In the irradiation plant, food is exposed to thin rods of cobalt 60. The rods give off gamma rays, which disrupt chemical processes in contaminating organisms. The disruption breaks down the cell walls of organisms or destroys their genetic material. The dose, set by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), is enough to kill organisms on food, but not enough to produce significant changes in the food itself.

　　Although irradiation slightly decreases the nutritive value of foods, the loss is less than that produced by some other methods of food preservation. Canning, for example, results in a much greater loss of nutrients.

　　Those who object to irradiation say that the process may create substances not found in nonirradiated food. Since the 1960’s researchers have studied irradiated food at microscopic levels to try to find such substances, called unique radiolytic products. After reviewing these studies, the FDA determined that compounds formed during irradiation are similar to substance found in nonirradiated foods and are not dangerous to consume.

　　Destruction of microorganisms that cause illness is an important goal of irradiation. About 250 million cases of food poisoning or 1 per person—occur every year in the U.S., according to FDA estimates. Food poisoning can cause vomiting, diarrhea, fever, headache—and, occasionally, death.

　　Because of the apparent safety of food irradiation, and the problems presented by contaminated food, scientific groups—including the American Medical Association, the World Health Organization, and the United Nations food and Agriculture Association—have voiced nearly universal support for the process. Worldwide, 38 nations have approved irradiation for 355 products.

　　Like microwave ovens, food irradiation has aroused apprehension and misunderstanding. Yet it has been scrutinized more thoroughly than other methods of food treatment that we have come to regard as safe, and it appears to be a method whose time has come.

　　1.Cobalt 60, besides irradiating food, is also employed to ___.

　　A.detect metallic flaws

　　B.run a nuclear reactor

　　C.cure cancer patients

　　D.strengthen concrete walls

　　2.Gamma rays used to irradiate food ___.

　　A.are generally not strong enough to destroy contaminating organisms

　　B.do not bring about significant changes in the food itself

　　C.may destroy some of the nutrients in the food

　　D.should be submitted to FDA for approval

　　3.Irradiated food ___.

　　A.certainly loses its nutritive value

　　B.maintains its nutritive value no different from the nonirradiated

　　C.keeps its nutritive value better than canned food

　　D.is recommended as the best of all preserved foods

　　4.With cases of food poisoning increasing, ___.

　　A.food irradiation should be carried out with care

　　B.it is more urgent to irradiate foods

　　C.medical researches into treatment of the diseased should be strengthened

　　D.Americans are beginning to accept food irradiation

　　5.The passage may be taken from ___.

　　A.a news report

　　B.a textbook of food processing

　　C.a book of popular science

　　D.a manual of food irradiation

　　答案：CBCCD

　　Federal Reserve System, central banking system of the United States, popularly called the Fed. A central bank serves as the banker to both the banking community and the government; it also issues the national currency, conducts monetary policy, and plays a major role in the supervision and regulation of banks and bank holding companies. In the U.S. these function are the responsibilities of key officials of the Federal Reserve System: the Board of Governors, located in Washington, D.C., and the top officers of 12 district Federal Reserve banks, located throughout the nation. The Fed’s actions, described below, generally have a significant effect on U.S. interest rates and, subsequently, on stock, bond, and other financial markets.

　　The Federal Reserve’s basic powers are concentrated in the Board of Governors, which is paramount in all policy issues concerning bank regulation and supervision and in most aspects of monetary control. The board enunciates the Fed’s policies on both monetary and banking matter. Because the board is not an operating agency, most of the day-to day implementation of policy decisions is left to the district Federal Reserve banks, stock in which is owned by the commercial banks that are members of the Federal Reserve System. Ownership in this instance, however, does not imply control; the Board of Governors and the heads of the Reserve banks orient their policies to the public interest rather than to the benefit of the private banking system.

　　The U.S. banking system’s regulatory apparatus is complex; the authority of the Federal Reserve is shared in some instances for example, in mergers or the examination of banks with other Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). In the critical area of regulating the nation’s money supply in accordance with national economic goals, however, the Federal Reserve is independent within the government, Income and expenditures of the Federal Reserve banks and of the board of governors are not subject to the congressional appropriation process; the Federal Reserve is self-financing. Its income ($20.2 billion in 1992) comes mainly from Reserve bank holdings of income-earning securities, primarily those of the U.S. government. Outlays ($1.5 billion in 1992) are mostly for operational expenses in providing services to the government and for expenditures connected with regulation and monetary policy. In 1992 the Federal Reserve returned 416.8 billion in earnings to the U.S. treasury.

　　1.The Fed of the United States ___.

　　A.function as China Bank

　　B.is the counterpart of People’s Bank of China

　　C.is subjected to the banking community and government

　　D.has 13 top officers who can influence the American financial market

　　2.The fact that stock in the Fed belongs to commercial banks ___.

　　A.doesn’t mean the latter is in control

　　B.means the latter is in control

　　C.means the latter is subjected to the Reserve banks

　　D.means the Reserve banks orient the latter’s policies

　　3.Which of the following statements is not true according to the passage?

　　A.The fed is a very big, complex and significant system which comprises many local banks.

　　B.All the commercial banks are not the components of Federal Reserve System.

　　C.Board of governors is the supreme policy-makers of America.

　　D.District Reserve banks rather than Board of governors perform the day-to-day policies.

　　4.The authority of the federal Reserve ___.

　　A.has to be shared with other establishments.

　　B.is exclusive at other times

　　C.isn’t limited by comptroller of the Currency and FDIC

　　D.is limited by Board of governors

　　5.Income of the Board of governors ___.

　　A.is borrowed from the U.S. treasury

　　B.is used by the government to make various policies

　　C.comes from the U.S. Treasury

　　D.is not granted by the government

　　答案：BACBD