Question

       Farm-raised pigs are dirty, smelly animals that get no respect．They’re also an environmental hazard．Their manure（粪便）contains phosphorus（磷），which, when it rains, runs off into lakes and rivers, consuming oxygen, killing fish, stimulating algae（藻类）overgrowth and emitting greenhouse gases．

       Doing away with the pig is not an option．Pigs provide more dietary protein, more cheaply, to more people than any other animal．Northern Europe still maintains the highest pig-to-human ratio（比率）in the world （2-1 in Denmark）, but East Asia is catching up．During the 1990s, pork production doubled in Vietnam and grew by 70 percent in China—along densely populated coastlines, pig density exceeds 100 animals per square kilometer．The resulting pollution is “threatening fragile coastal marine habitats including mangroves（红树林），coral reefs and sea grasses ,”according to a report released in February by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations．

       As it turns out, there is a solution to the pig problem, but it requires a change of mind-set among environmentalists and the public．Two Canadian scientists have created a pig whose manure doesn’t contain very much phosphorus at all．If this variety of pig were adopted widely, It could greatly reduce a major source of pollution．But the Enviropig, as they call it, is the product of genetic modification—which is anathema（忌讳） to many Westerners．

       The Enviropig is one of many new technologies that are putting environmentalists and organic-food supporters in a quandary: should they remain categorically（无条件） opposed to genetically modified （GM）foods even at the expense of the environment? Elsewhere, trees grown for paper could be made amenable to much more efficient processing, reducing both energy usage and toxic chemical bleach（漂白剂） in waste water from paper mills．The most significant GM applications will be ones that help lessen the problem of agriculture , which accounts for 38percent of the world’s landmass and is crowding out natural ecosystems and species habitats．

       Chances are, farmers will continue to grow their polluting organic pork, their allergenic（引起过敏的）organic soy and their neurotoxin（神经毒素） sprayed organic apples．Worse still, they will make sure that no one else gets a choice in the matter of improving the conditions of life on earth—unless, that is, others rise up and demand an alternative．

36．Which of the following statements is TRUE?

       A．Pigs bring more destruction than benefit to human beings．

       B．No other countries have the higher percentage of pig-to-human than East Asia．

       C．The pork production has increased to 70％ in China．

       D．The pollution brought by pigs is a killer to the creature of the sea．

37．The reason accounting for the hesitation to accept the idea of the Enviropig is__________．

       A．the poor technology                          B．the high cost

       C．the moral concept                              D．the doubt from the public

38．What does the underlined word “quandary” mean?

       A．an agreement                               B．a negotiation

       C．a dilemma                                    D．an adventure

39．The negative influence brought by the traditional agriculture is_________-．

       A．more living space occupation                  B．more crop improvement

       C．more food production                        D．more chemical application

40．What is the best title of the passage?

       A．How to Raise Pigs                             B．Whether to choose the GM Foods

       C．What’s GM Foods                              D．The Pollution Brought by Pigs

Answer 1

DCCAB