1 . Genetic researchers in Spain’s wine country believe grapevines (葡萄藤) that have lived for more than 35 years are better able to deal with high temperatures brought by climate change.
Winemakers in the Rioja area in northern Spain make some of the best wine for hundreds of years. But in recent years, winemakers there have been having trouble producing good wine. They say the wine tasted better in the past, when temperatures were usually cooler.
Researchers like Pablo Carbonell think older grapevines may be able to grow better in higher temperatures. Carbonell looks at rows of gray shapes on his computer screen. Among them was a green rectangle (矩形). This, he said, represents a kind of grapevine that produces grapes that take longer to ripen (成熟), even in warmer conditions.
A longer ripeness period is what winemakers want. The current vines produce grapes that are ready to pick too early. Such grapes do not make wine that has the right colour and smell. The wine also has too much alcohol (酒精).
People who work in the vineyards have long crossed old vines with new ones. Now they are working with special laboratories — like the one where Carbonell works — to find a climate- resistant (耐气候的) vine. The scientists there are studying the genomes (基因组) of commonly used grapes in Spanish wine.
The lab is working to keep the Spanish winemaking industry alive as temperatures rise. The scientists say the older grapevines have a more diverse genetic makeup.
Spain is the third-largest winemaking country in the world behind France and Italy. Spanish wine production is worth close to $5 billion in the country’s economy each year.
In addition to the genetic research, scientists are also working on different planting methods. A winery called RODA is planting vines in a curve (曲线) instead of a straight line. The hope is that plants will take in more water this way. The new vineyard is made up of vines that were over 100 years old and moved from another place.
1. What causes the difficulty in wine making in Rioja?
| A．The low temperature. | B．The age of grapevines. |
| C．The global warming. | D．The traditional production process. |
2. What does the underlined “This” in Paragraph 3 refer to?
| A．The computer screen. | B．All kinds of grapevines. |
| C．Rows of gray shapes. | D．A green rectangle. |
3. What can we learn from the text?
| A．Italy is currently the largest wine producer. |
| B．High quality wine needs grapes with short growth period. |
| C．The current goal of the laboratory is to renew the older grapevines. |
| D．Early grape picking would make the wine fail to meet the due standards. |
4. Why do scientist plant the vines in a curve?
| A．To get more water. |
| B．To enlarge planting area. |
| C．To reduce experiment cost. |
| D．To change the gene structure of grape. |
