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  3. Writing Based on Reading and Listening Directions: For this task, you will read a passage about an academic topic and yo

Writing Based on Reading and Listening Directions: For this task, you will read a passage about an academic topic and yo

admin2018-08-26  62
问题     Writing Based on Reading and Listening
    Directions:
    For this task, you will read a passage about an academic topic and you will listen to a lecture about the same topic. You may take notes while you read and listen.
    Then you will write a response to a question that asks you about the relationship between the lecture you heard and the reading passage. Try to answer the question as completely as possible using information from the reading passage and the lecture. The question does not ask you to express your personal opinion. You may refer to the reading passage again when you write. You may use your notes to help you answer the question.
    Typically, an effective response will be 150 to 225 words. Your response will be judged on the quality of your writing and on the completeness and accuracy of the content.
    You should allow 3 minutes to read the passage. Then listen to the lecture. Then allow 20 minutes to plan and write your response.
    Write your response in the space provided.
    Reading
    You will have 3 minutes to read the passage.
    Recent estimates placing the emergence of bees as a distinct species of insect as far back as 200 million years ago have aroused heated debate within the scientific community. In my opinion, as it fails to offer any convincing evidence to support this claim, this estimate is far from credible.
    Just as scientists can study roughly what time period the dinosaurs lived and died in through the fossils they left behind, scientists could in principle also date bees’ evolutionary emergence through their fossilized remains. However, no fossil has been discovered thus far that can be definitively regarded as theirs. Any good theory must consist of both a well-rounded argument and convincing evidence. Therefore, due to the absence of bee fossils, it is unreasonable for us to ascertain that the bees have existed on Earth for 200 million years.
    Or, suppose that bees have in fact been living on our planet for 200 million years. If that’s the case, then what did the bees feed on at that time? As we all know, bees are adapted to feeding on nectar and pollen, the former primarily as an energy source and the latter primarily for protein and other nutrients—both of which, it must be pointed out, can only be found in flowers. The problem is that there were no flowers 200 million years ago. So, without food, how could bees have sustained themselves at that time?
    Finally, there have been some newly discovered fossils that are claiming as evidence to support this argument, saying that these remains belonged to bees. To me, its authenticity needs to be further studied and proven.
    Then you will hear:
    Now listen to part of a lecture on the topic you just read about.
    Lecture
   
    Question
    Summarize the points made in the lecture you just heard, explaining how they cast doubt on points made in the reading passage.
As a matter of scientific fact, bees emerged as a distinct species of insect 200 million years ago, and I have a few words I’d like to say to all those who might claim otherwise.
    The reading holds that without the discovery of fossilized remains, it cannot be proven that bees have been living here for 200 million years. However, as we all know, fossils are actually formed from the remains of dead animals or plants, which are buried deep underground for quite a long time. Considering this, how could the bee fossils have formed and been preserved 200 million years ago when there were no trees around at that time? Without trees, there of course would not be fossils preserved from that time.
    Conventional wisdom holds that bees feed on flowers, but few people know that on top of flowers, some kinds of pine trees can also be utilized to provide bees with their food. Maybe due to the different climate and living conditions in the distant past, bees from that period might have sustained themselves on the pollen and nectar of trees rather than flowers. Therefore, even without flowers, bees at that time could still have fed on pine trees to keep alive.
    What’s more, there was a recently reported bee fossil of the genus Melittosphex, which is considered "an extinct lineage of the pollen-collecting apoidea sister to modern bees," that dates from the early Cretaceous period. This means the fossil is more than 100 million years old.
选项
答案 The author in the reading section is quite adamant that there is no convincing evidence to support the theory that bees have been living on this planet for up to 200 million years. Conversely, the professor claims that it is a scientific fact that bees already existed as a separate species of insect 200 million years ago. First, the passage states that no definitive bee fossils have ever been found, proving they didn’t exist so long ago. The professor counters that fossils can only be formed from the remains of dead animals or plants. Therefore, bee fossils could not have been formed 200 million years ago since there were no trees, and that just because their remains have not been found does not mean they did not exist. Next, the passage says that 200 million years ago, there were no flowers for bees to receive their nectar and pollen from, and without flowers, the bees could never have sustained. The professor points out that, there are other plants, such as pine trees, that have provided pollen and nectar for bees. He claims that bees may have just survived on a different food source at that time. Finally, although the reading mentions a recent fossil discovery that many scientists claim, the author insists more study is necessary. The professor elaborates on exactly what the scientists found, and says this is definitive proof that bees have lived well over 100 million years ago.
解析     关于蜜蜂诞生的时间，阅读文章认为在2亿年前蜜蜂并不存在，并列举了三点理由：没有关于那个时期的蜜蜂的化石；2亿年前没有花朵等蜜蜂生存的营养来源；关于此的研究不足。而听力文章则针对这三点论据都进行了反驳。
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