2016年12月英语四级考试全真模考练习试卷二

　　Passage One

　　Questions 21 to 25 are based on the following passage.

　　The Food and Drug Administration said on Wednesday that it is trying to track down as many as 386 piglets that may have been genetically engineered and wrongfully sold into the U.S. food supply.

　　The focus of the FDA investigation is on pigs raised by researchers at the University of Illinois in Urbana Champaign. They engineered the animals with two genes: one is a cow gene that increases milk production in the sow; the other, a synthetic gene, makes the milk easier for piglets to digest. The goal was to raise bigger pigs faster.

　　There has been no evidence that either genetically altered plants or animals actually trigger human illness, but critics warn that potential side effects remain unknown. University officials say their tests showed the piglets were not born with the altered genes, but FDA rules require even the offspring of genetically engineered animals to be cet6w.com won't get into the food supply.

　　The FDA, in a quickly arranged news conference on Wednesday prompted by inquiries by USA TODAY, said the University of Illinois would face possible sanctions and fines for selling the piglets to a livestock broker, who in turn sold them to processing plants.

　　Both the FDA and the university say the pigs that entered the market do not pose a risk to consumers. But the investigation follows action by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in December to fine a Texas company that contaminated 500,000 bushels of soybeans with corn that had been genetically altered to produce a vaccine for pigs.

　　Critics see such cases as evidence of the cet6w.com oversight of a burgeoning (新兴的) area of scientific research. “This is a small incident, but it's incidents like this that could destroy consumer confidence and export confidence,” says Stephanie Childs of the Grocery Manufacturers of America. "We already have Europe shaky on biotech. The countries to which we export are going to look at this. "

　　The University of Illinois says it tested the DNA of every piglet eight times to make sure that the animal hadn't inherited the genetic engineering of its mother. Those piglets that did were put back into the study. Those that didn't were sold to the pig broker. "Any pig that was tested negative for the genes since 1999 has been sent off to market," says Charles Zukoski, vice chancellor for research.

　　But FDA deputy commissioner Lester Crawford says that under the terms of the university's agreement with the FDA, the researchers were forbidden to remove the piglets without FDA approval. “The University of Illinois failed to check with FDA to see whether or not the animals could be sold on the open market. And they were not to be used under any circumstance for food. "

　　The FDA is responsible for regulating and overseeing transgenic animals because such genetic manipulation is considered an unapproved animal drug.

　　21. The 386 piglets wrongfully sold into food supply are from ______.

　　(A) Europe (B) an American research organization

　　? a meat processing plant (D) an animal farm

　　22. The purpose of the transgenic engineering research is to ______.

　　(A) get pigs of larger size in a shorter time (B) make sows produce more milk

　　? make cows produce more milk (D) make pigs grow more lean meat

　　23. The 4th paragraph shows that the University of Illinois ______.

　　(A) was criticized by the FDA (B) is in great trouble

　　? is required by the FDA to call back the sold piglets (D) may have to pay the penalty

　　24. The FDA declares that the wrongfully sold piglets ______.

　　(A) may have side effects on consumers (B) may be harmful to consumers

　　? are safe to consumers (D) may cause human illness

　　25. It can be inferred from this passage that ______.

　　(A) all the offspring have their mothers' genetic engineering

　　(B) part of the offspring have their mothers' genetic engineering

　　? none of the offspring have their mothers' genetic engineering

　　(D) half of the offspring have their mothers' genetic engineering

　　Passage One

　　文章精要：文章通过讲述美国食品药物管理局(FDA)对伊利诺伊大学培育的转基因猪的后代进入食品市场这一事件进行的调查， 指出应加强对动植物进行转基因实验的监管。

　　21. B 推断题。第一段指出FDA想要找到被不正当地卖入美国食品市场的仔猪; 第二段第一句又指出， FDA调查的焦点是位于Urbana Champaign的伊利诺伊大学的科研人员饲养的猪， 由此可知， B正确。虽然文章提到了processing plants， 但干扰项C用的是单数， 那么多仔猪不可能只卖给一家加工厂， 故排除。

　　22. A 细节题。文章第二段最后一句指出， 该试验的最终目的是更快地培育出更大的猪， 由此可知， A正确。

　　23. D 推断题。文章第四段提到， FDA在一个新闻发布会上宣称， 伊利诺伊大学因其售猪行为将面临制裁(sanctions)和罚款(fines)。D项“将可能被迫交纳一笔罚金”与之相符， 所以D正确。

　　24. C 细节题。通观全文， 似乎都是对动物转基因实验不利的内容， 但细读文章可知， FDA的举措只是为了防范未知的可能危害。第五段首句更明确指出， FDA和伊利诺伊大学均声称进入市场的仔猪不会对消费者构成威胁， 所以C正确。

　　25. B 推断题。第七段提到， 伊利诺伊大学称， 每头仔猪都做了八次检验以确保它们没有转基因遗传， 若检出带有转基因遗传的则被送回用于研究， 由此可推断B正确， 即部分仔猪携带母猪的遗传基因。