The world has a fast growing population and people need more land for houses, factories, highways, and so on. The farmland is decreasing with each passing day. How to meet the need of feeding the growing population? One way is to introduce some high-output gene into a crop to enable it to produce more. Biologists over the years have discovered genes which can raise output of the crops, resist pests, improve taste, etc.
However, in many western countries there is widespread concern over the safety of“Genetically Modified”(GM) (转基因) foods, because they think there may be serious problems of environment, health, safety, morality and so on.
As a scientist I must admit GM foods involve great risks to humans. In fact in Europe they’re called “Frankenstein foods” by many. Frankenstein is a character in a novel. He was a very clever scientist. He created a monster(怪物), which eventually killed him.
Soybeans can be made into many foods. However, it’s hard to trace them. Therefore, it’s very important we have to make sure the soybean, if genetically modified, is free from any poisonous matter harmful to human beings. For this we need very good testing. We do have some testing on some animals, but no completely satisfactory testing has ever been made so far. They’re entirely new, and their problems are entirely unknown. It takes time to develop persuasive tests to know whether they’re harmful to us or not.
We may not be able to tell what may happen if we take GM foods. Some of them may be resistant to antibiotics (抗生素). Then many of the medicines we have today will have no effect on people eating GM foods.
A more likely case is the GM foods may contain genes some people are allergic to.
GM products have already come into our lives but most people even know nothing about it.
At least we have to be clear about what we are eating. The China Consumers Association is calling for labeling (标注) on GM foods so that consumers will know before they buy them.The chief purpose of developing GM foods is to_______.
A.feed the fast growing population |
B.make the foods much cheaper |
C.make the foods much tastier |
D.kill pests on the crops |
From the passage we can infer that _____.
A.many Europeans reject GM foods |
B.GM foods are very popular in Europe |
C.Frankenstein foods can make people clever |
D.Frankenstein was a scientist creating GM foods |
The underlined phrase “trace them” in Paragraph 4 probably means“ ”.
A.find their market | B.raise their quality |
C.find their origins | D.enjoy their taste |
Which of the following is TRUE about GM foods?
A.The testing shows GM soybean foods are free from poisonous matter. |
B.Sometimes consumers can hardly tell GM soybeans from natural ones. |
C.GM foods prove to be safe to humans after some testing on animals. |
D.GM foods problems have been known after testing on animals. |
What can we learn from the passage?
A.GM foods make antibiotics fail to function properly. |
B.People eating GM foods will suffer from food allergies. |
C.As GM foods are safe at present, they’re certainly safe later on. |
D.People should be informed of which foods are GM foods. |
A farm planted levels or floors is called a vertical(垂直的)farm. A skyscraper type building can house a vertical farm. Since the garden is built upwards,rather than outwards,it requires much less space than a conventional farm.
The world is quickly running out of room for conventional farming. Vertical farms could be a key to this situation. An 18story vertical farm could feed as many as 50,000 people,all in an area which is the size of the average city block. Vertical farms in the city could cut down on transportation costs as well. Think about the amount of fuel it takes to transport food from farmland to city. The resources saved would be surprising. Besides saving travel time,food would be delivered in fresher condition and with less damage.
There is a growing concern about the use of pesticides(杀虫剂) in agriculture today. But the vertical farm would be a greenhouse type environment, avoiding the need for a large number of pesticides. Vertical farms can be built in a contained space,therefore they are an excellent solution for living well in an environment far different from our own. Hydroponics(水耕法) could be a big part of vertical gardening. This would reduce the amount of soil needed to grow food. Of course,not all food does well with this type of planting,but there are many crops that actually seem to do better.
In some climates,a lack of sunlight creates a short growing season. The solar power option may not work as well here. The addition of grow lights would make it possible to grow crops in vertical gardens in these areas .In other words,we could grow crops in areas where we never could before.
Vertical farms may just be a concept for now,but they are a concept that will solve many of our problems in the future.According to the passage, a vertical farm________.
A.is mainly built outwards |
B.is dependent on solar power |
C.is planted on levels upwards |
D.is only an environmental friendly farm |
Compared to the conventional farm, the vertical farm can________.
A.depend far less on sunlight |
B.greatly increase the use of soil |
C.help to protect the limited gardens |
D.reduce the use of harmful pesticides |
It can be learned from the passage that vertical farms________.
A.have been put into use |
B.only use hydroponics to grow food |
C.need less room than conventional farms |
D.may increase the transportation costs |
What would be the best title for the passage?
A.Vertical farms for our future |
B.Ways to deal with future problems |
C.Vertical farms and green skyscrapers |
D.Making Full Use of Our Limited Land |
Traditional fairytales(童话) are being given up by parents because they are too scary for their young children, a study found.
Research uncovered that one in five parents has got rid of old literature such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarves and Rapunzel in favor of more modern books.One third of parents said their children have been left in tears after hearing the gruesome details of Little Red Riding Hood.And nearly half of mothers and fathers refuse to read Rumplesliltshin to their kids as the themes of the story are kidnapping and killing.Similarly, Goldilocks and the Three Bears was also a tale likely to be left on the book shelf as parents felt it forgives stealing.
The survey of 2,000 adults was completed to mark the launch of the hit US drama GRIMM ( 格林童话剧) , which starts tonight at 9pm on Watch, and sees six drama series based on traditional fairytales.
The survey found a quarter of parents questioned wouldn’t consider reading fairytales to their kids.And 52 percent of the parents said Cinderella didn’t send a good message to their children as it describes a young woman doing housework all day.
Steve Hornsey, General Manager of Watch, said: "Bedtime stories are supposed to calm children down and send them off to sleep soundly.But as we see in GMMM, fairytales can be dark and dramatic so it’s understandable that parents worry about reading them to young children.As adults we can see the innocence in fairytales, but a five - year - old child could take them too literally.Despite the dark nature of classic fairytales as we see in GRIMM, good will defeat evil and there is always a moral to the story."
The study also found two thirds of mums and dads try to avoid stories which might give their children nightmares.The most popular book read at bedtime is now 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar' by Eric Carle.
However half of parents said traditional tales are "more likely to have a strong moral message than a lot of modern kids' books, such as The Gruffato, The Hungary Caterpillar and the Mr. Men books.Classical works for children are being avoided by parents they think .
A.they contain unmoral themes |
B.they are terrifying |
C.they encourage stealing, kidnapping and killing |
D.they are tired of answering questions |
What does the underlined word "gruesome" mean?
A.Very horrible | B.Very amusing |
C.Very disappointing | D.Very amazing |
Which stories are the popular bedtime stories that parents like to tell their children now?
A.Snow White and the Seven Dwarves and Cinderella |
B.The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Little Red Riding Hood. |
C.The Very Hungry Caterpillar andMr. Men |
D.Goldilocks and the Three Bears and Cinderella |
According to Steve Hornsey , adults can see innocence in a fairy tale but a 5-year-old child might ______.
A.think it is different from the reality |
B.dislike it because it is scary |
C.believe exactly what the tale says |
D.feel there is a moral to the story |
Here are some of the world’s most impressive subways
The Tokyo Metro and Toei Lines |
Features: The Tokyo Metro and Toei lines that compose Tokyo’s massive(庞大的)subway system carry almost 8 million people each day, making it the busiest system in the world. The system is famous for its oshiya— literally, “pusher”— who pushes passengers into crowded subway cars so the doors can close. And you think your commute (上下班路程) is hell. |
The Moscow Metro |
Features: The Moscow Metro has some of the most beautiful stations in the world. The best of them were built during the Stalinist era and feature chandeliers(枝形吊灯), marble moldings and elaborate murals(精美的壁画). With more than 7 million riders a day, keeping all that marble clean has got to be a burden. |
The Hong Kong MTR |
Features: The Hong Kong MTR has the distinction of being one of the few subway systems in the world that actually turns a profit. It’s privately owned and uses real estate development along its tracks to increase income and ridership. It also introduced “Octopus cards” that allow people to not only pay their fares electronically, but buy stuff at convenience stores, supermarkets, restaurants and even parking meters. It’s estimated that 95 % of all adults in Hong Kong own an Octopus card. |
Shanghai Metro |
Features: Shanghai is the third city in China to build a metro system, and it has become the country’s largest in the 12 years since it opened.Shanghai Metro has 142 miles of track and plans to add another 180 miles within five years. By that .point, it would be three times larger than Chicago “L”. The system carries about 2.18 million people a day. |
The London Metro |
Features: Londoners call their subway the Underground, even though 55 percent of it lies above ground. No matter when you’ve got the oldest mass-transit system in the world, you can call it anything you like.Trains started in1863 and they’ve been running ever since. Some 3 million people ride each day, every one of them remembering to “Mind the gap”. |
Which one can provide the riders some wonderful decorations at the stations?
A.The Tokyo Metro and Toei Lines | B.The Moscow Metro |
C.The London Metro | D.The Hong Kong MTR |
________ is done with the purpose of making money.
A.The Tokyo Metro and Toei Lines |
B.The Moscow Metro |
C.The London Metro |
D.The Hong Kong MTR |
We can learn from the passage that Shanghai Metro____________.
A.carries the most people each day |
B.is the world’s largest |
C.may be larger than the Chicago “L” in the future |
D.is the busiest in the world |
What do we know about the Hong Kong MTR?
A.It is not owned by state. |
B.It has become the country’s largest subway since it opened. |
C.It carries the most people every day. |
D.It is the busiest system in the world. |
Some years ago I was offered a writing assignment that would require three months of travel through Europe. I had been abroad a couple of times,but I could hardly claim to know my way around the continent. Moreover, my knowledge of foreign languages was limited to a little college French.
I hesitated. How would I, unable to speak the language, totally unfamiliar with local geography or transportation systems, set up interviews and do research? It seemed impossible, and with considerable regret. I sat down to write a letter begging off. Halfway through, a thought ran through my mind: you can't learn if you don't try. So I accepted the assignment.
There were some bad moments. But by the time I had finished the trip I was an experienced traveler. And ever since,I have never hesitated to head for even the most remote of places,without guides or even advanced bookings, confident that somehow I will manage.
The point is that the new, the different, is almost scary by definition. But each time you try something, you learn, and as the learning piles up, the world opens to you.
I've learned to ski at 40, and flown up the Rhine River in a balloon. And I know I'll go on doing such things. It's not because I'm braver or more daring than others. I'm not. But I'll accept anxiety as another name for challenge and I believe I can accomplish wonders.The author accepted the assignment because _____
A. he had never travelled abroad before |
B. he hardly knew any foreign languages |
C. he was familiar with any other country in Europe |
D. he would learn something new and different by trying |
Which of the following statements is TRUE?
A. The author had been abroad only twice. |
B. The author thought the trip was hard but worthwhile. |
C. The author admitted that anything different was terrible. |
D. The author must be good at doing research and making interviews. |
We can infer from the text that the author is _____.
A.awkward | B.generous | C.stubborn | D.brave |
What's the best title of the text?
A.An Interesting Trip Abroad | B.My First Writing Assignment |
C.Ready to Try and Challenge | D.How to Be Daring and Brave |
阅读短文并回答问题,将答案写到答题卡相应的位置上(请注意问题后的词数要求)。
You can't avoid a conflict at work. If you can avoid a conflict, it means you will win what you want regardless of what the other person wants. Since the potential issue has not been removed, it will simply reappear later. Here are the necessary steps to effectively get rid of conflicts at work.
★ Realize that some conflicts are unavoidable at work. On numerous occasions, conflict and disagreement are likely to happen. But when a conflict happens it's not the end of the world. On the contrary, it can be the beginning of an interesting learning process. Conflicts mean that people care enough to disagree strongly. The trick is not to allow the conflict to go on forever.
★ Handle conflicts sooner rather than later. Solve a conflict when it starts, as it only gets worse with time going by. Conflicts at work arise not from something that was said, but from something that wasn't said! Everyone's waiting for the other to admit he's wrong and gets more unpleasant after the conflict has lasted a while. It's essential to interrupt the "waiting game" before it gets to that point.
★ Ask nicely. If somebody has done something that made you angry, or if you don't understand their viewpoint or actions, simply asking nicely about it can make a world of difference. Never assume that people do what they do to annoy or hurt you. Sometimes there's a good reason why that person does what he or she does, and a potential conflict disappear right there. Do remember to make an inquiry, not an accusation of any sort.
★ Appreciate. Praise the other part in the conflict. Tell them why it's worth it to you to solve the conflict. This can be difficult as few people find it easy to praise and appreciate a person they disagree strongly with, but it's a great way to move forward.
Topic |
How to |
Reason |
Conflicts won't |
● Don't be afraid of conflicts which can happen in many ●Interrupt the "waiting game" and try to admit your ● Don’t imagine people do something to make you ● Remember not to ● Try to appreciate the other part in the conflict although it is |
|
As long as you learn to do with conflicts, you'll work in joy. |