CHAPTER 3

Unit 3A words & phrases

processing	Sanitary-sanitation	diminish	hazard	Vary-variety-various
Level off- attack	Suffer from	severe	Contaminate-contaminated	outbreak
hospitalize	integral	Digest-digestion	raw	virulent
intestines	Infection-infectious	confined	Sole-solely	detect
demand	priority	compulsory	Virtual-virtually	eliminate
Flock of birds, sheep…	undergo	Diligent-diligently-	feasible	Digest-digestive

Unit 3A Comprehension Questions

How Safe Is Our Food?

1. What is the reading mainly about?

a. Progress should be made to lessening the occurrence of foodborne disease.

b. Disease investigators have to try hard to find the sources of the disease and prevent them in the future.

c. In most cases, contaminated food and water are the factors to be blamed for illness.

d. The food we eat should be handled properly to reduce the risk of contamination from foodborne bacteria.

2. The word ‘integral’ in line 31 is closest in meaning to

a. inconvenient 

b. crucial 

c. indirect 

d. conventional

3. The word ‘this’ in line 105 refers to

a. unrelated cases 

b. the investigators’ prevention of virulent diseases in foods

c. finding out the faults in the food’s journey to our tables

d. detecting the disease at an early age

4. All of the following statements are true according to the text EXCEPT

a. PulseNet is used to match types of bacteria using DNA.

b. Before the Rudolph case, Levitt did not see foodborne illness as a serious health problem.

c. Even a single disease-causing bacterium is dangerous because it can become billions in a day.

d. In the last paragraph, ‘the pioneers’ refers to people who create new bacteria-resistant foods.

5. From lines 109-127 we can understand that

a. To prevent food bacteria from spreading to people, keep the food preparation environment clean.

b. People in Brazil try to keep food at the correct temperature.

c. Brazilians realized that bacteria are an integral part of a healthy life.

d. Public health officials found out that mangoes were washed in contaminated water at a farm in Brazil.

6. The word ‘compulsory’ in line 148 is closest in meaning to

a. profitable

b. mandatory

c. likely

d. diligently

7. In line 38 the statement ‘Nearly all raw food, too, has bacteria in it. But, the bacteria that produce foodborne illness are of a different, more virulent kind’ means

a. All raw food cause deadly infection.

b. Foodborne illness is a compelling public health problem.

c. The bacteria in food is more harmful than other bacteria.

d. When eaten, some bacteria cause more severe illness than others.

8. Which three ways to prevent food bacteria from spreading are mentioned?

ANSWERS

1. d

2. b

3. c

4. d

5. d

6. b

7. d

8 These include washing raw food and hands, keeping the food preparation environment clean, and keeping food at the correct temperature.

Unit 3B words and vocabulary

Alter-alteration	Resist-resistant	Herbicide X Pesticide	Point out	Manipulate-manipulation
battle	Nutrition-nutritional	notwithstanding	trait	breeding
conventional	insert	Implicated-involved	Allergy- Allergic to	Modify-modification
Adequate-adequately	malnourish	pest	Deficient-deficiency	Go blind
skeptic	Exaggerate-exaggeration	diminish	gene

Unit 3B Comprehension Questions

Genetic Engineering

1)      What is the reading mainly about?

a- benefits of biotech foods

b- diseases caused by genetically modified foods

c- advantages and disadvantages of genetically modified foods

d- production of genetically modified foods

2)      The word “adequately” on line 100 can best be replaced by

a- clearly

b- enough

c- neatly

d- fast

3)      The word “the rest” on line 113 refers to

a- insects

b- crops

c- chemical pesticides

d- water

4)      On line 69, the statement “Lab tests have linked fumonisins with cancer in animals” means

a- Animals with cancer can be observed in labs.

b- Cancer can be cured with fumonisins in labs.

c- Lab researchers believe there is no relation between fumonisins and cancer.

d- According to lab tests, fumonisins may cause cancer in animals.

5)      All of the following statements are true according to the text EXCEPT

a- Genetic alteration is a new process.

b- Fumonisins may cause cancer in animals.

c- Most scientists believe that genetically engineered crops are really harmful for the environment.

d- Genetic engineering can be a solution to food shortage and hunger.

6)      In paragraph VI, we can understand that Allison Snow

a- trusts genetically engineered crops completely.

b- has some doubts about genetically engineered crops.

c- doesn’t want to comment about genetically engineered crops.

d- is against genetically engineered crops.

7)      On line 141, the phrase “Golden rice alone won’t greatly diminish vitamin A deficiency” means

a- Golden rice alone can cure vitamin A deficiency.

b- Golden rice may cause vitamin A deficiency.

c- Golden rice alone is not enough to decrease vitamin A deficiency.

d- Golden rice increases vitamin A deficiency.

8)      Give three ways that genetic engineering can address the problems of food shortage and hunger.

Answer Key:

1)c 2)b 3)a 4)d 5)a 6)b 7)c

8) by increasing crop quantities and nutritional value, offering crop varieties that resist pests and disease, and providing ways to grow crops on land that would otherwise not support farming.