Sugar—free beets（甜菜）that still taste sweet, tastier tomatoes and brighter-colored fruits and vegetables that stay ripe（熟的）longer are all foods that are being grown now. How can they
carry traits, such as being tastier, brighter, and riper? They are genetically engineered.
Genetic engineering（基因工程）is like making a change in a recipe. For example, when you make cakes, you mix together all of the usual ingredients. If you add an extra ingredient, like salt, the cakes will taste differently.
Genes are ingredients in the recipe for life. They carry the traits of living things. Your genes dictate what color hair and eyes you’ll have, how tall you’ll be, as well as many other traits. Genes carry traits for plants, too. By adding genes to a plant, you can sometimes create new traits. For example, adding a certain gene to a potato plant can make the potato plant distasteful to bugs（虫子）. This makes some farmers happy because they don’t have to use chemicals to keep bugs away from their plants.
It sounds great, but some people are opposed to the idea of food that is genetically engineered. Ronnie Cummins, from the Campaign for Food Safety, is against it. He says that one of the major concerns is allergies（过敏）. Supermarkets don’t always label foods that are genetically engineered. A customer could unknowingly buy food that has an added gene from another plant that he or she is allergic to. It could be dangerous.
Gary Burton from Monsanto, a seed（种子）pany that engineers food, disagrees. He says his pany tests for allergies. Burton believes that genetic engineering is a valuable tool for making better food. The technology can help farmers use less insecticide（杀虫剂）and grow healthier crops. Burton thinks there are many advantages.
But Cummins says that we just don’t know what will happen in the future if we keep adding genes to foods. We could mistakenly create a monster.
People have different opinions about genetic engineering. One side supports it and thinks it will only help us. The other side is opposed to playing with nature and fears health risks. Which side do you think is right?
【小题1】What could be a good thing about food that is genetically engineered?A．It’s more expensive.B．It could taste different.C．It requires less insecticide.D．It’s not labeled in the supermarket.【小题2】In general, who does not support the idea of genetic food?A．People from seed panies.B．Farmers who use engineered seeds.C．People from the Campaign for Food Safety.D．Scientists who create genetically engineered food.【小题3】It can be inferred that .A．growing genetic foods will make farmers richerB．people will eat more genetic foods in the futureC．using fewer chemicals could make the food tastierD．there could be unknown dangers about genetic foods【小题4】What is the best title of this passage?A．Future FarmingB．Genetic EngineeringC．Foods with a DifferenceD．Genetically Engineered FruitsC
网友回答
(答案→)C
解析：这篇短文主要介绍了转基因工程对于人类的影响，虽然他们对我们有一些很有帮助的影响，但是也存在一些不确定的危险因素。因此人们的观点也有两种相反的观点。
【小题1】根据第二段For example, adding a certain gene to a potato plant can make the potato plant distasteful to bugs（虫子）. This makes some farmers happy because they don’t have to use chemicals to keep bugs away from their plants.描述可知，转基因植物需要更少的农药，故选C。
【小题2】根据第四段It sounds great, but some people are opposed to the idea of food that is genetically engineered. Ronnie Cummins, from the Campaign for Food Safety, is against it.描述可知选C。
【小题3】根据But Cummins says that we just don’t know what will happen in the future if we keep adding genes to foods. We could mistakenly create a monster.描述可知对于转基因食品还存在很多不确定的危险，故选D。
【小题4】这篇短文主要描述了基因工程对于食品方面的影响。故选B。