Creating“ superbanana”that could save lives可以拯救生命的“超級香蕉”

戴艷陽

主題語境：食物 篇幅：332詞 建議用時：7分鐘

1 An international team of scientists has reportedly developeda geneticallymodified“super banana”that containssignificantly more nutrients， especially betacarotene，which can be converted to vitamin A.

2 Vitamin A deficiency has been plaguing poor countriesin subSaharanAfrica and Southeast Asia for hundredsof years， inhibiting childrens growth， causing blindnessand significantly weakening their resistance to deadly treatable diseases such as diarrheaand measles. The World Health Organization estimates that 190 million preschoolagedchildren worldwide are deficient in vitamin A and that malnutrition accounts for 6% ofearly childhood deaths in Africa alone. Luckily， a cheap and viable solution to malnutritionand vitamin A deficiency， in particular， may be available in the very near future.

3 Uganda is one of several African countries battling malnutrition， but it could also bethe source of the cure for this plague. A team of researchers from the African countrysNational Agricultural Research Laboratories， in collaboration with Australian agricultural?scientist James Dale and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation， has reportedly created ageneticallymodifiedbanana that contains all the necessary nutrients to combatmalnutrition.

4 The Banana21 project was launched in 2005， and after 18 years of investments—theBill and Melinda Gates Foundation alone contributed $11 million—hard work and failedattempts， scientists have finally developed a banana capable of saving millions of children'slives. Cases of genetic modifications in banana trees to better resist pests， fungus or droughtare well documented， but this is reportedly the first time a banana has been successfullyaltered to act as a nutritional supplement for humans.

5 According to National Geographic， the“ superbanana”is ready to be cultivated， butscientists are still waiting for approval from the local government. Unfortunately， this maybe a significant hurdle， considering the strong opposition to the cultivation of geneticallymodifiedfoods in Uganda. Such crops are currently strictly forbidden. Hopefully， legisla?tors will take the example of their Kenyan peers who recently lifted a decade?long banon GM crops. Luckily， the problem of vitamin A deficiency has all but disappeared ineconomicallydevelopedcountries.

Reading

Check

1. Where has vitamin A deficiency been a problem for centuries？

A. In South America.

B. In Australia and Antarctica.

C. In Europe and North America.

D. In SubSaharan Africa and Southeast Asia.

2. What's the main idea of paragraph 3？

A. A team of researchers developed a special banana.

B. It is likely that Uganda could resolve malnutrition.

C. Uganda is an African country to battle malnutrition.

D. A geneticallymodified banana contains necessary nutrients.

3. What is the purpose of the Banana21 project？

A. To raise money for medical research.

B. To promote the local childrens health.

C. To better resist every disease for humans.

D. To create a banana to save many children.

4. What obstacle must be overcome before the“ superbanana”can be cultivated？

A. Ensuring the benefits to peoples health.

B. Obtaining a better taste for the“ superbanana”.

C. Gaining approval from the local government.

D. Improving the resistance of the“ superbanana”to pests.

Language

Study

Ⅰ. Difficult sentence in the text

Hopefully， legislators will take the example of their Kenyan peers who recently lifted adecadelongban on GM crops. 希望立法者們能以肯尼亞同行為榜樣，他們最近取消了長達十年的轉基因作物禁令。

【點石成金】本句中，who引導的是定語從句，在從句中作主語；take the example of意為“以……為榜樣”

Ⅱ. Fill in the blanks with the words and phrase in the box in proper forms.

necessary successful significantly act as approval consider source

1. Your work has shown a（n）__________improvement.

2. A passion for cooking does not__________have to be bad for your waistline.

3. She has__________combined a career and bringing up a family.

4. He__________an intermediary between Copeland and the villagers.

5. The project wasted a（n）__________amount of time and money.

6. Butter， margarine， and oily fish are all good__________of vitamin D.

7. The plan will be submitted to the committee for official__________.