1、Unit 1 Tales of the unexplained 一、阅读理解 Nowadays more and more people are talking about genetically modified foods ( GM foods). GM foods develop from genetically modified organisms (有机体 ), which have had specific changes introduced into their DNA by genetic engineering techniques. These techniques ar
2、e much more precise where an organism is exposed to chemicals to create a nonspecific but stable change. For many people, the hightech production raises all kinds of environmental, ethical, health and safety problems. Particularly in countries with long farming traditions, the idea seems against nat
3、ure. In fact, GM foods are already very much a part of our lives. They were first put on the market in 1996. A third of the corn and more than half the cotton grown in the U. S. last year was the product of biotechnology, according to the Department of Agriculture. More than 65 million acres of gene
4、tically modified crops will be planted in the US this year. The genetic genie is out of the bottle. However, like any new product entering the food chain, GM foods must be subjected to careful testing. In wealthy countries, the debate about biotech is not so fierce by the fact that they have a large
5、 number of foods to choose from, and a supply that goes beyond the needs. In developing countries desperate to feed fastgrowing and underfed populations, the matter is simpler and much more urgent: do the benefits of biotech outweigh the risks? The statistics on population growth and hunger are dist
6、urbing. Last year the worlds population reached 6 billion. The UN states that nearly 800 million people around the world are unhealthy. About 400 million women of childbearing age don t have enough iron, which means their babies are exposed to various birth defeats.As many as 100 million children su
7、ffer from vitamin A deficiency, a leading cause of blindness. How can biotech help? Genetic engineering is widely used to produce plants and animals with better nutritional values. Biotechnologists have developed genetically modified rice and they are working on other kinds of nutritionally improved
8、 crops. Biotech can also improve farming productivity in places where food shortages are caused by crop damage attributable to drought, poor soil and crop viruses. 1.The passage mainly talks about_. A. the worlds food problem B. the development in biotech C. the genetically modified foods D. the way
9、 to solve food shortages 2.According to the passage, GM foods_. A. will replace naturally grown foods B. are far better than naturally grown foods C. may help to solve the problem of poor nutrition D. can cause serious trouble in developing countries 3.The underlined sentence “The genetic genie is o
10、ut of the bottle.” in Paragraph 2 probably means that_. A.GM foods are available everywhere B. the technology in producing GM foods is advanced C. genetic technology may have uncontrollable powers D. genetic technology has come out of laboratories into markets 4.Whats the writers attitude towards GM
11、 foods? A. Enthusiastic. B. Cautious. C. Disapproving. D. Unbelievable. 【文章大意】本文是一篇说明文，主要介绍了转基因食品及其对人类生活的影响。 1.C 【解析】 主旨大意题。根据文章内容，特别是第一段中的 “Nowadays more and more people are talking about genetically modified foods ( GM foods).” 可知，本文主要介绍的是转基因食品。 2.C 【解析】 细节理解题。根据最后一段中的 “Genetic eng ineering is wid
12、ely used to produce plants and animals with better nutritional values.” 可知，转基因食品有助于解决营养不良问题。 4.B 【解析】 观点态度题。根据第三段中的 “However, like any new product entering the food chain, GM foods must be subjected to careful testing.” 可知，作者认为转基因食品进入市场前需要严格的检 测，由此可见作者对转基因食品的态度是谨慎的。 二、词汇练习 1. a cat with a lot of bro
13、wn _ a brown and _ creature (毛茸茸的，多毛的 ) 2. build up one s _ _ mutual trust between us （力量；力气；加强） 3. Chris does not believe in the _ of Father Christmas. （存在） He doesn t believe that such a strange creature _ on the earth. 4. Miss took an eye _ so that the doctor could _ what was wrong with her eyes.
14、 （检查） 5. burst out _ burst into _ （笑） 6. It is _ that he will show up at tomorrow s conference. There is no _ that he will be fired by the company.（可能） 7. I have been finding many websites about aliens and other _. Why the president died suddenly remained _.（神秘的事或人；神秘的） 8. He made a _ that he would
15、support the newly-elected president.（声明；陈述） The topic of how to learn a foreign language has well been _in this book. 9. _ a trip to Australia （组织） He set up an _ to protect the environment. 10. The teacher is very _. （ 幽默；幽默 的） We all like listening to the stories with fun and a lot of _. 11. The f
16、ish measures 100 centimeters in _. It is very _（长；长度） 12. Could you tell me how you _ the big earthquake ? the miraculous _ of some people in the air crash (幸存 ) 13. The hospital is being _ now. The hospital is now under_. (建造 ) 14. take somebody _ the plane go on _ the plane 在（轮船、飞机等）上；上（轮船、飞机等） 15
17、. 不予考虑；解雇 v 16. 奖，奖品，奖金 nw.w.w.k.s.5.u.c.o.mv 17. 攻击 nw.w.w.k.s.5.u.c.o.mv 18. He_ _( convince) that he will come here tonight. 19. 伤害 v i_ 20. 编织；构成 _ _ 21. look into 22. 消失，失踪 v 23. enthusiastic 24. discount 25. assume 26. make one s way to? 27. blank 28. appropriate 29. tournament 30. case 31. ev
18、idence 32. base 33. flash 34. track 35. link 三、完形填空 I always had a dream.In it， I was a little girl again， rushing about， trying to get _1_ for school.Deep inside I knew _2_ it came from.It was some unfinished _3_ in my life. As a kid I loved school.Most of all I _4_ to receive my diploma.That seeme
19、d more _5_ even than getting married.But at 15， I had to _6_ because my parents couldnt afford my _7_.Pretty soon I married and had three children.I thought，“There goes my diploma.”_ 8_， I wanted my children to be educated.But Linda，the youngest， had a serious heart disease， which made it impossible
20、 for her to _9_ in a normal classroom. One day， I saw an ad for evening courses.“Thats the _ 10_.Linda always feels better in the evening， so Ill just _11_ her up for night school.” Linda was busy filling forms when the school _12_ said， “Mrs Schantz ， why dont you come back to school？ ” I laughed，
21、“Theres no _ 13_！ Im 55！ ” But he _14_ me and I attended class with Linda.Surprisingly， both Linda and I felt great there and my _15_ steadily improved. It was exciting to go to school again， but it was no _16_.Sitting in a class full of kids was _17_， even if they were respectful.Whenever I was dow
22、n， Linda encouraged me, “Mom ， you cant _18_ now！ ” Together we made it _ 19_. Finally， I got my diploma with Linda and realized my _20_ of years. 1 A.started B concerned C finished D prepared 2 A.when B where C how D why 3 A.homework B diploma C accident D business 4 A.required B managed C longed D
23、 struggled 5 A.annoying B incredible C appealing D ridiculous 6 A.drop out B give in C break up D turn away 7 A.living B teaching C working D schooling 8 A.As usual B Until then C Even so D In fact 9 A.recover B function C benefit D arrive 10 A.problem B answer C deal D result 11 A.sign B put C call D pick 12 A.secretary B
