文章大意:本文是一篇说明文,主要讲的是美国科学家表示,他们已经开发出一种在实验室中培育木材材料的方法。这种方法可以在室内通过一次加工就制造出不同的木材产品,大大节省了生产的时间和金钱,减少了对世界森林的破坏。
American scientists say they’ve developed a way to grow wood materials in a laboratory. The method could create different wood products indoors in a single process, greatly cutting the time and money spent on production and reducing damage to the world’s forests.
Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) showed a proof of concept by growing wood-like structures from cells taken from the leaves of a flowering plant. The process can hopefully simplify and speed up the production of wood products.
“The way we get these materials hasn’t changed in centuries and is very inefficient,” lead researcher Luis said. “The present process for making any wooden product can take many years. First, a tree has to grow. Then, it must be cut down, transported, processed, etc. Lab-grown wood, however, could combine all those steps into one. If you want a table, then you should just grow a table.”
In the wood experiment, the MIT team collected live cells from the leaves of a zinnia plant. The plant cells were then cultured and kept in a special environment. The experiment was carried out indoors, without soil or sunlight. During the process, the researchers used a mixture of two plant hormones (荷尔蒙) that helped the cells grow a thick, strong wood-like structure. With further development, the researchers say they could use the same process to grow wood in specific shapes, such as a table or chair.
“The process can remove difficulties linked to weather and seasonality in traditional agriculture methods,” Luis said. “Though it is still in early development, our team will be working to learn how to better control the final materials that are produced. And, we will also carry out new experiments to see whether the same results can be reached with other kinds of plants.”
David Stern, a plant biologist and president of the Boyce Thompson Institute told MIT News, “It sounds that this technology is very powerful, but what the researchers ignore is that further development of the method would require major financial and intellectual investments.” He also said new issues would arise when parts of forestry and agriculture are brought into the lab.
12. What can the method developed by American scientists be described as?
A.cost-effective | B.widely applicable | C.eco-friendly | D.time-consuming |
13. How does Luis explain the disadvantage of the present process of wood production?
A.By using specific figures. | B.By providing definitions. |
C.By making a comparison. | D.By showing causes and effects. |
14. Why was a mixture of two plant hormones used in the experiment?
A.To make the wood grow in specific shapes. |
B.To promote the growth of the live plant cells. |
C.To prevent sunlight from hurting the plant cells. |
D.To help the plant cells adapt to the special environment. |
15. Which of the following can be the best title for the text?
A.Trees that grow naturally will be useless |
B.The furniture in your office is probably growing |
C.Forests made in the lab will change the environment |
D.Scientists develop a method to grow wood in a lab |