological solutions to the problem of world food shortage seems difficult to fulfill. Many

The promise of finding long term technological solutions to the problem of world food shortage seems difficult to fulfill. Many

admin2010-02-17  42
问题      The promise of finding long term technological solutions to the problem of world food shortage seems difficult to fulfill. Many innovations that were once heavily supported and publicized, such as fish protein concentrate and protein from algae grown on petroleum substrates, have since fallen by the wayside. The proposals themselves were technically feasible but they proved to be economically unviable and to yield food products culturally unacceptable to their consumers.
     One characteristic common to unsuccessful innovations has been that, even with extensive government support, they often have not been technologically adapted or culturally acceptable to the people for whom they had been developed. A successful new technology, therefore, must fit the entire social cultural system in which it is to find a place. Security of crop yield, practicality of storage, and costs are much more significant than had previously been realized by the advocates of new technologies.
     The adoption of new food technologies depends on more than these technical and cultural considerations; economic factors and governmental policies also strongly influence the ultimate success of any innovation. Economists in the Anglo-American tradition have taken the lead in investigating the economies of technological innovation. Although they exaggerate in claiming that profitability-is the sky factor guiding technical change—they completely disregard the substantial effects of culture—they are correct in stressing the importance of profits. Most technological innovations in agriculture can be fully used only by large landowners and are only adopted if these profit-oriented business people believe that the innovation will increase their incomes. Thus, innovations that carry high rewards for big agribusiness (agricultural business) groups will be adopted even if they harm segments of the population and reduce the availability of food in a country. Further, should a new technology promise to alter substantially the profits and losses associated with any production system, those with economic power will strive to maintain and improve their own position. Since large segments of the populations of many developing countries are close to the subsistence margin and essentially powerless, they tend to be the losers in this system unless they are aided by a government policy that takes into account the needs of all sectors of the economy. Therefore, although technical advances in food production and processing will perhaps be needed to ensure food availability, meeting food needs will depend much more on equalizing economic power among the various segments of the population within the developing countries themselves.
Which of the following best describes the organization of the first paragraph?
选项 A、a suggestion is made and arguments in its favor are provided.
B、a criticism is imposed and an alternative proposal is suggested.
C、a generalization is advanced and supporting evidence is provided.
D、an example is analyzed and general conclusions are derived from it.
答案D
解析 主旨题。作者首先给出一个概括性的论点，说明针对世界性粮食短缺而许诺的长期技术性解决方案看来难以实现。接下去作者用具体事例对这一论点加以说明。故选D项。
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