Question

    Bumblebees(大黄蜂) are clever: when pollen(花粉) is short and plants near the nest are not yet flowering, they have learned to force them to bloom. Research published on Thursday in Science shows that the insects puncture the plants’ leaves, which causes them to flower about 30 days earlier than they otherwise would. How the technique developed and why the plants react by blooming remain unclear.

Consuelo De Moraes, a chemical ecologist at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, says she and her teammates were observing one kind of bumblebee in an unrelated experiment when they noticed the insects were damaging plant leaves and wondered why. “At first we thought they might be feeding on the plants,” she says. And because previous research had shown stress could cause plants to flower, they also wondered whether the bees might be creating blooms on purpose.

To find out, the team placed bumblebees together with tomato plants in cages. The bees soon cut several holes in the leaves of each plant. As a test, the researchers tried to copy the bumblebee damage in additional plants with a knife. Both sets of plants with injured leaves bloomed faster, but the ones punctured by the bees flowered weeks earlier, suggesting that chemicals in the insects’ saliva(唾液) may be involved as well.

Next, the researchers moved out of the laboratory to see whether bumblebees would continue to damage nonflowering plants near their nest even if blooming plants were available farther away. They did so. The findings suggest the bees’ behavior is an adaptation that improves food-hunting efficiency(效率).

In the future, scientists could test how the behavior may have developed and how widespread it is among other wild bumblebees, as well as what is happening in plants after a bee bite. Understanding those questions could help us better face the climate change.

1.What does the underlined word “puncture” in Paragraph 1 probably mean?

A.bite B.touch

C.kiss D.eat

2.What inspired Consuelo and her team to do the present research?

A.The stress causing plants to flower. B.The difference in plants’ flowering time.

C.The bumblebees’ feeding on the plants. D.The bumblebees’ damaging plants’ leaves.

3.Why did the researchers copy what the bumblebees did?

A.To prove a knife cut can work as a bee bite.

B.To figure out what helps plants flower faster

C.To find out why bumblebees damage plants.

D.To show bumblebees’ saliva helps plants bloom.

4.What have the researchers made clear?

A.What happens in plants after a bee bite.

B.How bumblebees have learned the technique.

C.Whether bumblebees are clever in finding food.

D.Whether all the bumblebees have learned the skill.

Answer

1.A

2.D

3.C

4.C

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。文章讲述了大黄蜂能诱使植物提早开花的原因，以及大黄蜂是否善于觅食，理解这些问题可以帮助我们更好地面对气候变化。

1.

词义猜测题。A. bite咬；B. touch触摸；C. kiss吻；D. eat吃。根据第三段The bees soon cut several holes in the leaves of each plant.可知，大黄蜂很快就在每棵植物的叶子上挖了几个洞；再结合划线单词所在句Research published on Thursday in Science shows that the insects puncture the plants’ leaves可知，此处划线单词“puncture”的意思的在树叶上挖洞，也就是“咬树叶”，所以划线单词“puncture”的意思是bite。故选A。

2.

推理判断题。根据第二段Consuelo De Moraes, a chemical ecologist at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, says she and …when they noticed the insects were damaging plant leaves and wondered why.可知，瑞士联邦理工学院的化学生态学家Consuelo De Moraes说，她和她的队友在一个无关的实验中观察到一种大黄蜂，他们注意到这种昆虫正在破坏植物的叶子，并想知道为什么。由此可知，因为观察到大黄蜂正在破坏植物的叶子，想知道原因，所以Consuelo De Moraes和她的团队进行了当前的研究。故选D。

3.

推理判断题。根据第二段the insects were damaging plant leaves and wondered why和第三段As a test, the researchers tried to copy the bumblebee damage in additional plants with a knife.可知，作为测试，研究人员试图用小刀复制大黄蜂在其他植物中的损害。由此可知，研究人员复制了大黄蜂的行为，以了解大黄蜂为何破坏植物。故选C。

4.

细节理解题。根据倒数第二段 The findings suggest the bees’ behavior is an adaptation that improves food-hunting efficiency(效率).可知， 研究结果表明，大黄蜂的行为是一种适应能力，可以提高觅食效率。由此可知，研究者弄清楚了大黄蜂是否善于觅食。故选C。