Thebristleconepineisthelongest-livingthingontheearth.T...

問題詳情：

 The bristlecone pine is the longest-living thing on the earth. These trees, with their strangely-shaped, wind-beaten limbs(枝幹), can live up to 5,000 years. But experts worry that a warming climate in some areas may threaten its future.

Researchers say warmer weather is permitting a similar kind of tree, the limber pine, to take over good growing places from the ancient bristlecone. They say the tree is being crowded out of mountainous areas where it grows.

“The bristlecone pine is the oldest individually growing organism,” researchers say. They grow in high mountain forests in eastern California, Nevada and Utah. In those mountains, the trees face high winds and extreme temperatures, which leave them with twisted limbs and shapes. “Even in such tough conditions,” Brian Smithers, a researcher at the University of California, said, “the limber pine is taking all the good spots.”

The limber pine is the bristlecone’s distant relative and competitor. It can also live a long time——up to 2,000 years. And it is usually found at lower altitudes, where temperatures are warmer. However, according to a three-year study which centered on trees that have started growing in the last 50 years in California’s White Mountains, most of the trees growing at higher altitudes were limber pines.

Scientists compared the competing species to two o1d men in a very slow race up a mountainside. This race between such slow-growing trees takes thousands of years. They say climate change is causing the competition.

Smithers said the bristlecone pines are not in danger of disappearing. But he assumes they could be crowded out of some places where they have grown for thousands of years.

The researchers say the findings show how climate change can affect the two kinds of trees. The information, they say, can help scientists understand more complex forests.

89．What’s the function of Paragraph 1?

A．To introduce a topic.                                  B．To summarize the whole passage.

C．To describe the appearance of a tree.            D．To praise the hard work of the experts.

90．What does the underlined sentence in Paragraph 2 mean?

A．There will be older trees sent out of those mountains.

B．There will be more places covered with bristlecone pines.

C．There will be better limber pines replacing the ancient ones.

D．There will be fewer bristlecone pines growing in those areas.

91．According to the passage, the reason why limber pines can grow at higher altitudes is_________.

A．the high winds                                           B．the difficult conditions

C．the changing climate                                  D．the extreme temperatures

92．What is the researchers’ attitude towards the future of the bristlecone pine?

A．Positive.                                                   B．Concerned.

C．Enthusiastic.                                              D．Indifferent.

【回答】

89．A

90．D

91．C

92．B

【分析】

這是一篇說明文。科學家的一項研究發現：氣候變暖使得柔枝鬆漸搶佔了狐尾鬆的生長地。

89．推理判斷題。由第一段內容可知，狐尾鬆是在地球上生活最長久的植物，它具有奇怪的外形，被風吹歪的樹幹，它可以活5000年。但是專家擔心一些地區的氣候變暖可能會威脅它的未來。由此可知，第一段的作用是引出話題。故A選項正確。

90．詞義猜測題。由劃線句子前面的the limber pine，to take over good growing places from the ancient bristlecone可知，柔枝鬆漸搶佔了狐尾鬆的生長地。因此，劃線句子的意思就很明確了，狐尾鬆正在被擠出它們生長的山區，將會有更少的狐尾鬆在這裡生長。故D選項正確。

91．細節理解題。由第五段This race between such slow-growing trees takes thousands of years．They say climate change is causing the competition和倒數第一段中的The researchers say the findings show how climate change can affect the two kinds of trees可知，天氣變化影響樹木，導致了樹木之間的競爭，競爭過程對於生長緩慢的樹木來說會持續幾千年。故C選項正確。

92．觀點態度題。由整個短文可知，氣候變暖使得柔枝鬆漸搶佔了狐尾鬆的生長地。狐尾鬆生活在更高海拔的地區。Smithers認為狐尾鬆沒有處於滅絕的境地，但幾千年以後有可能被擠出生存地區。這些發現能夠表明氣候變暖對樹木的影響，可以幫助科學家明白更加複雜的森林。故B選項正確。

知識點：天氣與氣候

題型：閱讀理解