研究生科技英语阅读答案摘要.docVIP

Unit 1 Genetically Modified Foods—Feed the World? Comprehension and Appreciation 1. What is the author’s overall position on this issue? Is he for or against genetically modified foods? He is on the side of GM foods, and he thinks that fears that genetically modified, pest-resistant crops might kill good insects as well as bad appear unfounded. 2. Do you know GM foods are already part of our lives? What kind of GM foods have you had? How does the author support the fact that the genetic is out of the bottle? Have you got any clue of allusion and parody used in the expression “the genetic is out of the bottle”? The author uses the fact that a third of the corn and more than half the soybeans and cotton grown in the US last year were the product of biotechnology and more than 65 million acres of genetically modified crops will be planted in the US this year to show the genetic is out of the bottle. It is frome Genie in a Bottle, the first hit single and signature song from Christina Aguilera’s debut album. 3. The entry of GM foods into the food chain raises the debate about biotech in many countries, what is the general attitude of wealthy countries toward this issue? What about the developing countries on this issue? 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? 4. What are the effects of the fact that nearly 800 million people around the world are undernourished? The effects are devastating. About 400 million women of childbearing 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. Tens of millions of people suffer from other major ailments and nutri