1 . Houses covered in ivy are an attractive sight to see. But many gardeners fear that ivy causes major structural damage to buildings and long to remove it whenever they can, right? Not so, says James Wong, a botanist and science writer.
“I am always surprised by how often gardening can be so driven by fear.” he says. “The thinking behind this is that climbers harm brickwork and can cause structural damage to buildings.” But few fears are based on any scientific evidence. And frequently, the exact opposite is true.
In a 2020 study from the Royal Horticultural Society, climbing plants like ivy were found to have a protective effect on model brick buildings constructed for the experiment. The shade by the plants’ leaves cooled the surface of the buildings in summer by as much as 5.7°C. What’s more, ivy didn’t significantly raise humidity levels (湿度) －rather, it helped stabilize them, minimizing the damage to the buildings’ surfaces. The living coating also lowered summer temperatures inside the buildings by up to 7.2°C and reduced heating bills by as much as 20 percent in winter.
What about real-world, well-used buildings, whose outside may have experienced centuries of environmental damage? Another study from 2011 found that in five historic buildings across England, bare walls experienced average maximum temperatures 36 percent higher and minimum temperatures 15 percent lower compared with those coated in ivy. The researchers concluded that the living insulation (隔热) provided by ivy would “reduce the likelihood of frost and salt damage to the building materials, thus contributing to their conservation”. They also found in another study that the leaves’ ability to trap pollution could reduce the damage to historical walls.
Imagine if there was a new material that could cool cities and cut energy bills. The truth is that we have had this miracle material all along, but rather than appreciating it, we have spent huge amounts of time worrying about how to get rid of it.
1. Why do gardeners want to remove the ivy?| A．To get rid of their fear of ivy. |
| B．To make the houses more attractive. |
| C．To confirm previous scientific evidence. |
| D．To protect the brickwork and structure of the building. |
| A．Climbing plants increase heating bills in winter. |
| B．Climbing plants can severely damage brickwork. |
| C．Climbing plants raise humidity levels against brickwork. |
| D．Climbing plants reduce the temperature of buildings in summer. |
| A．It improves the visual appeal of old buildings. |
| B．It removes pollutants from the surroundings. |
| C．It protects building materials from frost and salt damage. |
| D．It promotes the energy efficiency of historical structures. |
| A．Ivy: a troublemaker of preserving the old building |
| B．Ivy: an unexpected helper in buildings conservation |
| C．The environmental Impact of ivy on modern architecture |
| D．The need for a new material to cool cities and cut energy bills |
2 . Off Australia’s northern coast, the remains of ancient coral reefs (珊瑚礁) form the bedrock of wooded islands, which are home to diverse animals and plants, including mangrove (红树林) forests that blanket their coasts and serve as vital habitats and carbon storers. A recent survey shows that expanding seas might have led to a massive mangrove increase, researchers report November 1 in Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
Mangroves absorb carbon dioxide and store it as “blue carbon”, a term for carbon that is hidden away in ocean environments. “There’s a lot of interest in using mangrove blue carbon to lessen climate change,” says Kerrylee Rogers, an environmental scientist at the University of Wollongong in Australia. But there remain a lot of questions around their capacity to adapt to sea level rise.
In 2021,a team led by Wollongong environmental scientist Sarah Hamylton visited the Howick Islands to do a related research. They walked through the seawater to assess the plant diversity and measure individual trees. Using the measured widths and heights of several mangroves, the team calculated tree widths for the rest of the forest from the data to estimate the total mangrove quantity. The islands host nearly 54,000 metric tons of mangroves, the team estimates, which is roughly 10,000 more metric tons than there was in 1973.
The Howick Islands are uniquely suited to supporting mangroves as the ocean rises. At the end of the Last Glacial Maximum, around 12,000 years ago, water levels rose around northern Australia, and coral reefs grew upward to fill the space that had opened for them.
When sea levels fell thousands of years later, the exposed reefs became sediment (沉积物). With sea levels now rising again, the mixture of saltwater and sediment makes a perfect home for the salt-tolerant mangroves.
Rogers and Hamylton are now working on a bigger effort to study mangoves around Australia. “If we’re going to invest in mangroves to provide us blue carbon and to protect shorelines, we need to understand how dynamic they are,” Rogers says.
1. What can be known about blue carbon?| A．It is produced by ocean water. | B．It is massively present in the air. |
| C．It is friendly environment. | D．It is nutritious for mangroves. |
| A．To measure the size of mangroves. |
| B．To figure out where to plant mangroves. |
| C．To confirm whether local natural environment is polluted. |
| D．To see how the mangroves respond to sea level rise. |
| A．The diversity of ocean life. |
| B．The increase of coral reefs. |
| C．The combination of salt water and sediment. |
| D．The formation of the bedrock of wooded islands. |
| A．Climate Change Causes Sea Level Rise |
| B．Sea Level Rise Helps Mangroves Boost |
| C．Environment on Australia Islands Is Improving |
| D．Climate Warming Poses Dangers To Mangroves |
3 . A garden is a project that often requires a fairly large initial investment of both time and money from the start — as well as a commitment to maintain it.
If you’re lucky enough to have a backyard, you can imagine the enjoyment you’d receive from changing that dusty, weedy dead space into a green, relaxing environment.
So, how can you build a pleasant home garden? Some clever gardeners use drought-resistant plants such as cacti (仙人掌), and a little bit of watering and inspiration to produce spaces that are both relaxing and pleasing to the eye.
There are many popular home garden books and magazines.
| A．A trip to the library can help you get started |
| B．However, it is a deserving challenge for many people |
| C．A home garden can be a good workout as well as a place to relax |
| D．The shape of the space is often as important as its contents or size |
| E．Some do it for exercise and spend a little time outdoors on a sunny day |
| F．No matter what the circumstances, it’s possible to create a lovely home garden |
| G．Many gardeners also enjoy employing touches such as stone paths to create a nice atmosphere |
4 . One of the most common questions I get from concerned gardeners is how to deal with climbing plants, like ivy. The thinking behind this is that climbers are a dragon brickwork and can cause structural damage to buildings. But when you actually look at the science, very few of these f cars are based on any evidence.
A 2020 study of a range of climbing plants on model brick buildings found that the shade cast by the plants’ leaves cooled the surface of the buildings in the summer by as much as 5.7℃, reducing the wide swings between day and night temperatures-a key driver of surface structural damage. It also lowered summer temperatures inside the buildings by up to 7.2℃, and was even projected to reduce heating bills by as much as 20 percent in the winter. Despite concerns that plant strap moisture (水分) against brickwork, leading to damp issues, the same trial showed ivy didn’t significantly raise moisture levels-rather, it helped stabilise them, minimising changes that could damage the buildings surfaces
It is worth bearing in mind that these results were from model buildings with new brickwork. What about well-used buildings? Well another study, this one from 2011, found that in five historical buildings, bare walls experienced average maximum temperatures 36 percent higher and minimum temperatures 15 percent lower compared with those coated in leaves.
The researchers concluded that the living protection provided by those climbing plants would “reduce the likelihood of frost and salt damage to the building materials, thus contributing to their conservation”. They also found that the leaves’ ability to trap pollution could reduce the damage to historical walls.
Imagine if there was a new material that could cool cities and cut energy bills, all while looking beautiful. Did I mention it was also self-cleaning and carbon negative? The truth is that we have had this amazing material all along, but rather than appreciating it we have spent huge amounts of time worrying about bow to tear it down.
1. What are gardeners commonly concerned about?| A．Poor quality of brickwork. | B．Weeds competing for space. |
| C．Damage caused by construction. | D．Potential dangers of climbing plants. |
| A．A temperature adjuster. | B．A moisture tester. |
| C．A pollution monitor. | D．An air purifier. |
| A．Possible doubts about the findings. | B．Analysis of the experimental data. |
| C．Supporting evidence for the findings. | D．Explanation for the research process. |
| A．Unclear. | B．Dismissive. | C．Appreciative. | D．Tolerant. |
