“Salty” Rice Plant Boosts Harvests
British scientists are breeding a new generation of rice plants that will be able to grow in soil containing salt water. Their work may enable abandoned farms to become productive once more.
Tim Flowers and Tony Yeo, from Sussex University’s School of Biological Sciences, have spent several years researching how crops, such as rice, could be made to grow in water that has become salty.
The pair have recently begun a three-year programme, funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, to establish which genes enable some plants to survive salty conditions. The aim is to breed this capability into crops, starting with rice.
It is estimated that each year more than 100 hectares (公顷) of agricultural land are lost because salt gets into the soil and stunts (妨碍生长)plants. The problem is caused by several factors. In the tropics, mangroves (红树林) that create swamps (沼泽) and traditionally formed barriers to sea water have been cut down. In the Mediterranean, a series of droughts have caused the water table to drop, allowing sea water to seep (渗透) in. in Latin America, irrigation often causes problems when water is evaporated (蒸发) by the heat, leaving salt deposits behind.
Excess salt then enters the plants and prevents them functioning normally. Heavy concentrations of minerals in the plants stop them drawing up the water they need to survive.
To overcome these problems, Flowers and Yeo decided to breed rice plants that take in very little salt and store what they do absorb in cells that do not affect the plants’ growth. They have started to breed these characteristics into a new rice crop, but it will take about eight harvests before the resulting seeds are ready to be considered for commercial use.
Once the characteristics for surviving salty soil are known, Flowers and Yeo will try to breed the appropriate genes into all manners of crops and plants. Land that has been abandoned to nature will then be able to bloom again, providing much needed food in the poorer countries of the world.
1 Which of the following statements about Flowers and Yeo is true?
A They are students at Sussex University.
B They are rice breeders.
C They are husband and wife
D They are colleagues at an institution of higher learning.
2 Flowers and Yeo have started a programme
A to find ways to prevent water pollution.
B to identify genes that promote growth in salty soil.
C to breed rice plants that taste salty.
D to find ways to remove excessive salt from soil.
3 Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a cause of the problem discussed in the passage?
A Natural barriers to sea water have been destroyed.
B The water table has gone down after droughts.
C Sea level has been continuously rising.
D Evaporation of water leaves salt behind.
4 The word “affect” in Paragraph 6 could be best replaced by
A “influence”
B “effect”
C “stop”
D “present”
5 The attitude of the author towards the research project is
A positive
B negative.
C suspicious
D indifferent.
答案与解析:
1． D。 分析: 根据被选项的内容特点判定问题是在问这两个人之间的关系。 该题考察考生根据文章细节进行推断的能力。利用题干中的特征词Flowers and Yeo作为答案线索,这样找到答案相关句：
British scientists are breeding a new generation of rice plants that will be able to grow in soil containing salt water. Their work may enable abandoned farms to become productive once more.
Tim Flowers and Tony Yeo, from Sussex University’s School of Biological Sciences, have spent several years researching how crops, such as rice, could be made to grow in water that has become salty. 划线句内容表明Flowers and Yeo是来自生物科学研究院的研究工作者， 结合上下文结构特点：上一段的内容说“英国科学家…”， “他们的工作..”，然后紧接着文章就明确的提到具体的研究者的名字， 从这里我们可以推断出的结论是这相邻两段的逻辑关系是概述和具体举例说明。因此可以推出的结论是：这两个人是科学家， 是从事生物研究的工作者。
2． B。 分析： 该题问及的内容与上一题有关， 因此判断该题的答案相关句和上题的答案相关句应该接近， 这样找到答案相关句：The pair have recently begun a three-year program, funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, to establish which genes enable some plants to survive salty conditions. The aim is to breed this capability into crops, starting with rice. 划线结构内容表明“他们开始着手的项目目的是为了确认什么基因能让一些植物在盐水中生存。”， 所以答案是B。
3． C。 利用被选项中的核心词（A： natural barriers; B: water table, drought; C: sea level; D: evaporation）作为答案线索， 在文章中查找相关信息进行一一确认。
It is estimated that each year more than 100 hectares (公顷) of agricultural land are lost because salt gets into the soil and stunts (妨碍生长)plants. The problem is caused by several factors. In the tropics, mangroves (红树林) that create swamps (沼泽) and traditionally formed barriers to sea water have been cut down（该句说“阻挡海水的天然屏障红树木被砍伐”， 这个内容与A一致）. In the Mediterranean, a series of droughts have caused the water table (水位)to drop（该句说“一系列的干旱造成水平面下降”， 这个诶容与B一致）, allowing sea water to seep (渗透) in. In Latin America, irrigation often causes problems when water is evaporated (蒸发) by the heat, leaving salt deposits behind.（该句说“水被高温蒸发后留下了盐分”， 这与D一致）， 所以只有C没有被提到。
4． A。分析affect这个词在句子中的含义是“影响”，因此和 influence是近义词。
5． A。该题考察文章的主题。 应对方法: 注意文章开头/结尾处句子句意的表述。 文章结尾部分说“Land that has been abandoned to nature will then be able to bloom again, providing much needed food in the poorer countries of the world.（一度荒芜的土地能再次繁盛， 能为世界上贫穷的国家提供它们非常需要的食物）”， 这句话无疑是在对“在盐水中种植植物”这项研究课题的积极展望， 因此判断作者的态度是“积极的”， 所以A是答案。