REASONING THROUGH LANGUAGE ARTS Reading Section ข้อ 8

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REASONING THROUGH LANGUAGE ARTS Reading Section (GED - SAT)

Consider the following two articles, "As Food Imports Rise, So Do Safety Concerns" and "Two Concerns Addressed with One Stone" to answer the following questions. 

 As Food Imports Rise, So Do Safety Concerns 

 From New Zealand lamb to Mexican papaya and Colombian coffee, your local grocery store provides a truly international experience. And while plantains, eddoes and avocados expand culinary horizons, importing these foods raises legitimate safety concerns. Americans rely heavily on imported food—the U.S. now imports nearly 85 percent of its fish consumption, and fruit and vegetable imports have doubled since 1998. Even products made in the United States may contain foreign products, such as Chinese wheat gluten or Mexican green onions. And while many countries enforce safety standards equal to those used in the U.S., newly industrialized or industrializing nations may not have the resources or infrastructure to meet safety and quality benchmarks. Unfortunately, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cannot pick up the slack. The FDA reports that, due to its own lack of resources, 99 percent of the imports that enter the U.S. are not inspected. Experts agree that prevention, not inspection, will best ensure food safety. One life sciences company, Global Food Technologies, Inc., has developed an organic processing method that ensures that foods do not become contaminated during processing or packaging. By destroying the microbes in the food without harmful chemicals, the company achieves higher safety standards than the minimum required by law. The processing method, designated by the iPura brand name, is currently being used to produce seafood in several overseas nations. Any product bearing the iPura label is guaranteed to be a result of its comprehensive Source-to-Retail food safety program. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that 325,000 Americans are hospitalized and 5,000 die annually from foodborne illnesses. A food company that does not adhere to food safety practices will eventually be driven out of business, a fact that tends to encourage good practices and results in a relatively safe food supply. Yet, reports of new outbreaks continually surface, indicating that more work must be done to safeguard the food supply. Two Concerns Addressed with One Stone A global recession has a wearied public in its grip as consumers tighten their belts. Policymakers are engaging in a fierce battle for short-term and long-term solutions while ordinary Americans go about their daily lives with hopes that the situation won't get any worse. Nearly one trillion dollars has been injected into the faltering system, but immediate success has yet to materialize. Fears about the sagging pocketbook are coupled with feelings of insecurity about the safety and quality of products being imported from overseas, especially the food being imported into the U.S. at an unprecedented rate. Americans currently import over 80 percent of seafood meals consumed, while statistics indicate that seafood is the leading cause of foodborne illnesses. With the FDA able to inspect less than one percent of the shipments into U.S. ports, consumers have expressed deep concern about the safety of their families. A California-based life sciences company, Global Food Technologies (GFT), is primed to take advantage of the current economic situation by offering its first product into the market, iPura. The first of its kind, iPura is a food-safety company with a unique approach combining technological hardware and methods with trained technicians to ensure that the very highest standards have been implemented in the delivery of seafood imported from overseas. Including an organic "clean step" that reduces disease-causing pathogens, iPura escorts the product from foreign-based factories to the U.S.-held fork with a seal of authenticity that includes temperature monitoring, traceability, and full transparency for the consumer. "iPura instills confidence in foreign-sourced seafood by giving consumers the peace of mind they deserve," says President of GFT Keith Meeks. With the wild volatility of most sectors on Wall Street, household goods and staples have not fallen as much as the others, reflective of the trend for consumers to take care of essentials before discretionary purchases such as electronic goods and new automobiles. As food safety has become a major concern for food company executives, with 84 percent in a recent survey stating that food safety is their main priority, iPura offers investors a chance to profit in a time of uncertainty and economic downturn by meeting market demand. 

 8. What thematic idea do these two articles share? 

 A. Foods imported from other countries can be dangerous to Americans' health. 

 B. The economic crisis has caused Americans to import more foods. 

 C. Imported foods make up the vast majority of our diet. 

 D. Americans cannot produce their own foods fast enough to make enough produce to feed themselves without relying on imports.

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Answers 

 8. A. 

 Both articles address this issue. Although (B) is somewhat handled by the second article, it is not a thematic idea presented in the first. Similarly, (C) is discussed in the first article, but it is not a large enough focus of the second to be considered a theme. Finally, while (D) might be something you can infer from the information presented in both articles, it is not a theme for either.