没参加高考的，来做道题吧

LearnAndRecord 2022-07-26

嗯，你很有勇气点进来了，是道阅读题。

有个段子说的，为什么每年高考讨论最激烈的都是语文作文，大家怎么不讨论点数学最后一道大题？讨论点英语阅读？因为除了作文，其他的都看不懂了

是这样吗？我们今天就一起来看看，2020年高考英语全国I卷真题。看你还会不会做？

第二部分「阅读理解」

C篇

The connection between people and plants has long been the subject of scientific interest. Recent studies have found positive effects.

A study conducted in Youngstown, Ohio, for example, discovered that greener areas of the city experienced less crime. In another, employees were shown to be 15% more productive when their sparse workplaces were decorated with houseplants.

The engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have taken it a step further -- tinkering with the actual composition of plants in order to get them to perform diverse, even outlandish functions.

These include plants that have sensors printed onto their leaves to show when they're short of water; one that can record and transmit 3D images of its surroundings; and even a plant that can detect chemicals used in explosives in groundwater.

The prototypes fall into the nascent discipline of "plant nanobionics," a research area -- and term -- devised by MIT's Strano Research Group.

The term combines two concepts -- "bionic" which means to give a living thing an artificial capability (like a bionic arm), and "nano" which refers to particles smaller than 100 nanometres that can be used to imbue the living thing with its new capability.

"We're thinking about how we can engineer plants to replace functions of the devices that we encounter every day," explained Michael Strano, a professor of chemical engineering at MIT, in a phone interview.

"The things that we make out of plastic and circuit boards -- can we replace those with a living plant?"

One of his latest projects has been to make plants glow in experiments using kale, watercress, rocket and spinach. By embedding nanoparticles into watercress leaves, Strano's team found that they could create a faint light for three-and-a-half hours.

In the study, the leaves were first immersed in a solution of nanoparticles and then exposed to high pressure, which induced the particles to enter the leaves through pores called stomata.

Once inside, the nanoparticles released luciferin, a light-emitting compound, and luciferase, an enzyme that works on luciferin to make it glow. In this way, the light was powered by the metabolism of the plant itself.

"Plants harvest energy from the sun and stores it as sugar inside the plant," said Strano. "What we're doing is taking some of that stored chemical energy and diverting it into illumination."

The light, about one-thousandth of the amount needed to read by, is just a start. The technology, Strano said, could one day be used to light interiors or even to turn trees into self-powered street lamps.

In the future, the lab hopes to develop a version of the technology that can be sprayed onto plant leaves or saplings in a one-off treatment that would last the plant's lifetime. The engineers are also trying to develop an on and off "switch" where the glow would dim when exposed to daylight.

Lighting accounts for about 7% of the total electricity consumed in the US. Since lighting is often far removed from the power source -- such as the distance from a power plant to street lamps on a remote highway -- a lot of energy is lost during transmission. Glowing plants could reduce this distance and therefore help save energy.

But the primary motivation, Strano said, is not saving the planet one illuminated leaf at a time, but rather, aesthetics. "I want to make them, first and foremost, because they're beautiful."

注：阅读真题题源为2018年3月26日CNN的报道，较真题内容有所改编。

32. What is the first paragraph mainly about?

A. A new study of different plants.

B. A big fall in crime rates.

C. Employees from various workplaces.

D. Benefits from green plants.

33. What is the function of the sensors printed on plant leaves by MIT engineers?

A. To detect plants' lack of water.

B. To change compositions of plants.

C. To make the life of plants longer.

D. To test chemicals in plants.

34. What can we expect of the glowing plants in the future?

A. They will speed up energy production.

B. They may transmit electricity to the home.

C. They might help reduce energy consumption.

D. They could take the place of power plants.

35. Which of the following can be the best title for the text?

A. Can we grow more glowing plants?

B. How do we live with glowing plants?

C. Could glowing plants replace lamps?

D. How are glowing plants made pollution-free?

- ◆ -

含注释全文：

Could glowing plants replace light bulbs?

CNN

The connection between people and plants has long been the subject of scientific interest. Recent studies have found positive effects.

长期以来，人与植物之间的联系一直是科学界关注的话题。近期的研究发现了其积极影响。

glow

1）表示“发出微弱稳定的光”，英文解释为“If something glows, it produces a dull, steady light.”举个🌰：

The night lantern glowed softly in the darkness.

夜灯在黑暗中发出微弱的光。

2）glowing除了本文中表示“发出微弱光的”，还可以指“高度赞许的”，英文解释为“A glowing description or opinion about someone or something praises them highly or supports them strongly.”举个🌰：

The media has been speaking in glowing terms of the relationship between the two.

媒体谈及两人的关系一直给予盛赞之辞。

🎬电影《钢铁侠3》（Iron Man 3）中的台词提到：and suddenly she's glowing from the inside out, 她突然全身发光。

🎬电影《绿灯侠》（Green Lantern）中的台词提到：Why is your skin green? Why are you glowing? 你怎么全身都绿了你怎么会发光？

例如，在俄亥俄州扬斯敦（Youngstown, Ohio）进行的一项研究发现，该市绿化率较高的区域，犯罪率较低。另一项研究发现，当空旷的办公场所用室内植物装饰时，员工的工作效率提高了15%。

sparse

表示“稀少的；稀疏的；零落的”，英文解释为“Something that is sparse is small in number or amount and spread out over an area.”如：the sparse population of the islands 那些岛上零星的人口，举个🌰：

Many slopes are rock fields with sparse vegetation.

许多山坡都是植被稀疏的岩石地。

麻省理工学院（MIT）的工程师们又迈出了一步--在植物的组成成分上“做手脚”，以使它们发挥各种不同的、甚至是奇特的功能。

tinker with

表示“小修改；小修补，小修理”，英文解释为“If you tinker with something, you make some small changes to it, in an attempt to improve it or repair it.”举个🌰：

Instead of admitting his error, he just tinkered with the problem.

他未承认自己的错误，只是对这个问题稍作修改。

🎬很巧，电影《钢铁侠3》（Iron Man 3）中的台词还提到：I'm going to sleep downstairs. Tinker with that. 我要去楼下睡。你修补吧

outlandish

outlandish /aʊtˈlændɪʃ/ 表示“稀奇古怪的”，英文解释为“If you describe something as outlandish, you disapprove of it or find it funny because you think it is very unusual, strange, or unreasonable.”举个🌰：

This idea is not as outlandish as it sounds.

这主意听上去荒诞不经，事实上却并非如此。

其中包括叶子上压印有元器件以显示缺水时间的植物；可以记录和传输周围环境3D图像的植物；甚至还有植物可以检测地下水中用于爆炸的化学物质。

sensor

表示“（探测光、热、压力等的）传感器，敏感元件，探测设备”，英文解释为“a device that can react to light, heat, pressure, etc. in order to make a machine, etc. do sth or show sth”

explosive

表示“炸药；爆炸物”，英文解释为“An explosive is a substance or device that can cause an explosion.”

The prototypes fall into the nascent discipline of "plant nanobionics," a research area -- and term -- devised by MIT's Strano Research Group.

这些原型属于“植物纳米仿生学”这一新兴学科，这是麻省理工学院斯特拉诺课题组（Strano Research Group）开创的一个研究领域和术语。

prototype

表示“样机；原型”，英文解释为“A prototype is a new type of machine or device that is not yet ready to be made in large numbers and sold.”举个🌰：

He has built a prototype of a machine called the wave rotor.

他做出了一台叫做波转子的样机。

nascent

nascent /ˈnæsənt/ 表示“新生的；初期的”，英文解释为“Nascent things or processes are just beginning, and are expected to become stronger or to grow bigger.”如：the still nascent science of psychology 方兴未艾的心理学。

nanobionic

具体解释就是下段的英文，由bionic+nano构成。

这个术语结合了两个概念--“仿生”，指的是赋予生物某种人造能力（如仿生手臂），以及“纳米”，指的是小于100纳米的颗粒，可用于对生物进行赋能。

imbue /ɪmˈbjuː/

表示“使充满，灌输，激发（强烈感情、想法或价值）”，英文解释为“to fill sb/sth with strong feelings, opinions or values”举个🌰：

Her voice was imbued with an unusual seriousness.

她的声音里充满着一种不寻常的严肃语气。

🎬电影《奇异博士》（Doctor Strange）中的台词提到：Some magic is too powerful to sustain, so we imbue objects with it 有些魔法太过于强大难以承受，我们将它灌输到物体里。

麻省理工学院化学工程学教授迈克尔·斯特拉诺（Michael Strano）在电话采访中解释说：“我们正在思考如何通过工程化的方式让植物取代我们每天所用设备的功能，”

encounter

1）表示“遭遇；遇到”，英文解释为“If you encounter problems or difficulties, you experience them.”举个🌰：

Every day of our lives we encounter major and minor stresses of one kind or another.

生活中的每一天，我们会遇到或大或小的这样那样的压力。

2）表示“邂逅”，英文解释为“If you encounter someone, you meet them, usually unexpectedly.”举个🌰：

Did you encounter anyone in the building?

你在那栋大楼里偶然遇到什么人了吗？

"The things that we make out of plastic and circuit boards -- can we replace those with a living plant?"

“我们用塑料和电路板制成的东西--是不是可以用有生命的植物来代替它们？”

他最新的一个项目是用羽衣甘蓝、豆瓣菜、芝麻菜和菠菜进行实验，让植物发光。通过将纳米颗粒嵌入到豆瓣菜叶子中，斯特拉诺的团队发现，它们可以产生微弱的光，持续三个半小时。

embed

表示“嵌入”，英文解释为“If an object embeds itself in a substance or thing, it becomes fixed there firmly and deeply.”举个🌰：

One of the bullets passed through his chest before embedding itself in a wall.

其中一颗子弹穿过他的胸膛然后嵌入一面墙中。

faint

faint /feɪnt/ 表示“（光、声、味）微弱的，不清楚的”，英文解释为“that cannot be clearly seen, heard or smelt”举个🌰：

a faint glow/glimmer/light 微弱的光亮╱闪光╱光

We could hear their voices growing fainter as they walked down the road.

他们沿路走远时我们听见他们的说话声逐渐模糊。

补充：

📍kale 羽衣甘蓝

📍rocket 芝麻菜

📍spinach 菠菜

📍watercress 水田芥，豆瓣菜，西洋菜（水生植物，有辛香味）

rocket

熟词僻义，表示“大蒜芥；芝麻菜；紫花南芥”，英文解释为“a plant with long green leaves that have a strong flavour and are eaten raw in salads”。

In the study, the leaves were first immersed in a solution of nanoparticles and then exposed to high pressure, which induced the particles to enter the leaves through pores called stomata.

在研究中，首先将叶子浸泡在纳米颗粒的溶液中，然后将其暴露在高压下，促使纳米颗粒通过称为气孔的孔隙进入叶子。

solution

熟词僻义，表示“溶液”，英文解释为“A solution is a liquid in which a solid substance has been dissolved.”如：a warm solution of liquid detergent 液体洗洁精的温热稀释溶液。

induce

1）表示“劝说；诱使”，英文解释为“to persuade or influence sb to do sth”举个🌰：

Nothing would induce me to take the job.

没有什么能诱使我接受这份工作。

2）表示“引起；导致”，英文解释为“to cause sth”如：drugs which induce sleep 使人昏昏欲睡的药物。

3）表示“引产；催生”，英文解释为“to make a woman start giving birth to her baby by giving her special drugs”举个🌰：

We'll have to induce her.

我们得给她引产。

pore /pɔː/

表示“（皮肤上的）毛孔；（植物的）气孔；孔隙”，英文解释为“one of the very small holes in your skin that sweat can pass through; one of the similar small holes in the surface of a plant or a rock.”

stomata

/'stəumətə, 'stɔ-, stəu'mɑ:tə/，stoma的复数形式，表示“气孔”，英文解释为“an epidermal pore, present in large numbers in plant leaves, that controls the passage of gases into and out of a plant.”

一旦进入叶子内，纳米颗粒就会释放出荧光素（一种发光化合物）以及荧光素酶（一种作用于荧光素使其发光的酶）。这样一来，光能来自于植物本身的新陈代谢。

enzyme

enzyme /ˈɛnzaɪm/ 表示“酶”，英文解释为“An enzyme is a chemical substance found in living creatures that produces changes in other substances without being changed itself.”

metabolism

metabolism /mɪˈtæbəˌlɪzəm/ 表示“新陈代谢”，英文解释为“( biology 生 ) the chemical processes in living things that change food, etc. into energy and materials for growth”举个🌰：

The body's metabolism is slowed down by extreme cold.

严寒可以使身体新陈代谢的速度下降。

补充：

📍luciferin /luːˈsɪfərɪn/荧光素

📍luciferase /lʊ'sɪfə,res; lʊ'sɪfə,rez/ 荧光素酶

"Plants harvest energy from the sun and stores it as sugar inside the plant," said Strano. "What we're doing is taking some of that stored chemical energy and diverting it into illumination."

“植物从阳光中收集能量并将其作为糖分存储在植物内部，”斯特拉诺说。“我们所做的是将其中一些储存的化学能量转化为光能。”

illumination

表示“照明”，英文解释为“Illumination is the lighting that a place has.”举个🌰：

The only illumination came from a small window high in the opposite wall.

惟一的照明来自对面墙上位于高处的一扇小窗户。

这种光，大约是阅读所需光量的千分之一，这只是一个开始。斯特拉诺说，这项技术有朝一日可以用来照亮室内，甚至可以将树木变成自供电的路灯。

未来，该实验室希望研发出一种工艺，一次性喷洒到植物叶片或树苗上来延长植物的寿命。工程师们还在尝试研发一种“开关”，当有光照时，来控制发光变暗。

spray

此处作动词，表示“喷（液体）；（液体）喷出”，英文解释为“If you spray a liquid somewhere or if it sprays somewhere, drops of the liquid cover a place or shower someone.”举个🌰：

The crops are regularly sprayed with pesticide.

庄稼定期喷洒杀虫剂。

🎬电影《毛利男孩》（Boy）中的台词提到：Spraythat in here, you're gonna blind all of us.喷在这里你会把我们都弄瞎的。

补充：

📍pepper spray 胡椒粉喷雾剂（防狼喷雾），此时spray作名词。A pepper spray is a device that releases a substance which stings the skin, and that is used as a defence against rioters or attackers.

sapling

sapling /ˈsæplɪŋ/ 表示“树苗”，英文解释为“A sapling is a young tree.”

照明用电约占美国总耗电量的7%左右。由于照明的地方往往远离供电源--比如从发电厂到偏远公路上的路灯的距离--在传输过程中会损失大量能量。发光植物可以缩短这一距离，从而有助于节约能源。

far removed from

除了“远离”的含义，可以理解为“与…大相径庭；与…迥然不同；和…有天壤之别”，英文解释为“to be very different from something”举个🌰：

It's a wonderful experience but it's far removed from reality.

这是一次美妙的经历，但是和现实生活有天壤之别。

But the primary motivation, Strano said, is not saving the planet one illuminated leaf at a time, but rather, aesthetics. "I want to make them, first and foremost, because they're beautiful."

aesthetics

aesthetics /iːsˈθɛtɪks/ 表示“美学”，英文解释为“Aesthetics is a branch of philosophy concerned with the study of the idea of beauty.”

注：中文文本机器翻译仅供参考，并非一一对应

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2015年2月8日