Text 9: GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOODS

Can you imagine a day when you will be able to buy a tomato the size of a grapefruit or a strawberry the
size of a tennis ball? Believe it or not, that day is much closer than you may think. Nowadays, with so
much research being done on Genetically Modified foods, or GM foods, it is very possible that in the very
near future our whole way of eating will change.

Research and development into GM foods is not merely concerned with increasing the size of food
products. It is also aimed at producing foods which will help fight disease, be resistant to insects and
parasites, and boost the medicinal qualities already found in fruits and vegetables. In the US, for
example, potatoes have been modified in such a way that they now contain a protein from the Hepatitis
B virus. The protein itself is harmless, but it helps the immune system recognize the virus as soon as it
enters the body. In this way the body can begin fighting the disease before it has had a chance to
establish itself. Similar research is being conducted on bananas in the fight against cholera.

Some developments have already had very successful results. For instance, it has been found that by
using modified crops as animal feed, the animals are not only healthier, but are far better protected
against deadly parasites. Other GM foods help people fight disease and live longer. There is a margarine
made from genetically modified corn which helps reduce the risk of heart attack by lowering cholesterol
in the blood. Researchers say that very soon they will have developed a potato which requires very little
oil during frying and an onion which will help stop the blood from clotting. People who are at risk from
heart attacks will benefit from both these developments.

If the advantages of GM foods are so obvious, why is it that so many people in the West, especially in
Europe, object to the idea of GM foods? Could it be that many people feel that nature is being interfered
with and believe it is harmful to do so? Or, could it simply be fear? Many people think that GM foods
have been insufficiently tested and are unwilling to put their faith in them until evidence shows that they
present no health risk.

It must be said, however, that the majority of those who are against GM foods are neither living in
countries which suffer from food shortages, nor facing starvation. Many scientists believe that without
GM foods, the Third World will never overcome its food problems. At present, over one billion people
live on less than one dollar a day. The United Nations hopes that within the next fifteen years this
number will be cut in half. They know, however, that this will not happen if food continues to be
produced in the conventional manner. Foods produced by traditional farming methods do not last very
long and often spoil during transport. Many times, food sent by the West to countries suffering from
famine, rots before it reaches its destination. Now, scientists have found ways to preserve foods for
much longer. For example, they have developed a preservative made from vitamins and minerals which
can keep even cut fruit fresh for up to ten days if refrigerated.

Despite this, there are still people that believe agricultural research should be moving in a different
direction. They accept that there is no real proof that GM foods are dangerous, however, they believe
that the solutions that GM foods provide are short-term and that it is necessary to find longer-lasting
and natural means to solve the world’s food problems.

It is well-known that people are resistant to change. It may sound silly now, but in the nineteenth
century it was believed that tomatoes were poisonous and in New York people were not allowed to eat
them. When a man named Colonel Robert Johnson announced he was going to eat a whole bag of them,
two thousand people came to watch what they thought would be his certain death. As we know,
Johnson proved them wrong and we now enjoy tomatoes as a delicious part of our diet. Perhaps the
same will happen with the negative opinions about GM foods and they too will come to be accepted,
even by those who are so actively campaigning against them.     

1. One of the purposes of researchers when developing GM foods is to _____.

a) identify parasites and insects in foods b) change the labels to increase sales

c) increase the amount of products d) expand the chance of marketing

2. Scientists’ expectation from GM foods is to _____.

a) prevent early ageing b) solve the possible famine problem

c) find new cures for illnesses d) destroy the useless fat cells in the body

3. Which of the following is not one of the reasons why people reject GM foods?

a) including chemicals b) being artificial

c) threatening health d) being unreliable

4. People in some countries are against GM foods because _____.

a) there is drought b) there is famine

c) their country is poor d) they have enough food

5. Which of the following is a disadvantage of traditional farming methods?

a) Crops grow up slowly. b) Production rate decreases.

c) Foods go bad quickly. d) Labor costs a lot.

6. It can be inferred from the text that in the future GM foods may _____.

a) be the end of animal race b) be accepted by people in time

c) cause new illnesses d) only be used in poor countries

7. What does “boost” in paragraph 2 mean?

a) shorten b) corrupt c) destroy d) improve

8. What does “conducted” in paragraph 2 mean?

a) depended on b) carried on c) cut down on d) put on

9. What does “they” in paragraph 2 refer to?

a) potatoes b) proteins

c) fruits and vegetables d) insects and parasites

10. What does “itself” in paragraph 2 refer to?

a) body b) disease c) immune system d) virus

11. What does “they” in paragraph 4 refer to?

a) many scientists b) many people c) poor countries d) GM foods

Text 10: A MARKETING REVOLUTION

The first time it appeared it didn’t seem possible: a poster promising new school equipment for those children who
collected labels from the cans of certain brand of baked beans.

Since then a pox of advertising billboards has confirmed the gist of the soft sell. It seems that things are now so bad
in public sector spending cuts that a multi-national company was inviting us to eat our way to our children’s
education facilities.

If the state no longer proposes to provide, perhaps God has disposed the commercial hearts of giant business to
find a way of doing so and making money at the same time; but oddly implications of this recent advertising
campaign have attracted no comment. Apathy, or indeed gratitude makes it unremarkable that the breakdown of
social services has led private enterprise capitalists to mask the deficiencies of government-funded departments.

Yet this is a marketing revolution. Gimmicks and give-aways have gone before, but the moral overtones of making
penny-pinching mothers aware that the more beans they buy, the better their children’s school facilities will be, is
something else again.

The baked beans company is not the only concern selling on the basis of having family tight-spots in other ways.
Take the current chocolate ad on TV, offering vouchers for rail tickets or lawnmowers if the kids eat enough bars.
But the baked beans company is different in that it is actually plugging a hole in the state dam. We are all used to
supporting lifeboats or guide dogs for the blind, but the need to help a full-blown department of a democratic state
takes Robin Hood into the realms of Kafka.

Recently there has been a shift in attitudes -or at least emphasis- among the multi-national companies themselves.
They have begun to admit, rather than hide, how powerful they are as a social force. The trouble governments take
just to have them build factories or set up in their countries demonstrates their political clout; now they are
tending to set up departments within themselves, such as the “Division for International Social Action,” at General
Motors, or Shell’s recently formed committee to take care of social responsibility for the company. Conscience is
beginning to make commercial sense.

The baked beans poster campaign, though, raises questions that could shift marketing out of psychology and into
domination. It has changed the accepted selling philosophy that you try to make people choose a particular brand
or product by giving away a plastic toy or a picture of a famous footballer. This campaign -coming at a time when
everyone is pressed for money as unemployment rises and the value of earnings decreases in inflation- adds to the
element of guilt. If you do not spend the money, your child may be deprived at school; if you buy another brand of
beans, which might be cheaper, will the school go without?
1. The writer was surprised upon seeing the new poster because the offer it made was so _____.

a) common b) unusual c) amusing d) dishonest

2. The circumstances which promoted the new advertisement were _____.

a) a decline in the standards of teaching

b) an increase in the numbers of unemployed

c) an improvement in the rate of inflation

d) a reduction in the budget of education

3. The new advertisement differs from others in that its offer _____.

a) provides a social service b) is not connected with the product

c) is aimed at adults d) does not concern public welfare

4. The importance of the multi-national companies can be seen from the fact governments _____.

a) are hesitant to attract them to their countries

b) are anxious to restrict their political influence

c) co-operate with them in providing social services

d) force them to be responsible in public affairs

5. What worries the writer about this new development in advertising is that it could _____.

a) remove responsibility from the government

b) lead to a decline in educational facilities

c) have a damaging effect on children’s diets

d) put unfair pressure on the consumer

6. What does “mask” in paragraph 3 mean?

a) protect b) cover c) open d) accept

7. What does “penny-pinching” in paragraph 4 mean?

a) mean b) unsocial c) generous d) irresponsible

8. What does “they” in paragraph 4 refer to?

a) gimmicks and give-aways b) the moral overtones of selling

c) penny-pinching mothers d) children’s school facilities

9. What does “them” in paragraph 6 refer to?

a) governments b) multi-national companies

c) factories d) countries