Work in pairs. Ask and answer the questions

1. Check the meaning of the words in the box. Use the words to complete the text below.

alter     crops     diseases     gene

genetic     engineering     herbicides

nutrients     weeds

Did you know that scientists have put a fish (1) _______ into a tomato? They did it to develop tomatoes which can grow in cold temperatures.

So what are genes? Genes are instructions which exist inside every cell of every living thing. Each cell in the human body contains about 25,000 to 35,000 genes which determine your eye colour, how tall you are, what skills you have, and so on. So if you (2) _______ a plant gene, you can change a specific characteristic like colour, shape or height.

(3) _________ changes the genes of plants or animals to make genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Scientists believe that GMOs can help us in many ways. For example, GM (4) _________ can produce more food which contains more (5) __________. They can also have an engineered resistance to insects and (6) _____________, and stay fresh for longer. GMOs can make fish grow larger and make cows produce healthier milk. Some people think that if we want to feed the world’s population, we will need GMOs.

But does genetic engineering work? Farmers use (7) __________ to kill weeds, but these chemicals can also damage crops. In the USA, farmers use GM crops which resist herbicides, so that they can destroy (8) ___________ without damaging the crop. However, some ‘superweeds’ are becoming immune to the herbicides, so the farmers have to use more and more chemicals.

Food is very important to all of us and many people believe we are what we eat. These people are worried about the overuse of chemicals and the possible effects of eating GMOs. Some governments oppose them. What do you think?

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2. Read and listen to the text. Match headings A-E with paragraphs 1-5.

(Đọc và nghe văn bản. Nối tiêu đề A-E với đoạn 1-5)

A. What genetic engineering can do

B. Doubts about genetic engineering

C. An example of genetic engineering

D. Defining genes

E. Genetic engineering and weeds

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3. Answer the questions.

(Trả lời các câu hỏi)

1. Why did scientists genetically modify a tomato?

2. What do genes do?

3. What effect can herbicides have on crops?

4. What sort of plants can resist herbicides?

5. Why do some people oppose the use of GMOs?

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