Apples have become the latest controversial entry into the genetically modified food debate, following a July 12 New York Times piece written by Andrew Pollack. Okanagan Specialty Fruits, a small British Columbia company, wants to start marketing a non-browning apple, and it has applied for approval in Canada and in the United States.
The Arctic apple, available so far in the Golden Delicious and Granny Smith varieties, contains an extra copy of a gene which interferes with the enzymatic activity that causes browning. The enzyme is polyphenol oxidase.
According to Neal Carter, founder and president of Okanagan Specialty Fruits, the non-browning Arctic apple is just what consumers are looking for. A whole apple, he tells the Times, is “for many people too big a commitment,” and apple slices that have browned just aren’t appetizing. (What a burden we bear — to have to eat a whole apple, let alone an unsightly one.)
Carter suggests that it is merely a cosmetic change intended to encourage people to eat more apples. But it’s more than that, of course.
It is intended “to turn the apple into an industrialized product,” said Lucy Sharratt, coordinator of the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network, as reported in the Times. In Common Ground, a Canadian monthly magazine dedicated to health, wellness and ecology, Yukon farmer Tom Rudge says, “We should eat real food instead of genetically engineering an apple so companies can slice it, wrap it in plastic and truck it across the country.” Organic apple farmer Harry Burton of Salt Spring Island sees it as “an indication of our distancing from nature.”
As Pollack reports, the U.S. Apple Association opposes the introduction of the Arctic apple, but not out of any objection to genetic engineering. In fact, they declare on their website that “in order to continue discovering new and valuable benefits from apples, U.S. Apple supports advancements from technology and genetics and genomics research.” The problem for U.S. Apple, Pollack writes, is that the non-browning Arctic apple “could undermine the fruit’s image as a healthy and natural food, the one that keeps the doctor away and is as American as, well, apple pie.”
1. As to the Arctic apple, which of the following statements is wrong?
A. It will not turn brown.
B. There is no enzymatic activity in its body.
C. It is a kind of genetically modified food.
D. The enzymatic activity that causes browning has been reduced.
2. According to Neal Carter, ( )
A. The non-browning Arctic apple is very popular among consumers.
B. A new type of smaller apple will be developed to meet the demand of some consumers.
C. The color of apples has nothing to do with one’s appetite.
D. The non-browning Arctic apple is more nutritious than other varieties.
3. From what the organic farmers said, we know that it is undesirable to ( )
A. eat real food instead of genetically modified food.
B. attach more importance to industry than to agriculture.
C. cultivate farm products in an industrialized way.
D. be close to nature.
4. Why is the U.S. Apple Association against the introduction of the Arctic apple?
A. Because it is against genetic engineering.
B. Because it cannot benefit from this kind of apple.
C. Because this kind of apple will undermine the fruit’s image as a healthy and natural food.
D. The reason is not mentioned in the passage.
参考答案：
1. B
本题问的是错误的选项。根据第二段可知，北极苹果(Arctic apple)含有一种额外的基因，能够干扰导致苹果变成褐色的酶的活性，但并非在这种苹果体内没有酶的活动，所以选B。
2. A
根据第三段第一句话(…is just what consumers are looking for…)可知，这种不会变成褐色的苹果在顾客中是很受欢迎的，所以选A。
3. C
根据第五段可知，这些农民反对将农产品的生产工业化，所以选C。
4. D
根据最后一段可知，美国苹果协会反对引入这种品种，但并没有反对基因工程，也没有说明反对引入这种品种的原因，所以选D。
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