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）company that engineers food, disagrees. He says his company 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 companies.

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 richer

B．people will eat more genetic foods in the future

C．using fewer chemicals could make the food tastier

D．there could be unknown dangers about genetic foods

【小题4】What is the best title of this passage?

A．Future Farming

B．Genetic Engineering

C．Foods with a Difference

D．Genetically Engineered Fruits

The American expression “shoo-in” means someone or something that seems sure to win a race or competition.
Before a big football game, supporters of each are certain to argue about which side will win.
Sometimes, however, one team appears so much stronger than the others that everyone agrees it will win.. The stronger team is a shoo-in. There is no way that it can lose.
The expression “shoo-in” comes from horse racing. It comes from the world “shoo”. That is not the shoe we wear on our feet. It’s another word, S-H-O-O. To shoo is an expression hundreds of years old that means to force an animal to move in a desired direction.
Many years ago dishonest riders sometimes agreed secretly to control their horses so that one chosen horse would win the race. but one of the riders would hold back their horses. The chosen rider would shoo his horse ahead of the others, and win the race.
The other riders would secretly bet large amounts of money that the chosen horse would win. The public soon learned about such about such race. They began to call the winners of such a race a “shoo-in”
These days, people use shoo into describe any athlete or competition that seems certain to win, even without cheating.
American runner Edewin Moses won more than hundred races before he ran the hurdle race in the 1984 Olympic Games. Everyone said Moses was a shoo-in, and that he could not lost. And they were right. He won the gold medal.
阅读上面的短文，从每题所给的四个选项中，选出一个最佳答案
【小题1】One of the dishonest riders was sure to win the race because_______.

A．be used to be the best in riding

B．the pubic had belief in him

C．he could not control his horse easily

D．the other riders had agreed to fail in the race

【小题2】The reason why American runner Edewin Moses was regarded as a
“Shoo-in” is _________.

A．due to his honest in the races he ran in

B．duo to his great effort(努力) shown in more than one hundred races

C．that he won over 100 competitions before the 1984 Olympic Games

D．that the old meaning of “shoo-in’ had changed

【小题3】Which is the following statement is not true?

A．“Shoo-in” came from the word “shoo”.

B．The US runner Moses was worthy of (配得上 ) a shoo-in.

C．The public did not know they were being cheated

D．Some riders bet a lot of money on the chosen horse.

【小题4】The main idea of the passage is that “shoo-in” is_______.

A．used for anyone or anything that is certain to win a game

B．used to admire( 钦佩 ) a person who seems to be sure to win a race

C．A word used to describe a dishonest person

D．used for any athlete or competitor that too clever to be cheated

【小题5】In the last paragraph the author means to tell us ________.

A．who Edewin Moses was

B．Moses won a lot of races

C．Moses was the best runners in America

D．We can use “shoo-in” to describe an excellent runner.

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）company that engineers food, disagrees. He says his company 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?

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.

2.In general, who does not support the idea of genetic food?

A．People from seed companies.

B．Farmers who use engineered seeds.

C．People from the Campaign for Food Safety.

D．Scientists who create genetically engineered food.

3.It can be inferred that          .

A．growing genetic foods will make farmers richer

B．people will eat more genetic foods in the future

C．using fewer chemicals could make the food tastier

D．there could be unknown dangers about genetic foods

4.What is the best title of this passage?

A．Future Farming

B．Genetic Engineering

C．Foods with a Difference

D．Genetically Engineered Fruits

 

The Red Cross is an international organization. It cares for people who are in need of help. A man in Paris hospital needs blood, a woman in Mexico hurt in an earthquake and a family in India lost their home in a storm. All of them may be helped by the Red Cross. The Red Cross is in almost every country around the world. The world Red Cross organizations are sometimes called the Red Crescent（新月）. All of these agencies（机构）share a common goal of trying to help people in need. The idea of forming such an organization started with Jean Henri Dunant. In 1859, he saw how people were suffering during the war in Italy. He wanted to help all the wounded （受伤害的） people regardless of（无论）which side they were fighting for. The American Red Cross was set up by Clara Barton in 1881. Today the Red Cross in the United States provides a number of services for the people, such as helping people in need, teaching first aid and providing blood.
【小题1】A good title for this passage is _______________.

A．People in Need of Help	B．Forming an Organization to Help the Soldier
C．The International Red Cross	D．Join the Red Cross

【小题2】The underlined word “ suffering” means “___________”.

A．受苦的

B．生活的

C．欢庆的

D．喜悦的

【小题3】Who can be helped by the Red Cross?

A．The soldiers.

B．The American.

C．All the wounded people.

D．Anyone.

【小题4】Where can you find the Red Cross?
A. We can only find it in the USA.             B. We can find it all over the world.
C. We can find it only in India, Mexico and Paris.  D. In the places with natural disasters.

The Red Cross is an international organization. It cares for people who are in need of help. A man in Paris hospital needs blood, a woman in Mexico hurt in an earthquake and a family in India lost their home in a storm. All of them may be helped by the Red Cross. The Red Cross is in almost every country around the world. The world Red Cross organizations are sometimes called the Red Crescent（新月）. All of these agencies（机构）share a common goal of trying to help people in need. The idea of forming such an organization started with Jean Henri Dunant. In 1859, he saw how people were suffering during the war in Italy. He wanted to help all the wounded （受伤害的） people regardless of（无论）which side they were fighting for. The American Red Cross was set up by Clara Barton in 1881. Today the Red Cross in the United States provides a number of services for the people, such as helping people in need, teaching first aid and providing blood.

1.A good title for this passage is _______________.

A．People in Need of Help                   B．Forming an Organization to Help the Soldier

C．The International Red Cross                D．Join the Red Cross

2.The underlined word “ suffering” means “___________”.

A．受苦的           B．生活的           C．欢庆的           D．喜悦的

3.Who can be helped by the Red Cross?

A．The soldiers.       B．The American.      C．All the wounded people.   D．Anyone.

4.Where can you find the Red Cross?

A. We can only find it in the USA.             B. We can find it all over the world.

C. We can find it only in India, Mexico and Paris.  D. In the places with natural disasters.