<閱讀測驗>[題組:第48題到第51題]In order to protect the diversity of crops from catastrophe, the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, a seed bank, was built beneath a mountain on an Arctic island halfway between Norway and the North Pole. The Vault is meant to help farmers and scientists find the genes they need to improve today’s crops. It also aims to breed varieties that might better respond to emerging challenges, such as climate change and population growth. Currently, the Vault holds more than 860,000 samples, originating from almost every country in the world. There is now, however, a growing body of opinion that the world’s faith in Svalbard is misplaced. Those who have worked with farmers in the field say that diversity cannot be boxed up and saved in a single container-no matter how secure it may be. Crops are always changing, pests and diseases are always adapting, and global warming will bring additional challenges that remain unforeseen. In a perfect world, the solution would be as diverse and dynamic as plant life itself. The dispute about how best to save crop diversity centers on whether we should work with communities in the fields or with institutions, since it will be extremely difficult to find enough funding to do both. Now the isolated Svalbard seed vault is sucking up available funding. Yet, the highly centralized approach may not be able to help farmers cope with climate change, fifty or a hundred years from now. According to new research findings, as much as 75 percent of global crop diversity exists outside the big institutional seed banks. Such diversity is held instead by some of the world’s most marginal farmers. Moreover, it is argued with increasing force that seed banks can neither make up for the practical knowledge of farmers on the ground, nor compete with their ingenuity. 48. What is the main idea of this passage? (A) Seed banks can help farmers improve their crops. (B) The practice of seed banks requires global cooperation. (C) The idea of saving crop diversity in seed banks is debatable. (D) Seed banks are able to deal with challenges of climate change.
