Задание
Прочитай текст и выполни задания 12–18. В каждом задании запиши в поле ответа цифру 1, 2, 3 или 4, соответствующую выбранному варианту ответа.
Why don't banana sweets taste like bananas?
Have you ever wondered why banana sweets never actually taste like real bananas? Well, that's because the artificial banana flavour is based on a type of banana that is no longer grown commercially.
If you were to have bought a banana before the mid-20th century, you would have most likely bought a Gros Michel. Also known as "Big Mike", these bananas are fatter and more flavourful than the variety currently sold in shops, which is called the Cavendish. The Gros Michel contains a much higher concentration of a chemical compound, or ester, called isoamyl acetate. If you were to smell this ester on its own you would immediately recognise it as a banana. Being cheap to produce and highly versatile makes this ester very popular as a banana flavouring. In contrast, the Cavendish has more subtle and complex flavours that cannot be effectively replicated by isoamyl acetate. So, it is not so much that banana flavouring does not taste like bananas, it is more that bananas do not taste the way they used to.
In addition to their richer flavour, Gros Michels also have a thicker peel which makes them much less likely to bruise and easier to transport. This then begs the question, why are they no longer available in the supermarket? The answer is simple: Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. cubense. This is a fungus which causes Panama disease, a condition that prevents banana plants from drawing water, causing them to wilt and die. In the 1950s, a mass outbreak of Panama disease almost wiped out Gros Michel bananas, to the point that they could no longer be commercially grown. Enter the Cavendish, which proved to be naturally more resistant to the disease, and thus succeeded in becoming the most common kind of commercially grown banana.
This might have been the end of the story about bananas, if it was not for one other feature. If you have ever eaten a banana, you may have noticed that it did not contain any seeds. While wild bananas have large hard seeds, edible bananas are seedless. This means that store-bought bananas are sterile. In other words, new banana plants are cloned from the fragments of a parent plant, meaning that all the bananas you find in the supermarket are genetically identical.
So why does this matter? Although the Cavendish was originally cultivated due to its resilience towards Panama disease, in the late 1990s a new strain arose called TR4. Unfortunately, the Cavendish is susceptible to this new strain, which has been working its way through banana plantations. Now, because all banana plants are essentially clones they lack the genetic diversity required to develop resistance to the disease, meaning TR4 could very well kill them all. Despite best efforts to prevent its spread, Panama disease has been working its way into all the major banana growing areas, including Asia, Africa, Australia, and South America. Unlike the last time, however, we do not have a new variety that could replace the Cavendish.
Not only are bananas an $11 billion-per-year industry, but they are also the planet's favourite fruit. While in the Western world they might be missed as a delicious and convenient snack, for millions in Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, and Asia they are a fundamental source of nutrition. So, what can be done to save them?
Some scientists are trying to grow new experimental and hybrid breeds in the hope of finding one that is both resistant to Panama disease and that also tastes similar enough to the Cavendish so consumers will not notice a difference. Others are trying to use genetic engineering to manipulate banana chromosomes with the aim of making the Cavendish tougher and more resistant to all diseases. These solutions, however, are both difficult and time-consuming. At the moment, there is yet to be a new banana type with fruit that tastes good, ripens at a predictable time, can travel without being bruised, and that's easy to grow in large quantities. The race is on to find one before it is too late.
12. What do we know from the first paragraph?
1) Banana sweets don't have a natural banana flavour.
2) Banana sweets are made from the type of bananas that is used only in these sweets.
3) The author likes banana sweets.
4) Real bananas don't exist anymore.
13.Which of the following sentences is TRUE?
1) The Cavendish banana is sweeter than the Gros Michel banana.
2) The Gros Michel is now more popular than the Cavendish.
3) The Cavendish banana is not as tasty as the Gros Michel banana.
4) The Cavendish banana is thicker than the Gros Michel banana.
14.The word to bruise ("...less likely to bruise…") in the 3rd paragraph is closest to the meaning of the word…
1) To darken.
2) To injure.
3) To crush.
4) To break.
15.Why did the Cavendish type banana take over the market?
1) This type grew in places where there was no Panama disease.
2) This type couldn't be affected by Panama disease.
3) This type didn't need much water to grow.
4) This type has a richer taste than all other types of bananas.
16.What is so special about bananas from the shop?
1) Scientists removed the seeds to make the bananas easier to eat.
2) You can't grow this type of banana yourself.
3) There is very little genetic diversity in these bananas.
4) These bananas, unlike other types, reproduce by seeding.
17.The Cavendish type banana may disappear because…
1) it is vulnerable to a new disease.
2) the disease has mutated.
3) the disease has reached the plantations where Cavendish bananas grow.
4) it is replaced by a new type of banana that is tastier.
18.What does NOT the author mention in the last paragraph?
1) Some scientists want to create new types of bananas.
2) Some scientists are trying to make the Cavendish type stronger.
3) No type of banana is similar to the Cavendish type.
4) A new type of banana will come on the market soon.