Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Brazil are going on a media offensive to prevent the legalization of genetically modified crops. Environmentalists and consumer groups for years have been able to thwart government and companies' attempts to legalize altered food. In radio dramas that are being broadcast in remote regions, Brazilian NGOs are telling soy farmers the use of genetically modified seeds could endanger their health, their fields and their business. "We are not saying that genetic engineering is, in principle, something bad; we say that we need more science to be sure that it will work in an appropriate way with no harm in the future," said campaign coordinator Jean-Marc von der Weid. "This is both for health and environmental reasons. The other question is on economics. What we think is that in Brazil, if we approve the GMOs, we will lose a spectacular advantage that we have now. We are selling more to the international market, mostly for Europe and Asia, than we have done in our history, because we are not GMO contaminated."

　　Another opposition group, ActionAid, has been organizing grass-roots support in Brazilian farming regions to rouse consumer sentiment against legalization. ActionAid public policy director Adriano Campolina says he is fighting for farmers to remain independent. "When the small-scale farmer or a big farmer starts using this kind of seed, this farmer will be completely dependent on the transnationals, which control intellectual property rights over these seeds," he said.

　　Brazilian scientist Crodowaldo Pavan said there should be checks on what multinationals can do, but that doesn't mean GM seeds should be banned. He says fears over their usage are unfounded. Despite the official ban, Dr. Pavan says up to one third of Brazil's soy crop is genetically modified, because GM seed is being smuggled from Argentina. Brazil's government has invested heavily in a GM project by the U.S. biotech company, Monsanto, but the project was put on ice following a successful court challenge by consumers.

　　The anti-GMO groups are hoping the politicians' preoccupation with the October presidential election will give them time to gather enough support to defeat any future attempts to legalize genetically altered crops.

　　41. According to the passage, the issue in dispute in Brazil is ___________.

　　[A] contamination of the environment by genetically modified crops

　　[B] Brazil’s standing in the international market

　　[C] the October presidential election

　　[D] the legalization of genetically modified organisms

　　42. According to the passage, Brazil is the world’s _____________ soybean producer.

　　[A] largest

　　[B] second largest

　　[C] third largest

　　[D] fourth largest

　　43. Which of the following statements is NOT true about NGOs in Brazil?

　　[A] They believe genetically modified crops will harm the farmers’ health.

　　[B] They believe genetic engineering is altogether a bad practice.

　　[C] They believe scientific methods should be introduced to ensure GM brings no harm.

　　[D] They believe GMOs will harm Brazil economically.

　　44. Which of the following statements is true about the organization called ActionAid?

　　[A] They encourage the farmers to produce genetically modified products.

　　[B] They encourage the farmers to depend on themselves for seeds.

　　[C] They strongly support the legalization of genetically modified products.

　　[D] They encourage the farmers to upgrade their farms to bigger ones.

　　45. What does the Brazilian scientist Crodowaldo Pavan say about genetically modified products?

　　[A] Genetically modified seeds should be banned.

　　[B] Brazil government should crack down on the smuggling of genetically modified seeds.

　　[C] The fear over the use of genetically modified seeds is uncalled for.

　　[D] Consumers should file more law suits to protect their rights.

　　答案及解析

　　41. 答案是[D] the legalization of genetically modified organisms

　　解析： 本文介紹的是巴西的一些民間組織如何反對轉(zhuǎn)基因作物。他們從轉(zhuǎn)基因產(chǎn)品對環(huán)境的污染，對農(nóng)戶身體的損害，以及對巴西經(jīng)濟(jì)的影響出發(fā)，反對政府將轉(zhuǎn)基因作物合法化。文章主要介紹的是Non-governmental organizations (NGOs)和ActionAid兩個(gè)組織。作者在文章末尾也介紹了一些其他的立場。例如巴西科學(xué)家Crodowaldo Pavan，他認(rèn)為不能簡單地將轉(zhuǎn)基因作物一棍子打死。過分的擔(dān)憂是沒有必要的。政府即使禁止轉(zhuǎn)基因作物，也有從阿根廷走私過來的種子，這使得巴西三分之一的作物實(shí)際上都是轉(zhuǎn)基因的。巴西政府本來投資準(zhǔn)備和美國的生化公司

　　Monsanto合作，但是因?yàn)橄M(fèi)者起訴并打贏了官司，該項(xiàng)目只能束之高閣。反對轉(zhuǎn)基因作物的組織還打算在10月的總統(tǒng)大選前對政客們施加壓力，準(zhǔn)備將反對轉(zhuǎn)基因作物的斗爭進(jìn)行到底。 42. 答案是[B] second largest

　　解析：相關(guān)內(nèi)容在文章開頭: Brazil is the world's second largest producer of soybeans behind the United States and ahead of Argentina. 巴西為世界上第二大大豆生產(chǎn)國。僅次于美國，位居阿根廷之前。

　　43. 答案是[B] They believe genetic engineering is altogether a bad practice.

　　解析：文章第二段介紹的是NGO的立場。作者引用NGO負(fù)責(zé)人Jean-Marc von der Weid 的話說，"We are not saying that genetic engineering is, in principle, something bad; we say that we need more science to be sure that it will work in an appropriate way with no harm in the future," said campaign coordinator Jean-Marc von der Weid. "This is both for health and environmental reasons. (我們并不是說轉(zhuǎn)基因工程不好;我們的立場是，需要用科學(xué)方法來確保它不會在將來對環(huán)境造成危害。這主要是出于對環(huán)境和健康的考慮。)四個(gè)選項(xiàng)中只有[B]不符合NGO的立場。

　　44. 答案是[B] They encourage the farmers to depend on themselves for seeds.

　　解析：文章第三段介紹的是另一個(gè)反對組織，ActionAid。它也同樣反對降轉(zhuǎn)基因作物合法化。它號召巴西的農(nóng)戶不要依靠跨國公司作為種子的來源，否則就會被牢牢地控制住，失去自主權(quán)。 45. 答案是[C] The fear over the use of genetically modified seeds is uncalled for.

　　解析：文章第四段有如下內(nèi)容: Brazilian scientist Crodowaldo Pavan said there should be checks on what multinationals can do, but that doesn't mean GM seeds should be banned. He says fears over their usage are unfounded.巴西科學(xué)家Crodowaldo Pavan認(rèn)為應(yīng)該對跨國公司實(shí)行一定的監(jiān)督, 但是不能對轉(zhuǎn)基因作物全盤否定。他說，擔(dān)心轉(zhuǎn)基因作物的危害，是沒有根據(jù)的(unfounded)。這和[C]的敘述相符合。