The Tough Grass that Sweetens Our Lives Sugar cane was once a wild grass that grew in New Guinea and was used by local peopl

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问题                 The Tough Grass that Sweetens Our Lives
    Sugar cane was once a wild grass that grew in New Guinea and was used by local people for roofing their houses and fencing their gardens. Gradually a different variety evolved which contained sucrose(蔗糖)and was chewed on for its sweet taste. Over time, sugar cane became a highly valuable commercial plant, grown throughout the world.【B1】______
    Sugar became a vital ingredient in all kinds of things, from confectionery(糖果点心)to medicine, and, as the demand for sugar grew, the industry became larger de more profitable.【B2】______ Many crops withered(枯萎)and died, despite growers’ attempts to save them and there were fears that the health of the plant would continue to deteriorate.
    In the 1960s, scientists working in Barbados looked for ways to make the commercial species stronger and more able to resist disease. They experimented with breeding programmes, mixing genes from the wild species of sugar cane, which tends to be tougher, with genes from the more delicate, commercial type.【B3】______This sugar cane is not yet ready to be sold commercially, but when this happens, it is expected to be incredibly profitable for the industry.
   【B4】______Brazil, which produces one quarter of the world’s sugar, has coordinated an international project under Professor Paulo Arrudo of the Universidade Estaudual de Campinas in Sdo Paulo. Teams of experts have worked with him to discover more about which parts of the genetic structure of the plant are important for the production of sugar and its overall health.
    Despite all the research, however, we still do not fully understand how the genes function in sugar cane.【B5】______This gene is particularly exciting because it makes the plant resistant to rust, a disease which probably originated in India, but is now capable of infecting sugar cane across the world. Scientist believe they will eventually be able to grow a plant which cannot be destroyed by rust.
A. Eventually, a commercial plant was developed which was 5 percent sweeter than before, but also much stronger and less likely to die from disease.
B. One major gene has been identified by Dr Angelique D’ Hont and her team in Montpelier, France.
C. Sugar cane is now much more vigorous and the supply of sugar is therefore more guaranteed.
D. Since the 1960s, scientists have been analysing the mysteries of the sugar cane’s genetic code.
E. The majority of the world’s sugar now comes from this particular commercial species.
F. Unfortunately, however, the plant started to become weaker and more prone to disease.
【B1】

选项

答案E

解析 题意:现在世界上大多数的糖都来自于这种特殊的商业物种。根据前文中提到一开始甘蔗只被当做是一种野草用来搭房顶,修篱笆。之后逐渐进化出一种特殊品种,里面含有蔗糖,嚼起来很甜。久而久之,甘蔗变成一种非常有价值的商业作物,并在世界范围内广泛种植。可以推知,后面应该介绍现在甘蔗的使用情况,故选E。
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