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  3. In August, environmentalists in the Philippines vandalized a field of Golden Rice, an experimental grain whose genes had been mo

In August, environmentalists in the Philippines vandalized a field of Golden Rice, an experimental grain whose genes had been mo

admin2015-03-20  86
问题     In August, environmentalists in the Philippines vandalized a field of Golden Rice, an experimental grain whose genes had been modified. Its seeds will be handed out free to farmers. The aim is to improve the health of children in poor countries by reducing vitamin A deficiency, which contributes to hundreds of thousands of premature deaths and cases of blindness each year.
    Environmentalists claim that these sorts of actions are justified because genetically modified crops pose health risks. Now the main ground for those claims has crumbled. Last year a paper which was published in a respected journal found that unusual rates of tumours and deaths in rats that had been fed upon a variety of genetic modification(GM)corn. Other studies found no such effects. But this one enabled campaigners to make a health-and-safety argument against GM crops— one persuasive enough to influence governments. After the study appeared, Russia suspended imports of the grain in question. Kenya banned all GM crops. And the French prime minister said that if the results were confirmed he would press for a Europe-wide ban on the GM maize.
    There is now no serious scientific evidence that GM crops do any harm to the health of human beings. There is plenty of evidence, though, that they benefit the health of the planet. One of the biggest challenges facing mankind is to feed the 9 billion-10 billion people who will be alive and richer in 2050. This will require doubling food production on roughly the same area of land, using less water and fewer chemicals. It will also mean making food crops more resistant to the droughts and floods that seem likely if climate change is as bad as scientists fear.
    If the Green revolution had never happened, and yields had stayed at 1960 levels, the world could not produce its current food output even if it ploughed up every last acre of cultivable land. In contrast, GM crops boost yields, protecting wild habitat from the plough. They are more resistant to the vagaries of climate change, and to diseases and pests, reducing the need for agrochemicals. Genetic research holds out the possibility of breakthroughs that could vastly increase the productivity of farming, such as grains that fix their own nitrogen.
    Vandalizing GM field trials is a bit like the campaign of some religious leaders to prevent smallpox inoculations: it causes misery, even death, in the name of obscurantism and unscientific belief.
The phrase "contributes to"(Para. 1)probably means______.
选项 A、brings to
B、leads to
C、results from
D、introduces into
答案B
解析 根据题干关键词定位到第一段第三句话。第三句话意为“这么做的目的是为了通过减少贫困国家儿童的维生素A缺乏情况来改善这些国家儿童的健康状况，缺乏维生素A每年都会有成千上万的人过早死亡和失明”。contribute和to搭配意为“促使，是导致……的原因之一。故B项leads to“导致，引起”，符合文意，为正确答案。bring to“使……达到，使……苏醒”，一般和人搭配。result from意为“产生于……，由……引起”。introduceinto“引进，插入”，用法为introduce sth．into…。三项均不符合题意，故排除。
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