On the streets of Manhattan and Washington, D. C., in neighborhoods in Seoul and parks in Paris, ginkgo (银杏) trees are losing their leaves in reaction to the first gust of cold winter air. This leaf drop, gradual at first, and then sudden, carpets streets with golden, fan-shaped leaves. Scientists are documenting evidence of the event happening later and later, a possible indication of climate change. But the story of ginkgos is not the familiar one of human carelessness with nature.
Thanks to fossils found in North Dakota, scientists found a ginkgo has genetically similar ancestors dating back 170 million years to the Jurassic Period. “It almost went extinct. Then humans rescued it and spread it around the world. It’s such a great evolutionary (进化) and cultural story,” says Peter Crane, a ginkgo expert.
One theory for the decline of the ginkgo species began 130 million years ago, when flowering plants began spreading. They grew faster and attracted more pollinators (传粉者) than ginkgos. “It’s possible that ginkgos were elbowed out of the way,” says Crane. Already competing to survive, ginkgos began to disappear during a time of global cooling that began around 66 million years ago. By the time the last ice age ended 11,000 years ago, the remaining survivors were found in China.
Ginkgo trees are smelly. “My guess is that they were eaten by animals that liked smelly things. They then passed through their body and grew.” Crane says. Those same seeds may have helped ginkgo find favor with humans 1,000 years ago. Once cleaned of their outer layer, ginkgo seeds are safe to eat. It’s then, when the trees had long since disappeared elsewhere, that people in China may have begun planting them and eating their seeds. Then gradually ginkgos spread across the world. Now it’s seemingly naturally resistant to insects and high levels of air pollution.
Crane isn’t worried about its future, though: The popularity of the species will help it survive. “Though its status in the wild may be difficult to access, it’s a plant that’s unlikely to ever go extinct,” he says.
1. What may have caused the further delay of ginkgo’s leaf drop?A.The colder weather in winter. |
B.The protection from city councils. |
C.The global warming phenomenon. |
D.The careless interaction with humans. |
A.The reasons why ginkgos almost died out. |
B.The advantages of ginkgos over other plants. |
C.The theories of experts for multiplying ginkgos. |
D.The competition between various flowering plants. |
A.Their eatable seeds. | B.Their unpleasant smell. |
C.The natural evolution. | D.The careful planting. |
A.Worried. | B.Optimistic. | C.Uncertain. | D.Hopeless. |
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【推荐1】Sleep, considered a luxury (奢侈) by many, is essential for a person’s wellbeing. Researchers have found that insufficient sleep increases a person’s risk of developing severe medical conditions, such as obesity, diabetes (糖尿病), and cardiovascular (心血管的) diseases. Now, a new study by Boston’s Massachusetts Institute of Technology ( MIT) has found that getting sufficient sleep is also the key to improving academic performance.
Jeffrey Grossman, who led the research was not trying to find the link between sleep and grades when he handed out Fitbits to the 100 students in his introduction to Solid-State Chemistry class. Instead, the professor of Computational Materials Science hoped the popular wrist-worn device which tracks a person’s activity 24/7, would show a connection between physical exercise and academic achievement.
However, the study, published in the journal “Science Learning” on October 1, 2019, discovered a surprising insight. Then was a straight-line relationship between the average amount of sleep a student got and his/her grade on the 11 quizzes, three midterms, and the final exam administered during the semester.
Even more interesting, it was also not sufficient for students to just head to bed early the night before a test. Instead, it’s the sleep you get during the days when learning is happening that matters most.
The time students went to bed each night was similarly important. Those who went to bed in the early hours of the morning performed poorly, even if the total sleep time was the same as a higher - performing student. “When you go to bed matters. Grossman says. If you go to bed after 2, your performance starts to go down even if you get the same seven hours. So, quantity isn’t everything.”
1. What is the new finding about sleep?A.It’s essential for a person’s health. | B.Sleeping less may cause obesity. |
C.Sleeping too much is dangerous. | D.Enough sleep leads to better grades. |
A.Wearable devices. | B.Questionnaires. |
C.Fitness equipment. | D.Smartphones. |
A.Doubtful. | B.Predictable. |
C.Disappointing. | D.Unexpected. |
A.Sleeping for 5 hours each day. | B.Heading to bed at 3 a.m. every day. |
C.Getting enough sleep while learning. | D.Going to bed early only before a test. |
【推荐2】When colds and flu hit, many people automatically turn to over-the-counter (OTC) medicines to push through and treat their symptoms. Although these medicines are easily accessible and widely used, it might come as a surprise to many people to learn that they are not risk-free. A study estimated that every year, 26,735 people went to the emergency room for adverse (不利的) events related to OTC cold and cough medicines.
When two or more drugs are used together, their interactions can sometimes produce unexpected harmful effects. Physicians are typically knowledgeable about potential drug interactions, so it is very important for patients to ask their healthcare providers which OTC medicines are safe for them to use.
It is important to read the package ingredients of OTC medicines closely to avoid duplication of doses (剂量重复). Cold medicines are typically made up of multiple ingredients. A person who takes a single-ingredient medicine paired with one of these multi-ingredient medicines can receive an unsafe dose of that ingredient.
While everyone could potentially experience adverse effects from cold and flu medicines, some groups — including older adults, children and pregnant women — may be at greater risk. Older people who are using prescribed drugs to treat multiple health conditions may have a higher risk of drug interactions because of the higher number of medicines being used at the same time to treat different conditions. The aging body is not as expert at absorbing, distributing and clearing medicines as younger bodies are. This can put older adults at higher risk for an overdose and drug-to-drug interactions with some medicines.
The Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention do not recommend giving cold medicines to children under age 4. Because of a variety of factors, young children have a higher risk of an accidental overdose and adverse events that could lead to death.
1. What does the author advise patients to do in Paragraph 2?A.To ask for suggestions from doctors. | B.To buy medicines from hospitals. |
C.To read the package ingredients of drugs. | D.To take drugs as early as possible. |
A.To provide a medical choice for people who catch a cold. |
B.To show cold medicines are more likely to cause bad effects. |
C.To explain OTC medicines often have more than one ingredient. |
D.To stress the importance of learning about medicines’ ingredients. |
A.They can’t cope with aging positively. | B.Their body can’t handle medicines easily. |
C.They are more easily affected by diseases. | D.Their desire for health makes them unwise. |
A.Say No to OTC Drugs | B.Tips on Taking OTC Drugs |
C.OTC Medicines May Not Be Safe | D.How to Deal with an OTC Drug Overdose |
【推荐3】The oddness of life in space never quite goes away. Here are some examples.
First consider something as simple as sleep. Its position presents its own challenges. The main question is whether you want your arms inside or outside the sleeping bag. If you leave your arms out, they float free in zero gravity, often giving a sleeping astronaut the look of a funny ballet(芭蕾)dancer. “I’m an inside guy,” Mike Hopkins says, who returned from a six-month tour on the International Space Station. “I like to be wrapped up.”
On the station, the ordinary becomes strange. The exercise bike for the American astronauts has no handlebars. It also has no seat. With no gravity, it’s just as easy to pedal violently. You can watch a movie while you pedal by floating a microcomputer anywhere you want. But station residents have to be careful about staying in one place too long. Without gravity to help circulate air, the carbon dioxide you exhale(呼气)has a tendency to form an invisible(隐形的)cloud around your head. You can end up with what astronauts call a carbon-dioxide headache.
Leroy Chiao, 54, an American retired astronaut after four flights, describes what happens even before you float out of your seat. “Your inner ear thinks you’re falling. Meanwhile your eyes are telling you you’re standing straight. That can be annoying-that’s why some people feel sick. “Within a couple of days truly terrible days for some-astronauts’ brains learn to ignore the panicky signals from the inner ear, and space sickness disappears.
Space travel can be so delightful but at the same time invisibly dangerous. For instance, astronauts lose bone mass’ That’s why exercise is considered so vital that National Aeronautics and Space Administration(NASA)puts it right on the workday schedule. The focus on fitness is as much about science and the future as it is about keeping any individual astronaut healthy. NASA is worried about two things: recovery time once astronauts return home, and, more importantly, how to maintain strength and fitness for the two and a half years or more that it would take to make a round-trip to Mars’
1. What is the major challenge to astronauts when they sleep in space?A.Deciding on a proper sleep position. |
B.Choosing a comfortable sleeping bag. |
C.Seeking a way to fall asleep quickly. |
D.Finding a right time to go to sleep. |
A.they circle around on their bikes |
B.they use microcomputers without a stop |
C.they exercise in one place for a long time |
D.they watch a movie while pedaling |
A.their senses stop working |
B.they have to stand up straight |
C.they float out of their seats unexpectedly |
D.their brains receive contradictory messages |
A.how much exercise they do on the station |
B.how they can remain healthy for long in space |
C.whether they can recover after returning home |
D.whether they are able to go back to the station |
【推荐1】Researchers have identified a growing threat to astronomy from the sunlight reflecting off communication devices in space. One such device, a communication satellite called BlueWalker 3, is currently one of the brightest objects visible from Earth, matching the brightness of Procyon and Achemar, two of the brightest stars in the night sky.
“BlueWalker 3 is visible in both dark sky and urban skies, though in urban settings this will be limited to when BlueWalker 3 passes overhead,” said Dr. Jeremy Tregloan-Reed, a co-author of the study at the University of Atacama in Chile. “Large constellations (星座) of bright artificial satellites in low Earth orbit pose significant challenges to ground-based astronomy,” the study’s authors wrote.
Tregloan-Reed said a large reflective brightness means that when a satellite crosses the detector of a telescope, it leaves a mark that can be difficult, if not impossible, to remove. This could lead to loss of data from the affected pixels (像素). But he said space-based astronomy also faced challenges from such satellites, noting that observations by the Hubble telescope had increasingly been affected by marks from Starlink satellites. Besides, the team notes the radio frequencies used by BlueWalker 3 are close to those used for radio astronomy, raising the possibility that such satellites could cause interference.
While BlueWalker 3 was folded when it was launched last year, once in space it opened up to reveal a huge surface area that reflected sunlight. Tregloan-Reed added that even if all the reflective brightness of all satellites was reduced to below the level visible by the naked eye, “the sky background glow will increase due to the accumulative effect of having hundreds of thousands of satellites from various operators from many countries in low Earth orbit. It is disastrous!”
BlueWalker 3, built by AST Space Mobile, is just the first one to be launched. The company is planning a constellation of satellites nicknamed BlueBirds, consisting of over 100 similar satellites and aimed to provide satellite network service for the whole world. You can imagine how bright the night sky will be at that time!
1. What can we know about BlueWalker 3?A.It threatens the sunlight. | B.It was invented by Dr. Jeremy. |
C.It is brighter than Procyon and Achernar. | D.It is visible in urban skies when passing overhead. |
A.earth orbit | B.space observation |
C.radio frequency | D.satellite communication |
A.It has potential drawbacks. | B.It is bound to be accomplished. |
C.It is irreplaceable for astronomy. | D.It provides network service for the world. |
A.BlueWalker 3—A Bright and Dark “Star” | B.BlueWalker 3—The Most Valuable Satellite |
C.The Night Sky—Glowing with BlueWalker 3 | D.The Night Sky—Heavily Polluted by BlueWalker 3 |
【推荐2】Gardeners are often puzzled by the sudden appearance of an unusual orchid(兰花) or sometimes are disappointed that their annuals have vanished. Scientists have discovered that some British flowers can lie dormant (休眠的) under the ground for up to 20 years, coming out to bloom only when the conditions are just right. Orchids seem particularly good at being dormant for years at a time, the scientists discovered.
Michael Hutchings, Professor of Ecology at the University of Suss, said: “Being underground means they cannot receive sunshine, neither flower nor reproduce. And yet this study has shown that many plants in a large number of species frequently go through dormancy (休眠). Many of these species have found ways to overcome the loss of sunshine during dormancy, especially by gradually developing their ability to get what they need from soil. This allows them to survive and even grow well during dormant periods.”
The research found that dormancy occurs when the weather is poor, or there is a new threat from animals or competing plants. Sometimes winters are so mild that the plant does not realize that spring has begun. Dormancy in seeds has been widely known about and studied for years, but the dormancy in adult plants is far less well-known and understood.
The study, led by Professor Richard Shefferson in University of Tokyo, is the first detailed analysis of the causes. Dormancy appears to be more common near the equator (赤道), where threats from factors such as disease, competition, animals and fire are more severe. Co-author Dr. Eric Menges said:“ In those areas, it is most suitable for plants to remain dormant and then to grow when favourable conditions exist for growth and flowering. ”
1. What does the underlined word “vanished” mean in the first paragraph?A.Adapted. | B.Shrunk. | C.Disappeared. | D.Woken. |
A.What results dormancy leads to. |
B.How the orchid developed their ability to get energy. |
C.Why some species can survive terrible conditions. |
D.How the orchid lives through dormant periods. |
A.Dormancy in plants is common in regions along the equator. |
B.Orchids are the only plants that can be dormant for years. |
C.Dormancy in seeds is far less well-known and understood. |
D.Most gardeners don’t want to plant orchids. |
A.Survival of the Fittest |
B.Dormant Flowers Underground for Years |
C.Why Some British Flowers Stay Dormant |
D.New Research on Dormancy in Orchids |
【推荐3】You never forget your first whale. The impact it makes upon you is huge and life is never quite the same again. My first whale was a 40-foot grey one, off the coast of California in 1979, and I've been a whale addict ever since. Now I have to go whale watching regularly just to survive normal daily life.
I may be crazy but I am certainly not alone. The world is filled with whale watchers: since its beginnings in the mid-fifties, whale watching has grown dramatically and now more than 13 million people join organized whale watching trips every year.
As a faithful whale watcher, all your holidays center on whales. The only books you read are ones about whales; you wear whale T-shirts, and every time you meet your friends you talk about whales.
So what is it about these larger-than-life animals that makes them so special? Their enormous size is one possible explanation: imagine sitting in a small boat next to a blue whale almost as long as a Boeing 737. The fact that we know so little about them is another possibility: modern technology has taken us to the moon and beyond, yet we are only just beginning to understand these extraordinary forms of intelligent life on our own planet.
Planning and patience are just two essential requirements for successful whale watching. Planning is needed because there are certain whale hot spots-where you have the best chance of seeing them-and because the larger species tend to be on their way from feeding areas to breeding grounds, so rarely do they stay in one place for more than a few months at a time.
Patience is necessary because, even under the best conditions, whales can be tricky to find. However, most commercial whale watching trips have a surprisingly high success rate because they tend to concentrate on well-known whale populations at peak (最高的) seasons.
1. What is the impact of the author's first whale in his life?A.He has fallen in love with whale watching. |
B.He has organized watching trips every year. |
C.He has written a good many articles on whale watching. |
D.He has made a lot of speeches about protecting whales. |
A.what faithful whale watchers usually read |
B.what faithful whale watchers are usually like |
C.faithful whale watchers often wear whale T-shirts |
D.faithful whale watchers often take part in whale forums |
A.To say that man has landed on the moon. |
B.To prove that whales are really attractive. |
C.To show us the power of modern technology. |
D.To tell us that whales are intelligent animals. |
A.It is very difficult to find these clever whales. |
B.Whales only appear at seas that arc deep and far. |
C.Whales often stay under water for quite a long time. |
D.Whales are on their way to breeding grounds at a time. |
【推荐1】In early October, Travis Gienger transported an enormous pumpkin (南瓜) from his home in Minnesota to the World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off in California. His pumpkin set the record for the biggest one ever grown in North America. How do competitive growers get their pumpkins to grow to massive sizes?
Gienger, who teaches horticulture (园艺学) at Anoka Technical College, begins growing his pumpkins in mid-April, starting with seeds that he grows indoors for the first few weeks, when Minnesota’s soil is too frosty.
Depending on the variety, pumpkin plants can grow up to a dozen fruits on a single vine (藤曼) . But to maximize size, growers remove all but one or two of these pumpkins in order to decrease each individual fruit’s competition for resources.
But what exactly happens inside a pumpkin as it grows? Two factors drive natural growth: cell division and cell expansion. Cell division accounts for most of the growth at the beginning of a fruit’s life. This period lasts for about 20 days in pumpkin plants.
A.Biology has the answers. |
B.Genetics also influences pumpkin growth. |
C.The following tips will give you a head start. |
D.Once it warms up, the plants are transferred outside. |
E.When it stops, cell expansion will then come into play. |
F.Growers extend the growth period for as long as possible. |
G.Growers also remove the weeds in the area for the same reason. |
【推荐2】Contrary to the long-held belief that plants in the natural world are always in competition, new research has found that in severe environments adult plants help smaller ones and grow well as a result.
The research, led by Dr Rocio, studied adult and seedling (幼苗) plants in the ecological desert in the south-east of Spain.
Dr Rocio said, “If you’re a seedling in a poor land — the top of a mountain or a sand hill, for example—and you’re lucky enough to end up underneath a big plant, your chances of survival are certainly better than if you landed somewhere on your own. What we have found, which was surprising, is an established large plant, called a ‘nurse’, protects a seedling; it also produces more flowers than the same plants of similar large size growing on their own.”
Other benefits of nurse-seedling partnerships include that more variety of plants growing together can have a positive effect on the environment. For example, vegetation areas with nurse plants with more flowers might be able to attract higher numbers of pollinators (传粉者) in an area, in turn supporting insect and soil life and even provide a greater range of different fruit types for birds and other animals.
“The biggest winner for this system of nursing a plant is biodiversity (生物多样性),” Dr Rocio said. “The more biodiversity an area, the greater number of species of plants, insect life, mammals and birds, and the better the chances of long-term healthy functioning of the environment and ecosystems.” This system is win-win for adult and seedling plants in unfavorable environments.
The research is of value to those who manage and protect plants in tough environments. Most home gardeners and farmers plan to ensure their soil and conditions are the best they can be for plant growth, but the findings might be of value to those who garden in bare places.
1. What is a common understanding of plants?A.They can help each other. | B.They can survive ill conditions. |
C.They compete with each other. | D.They grow well on their own. |
A.They will produce more flowers. | B.They will die owing to competition. |
C.They will make adult plants larger. | D.They will benefit from adult plants. |
A.People studying organic farming. |
B.People protecting plants on sand hills. |
C.People wanting to change biodiversity. |
D.People keeping more animals on the farm. |
【推荐3】Farming today not only sends out greenhouse gas but destroys wildlife habitats. Agriculture now takes up half of Earth’s hospitable land surface, at the expense of these habitats. So I hope to restore current farmland to its natural state by ending the vegetation (植被) stage of crop-growing.
My PhD research at Wageningen University in the Netherlands is inspired by alternative, indoor methods of food production, such as farming leafy green vegetables vertically (垂直地) and growing meat in a laboratory. I wondered — if you can grow meat without an animal, can you grow fruit without a plant? This could be done inside, which might help us to return some agricultural land to nature.
During my master’s programme in agricultural engineering, I discussed indoor fruit production with my professor. He eagerly invited me to write a master’s paper on the subject of growing fruits without the plant.
The main task of my PhD is to collect immature fruit or flowers from tomato plants, and try to grow the stems (茎) into healthy, high-quality tomatoes in the lab. Ultimately, we want to produce fruit from tomato undifferentiated cells from which new plant organs can grow — and skip using a plant entirely.
I had achieved some early results of my research, when I was testing different growing conditions at different stages of tomato development. The lighting is an energy-efficiency measure; we use blue and red LEDs, the best colours for photosynthesis.
Some people get excited about the possibilities of my work, but most are doubtful, which I understand. In the past, people have rushed into using food technologies, such as cage-grown chickens and the extensive use of fertilizer, without considering the potential downsides. An important part of my PhD programme will be to assess the sustainability of my method.
1. What can we learn about farming today from the first paragraph?A.It’s demanding. | B.It’s conventional. |
C.It’s unsustainable. | D.It’s transformative. |
A.He expressed great enthusiasm. | B.He rejected it immediately. |
C.He began to do an experiment. | D.He asked him to stop researching. |
A.To clarify others’ confusion. | B.To test out his own idea. |
C.To produce more tasty food. | D.To voice his views on plants. |
A.Approving. | B.Negative. | C.Indifferent. | D.Unclear. |