3.7 考研英语阅读模拟试题【难度6.8】

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Section II Reading Comprehension 

Part A 

Directions: Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D. Mark your answers on the ANSWER SHEET. 

Text 1

“You don’t notice the seeds in a blackberry until you’ve tried a seedless one,” says Tom Adams, the boss of Pairwise, a biotech company working on the first iteration of such a fruit. Gene-edited blackberries are not technically without seeds; rather, their seeds are so small and soft as to be unnoticeable. Late last year, Pairwise announced a joint venture to develop stoneless cherries, following the success of conventionally bred seedless grapes and watermelons. It is only a matter of time until more challenging fruits are similarly altered.

Over thousands of years of domestication, humans have moulded fruit to their liking. Today’s peaches are 16 times the size of their ancient ancestors. Some modern fruits, however, achieve their sweetness by lowering acidity and bitterness rather than piling in extra sugar. As Pairwise’s blackberries show, advances in gene editing are allowing fruits to be altered in new ways. CRISPR, the most popular technique employed by Pairwise, permits the deletion of single genes. That enables changes hard to achieve through conventional breeding. Moreover, unlike existing genetically modified crops, those made using CRISPR do not require DNA from a foreign organism to be inserted—a practice that experience shows puts customers off.

Artificial intelligence is also helping scientists design fruit more efficiently. The predictive capabilities of computational modelling allow them to discover how multiple genes, biochemical pathways, and environmental factors will combine to produce complex traits, such as flavor-generating chemicals. For instance, a Californian firm is using CRISPR to develop non-browning avocados by obstructing an enzyme called polyphenol oxidase.

So far, few CRISPR-edited fruits have hit the market because of the time it takes to develop a new generation from an altered seed. It can take years for apple or peach trees to begin bearing fruit. Consequently, the technology is most advanced for tomatoes and strawberries, where the process takes only months. In 2021, a Japanese tomato with a higher content of a beneficial nutrient was the first CRISPR food to go on sale.

As more fruity creations become available, companies believe fruit consumption will rise. Pairwise estimates that seedless blackberries could have a similar effect to seedless mandarins, which increased the value of the entire American citrus market by roughly a third after becoming available year-round.

Clearer regulation will help even more. In 2016, Argentina ruled that gene-edited products should be regulated like conventionally bred ones, and many others have followed suit. The European Union reached a provisional deal in December to "simplify" the marketing process for plants bred through new genomic techniques, such as by scrapping the need to label them differently from conventional ones. That seems an appropriately fruitful approach.

21. Why are Pairwise's new blackberries considered "seedless"?

[A] They are completely devoid of any seed structures. 

[B] Their seeds have been engineered to be soft and imperceptible. 

[C] They are bred using DNA from seedless grapes. 

[D] Their seeds dissolve rapidly upon consumption.

22. According to Paragraph 2, how does CRISPR differ from earlier genetic modification techniques?

[A] It relies exclusively on artificial intelligence for gene selection. 

[B] It increases the acidity and bitterness of the fruit for better taste. 

[C] It requires a much longer time to produce a new generation of crops. 

[D] It avoids the introduction of foreign DNA into the organism.

23. The author mentions the Californian firm's avocados (Para. 3) to illustrate _______.

[A] the difficulty of eliminating the polyphenol oxidase enzyme 

[B] the potential of new tech to enhance fruit appeal beyond sweetness 

[C] the environmental factors that contribute to the browning of fruits 

[D] the high cost of applying computational modelling to agriculture

24. Why is CRISPR technology currently more advanced in tomatoes than in peaches?

[A] Tomatoes naturally contain higher levels of beneficial nutrients. 

[B] Consumers are more willing to buy genetically edited tomatoes. 

[C] Tomato plants have a much shorter growth and reproduction cycle. 

[D] Peach trees are strictly protected by agricultural regulations.

25. What is the author's attitude towards the European Union's provisional deal on gene-edited plants?

[A] Strongly critical 

[B] Cautiously skeptical 

[C] Highly supportive 

[D] Completely indifferent

附注：根据历年考研英语真题阅读题源外刊等，摘选最新文章，模拟仿真出题。

参考答案见以下。

Quick look: BDBCC

21. 【答案】B

【解析】题型：细节题

定位： 第一段第二句 "Gene-edited blackberries are not technically without seeds; rather, their seeds are so small and soft as to be unnoticeable."

分析： 文章指出，经过基因编辑的黑莓在技术上并非真的没有种子，而是它们的种子非常小且柔软，以至于“无法被察觉”（unnoticeable / imperceptible）。这对应选项 B。

干扰项：[A] 原文说 "not technically without seeds"，即并非完全没有种子结构。 [C] 无籽葡萄只是前文提到的传统培育成功的例子，并未说黑莓使用了葡萄的 DNA。 [D] 文中未提及种子在食用时会“溶解”（dissolve）。

22. 【答案】D

【解析】题型：对比细节题

定位： 第二段最后一句 "Moreover, unlike existing genetically modified crops, those made using CRISPR do not require DNA from a foreign organism to be inserted..."

分析： 作者指出，与现有的转基因作物不同，使用 CRISPR 技术制造的作物不需要插入来自“外来生物”（foreign organism）的 DNA，而以往引入外来 DNA 的做法常常让消费者反感。选项 D “避免了将外来 DNA 引入生物体”准确概括了这一区别。

干扰项：[A] AI 是在下一段提到的辅助工具，CRISPR 并非完全依赖 AI。 [B] 第二段前半部分说现代水果通过“降低”（lowering）酸度和苦味来获得甜味，选项说增加，方向反了。 [C] 耗时长是树木类水果（如桃子）的特性，不是 CRISPR 技术本身的特点或区别。

23. 【答案】B

【解析】题型：例证/修辞目的题

定位： 第三段第二句 "They can make fruits more appealing in other ways, too. For instance, a Californian firm is using CRISPR to develop non-browning avocados..."

分析： 第三段前半部分讨论了 AI 和生化途径可以产生复杂的风味特征。接着作者说“它们也能以其他方式让水果更具吸引力（more appealing）”，随后举了加州公司开发“不褐变牛油果”的例子。因此，这个例子是为了说明新技术不仅能增加甜味/风味，还能在其他方面（如防变色）提升水果的吸引力。

干扰项：[A] 例子是说他们通过阻断这种酶“成功”开发了不褐变的牛油果，并未强调消除它的困难（difficulty）。 [C] 重点在于利用技术阻断酶，而非探讨导致褐变的环境因素。 [D] 文中未提及计算建模的成本（high cost）。

24. 【答案】C

【解析】题型：因果细节题

定位： 第四段第一至三句 "...because of the time it takes to develop a new generation... take years for apple or peach trees to begin bearing fruit. Consequently, the technology is most advanced for tomatoes and strawberries, where the process takes only months."

分析： 为什么 CRISPR 在西红柿上最先进？因为研发新一代种子需要时间。苹果或桃树结果需要“数年”（years），而西红柿的生长过程只需要“几个月”（months）。这说明西红柿的生长和繁殖周期要短得多。

干扰项：[A] 日本西红柿确实增加了有益营养素，但这不是技术在西红柿上更先进的“原因”，周期短才是。 [B] 文中未比较消费者对不同基因编辑水果的购买意愿差异。 [D] 监管规定在最后一段提到，但并未说桃树受到特别严格的农业监管保护。

25. 【答案】C

【解析】题型：态度题

定位： 最后一段最后一句 "That seems an appropriately fruitful approach."

分析： 欧盟达成了一项临时协议，简化了通过新基因组技术培育的植物的营销流程，例如取消了将它们与传统植物区别标记的要求。作者对此的评价是：“这似乎是一个恰当且富有成效的方法（appropriately fruitful approach）”。“fruitful”在这里一语双关，既指“关于水果的”，也指“卓有成效的”，表达了高度支持（Highly supportive）的态度。

干扰项：[A] 强烈批评（与 fruitful 态度相反）。 [B] 谨慎怀疑（作者没有表现出怀疑，而是直接肯定）。 [D] 完全冷漠（作者做出了积极的评价，并非冷漠）。

【词汇注释】

iteration: noun (VERSION) a new version of a piece of computer software, a product, etc. 迭代；版本（文中指生物技术公司正在研发的第一代无籽黑莓产品）

eviscerate: verb (REMOVE) to remove the inner organs of a body; (figurative) to remove the most important parts of something 去除内脏；抽出精华（文中诙谐地引申为水果被“掏空”——即去除了果核或种子）

obstruct: verb (BLOCK) to block a road, an entrance, a passage, etc. so that somebody/something cannot get through, see past, etc. 阻断；妨碍（文中指科学家利用基因编辑阻断了导致牛油果褐变的酶）

provisional: adjective (TEMPORARY) arranged or existing for the present, possibly to be changed later 临时的；暂定的（文中指欧盟达成的临时协议）

scrap: verb (CANCEL) to cancel or get rid of something that is no longer practical or useful 废除；取消（文中指取消了对基因编辑作物进行特殊标记的要求）

fruitful: adjective (SUCCESSFUL) producing many useful results 富有成效的（文中一语双关，既指该方法会带来丰硕的成果，也契合“水果”的主题）

【参考译文】

“在尝过无籽黑莓之前，你不会注意到黑莓里有籽，”北卡罗来纳州生物技术公司 Pairwise 的老板汤姆·亚当斯说道，该公司正在研发这种水果的第一个迭代版本。在技术上，基因编辑的黑莓并非没有种子；相反，它们的种子如此之小且柔软，以至于让人无法察觉。继传统培育的无籽葡萄和西瓜取得成功之后，去年年底，Pairwise 宣布成立一家合资企业来开发无核樱桃。其他更具挑战性的水果被类似地“掏空”果核，只是时间问题。

经过数千年的驯化，人类已经按照自己的喜好对水果进行了重塑。今天的桃子是其远古祖先的16倍大。然而，一些现代水果是通过降低酸度和苦味来实现甜味的，而不是单纯地增加糖分。正如 Pairwise 的黑莓所展示的，基因编辑的进步正在让水果以新的方式被改变。CRISPR 是目前最流行的此类技术，也是 Pairwise 所采用的技术，它允许删除单个基因。这使得通过传统育种难以实现的改变成为可能。此外，与现有的转基因作物不同，使用 CRISPR 制造的作物不需要插入来自外来生物的 DNA——经验表明，插入外来 DNA 的做法会让消费者反感。

人工智能也在帮助科学家更高效地设计水果。计算建模的预测能力使他们能够更快地发现多个基因、生化途径以及环境因素将如何结合，从而产生复杂的特征，例如产生风味的化学物质。它们也能以其他方式让水果更具吸引力。例如，加州的一家公司正在使用 CRISPR，通过阻断一种叫做多酚氧化酶的酶来开发不会褐变的牛油果。

美国宾夕法尼亚州立大学生物学教授马红表示，到目前为止，很少有 CRISPR 编辑的水果上市，因为从改变的种子培育出新一代水果需要时间。苹果树或桃树可能需要数年时间才能开始结果。因此，这项技术在西红柿和草莓上最为先进，因为它们的生长过程只需要几个月。2021年，一种含有更高水平有益营养素的日本西红柿成为首个上市的 CRISPR 食品。

随着越来越多具有水果创意的新品上市，各公司相信水果的消费量将会上升。Pairwise 估计，其无籽黑莓的推出可能会产生类似于无籽易剥橘子的影响，后者自 2012 年实现全年供应后的四年里，使整个美国柑橘市场的价值增加了约三分之一。

更清晰的监管将带来更大的帮助。2016年，阿根廷成为第一个裁定基因编辑产品应与传统培育产品采用相同方式进行监管的国家，许多其他国家也采取了类似的做法。欧盟在去年 12 月达成了一项临时协议，以“简化”通过新基因组技术培育的植物的营销流程，例如废除了要求它们贴上与传统植物不同标签的规定。这似乎是一个恰当且富有成效的方法。

附注：

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