第八讲：阅读理解练习

第三篇　The Gene Industry

　　Major companies are already in pursuit of commercial applications of the new biology .They dream of placing nxymse（酶） in the automobile to monitor exhaust nad send data om pollution to a microprocessor that will then adjust the engine .they speak of what the New York Time calls"metal-hungry microbse（微生物）that might be used to mine valuable trace metals from ocean water".They have already demanded and won the right to patent new liteforms .

　　Nervous critics,including many scientists,worry that there if corporate,national,
international,and inter-scientific rivalry in the entire biotechnological field.They create images not of oil spills(溢出）,but of "microbe spills" that could spread disease and destroy entire populations,The creation and accidental release of extremely poisonous microbes,however,if only one cause for alarm.Completely rational and respectable scientists are talking about possibilities that stagger the imagination.　　

　　Should we breed people with cow-like stomachs so they can digest grass and hay ,thereby relieving the food problem by modifying us to eat lower down on the fod chain? should we biologically alter workers to fit the job requierement,for example,creating pilots with faster reaction times or assemblyline workers designed to do our monotonous work for us ?Should we attempt to eliminate"inferior"people and breed a "super-race"?(Hitler tried this ,but without the genetic weaponry that may soom issue form our fighiting?Should we use genetic forecasting to preeliminate "unfit" babies?Should we grow reserve organs for ourselves ,each of us having,as it were ,a "savings bank " full of spare kidney ,livers ,or hands?

　　Wild as thses notions may sound,every one has itd advocates (and opposers) in the scientific community as well as its striking commercial application.As two critics of genetic engineering, Jeremy Rifkin and Ted Howard,state in their book Who Should Play God ? "Broad scale genetic engineering will probably be introduced to America much the same way sa assembly lines ,automobiles,vaccines, computers and all the other technologies. As each new genetic advance bmes commercially practical, a new consumer need will be exploitde and a market for the new technology will be created."

11. According to the passage, the new biology could potentially solve the pollution problem of automobiles by
A using metal-bungry microbes.
B making se of enzymes.
C adjusting the engines.
D patenting new lifeforms .

12. According to the passage, which of the following would most probably worry the critics of the following would most probably worry the critics of the new biology?
A The microbes in the ocean warter.
B The creation and application of biological solar cells
C The accidental oil spills.
D The unexpected release of destructive micrbes.

13. Which of the following possibilities of the biotechnological applications is NOT mentioned in the third paragraph?
A Developing a savings bank of one"s orangs.
B Breeding soldiers for a war .
C Producing people with cow-like stomachs.
D Using genetic forecasting to curt diseases.

14. According to the passage,Hitler had attempted to
A biologically change the pilots to win the war .
B develop genetic farming for increasing the food supply .
C kill the people he thought of as being inferior.
D encourage the development of genetic weapons for the war.

15. What is the implication of the sratement of Jeremy Rifkin and Ted Howard?
A The commercial applications of genetic engineering are inevitable.
B Large-scale genetic engineering has occurred in the Untied States.
C Americans are proud of their computers,automobiles and genetic technologies.
D The potential application of each new genetic advance should be controlled.

第四篇　Perfect Competition

　　Perfect competition exists in an industry that contains many relatively samll firms producing identical products.The most importhant characteristic(特征) of a perfectly competitive industry if that no single firm has any control over prices.This important characteristic follows from two assumptions(假设).First, a competitive industry is composed of many firms, each being very samll relative to the size of the industry .S***nd ,every firm in a perfectly competitive industry producse exactly the same product.

　　Firms in perfectly competitive industries do not differentiate(区分) their products, nor do they make decisions about price.Rather,each firm takes prices as given-that is ,as determined in the market by the laws of supply and demand -and decides olny how much to produce and how to produce it.Given the availability(可得性) of perfect substitutes, any product priced over the market price will not be sold .

　　In perfectcompetition we also assume that firms can freely enter and exit the industry.The assumption of free entry implies that if firms in an industry are earning excessively high profits,new firms that seek to do the same thing are likely to spring up.Fast food restaurants are quick to spring up when a new shopping center opens.Where profit opportunities present themselves, we assume that firms sill enter and compete for them.

　　Free exit is possible when firms can simply stop producing their products and leave a market .Generally speaking,a firm closes dowm because it is suffering losses or because profits are insufficient .New England textile and furniture products found themselves facing increasing foreign competition, as well as lower production costs in the South .While some firms packed up and moved ,others simply got out of the business altogether.

16. Which of the following is not a feature of perfect competition according to the passage?
A The firms involved are small compared to the size of the industry.
B The firms involved produce goods of the same kind .
C The size of the industry is ususlly very samll.
D The price of the products is deterimned by the market.

18. If a firm sells its products at a price higher than that of the market ,consumers will
A buy goods of the same kind produced by other companies.
B stop buying this type of products altogether.
C use anlther type of goods as substitutes.
D continue to buy its products becausr of their good quality.

19. In the third paragraph,the author mentions"fast food restaurants"to show
A the rapid emergence of new industries in down town areas.
B the prosperity of service indusries in backward countries .
C people"s enthusiasm for shopping .
D businessmen"s interest in high -profit industries.

20. What is the most important reason for a company to quit a business?
A Some other firms are making more money .
B There is too much competition in this industry .
C It is not making adequate profit .
D Foreign products have got control of the market.

第五篇 　At War with a Giant

　　The nultinatonal corporation McDonald"s,which has a global empire of about 14,000 restaurants in 70 conutries and makes over 6 billion pounds a year, is in the process of suing two penniless and unemployed British environmental activists (活动分子).It is accusing David Morris,a former postman ,and Helen Steel ,a former gardener ,of distributing a leaflet in the 80s that is highly critical of the company"s environmental  ,the treatment of its workers and the nutritional quality of its food.McDonald"s denies all the allegations(断言).

　　When McDonald"s launched its first attack on the couple in 1990,it probably expected them to back down .But they did not .For Morris and Steel the trial is an opportunity to broadcast their allegations against McDonald"s to the world .And they have nothing to lose .They have no money or property ,so that even if McDonald "s does win ,the hamburger shain will not be able to rver any of the costs of the case from the rwo activists.The trial was originally scheduled to last three wddks but it celebrated its first year in June 1995 and is expected to go on until at least January 1996.

　　Helen Steel explained why they took on this battle against the corporation giant :"We felt that really we had no option but to fight this case .It"s important to defend freedom of speech and the prblic"s right to criticize the business practices of huge multinational companies." The couple is helped by Dan Mills ,a former lawyer ,who says :"we are getting support from all round the country and all round the world.People are sending in letters and message of support .And also we are getting donations form people all over the world."

　　There is still no end in sight for the trial .If Steel and Morris win ,the reputationof McDonald"s may never be the same again.

21. Themultinational corporatiom McDonald"s sued the British couple because.
A McDonald"s considered that none of the allegations they made was real.
B They had a bad environmental rrd although they were envirommental activists.
C They always violated the disciplines of McDonald"s.
D McDonald"s considered that their distribution of a leaflet was illegal.

22. The main reason that the couple looked forward to the trial to be held was that they
A expected to earn some money from the trial.
B wanted to expose some illegal actions of McDonald"s.
C wanted to be knowm in the world .
D were not afraid of losin