Special English Science Report

Date: 7-26-01
Byline:George Grow
Special thanks to Voice of America for granting permission to use their material as a resource for this reading comprehension quiz.


A group responsible for world food safety has agreed on the first international rules to govern the safety of foods made with genetic engineering.

The Codex Alimentarius Commission approved the rules at a meeting in Geneva, Switzerland earlier this month. Codex is a joint agency of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Health Organization. One-hundred-sixty-five nations belong to the organization.

Delegates to the Codex Commission meeting examined concerns about the safety of foods made with genetic engineering. Many groups and individuals have expressed concern that such foods could be harmful to human health and the environment.

Genetic engineering is the technology of changing the genes of living things. The changed gene directs the plant or other organism to do things it normally does not do. For example, some crops are genetically engineered to resist harmful insects. The technology has helped farmers increase crop production. It also reduces the need to use chemicals to kill insects.

The Codex Commission agreed that food from genetically engineered organisms should be tested and approved by governments before it can be sold. The delegates said genetically engineered foods should be tested for anything that could cause allergic reactions in humans. They said information about anything known to cause such a reaction should be clearly shown on the product. However, the delegates were not able to agree on a proposal to require the identification of all foods made with genetic engineering.

  1. The appropriate title for the report is
    a.Genetically engineered foods theories.
    b.Reasons for accepting engineered foods.
    c.Rules for genetically engineered foods.
    d.Genetically engineered foods apothegm.
    e.Joint decision on engineered foods.
  2. Genetically engineered foods
    a.are only expected to be harmful to the environment.
    b.ought to have been harmful to human health and the environment.
    c.are likely to harm human health and the environment.
    d.must be prohibited.
    e.could be approved by governments anyhow.
  3. The functions of the underlined words in the text are respectively
    a.noun / verb
    b.verb / verb
    c.verb / adjective
    d.adjective / adjective
    e.noun / adjective
  4. Select the alternative that does not correspond to the text.
    a.Governments ought to test food from genetically engineered organisms before allowing its sale.
    b.Crop production increased due to the help of technology.
    c.Delegates were unable to come to consensus of having genetic engineering foods identified.
    d.Not all crops are genetically engineered to resist harmless insects.
    e.The technology of altering the genes of living things is known as genetic engineering.
  5. Write T if the statement is True and F if the statement is False
    a.( )The United Nations Food and the World Health Organization are joint agencies which constitute Codex.
    b.( )Due to the help of this technology, less chemicals are needed to kill insects.
    c.( )Rules to govern the safety of foods made with genetic engineering have been dictated by the world food safety group.
    d.( )Engineered foods are responsible for causing any allergic reactions in humans.
    e.( )According to Codex Commission foods made with genetic engineering should be banned before causing damage to the environment.


    Quiz Copyright (C) 2001 Vera Queiroz