Millions of people die of hunger in southern Africa every year, but when Zambia was offered thousands of tons of free maize by the US, the government politely said no.

    “We don’t know whether the food is safe,” said Zambia’s commerce, Trade and Industry Minister Dipak Patel.

His worries are shared by countries around the world that are in two minds about America’s genetically modified（GM,转基因的）crops．Just last week, EU（欧盟）member nations were discussing whether or not to import GM sweet corn from the US．

Ever since people started farming, they have tried to crossbreed（杂交）plants to make them stronger or better tasting. At one time, only related plants could be crossed with each other．

But when GM techniques were developed in the 1970s, scientists were able to put a single gene from a living creature into an unrelated creature.

This means they can make crops more productive and resistant to disease by adding genes from other species．They can also create food with special characteristics, such as “golden rice”, which is enriched with vitamin A. But many people believe GM foods are a health risk.

At the moment, the official argument is that GM foods “are not likely to present risks for human health”. But there are still many questions to be answered as the foods are produced in different ways.

    Some experts believe the genetic material added to plants can transfer to humans and give damage to our bodies. Further harm could be caused by the genes from GM plants crossbreeding with naturally produced crops．

    People in China are also getting worried about GM foods. More than 70 percent of the

country’s soybean oil is produced from imported GM soybeans. Meanwhile, an investigation last November found that 12 of 60 famous foods sold across the country were GM products. The government has begun to introduce a marking system for GM goods so that people can choose whether or not to eat them.

1.Which is the best title for the passage?

A. Harmful GM foods                                 B. Advantages of GM foods

C. GM foods, a health risk?                            D. the Techniques of GM foods

2.Why has Zambia refused the American free maize?

A. they decide to follow EU member’s advice

B. they are concerned about the safety of GM foods

C. they care little about the problem of starvation  

D. they are too proud to accept free offer

3.It has been proved that _________.

A. GM foods are harmful to people’s health   

B. GM food is no better than naturally produced foods

C. only related plans could be crossed with each other

D. GM techniques can increase the production of crops

4.Which of the following statement is TRUE?

A. GM foods are a health risk.

B. Only Zambia worries about the safety of GM foods .

C. China’s government hasn’t taken any action about GM foods. 

D. Some experts believe human bodies can absorb genetic material from GM foods.

5.What’s the author’s attitude towards GM foods?

A. Supportive.        B. Neutral.         C. Doubtful.        D. Critical.

Millions of people die of hunger in southern Africa every year, but when Zambia was offered thousands of tons of free maize by the US, the government politely paid no.
    “We don’t know whether the food is safe,” said Zambia’s commerce, Trade and Industry Minister Dipak Patel.
    His worries are shared by countries around the world that are in two minds about America’s genetically modified（GM,转基因的）crops．Just last week, EU（欧盟）member nations were discussing whether or not to import GM sweet corn from the US．
     Ever since people started farming, they have tried to crossbreed（杂交）plants to make them stronger or better tasting. At one time, only related plants could be crossed with each other．
      But when GM techniques were developed in the 1970s, scientists were able to put a single gene from a living creature into an unrelated creature.
    This means they can make crops more productive and resistant to disease by adding genes from other species．They can also create food with special characteristics, such as “golden rice”, which is enriched with vitamin A. But many people believe GM foods are a health risk.
    At the moment, the official argument is that GM foods “are not likely to present risks for human health”. But there are still many questions to be answered as the foods are produced in different ways.
    Some experts believe the genetic material added to plants can transfer to humans and give damage to our bodies. Further harm could be caused by the genes from GM plants crossbreeding with naturally produced crops．

People in China are also getting worried about GM foods. More than 70 percent of the country’s soybean oil is produced from imported GM soybeans. Meanwhile, an investigation last November found that 12 of 60 famous foods sold across the country were GM products. The government has begun to introduce a marking system for GM goods so that people can choose whether or not to eat them.

36. Which is the best title for the passage ?

 A. GM foods in China                       B. Advantages of GM foods   

 C. the techniques of GM foods       D. GM foods, a health risk?
37. Why has Zambia refused the American free maize?

 A. they worry about the safety of GM foods

B. they decide to follow EU member’s advice      

 C. Their problem of starvation is not serious         

D. they are too proud to accept free offer

38. It has been proved that _________.

 A. GM techniques can increase the production of crops

 B. GM food is better than naturally produced foods

 C. only related plans could be crossed with each other

 D. GM foods are harmful to people’s health   

39. Which of the following statement is TRUE?

 A. There is no GM foods in China.

 B. Some experts believe human bodies can absorb genetic material from GM foods. 

 C. China’s government doesn’t do anything about GM foods. 

 D. Only Zambia worries about the safety of GM foods.

40. What’s the author’s attitude towards GM foods?

   A. Supportive.     B. Doubtful.      C. Neutral.     D. Critical.

　　Tens of thousands of baby penguins face starvation after two giant icebergs broke off the Antarctic ice sheet and blocked their parents' way to feeding areas.

　　Adelie and emperor penguins nesting on the Ross Island are now forced to walk long distances over the icebergs to obtain food for their chicks, born during the NovemberDecember breeding season.

　　“The penguins are having to walk 50 km further than usual to reach the sea.”said Dean Peterson. The flightless birds travel on land at just one to two km per hour.

　　The problem could halve the chick survival (存活) rate at the three Adelie penguin colonies on Ross Islandestimated at 130,000 breeding pairs. In all Antarctica, there is an estimated three million Adelie penguin breeding pairs.

　　Around 12,000 breeding pairs of emperor penguins, the largest penguin species at up to four feet tall, are also affected.

　　The iceberg broke from the vast Ross Ice shelf, south of New Zealand, in March 2000 and are now sandwiched between Ross Island and Franklin Island, 93 miles to the earth.

　　Scientist Peterson estimated that penguins were taking days to make the round trip to the sea to fish, and then back to their casts to regurgitate(反刍) food for their chicks.

　　“At that point they were quite tired and probably don't have much to regurgitate,”he said. Penguins already have long odds on reaching adulthood, with only 10 percent surviving beyond adolescence (青春期).

　　“We are probably looking at halving that againwe are sitting down at maybe the five percent rate.”Peterson said, adding some penguins already appeared to be leaving the Ross Island to breed elsewhere.

　　Penguins come ashore to breed and then take it in turns to leave the nest to fetch fish and other sea food to feed their young.

　　Researchers say large blocks of the Antarctic ice sheet are breaking off for several reasons, including global warming.

　　Emperor and Adelie penguins are limited to Antarctica. The emperors weigh up to 66 pounds while Adelie penguins are much smaller, weighing around 11 pounds.

1．After the long trip, the mother penguins ________.

[　　]

A．are too tired to feed their young

B．can't bring up much to feed their young

C．are too hungry themselves

D．have already eaten up all the food

2．The underlined phrase“have long odds on”probably means ________.

[　　]

A．have little chance of

B．have no difficulty in

C．spend long time in

D．have great hope of

3．From what scientist Peterson said, we infer that ________.

[　　]

A．the survival rate of penguins is dropping

B．there are few penguins left on Ross Island

C．the present situation can cause the penguins to die out

D．penguins usually have a high survival rate

4．Which of the following best supports the main idea of the passage?

[　　]

A．Global warming caused the icebergs to break off.

B．The long trip made mother penguins too tired to feed their young.

C．The change of weather affects penguins.

D．Broken icebergs endanger penguin chicks.

We’ve reached a strange—some would say unusual—point. While fighting world hunger continues to be the matter of vital importance according to a recent report from the World Health Organization (WHO), more people now die from being overweight, or say, from being extremely fat, than from being underweight. It’s the good life that’s more likely to kill us these days.

　　Worse, nearly l8 million children under the age of five around the world are estimated to be overweight. What’s going on?

　　We really don’t have many excuses for our weight problems. The dangers of the problem have been drilled into us by public-health campaigns since 2001 and the message is getting through—up to a point.

　　In the 1970s, Finland, for example, had the highest rate of heart disease in the world and being overweight was its main cause. Not any more. A public-health campaign has greatly reduced the number of heart disease deaths by 80 per cent over the past three decades.

　　Maybe that explains why the percentage of people in Finland taking diet pills doubled between 2001 and 2005, and doctors even offer surgery of removing fat inside and change the shape of the body. That has become a sort of fashion. No wonder it ranks as the world’s most body-conscious country.

　　We know what we should be doing to lose weight—but actually doing it is another matter. By far the most popular excuse is not taking enough exercise. More than half of us admit we lack willpower.

　　Others blame good food. They say: it’s just too inviting and it makes them overeat. Still others lay the blame on the Americans, complaining that pounds have piled on thanks to eating too much American-style fast food.

　　Some also blame their parents—their genes. But unfortunately, the parents are wronged because they’re normal in shape, or rather slim.

　　It’s a similar story around the world, although people are relatively unlikely to have tried to lose weight. Parents are eager to see their kids shape up. Do as I say—not as I do.

　　59. What is the “strange” point mentioned in the first sentence?  A

　　A. The good life is a greater risk than the bad life.

　　B. Starvation is taking more people’s lives in the world.

　　C. WHO report shows people’s unawareness of food safety.

　　D. Overweight issue remains unresolved despite WHO’s efforts.

　　60. Why does the author think that people have no excuse for being overweight?

　　A. A lot of effective diet pills are available.

　　B. Body image has nothing to do with good food.

　　C. They have been made fully aware of its dangers. C

　　D. There are too many overweight people in the world.

　　61. The example of Finland is used to illustrate ______. C

　　A. the cause of heart disease

　　B. the fashion of body shaping

　　C. the effectiveness of a campaign

　　D. the history of a body-conscious country

　　62. Which would be the best title for the passage? A

　　A. Actions or Excuses?

　　B. Overweight or Underweight?

　　C. WHO in a Dilemma

　　D. No Longer Dying of Hunger

We’ve reached a strange—some would say unusual—point. While fighting world hunger continues to be the matter of vital importance according to a recent report from the World Health Organization (WHO), more people now die from being overweight, or say, from being extremely fat, than from being underweight. It’s the good life that’s more likely to kill us these days.
Worse, nearly l8 million children under the age of five around the world are estimated to be overweight. What’s going on?
We really don’t have many excuses for our weight problems. The dangers of the problem have been drilled into us by public-health campaigns since 2001 and the message is getting through—up to a point.
In the 1970s, Finland, for example, had the highest rate of heart disease in the world and being overweight was its main cause. Not any more. A public-health campaign has greatly reduced the number of heart disease deaths by 80 per cent over the past three decades.
Maybe that explains why the percentage of people in Finland taking diet pills doubled between 2001 and 2005, and doctors even offer surgery of removing fat inside and change the shape of the body. That has become a sort of fashion. No wonder it ranks as the world’s most body-conscious country.
We know what we should be doing to lose weight—but actually doing it is another matter. By far the most popular excuse is not taking enough exercise. More than half of us admit we lack willpower.
Others blame good food. They say: it’s just too inviting and it makes them overeat. Still others lay the blame on the Americans, complaining that pounds have piled on thanks to eating too much American-style fast food.
Some also blame their parents—their genes. But unfortunately, the parents are wronged because they’re normal in shape, or rather slim.
It’s a similar story around the world, although people are relatively unlikely to have tried to lose weight. Parents are eager to see their kids shape up. Do as I say—not as I do.
【小题1】What is the “strange” point mentioned in the first sentence?