It was so dark outside the car window that it was hard to see anything.
“ Can I have a carrot, Mom?” Bruce asked.
“I don’t have any carrots,” his mom said. “How about an apple?”
“No,” said Bruce. “It has to be a carrot.”
“Why do you want a carrot?” asked his mom
“You always say carrots help your eyes.” said Bruce. “If I eat one now, it might help me see in the dark.”
Would eating a carrot really help Bruce? What is special about carrots? What makes a carrot special is its color. Carrots are orange because they contain(包含) bta-carotene( 胡萝卜素). Beta-carotene is a way of saying vitamin A. Your eyes need vitamin A. It helps them work.
When light hits your eye, very small parts inside turn the light into messages. The messages go to your brain（大脑）, and then you know what you’re looking at. Your eye can only turn light into messages when it has a special chemical(化学物质). Your eyes use vitamin A to make the special chemical. Every time your eye changes light into messages, a little bit of the chemical is used up. By the end of the day, you’ve looked at hundreds of things. That uses up a lot of the chemical. Your eyes need to make more.
What should you eat if you don’t like carrots? Don’t worry. Other fruits and vegetables have vitamin A, too. The secret is in their color. Most orange or red fruits and vegetables contain beta-carotene, or vitamin A, Sweet vegetable, red peppers（胡椒）, Mangoes(芒果) are a few foods that have the same orange secret.
【小题1】 Bruce wanted a carrot because he thought _______.
A. he liked it
B. it could help him see in the dark
C.  it was sweet and delicious
【小题2】How does vitamin A help your eyes work?
A. The special chemical can stop your eyes from using up vitamin A.
B. The special chemical is used to make Vitamin A which turns the light into messages
C. Vitamin A is used to make the special chemical which turns light into messages.
【小题3】 Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?
A. Carrots are orange because they store beta-carotene.
B. Any food which is orange or red must have some Vitamin A.
C. Most fruits that are orange or red store some beta-carotene or Vitamin A.
【小题4】 Sweet vegetable, red peppers, and mangoes don’t have the same orange secret, do they?
A. No, they don’t.     B. Yes, they do.     C. I’m not sure.
【小题5】 The passage mainly tells us that _______.
A. we can’t see in the dark unless we eat many carrots every day
B. we can’t see unless we eat a lot of orange or red food every day
C. we should eat some food containing vitamin A so that we can see well

It was so dark outside the car window that it was hard to see anything.
“ Can I have a carrot, Mom?” Bruce asked.
“I don’t have any carrots,” his mom said. “How about an apple?”
“No,” said Bruce. “It has to be a carrot.”
“Why do you want a carrot?” asked his mom
“You always say carrots help your eyes.” said Bruce. “If I eat one now, it might help me see in the dark.”
Would eating a carrot really help Bruce? What is special about carrots? What makes a carrot special is its color. Carrots are orange because they contain(包含) bta-carotene( 胡萝卜素). Beta-carotene is a way of saying vitamin A. Your eyes need vitamin A. It helps them work.
When light hits your eye, very small parts inside turn the light into messages. The messages go to your brain（大脑）, and then you know what you’re looking at. Your eye can only turn light into messages when it has a special chemical(化学物质). Your eyes use vitamin A to make the special chemical. Every time your eye changes light into messages, a little bit of the chemical is used up. By the end of the day, you’ve looked at hundreds of things. That uses up a lot of the chemical. Your eyes need to make more.
What should you eat if you don’t like carrots? Don’t worry. Other fruits and vegetables have vitamin A, too. The secret is in their color. Most orange or red fruits and vegetables contain beta-carotene, or vitamin A, Sweet vegetable, red peppers（胡椒）, Mangoes(芒果) are a few foods that have the same orange secret

1. 1.

   Bruce wanted a carrot because he thought _______

   1. A.
      he liked it
   2. B.
      it could help him see in the dark
   3. C.
      it was sweet and delicious
2. 2.

   How does vitamin A help your eyes work?

   1. A.
      The special chemical can stop your eyes from using up vitamin A
   2. B.
      The special chemical is used to make Vitamin A which turns the light into messages
   3. C.
      Vitamin A is used to make the special chemical which turns light into messages
3. 3.

   Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

   1. A.
      Carrots are orange because they store beta-carotene
   2. B.
      Any food which is orange or red must have some Vitamin A
   3. C.
      Most fruits that are orange or red store some beta-carotene or Vitamin A
4. 4.

   Sweet vegetable, red peppers, and mangoes don’t have the same orange secret, do they?

   1. A.
      No, they don’t
   2. B.
      Yes, they do
   3. C.
      I’m not sure
5. 5.

   The passage mainly tells us that _______

   1. A.
      we can’t see in the dark unless we eat many carrots every day
   2. B.
      we can’t see unless we eat a lot of orange or red food every day
   3. C.
      we should eat some food containing vitamin A so that we can see well

1 

It was so dark outside the car window that it was hard to see anything.

“ Can I have a carrot, Mom?” Bruce asked.

“I don’t have any carrots,” his mom said. “How about an apple?”

“No,” said Bruce. “It has to be a carrot.”

“Why do you want a carrot?” asked his mom

“You always say carrots help your eyes.” said Bruce. “If I eat one now, it might help me see in the dark.”

Would eating a carrot really help Bruce? What is special about carrots? What makes a carrot special is its color. Carrots are orange because they contain(包含) bta-carotene( 胡萝卜素). Beta-carotene is a way of saying vitamin A. Your eyes need vitamin A. It helps them work.

When light hits your eye, very small parts inside turn the light into messages. The messages go to your brain（大脑）, and then you know what you’re looking at. Your eye can only turn light into messages when it has a special chemical(化学物质). Your eyes use vitamin A to make the special chemical. Every time your eye changes light into messages, a little bit of the chemical is used up. By the end of the day, you’ve looked at hundreds of things. That uses up a lot of the chemical. Your eyes need to make more.

What should you eat if you don’t like carrots? Don’t worry. Other fruits and vegetables have vitamin A, too. The secret is in their color. Most orange or red fruits and vegetables contain beta-carotene, or vitamin A, Sweet vegetable, red peppers（胡椒）, Mangoes(芒果) are a few foods that have the same orange secret.

1. Bruce wanted a carrot because he thought _______.

A. he liked it

B. it could help him see in the dark

C.  it was sweet and delicious

2.How does vitamin A help your eyes work?

A. The special chemical can stop your eyes from using up vitamin A.

B. The special chemical is used to make Vitamin A which turns the light into messages

C. Vitamin A is used to make the special chemical which turns light into messages.

3. Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

A. Carrots are orange because they store beta-carotene.

B. Any food which is orange or red must have some Vitamin A.

C. Most fruits that are orange or red store some beta-carotene or Vitamin A.

4. Sweet vegetable, red peppers, and mangoes don’t have the same orange secret, do they?

A. No, they don’t.      B. Yes, they do.     C. I’m not sure.

5. The passage mainly tells us that _______.

A. we can’t see in the dark unless we eat many carrots every day

B. we can’t see unless we eat a lot of orange or red food every day

C. we should eat some food containing vitamin A so that we can see well

Sugar—free beets（甜菜）that still taste sweet, tastier tomatoes and brighter-colored fruits and vegetables that stay ripe（熟的）longer are all foods that are being grown now. How can they
carry traits, such as being tastier, brighter, and riper? They are genetically engineered.
Genetic engineering（基因工程）is like making a change in a recipe. For example, when you make cakes, you mix together all of the usual ingredients. If you add an extra ingredient, like salt, the cakes will taste differently.
Genes are ingredients in the recipe for life. They carry the traits of living things. Your genes dictate what color hair and eyes you’ll have, how tall you’ll be, as well as many other traits. Genes carry traits for plants, too. By adding genes to a plant, you can sometimes create new traits. For example, adding a certain gene to a potato plant can make the potato plant distasteful to bugs（虫子）. This makes some farmers happy because they don’t have to use chemicals to keep bugs away from their plants.
It sounds great, but some people are opposed to the idea of food that is genetically engineered. Ronnie Cummins, from the Campaign for Food Safety, is against it. He says that one of the major concerns is allergies（过敏）. Supermarkets don’t always label foods that are genetically engineered. A customer could unknowingly buy food that has an added gene from another plant that he or she is allergic to. It could be dangerous.
Gary Burton from Monsanto, a seed（种子）company that engineers food, disagrees. He says his company tests for allergies. Burton believes that genetic engineering is a valuable tool for making better food. The technology can help farmers use less insecticide（杀虫剂）and grow healthier crops. Burton thinks there are many advantages.
But Cummins says that we just don’t know what will happen in the future if we keep adding genes to foods. We could mistakenly create a monster.
People have different opinions about genetic engineering. One side supports it and thinks it will only help us. The other side is opposed to playing with nature and fears health risks. Which side do you think is right?
【小题1】What could be a good thing about food that is genetically engineered?