Question

 Ever since they were first put on the market in the early 1990s,genetically modified (GM, 轉基因) foods have been increasingly developed and marketed in many countries in the word,mainly on the basis of their promise to end the worldwide food crisis. But can GM technology solve world hunger problems? Even if it would,is it the best solution?

  Despite what it promises,GM technology actually has not increased the production potential of any crop. In fact studies show that the most widely grown GM crop,GM soybeans,has suf?fered reduced productivity. For instance,a report that analyzed nearly two decades of research on major GM food crops shows that GM engineering has failed to significantly increase US crop production.

  Something else,however,has been on the rise. While GM seeds are expensive,GM com?panies tell farmers that they will make good profits by saving money on pesticides (殺蟲劑) .On the contrary,US government data show that GM crops in the US have produced an overall in?crease in pesticide use compared to traditional crops. "The promise was that you could use less chemicals and boost production. But neither is true," said Bill Christison,President of the US National Farm Coalition.

  At the same lime,the authors of the book World Hunger; Twelve Myths argue that there actually is more than enough food in the world and that the hunger crisis is not caused by pro?duction,but by problems in food distribution and politics. These indeed deserve our efforts and money. Meanwhile,the rise in food prices results from the increased use of crops for fuel rather than food,according to a 2008 World Bank report.

  As a matter of fact,scientists see better ways to feed the world. Another World Bank re?port concluded that GM crops have little to offer to the challenges of worldwide poverty and hunger,because better ways out are available,among which "green" fanning is supposed to be the first choice.

(   ) 1. The author develops the second paragraph mainly         .

   A. by classification   B. by comparison

   C. by example   D. by process

(   ) 2. What does the underlined word "boost" in the third paragraph probably mean?

   A. Control. B. Evaluate. C. Obtain. D. Increase.

(   ) 3. GM companies promise farmers that they will benefit from         .

   A. practicing " green" farming

   B. less use of chemicals

   C. fair distribution of their crops

   D. using more crops for fuel

(   ) 4. Which of the following best describes the attitude of the author towards GM technology?

   A. Optimistic. B. Defensive.

   C. Disapproving. D. Casual.

Answer 1

1-4   CDBC      

A篇：本文是一篇議論文，就轉基因技術到底是否提高作物的產量進行議論。

1. C本題考查的是對文章寫法的分析能力。本段開頭提出"轉基因技術沒有提髙作物產量"的觀點，緊接著用事例證明這一觀點。因此選C：。而A選項是"通過分類"；B選項是"通過比較"；D選項是"通過過程"。

2. D此題的詞義推測是根據上文的less chem?icals推斷的。轉基因技術承諾"更少的化學物品"，與之并列的應為"增加產量"。

3. B這是一道細節理解題。文章第三段第四行引號中的話說明B答案是正確的。

A選項的"green"farming是更好地解決世界貧困和饑餓問題的方法，而不是指轉基因技術;C選項在第四段，是饑餓問題的根源;而D選項在第四段最后一句,是食物價格上漲的原因，而與轉基因技術的好處無關。

4. C這道題考查對作者態度的判斷。文章第二段明確提出轉基因技術并沒有增加產量，第三段說增加了殺蟲劑的使用，最后一段說轉基因技術沒能幫助解決世界貧困和饑餓問題，因此看出作者對這一技術的態度是否定的，不贊同的，故選C答案，"不贊同"。而A 選項為"樂觀的",B選項為"防范的"，D選項為"不在乎的"。