Unit 2

Objectives 1) to learn basic knowledge of fast food and GM-food 2) to learn the new terms and expressions in the passages 3) to understand long and difficult sentences

testing your reading comprehension and speed fast reading 1 fast reading 2 fast reading 3 check the answers answer students’ questions

answers to the fast reading exercises fast reading 1 fast reading 2 fast reading 3 c b b a b b a d b b b b d a d

Time Arrangement: About two periods of class will be used for the analysis and discussion of the passage itself.

Text Food Fight I. Related Information II. Comprehension III. Difficult Points

I. Related Information Food fight McDonald’s GM Food About the Author

The Title : Food Fight refers to a fight against “genetically modified food” (GMF)

McDonald’s A fast-food hamburger restaurant founded in California in the 1950s by Mac and Dick McDonald. In 1954, entrepreneur Ray Kroc made a deal with the brothers to sell franchises ( 特许经销权 ), and in 1960 paid them $2.7 million for all the trade marks, copyrights, and secrets. Today McDonalds has over 8,000 stores across the U.S, and over 11,000 franchises worldwide.

Genetically Modified Food (GMF) – Food made by reweaving the genes of countless fruits and vegetables or by taking a gene from one plant or animal & putting it in another 转基因食品 – 是利用现代分子生物技术，将某些 生物的基因转移到其他物种中去，改造生物的遗 传物质，使其在形状、营养品质、消费品质等方 面向人们所需要的目标转变。以转基因生物为直 接食品或为原料加工生产的食品就是 “ 转基因食 品 ” 。

Questions: What is the first GMF produced in America & when did it appear? GM tomato produced by Monsanto Company first appeared in America in 1994

Questions: What is the first GMF produced in China and when did it appear? GM rice produced by Yuan Longping, considered to be the father of rice first appeared in China in 1999.

The global distribution of GM food

About the author Jeffrey Kluger is a senior writer at Time magazine, covering science in general and the space program in particular and author of several books on science topics including Splendid Solution: Jonas Salk and the Conquest of Polio; Simplexity; Journey Beyond Selene; and Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13, which served as the basis of the 1995 movie, Apollo 13.Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13

II. Comprehension Comprehension questions Text Structure

Comprehension questions: 1. Why did French farmers protest against McDonald’s? Because they disliked the uniquely American food – esp. the very genes that make the McDonald’s beef or bun or potato what it is, its sameness, its blandness, and the culinary hegemony it represents.

2. Why do people around the world grow uneasy with what they eat? Because GMF has become an increasing common phenomenon, people worry a lot about the safety of this kind of food.

3. Why did the rise of GM technology mean boom times for biotech companies? Because biotech companies made great benefits by the production of GM food.

4. Why such sooped-up plants are understandably popular with farmers? Because even a slight increase in yield can mean a big increase in profits.

5. How do you understand the sentence “the move made Monsanto a Wall Street darling for a while”? Monsanto Company made great benefits by the production of GMF. Its stock which perched at a high point were once liked very much by consumers.

Structure of the Text Part I (para. 1-2) – protest against the McDonald’s food in France and reasons Part II (para. 3-7) – Popularity of GM food and causes Part III (para. 8-14) – Bad effects of GM food & food fight between E.U. & U.S. Part IV (last para.) – Conclusion: Consumers’ attitudes determine the popularity of the GM food

III. Difficult Points: Give your translation. 1.. Over the past decade, genetically modified (GM) food has become an increasingly common phenomenon as scientists have rewoven the genes of countless fruits and vegetables, turning everyday crops into über-crops able to resist frost, withstand herbicides and even produce their own pesticides. 在刚刚过去的十年中，科学家们改变了无数蔬 菜和水果的基因，把这些日常食用的作物变成 了超级作物，能够防霜冻，抗除草剂，甚至本 身就能杀虫，因此转基因食物已越来越成为普 遍现象。

2. Sales of GM seeds rose in value from $75 million in 1995 to $1.5 billion last year, and the crops they produce are turning up not only on produce shelves but also in processed foods from cookies to potato chips to baby food. 基因作物种子售出的总值从 1995 年的七百五 十万增加到去年的十亿五千万，并且他们生 产的作物不仅出现在直接生产的产品中，而 且出现在从饼干、薯条到婴儿食品的加工食 品中。

3. But many people question whether it's a good idea for fallible human beings to go mucking about with the genes of other species. It's one thing if a scientific experiment goes wrong in a lab, they say, but something else entirely if it winds up on your dinner plate. 但是，许多人提出疑问：让容易犯错的人类摆弄 其他物种的基因是否是个好主意。他们说，如果 实验室里的科学实验做错了，那是一回事。但如 果它最终出现在你的饭桌上，那又是另外一回事。

fallible – liable to error muck sth. about/around with – spoil sth. by interfering with it eg: Someone has been mucking about with my bicycle. eg: The president's wife doesn't muck around with policy or sit in on Cabinet meetings. 总统夫人既没有乱干预政策，也没有列席 内阁会议。

wind up – arrive or end up in a specified state, situation, or place 最终落得； ( 以 …) 告终 eg: Kevin wound up in New York.

4. For now, the most GM foes can hope to push through an agri-friendly Congress is a proposal for voluntary labeling that biotech companies would be free to honor or ignore. 到目前为止，转基因产品的反对者所能希望的， 至多是让亲农业的国会通过一项议案，允许生物 技术公司自己选择标注还是不注。

key to exercises Exercises A. c B. b a b c d b a b b D. a a d b a c c a d b c c a d

homework : 1. read the text again after class try to get a better understanding. 2. translate the sentences into Chinese. 3. Preview Unit 5 thank you