研究生英语期末口语考试话题.doc

Topics for Oral Test
你知道转基因食物吗？你认为这对健康有害吗？What do you know 
GM food? Do you think it is harmful to health?
D: Hey ,everybody，a few days ago ，I read a paper that China have done several researchs on genetically modified foods and have eaten them. As far as I am concerned ，The United States is also favor of genetically modified foods , but Europe is against them firmly. what do you think of it?
L: Well, I think it's a great idea to have genetically modified foods.
D: Really？Why?
L: Well, genetically modified plants may need fewer pesticides than normal plants. For example, there is a type of corn that is bad for insects——when the insects eat the corn plant, they die. However, the corn doesn’t hurt people. This type of corn is beneficial because famers use fewer pesticides to grow the corn, and so there is less pollution in the environment. Also the corn is less expensive because the farmers don’t have to spend a lot of money on pesticides. So, by using fewer pesticides the corn is cheaper and the environment is cleaner.
H: Yes, and there are two another benefits of genetically modified food. One is that they may grow better than normal plants. The other one is that many genetically modified plants stay fresh longer after they are harvested. What’s more, because of its high yield, it increases the possibility of solving the global hunger issues. But do you think the GM foods are all safe?
Y: Well, there is no answer. No effects on human health have been shown as a result of the consumption of such foods by the general population in the countries where they have been approved. So far, there is little evidence that GM foods are harmful to health. However，there are some countries holding the opposite views.
D: I firmly agree with that. Everything has two sides, Some European countries such as Austria, their consumer groups oppose the sale of importing genetically modified food, they believe that genetically modified foods affect human health. In Eur