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
Narrator Listen to a part of a discussion in a biology class. What is the talk mainly about?
Narrator Listen to a part of a discussion in a biology class. What is the talk mainly about?
admin
2011-01-15
48
问题
Narrator
Listen to a part of a discussion in a biology class.
What is the talk mainly about?
[Professor] Now, let’s have a look at the bees. Until recently, we knew almost nothing about how important bees are in maintaining natural diversity. Now we know more about them. We know, for example, that honeybees are the dominant pollinators because they play a role in pollinating four out of five food crops in North America. We also know that honeybees, along with the other insects, bats, and birds that transfer pollen between flowers, all together they contribute more than ten billion dollars a year to fruit and see production on North American farms.
[Student A] Wow, It’s amazing. Pollination is so important for farming. [Professor] Yes, it is very important. Pollination is one of nature’s services to farmers. Just imagine about this: if we don’t have the pollinators, we would not have enough food to eat. We biologists never imagined we’d see the day when wild plants or crops suffered from pollinator scarcity. But, unfortunately, that day has come. In factor, farmers in Mexico and the states are suffering the worst pollinator crisis in history. So... what happened? Any idea?
[Student A] Is it... um... because of natural enemies? I read something about a kind of parasite that’s killed lots of bees.
[Professor] It’s true. An outbreak of parasite mites has caused a steep decline in North American populations of honeybees. But parasites aren’t the only factor.
[Student B] What about the pesticides used on farms? All those chemicals must have an effect.
[Professor] Most definitely, yes. Pesticides are a major factor. Both wild and domesticated bees are in serious trouble because of pesticides. In California, farm chemicals are killing around ten percent of all the honeybee colonies. Agriculture in general is part of the problem. Think about this for a minute, the North American continent is a vast collection of "nectar corridors" made up of flowering plants. Is there anybody who knows anything about these corridors?
[Student A] Yes. These corridors stretch for thousands of miles, from Mexico to as far north as Alaska.
[Professor] That’s right. And every year, there’s an array of migratory pollinators flying north and south with the seasons, following the flowers. The migratory corridors, the flyways... are like... uh... something like a path of stepping stones for the pollinators, with each "stone" being a collection of flowering plants. But our system of large scale agriculture has interfered. During the past fifty years millions of acres of desert in western Mexico and the southwestern United States have been turned into chemically intensive farms, planted with exotic grasses, creating huge stretches of flyway that are devoid of nectar producing plants for migratory pollinators. What we have now are huge gaps between the stepping stones... patches of plants here and there. A couple of migratory pollinators are worth noting. One is the lesser long nosed bat, and another is the most famous pollinator... what is our most famous pollinator? Or I should say our beautiful pollinator.
[Student B] Oh, I know. It’s the monarch butterfly!
[Professor] The monarch butterfly...yes. Millions of monarch butterflies all over the U.S. and southern Canada fly south every year in late summer. The monarch is the only butterfly that returns to a specific site year after year. Unfortunately the herbicides used on the milkweed in the Great Plains are taking a toll on monarchs, and fewer of them are reaching their winter grounds in Mexico. Another important pollinator is the long nosed bat. These amazing animals feed on cactus flowers. What they do is, they lap up the nectar at the bottom of the flower, and then when the bat flies off to another cactus, the pollen stuck to its head is transferred to that plant’s flower. But the long nosed bat is having a tough time, too. Some desert ranchers mistake them for vampire bats, and they’ve tried to poison them, or dynamite the caves where they roost.
29. What is the talk mainly about?
30. Based on the professor’s talk, what factors have contributed to the decline of pollinator populations? Click on two answers.
31. According to the professor, which is the most famous pollinator?
32. Based on the discussion, on the "steeping stones", what does the "stone" refer to?
Narrator Listen again to a part of the conversation. Then answer the question.
[Professor] But our system of large scale agriculture has interfered. During the past fifty years millions of acres of desert in western Mexico and the southwestern United States have been turned into chemically intensive farms, planted with exotic grasses, creating huge stretches of flyway that are devoid of nectar producing plants for migratory pollinators. What we have now are huge gaps between the stepping stones...patches of plants here and there.
33. Why does the professor say thisΩ?
Narrator Listen again to a part of the conversation. Then answer the question.
[Professor] Millions of monarch butterfly all over the U.S. and southern Canada fly south every year in late summer, The monarch is the only butterfly that returns to a specific site year after year. Unfortunately the herbicides used on the milkweed in the Great Plains are taking a toll on monarchs, and fewer of them are reaching their winter grounds in Mexico.
34. What can be inferred about monarch butterflies?
选项
A、The economic importance of bees.
B、A decline in pollinator populations.
C、How flowers are pollinated.
D、Nature’s services to farms.
答案
B
解析
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/Y2yO777K
0
托福(TOEFL)
相关试题推荐
ChooseTWOletters,A-E.Writethecorrectletters.WhichTWOstatementsaremadeaboutworkbytheRiverThamesbeforetheeigh
Completethetablebelow.ChooseNOMORETHANTWOWORDSfromReadingPassage3foreachanswer.Writeyouranswerinboxes29-36
WilliamGilbertandMagnetismA16thand17thcenturiessawtwogreatpioneersofmodernscience:GalileoandGilbert.Theimpac
Youshouldspendabout20minutesonQuestions1-13,whicharebasedonReadingPassage1below.BringingcinnamontoEuropeCin
Choosethecorrectletter,A,B,CorD.Writethecorrectletterinboxesonyouranswersheet.InEurope,aresearchhintsth
HistoryofRefrigerationRefrigerationisaprocessofremovingheat,whichmeanscoolinganareaorasubstancebelowthee
ThePearlA.Thepearlhasalwayshadaspecialstatusintherichandpowerfulallthroughthehistory.Forinstance,women
Onthebeachtherewasacastofa______.TheareaisoneofthebestinEuropeforfinding______.
Theprofessorsaysthatsuperhighways______.【25】
Completethesummarybelow.WriteNOMORETHANTWOWORDSforeachanswer.MAinFashionDesign:AssessmentA
随机试题
在考生文件夹下打开文档“Word.docx”,按照要求完成下列操作并以该文件名“Word.docx”保存文档。将正文第一段落的首字“很”下沉2行。
美国跨越了奴隶社会和封建社会,从原始社会直接过渡到资本主义社会。这说明()
圆孔位于下列何骨上()
Excel中,对某列做升序排序时,则该列上有完全相同项的行将()
在执行过程中,被执行人张某因交通事故死亡,留下遗产由其妻子与儿子继承。在这种情况下,对该执行案件人民法院应如何处理:
文件名种不准出现以下字符()。
据了解,最早在明朝,跪迎圣驾成了国家制度。清承明制,下跪日渐成为清朝人的“重要礼节”,打官司要跪,下级见上级跪,地位低下的见尊贵的要跪。至于现在的唐宋古装电视剧中经常出现的古人下跪的镜头,多是今人的。
自然失业率是什么?简述扩张性货币政策对短期、长期的通货膨胀和自然失业率的影响。(20l5年西南财经大学801经济学一)
设u=ex+y+z,且y,z由方程∫0xet2+ln(1+y)=0及ey+z=e+lnz确定为x的函数,则=__________。
请在“答题”菜单中选择相应的命令,并按照题目要求完成下面的操作。注意:以下的文件必须保存在考生文件夹下。某高校学生会计划举办一场“大学生网络创业交流会”的活动,拟邀请部分专家和老师给在校学生进行演讲。因此,校学生会外联部需制作一批邀请函,并分别递送给相
最新回复
(
0
)