Question

    Vinegar makes salad，fries and dumplings taste better， and you can even use it to clean your windows． And now， according to scientists， it may even the planet's population survive climate change．

Researchers from the RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science （CSRS） in Japan found that growing plants in vinegar makes them more resistant to droughts． This could mean that in the future， worries about climate change affecting the world's supply of food will be much lower． The discovery was made after the researchers studied the Arabidopsis， a plant known for its ability to survive in dry weather． It was found that when the plant was placed in drought﹣like conditions， it produced a chemical called acetate（醋酸盐）﹣the main component of vinegar．

After discovering this， the scientists experimented further by adding acetate to the soil of other plants， before they stopped giving them water completely． After leaving the plants for 14days， they found that the ones treated with acetate had survived， while the untreated plants had dried up and died．

It's hoped that this simple method of survival could soon be used to help farmers in dry countries keep their crops alive． "In the experiment， we targeted the staple foods of the world﹣rice， wheat and maize﹣and the basic plant of breeding species， rapeseed（油菜籽），" Jong Myong Kim， co﹣author of the study， told Popular Science magazine．

Kim also told the magazine he's already been in touch with people all over the world who are interested in trying this simple and cost﹣effective method out for themselves from flower growing companies to amateur gardeners． Although at this point keeping thirsty plants alive isn't as easy as just pouring vinegar over them， Kim said he and his team are working on making the process as simple as possible． "Now we are trying to cooperate with some farmers， and also some companies， to make a method to apply this system， "he said． And for those of us who always forget to ask our neighbors to water our plants when we goaway， hopefully this means the end of returning home from a trip to find our favorite flowers have died．

1.What is the article mainly about？

A. The world's food supply will be increased．

B. Plants better survive droughts．

C. The Arabidopsis is resistant to droughts．

D. Vinegar could be used to fight droughts．

2.It was discovered that acetate can　   　．

A. be used by farmers to replace soil

B. only be produced by the Arabidopsis

C. help plants survive dry conditions

D. be used to improve poor soil

3.What are the target plants of the experiment？

A. all breeding species．

B. wheat and Arabidopisis．

C. rice and maize．

D. rapeseed and Arabidopisis．

4.Jong Myong Kim's experiment of trying out the method　   　．

A. can make people's trips pleasant

B. turned out a worldwide success

C. is as simple as pouring vinegar over the plants

D. appeals to many flower growing companies

Answer

1.D

2.C

3.C

4.D

【解析】

本文属于科普类文章。醋不仅使食物味道更好，还可以用它来清洁你的窗户。研究发现醋中生长的植物，使它们更耐干旱。

1.D

主旨大意题。通读全文可知本文主要讲述了醋能让植物在干旱的环境中生存，即能抗击干旱，故选D。

2.C

推理判断题。根据第二段最后“The discovery was …the Arabidopsis,a plant known for its ability to survive in dry weather.It was found that when the plant was placed in drought-like conditions,it produced a chemical called acetate（醋酸盐）—the main component of vinegar.”及第三段“by adding acetate to the soil of other plants,… had survived,”分析可知研究人员发现Arabidopsis中的主要成分Arabidopsis能让植物在干旱的条件下生存，故选C。

3.C.

细节理解题。根据第四段中的“In the experiment,we targeted the staple foods of the world—rice,wheat and maize—and the basic plant of breeding species,rapeseed,”可知在实验中，主要针对大米，小麦和玉米等。故选C。

4.D

推理判断题。根据最后一段中的第一句“Kim…he's already been in touch with people all over the world who are interested in trying this simple and cost-effective method out for themselves from flower growing companies to amateur gardeners”分析本句可知Kim已与对此感兴趣的花卉种植公司联系，也就是吸引这些公司。故选D。