首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
"If we don’t achieve some major step changes in crop yields by 2050," says Dr. James Hartwell, "there will be a major shortfall
"If we don’t achieve some major step changes in crop yields by 2050," says Dr. James Hartwell, "there will be a major shortfall
admin
2010-07-24
86
问题
"If we don’t achieve some major step changes in crop yields by 2050," says Dr. James Hartwell, "there will be a major shortfall in available food to feed the world’s population." It’s a serious problem to which Hartwell and a team at Liverpool University may help fend part of a solution. They are investigating the unusual properties of a Madagascan plant, the Kalanchoe fedtschenkoi. Unlike other plants it captures its carbon dioxide at night and is ten times more water-efficient than crops such as maize, which means it is highly suitable for desert area. Making desert lands more amenable to crops will be increasingly important over the coming decades.
Hartwell has been fascinated by desert plants since he was an undergraduate, and his interest carried through to his doctorate and a research Fellowship, What Liverpool University has added to the research is sophisticated DNA sequencing technology. "We tapped into that," says Hartwell, "and realised it was perfect for going into our desert plants and starting to understand what genes they are using to survive desert conditions and, in particular, to perform this nocturnal(夜间发生的) CO2 fixation that they do. "
This aspect of the plant is taking on major significance. "The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has predicted that in the next 50 years, already droughty regions will become droughtier," explains Hartwell, "and if they will expand, there will be increasing desertification."
There are two possible directions in which the results of this research may be used. They are not actually producing a desert plant but their high level research may lead to that. They may be able to deploy (展开,移植)the knowledge and, potentially, some of the genes into food crops such as wheat and soy beans. Though, as Hartwell points out, it relies on Genetically Modified food becoming widely accepted.
The other route is that these plants could be grown for biomass (大面积高密度的)that could feed into biofuel production. "If this is viable we could perhaps provide, certainly a percentage, of the world’s biofuel needs through using marginal land, and growing desert plants that are very happy to grow there. " With questions being asked about the impact of current biofuel production, as well as food production and prices, the research at Liverpool can create real possibilities for adapting land usage in a time of climate change.
We may infer from the flint paragraph that ______.
选项
A、world population will be a serious problem in the future
B、Hartwell and his team has found a total solution to the food shortage
C、the Kalanchoe fedtschenkoi needs more water than other plants
D、making the crops fit to the desert conditions is significant
答案
D
解析
细节处设题。原文开头提及“世界性的粮食短缺将在所难免”,结尾处说道,在未来的十年中,征服和利用沙漠将成为一项日益重要的工作,由此可以推断如何使作物适应沙漠生长意义重大,故D为答案。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/MdN7777K
0
大学英语四级
相关试题推荐
OneofthemostexcitingchangesineducationintheUnitedStatestodayisthe【S1】______growthofdistanceeducationatthepos
A、Theyshouldshowboththegoodandbadsidesofthehouse.B、Themanshouldtakeasmanypicturesaspossible.C、Theyarebett
Somepeoplearecontenttolimittheirinvestmentprogramstosuchsafeinvestmentsassavingsaccountsandsavingsbonds.Theyt
Forthispart,youareallowed30minutestowriteashortessayonthefollowingtopic.Youshouldwriteatleast120wordsand
Careerplanningdoesnotnecessarilyfollowroutineoflogicalsteps.Eachofusplacesweightondifferentfactorsandmaycons
EarlysettlersoftheAmericanSouthwestgrewtorealizethattheappearanceoftheCaliforniacondor(秃鹰)signaleddeath.Thec
TheJapaneseareexpectinghouseguests.Thesevisitorswillstayforalongtime,servingtea,cleaninghouse,makingConversat
ChangeandtheNewspaperForthelastthreehundredyears,newspapershaveplayedanimportantroleinthesocial,political
Howdoyousendamessagetoasubmergedsubmarine,particularlyonecarryingmiWatermaynotlooklikeabarriertocommunicat
A、Markthelatesthomeworkassignment.B、Putacancellationnoticeontheclassroomdoor.C、Makeanappointmentwiththedoctor.
随机试题
Whichpassage(s)say(s)that….adultsputtoomuchemphasisonchildren’sintellectualdevelopment?
关于内脏神经的叙述,错误的是
明细分类账的登记方法有()。
发生()时,修正的股价平均数可以保证其正确性不受影响。
某项固定资产原值为15500元,预计使用年限为5年,预计净残值为500元,按双倍余额递减法计提折旧,则第二年末该固定资产的账面价值为()元。
关于婴儿听觉能力的叙述,下列说法正确的是()。
下列词语中,各对划线字的读音都不相同的一项是()。
中国共产党的最大政治优势是()。
苏南冲突
数据库系统中实现各种数据管理功能的核心软件称为【】。
最新回复
(
0
)