Unit 1A and B.docx

1、Unit 1A and BUnit 1. Will Frankenfood Feed The World?Will Frankenfood Feed The World? Genetically modified food has met fierce opposition among well-fed Europeans, but its the poor and the hungry who need it most. By Bill Gates1. If you want to spark a heated debate at a dinner party, bring up the t

2、opic ofgenetically modified foods. For many people, the concept of genetically altered, high-tech crop production raises all kinds of environmental, health, safety and ethical questions. Particularly in countries with long agrarian traditions and vocal green lobbiesthe idea seems against nature.2.In

3、 fact, genetically modified foods are already very much a part of our lives. A thirdof the corn and more than half the soybeans and cotton grown in the U.S. last year were the product of biotechnology, according to the Department of Agriculture. More than 65 million acres of genetically modified cro

4、ps will be planted in the U.S. this year. The genetic genie is out of the bottle.3. Yet there are clearly some very real issues that need to be resolved. Like any newproduct entering the food chain, genetically modified foods must be subjected to rigorous testing. In wealthy countries, the debate ab

5、out 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.

6、The statistics on population growth and hunger are disturbing. Last year theworlds population reached 6 billion. And by 2050, the U.N. estimates, it will probably near 9 billion. Almost all that growth will occur in developing countries. At the same time, the worlds available cultivable land per per

7、son is declining. Arable land has declined steadily since 1960 and will decrease by half over the next 50 years, according to the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA).5. The U.N. estimates that nearly 800 million people around the world areundernourished. Th

8、e 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

9、 ailments and nutritional deficiencies caused by lack of food.6. How can biotech help? Biotechnologists have developed genetically modified ricethat is fortified with beta-carotene-which the body converts into vitamin A-and additional iron, and they are working on other kinds of nutritionally improv

10、ed crops. Biotech can also improve farming productivity in places where food shortages are caused by crop damage attributable to pests, drought, poor soil and crop viruses, bacteria or fungi.7. Damage caused by pests is incredible. The European corn borer, for example,destroys 40 million tons of the

11、 worlds corn crop annually, about 7% of the total. Incorporating pest-resistant genes into seeds can help restore the balance. In trials of pest-resistant cotton in Africa, yields have increased significantly. So far, fears that genetically modified, pest-resistant crops might kill good insects as w

12、ell as bad appearunfounded.8. Viruses often cause massive failure in staple crops in developing countries. Two years ago, Africa lost more than half its cassava crop-a key source of calories-to the mosaic virus. Genetically modified, virus-resistant crops can reduce that damage, as can drought-toler

13、ant seeds in regions where water shortages limit the amount of land under cultivation. Biotech can also help solve the problem of soil that contains excess aluminum, which can damage roots and cause many staple-crop failures. A gene that helps neutralize aluminum toxicity in rice has been identified

14、.9. Many scientists believe biotech could raise overall crop productivity in developingcountries as much as 25% and help prevent the loss of those crops after they are harvested.10. Yet for all that promise, biotech is far from being the whole answer. In developingcountries, lost crops are only one

15、cause of hunger. Poverty plays the largest role. Today more than 1 billion people around the globe live on less than $1 a day. Making genetically modified crops available will not reduce hunger if farmers cannot afford to grow them or if the local population cannot afford to buy the food those farme

16、rs produce.11. Nor can biotech overcome the challenge of distributing food in developingcountries. Taken as a whole, the world produces enough food to feed everyone but much of it is simply in the wrong place. Especially in countries with undeveloped transport infrastructures, geography restricts fo

17、od availability as dramatically as genetics promises to improve it.12. Biotech has its own distribution problems. Private-sector biotech companies inthe rich countries carry out much of the leading-edge research on genetically modified crops. Their products are often too costly for poor farmers in t

18、he developing world, and many of those products wont even reach the regions where they are most needed. Biotech firms have a strong financial incentive to target rich markets first in order to help them rapidly recoup the high costs of product development. But some of these companies are responding

19、to the needs of poor countries. A London-based company, for example, has announced that it will share with developing countries technology needed to produce vitamin-enriched golden rice.13. More and more biotech research is being carried out in developing countries. Butto increase the impact of gene

20、tic research on the food production of those countries, there is a need for better collaboration between government agencies-both local and in developed countries and private biotech firms. The ISAAA, for example, is successfully partnering with the U.S. Agency for International Development, local r

21、esearchers and private biotech companies to find and deliver biotech solutions for farmers in developing countries.14.Will Frankenfoods feed the world? Biotech is not a panacea, but it does promiseto transform agriculture in many developing countries. If that promise is not fulfilled, the real loser

22、s will be their people, who could suffer for years to come.New Words1. genetically dVi5netikEli ad. 基因地，遗传性地2. modify 5mCdifai vt. make changes in; make different 修改，变更，改变3. ethical 5eWikEl adj. of morals or moral questions 道德的；伦理的；道德问题的4. agrarianE5rZEriEn adj. of land (esp farmland) or land owners

23、hip 土地的；（尤指）耕地的；土地 所有权的5. vocal 5vEukl adj. of, for, with or using, the voice 嗓音的；声音的；使用嗓音的6. genie 5dVi:ni n. (in Arabic stories) spirit or jinni with strange powers (阿拉伯故事中的)神怪；妖怪7. subject 5sQbdVikt vt. cause to undergo or experience; expose 使遭受；使经历；使蒙受8. rigorous 5riErEs adj. stern; strict; seve

24、re 严格的；严厉的9. temper 5tempE vt. soften or modify; mitigate 使软化；调剂； 缓和10. outweighaut5wei vt. be greater in weight, value or importance than 比更重；比更有价值； 比更重要11. cultivable5kQltivEbl adj. that can be cultivated 可耕种的；可培养的12. arable 5ArEbl adj. (of land) suitable for ploughing; usually ploughed (指土地)可耕的；适

25、于耕种 的；经常被耕种的13. devastating5devEsteItIN adj. ruining; making desolate 破坏性极大；毁灭性的14. childbearing5tFaIldbeErIN adj. 生育的；能生育的15. ailment 5eilmEnt n. illness 疾病16. fortify 5fC:tifai vt. (加入维生素和矿物质)强化(食品)；提高(食品)的营养价值17. fungi 5fQndVai n. (fungus 的复数) 真菌类18. incorporate in5kC:pEreit vt. make, become, uni

26、ted in one body or group 使结合；使合并19. unfounded 5Qn5faundid adj. without foundation 无根据的；无稽的20. cassava kE5sB:vE n. tropical plant with starchy roots from which tapioca is extracted 参茨；木薯21. drought-tolerant adj. 耐干旱的22. aluminum E5lju:minEm n. (化学元素)铝23. neutralize 5nju:trElaIz vt. take away the effe

27、ct or special quality of, by means of sth with an opposite effect or quality 使无效；中和24. toxicity tCk5sisiti n. quality or degree of being toxic 毒性；毒力25. private-sector (社会经济中的)私营部分26. leading-edge adj. 占领先地位的27. incentive in5sentiv n. that which incites, rouses or encourages a person 刺激；动机；鼓励；诱因28. r

28、ecoup ri5ku:p vt.(for) compensate (sb, oneself, for a loss, etc); make up for 赔偿；补偿29. collaboration kE7lAbE5reiFEn n. collaborating 合作；合著30. partner 5pB:tnE vt. person who takes part with another or others in some activity, esp one of the owners of a business 伙伴；合作者； (尤指经商之)合伙人31. panacea 7pAnE5siE

29、 n. remedy for all troubles, disease, etc. 解决一切弊病的方法；万灵药Notes1. Frankenfood 即转基因食品。 “Franken” 源自英国女作家 Mary Shelley 的小说 “Frankenstein”，此处可引申理解为转基因食品或许会危及其创造者人类。2. genetically modified foods 转基因食品3. vocal green lobbies 主张环保的游说团体。Vocal 原指与嗓音的有关的。此处引申用言 辞表达。Lobby 原指下议院或参议院等中的民众接待厅，后引申为游说议员的群体。4. Departm

30、ent of Agriculture （美国）农业部5. The genetic genie is out of the bottle “genie”原指神话故事中从魔瓶中用魔法召来的 魔仆。此句暗含神奇的转基因食品的诞生或许会给人类带来福祉。6. International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA)国际农业生物工程应用技术采购管理局。7. birth defects （医）先天缺失，先天缺陷8. beta-carotene -胡萝卜素9. corn borer （昆）玉米螟10. stap

31、le crops 一国家或地区的最主要的农作物11. mosaic virus （植）导致植物花叶病的花叶病毒12. U.S. Agency for International Development 美国国际发展署Self - Checking upRead the following statements and decide whether they are true or false. Write T for true and F for false in front of each statement. 1. Many people hold doubtful ideas again

32、st genetically modified foods because they think those foods may impose a lot of problems. _2. In regard to the plantation of genetically modified crops in the U.S., it seems that GM foods are far from our lives. _3. In wealthy countries, the debate about biotech is much more heated than in developing countries because people in the wealthy countries