整合能力

[題組:第40題到第43題]
43. According to the passage, which of the following is an advantage of Li-Fi over Wi-Fi?
(A) Li-Fi can be powered by radio and save more energy.
(B) Li-Fi guides pedestrians in areas where vehicles cannot travel.
(C) Li-Fi provides safer transmission of data during a power failure.
(D) Li-Fi can be used in areas where Wi-Fi may interfere with radar signals.

[題組:第44題到第47題]
Some of the world’s largest beetles are getting smaller because their habitats are warming up, according to new research from the University of British Columbia, Canada. The study, published in the Journal of Animal Ecology in January 2018, shows that climate change is having an impact on these “teeny tiny” organisms. The study began with a deep dive into the scientific literature. Evolutionary ecologist Michelle Tseng and her students combed through all the articles they could find, looking for laboratory studies of temperature effects on insects. They found 19 that indicated at least 22 beetle species shrank when raised in warmer than normal temperatures. To see whether this pattern held true in the wild, the team made use of the university’s 600,000-specimen insect collection, which included thousands of bugs collected locally since the late 1800s. The researchers took photographs of more than 6,500 beetles from the eight species with the most extensive records. They also looked at climate records to determine trends in rainfall and other factors besides temperature. Sorting the beetles into size categories, they found that five of the eight species have shrunk over the past century. The four largest species of beetles, including the snail-killer ground beetles, shrank 20% in the past 45 years. In contrast, smaller beetles were unaffected or even slightly increased in size. Some ecologists are cautious about Tseng’s findings, saying that it hasn’t yet been proved whether the warming temperatures are the actual cause for the beetle shrinkage. UK biologist Alan Ronan Baudron, however, is convinced. Baudron’s studies have documented shrinkage of certain fish species due to climate warming. His account is that warmer temperatures lower the concentration of oxygen in the water, causing fish to burn energy faster and mature at a smaller size. But neither he nor Tseng is convinced that decreased oxygen can explain the shrinkage in the beetles.
44. What is the best title for the passage?
(A) Large Beetles Are Shrinking, Thanks to Climate Change
(B) Beetles vs. Fish: Are They Becoming Smaller?
(C) What We Know About Evolutionary Ecology
(D) Animal Ecology: Past and Present

[題組:第44題到第47題]
45. What does “a deep dive” most likely mean in the second paragraph?
(A) A clear indication.
(B) An important finding.
(C) A thorough examination.
(D) An insightful comment.

[題組:第44題到第47題]
46. Which of the following is true about the research method of Tseng’s team?
(A) They conducted both laboratory and field studies.
(B) They took pictures of 600,000 specimens of insects.
(C) They divided the beetles into different size groups for examination.
(D) They recorded the degrees of oxygen concentration since the late 1800s.

[題組:第44題到第47題]
47. Which of the following is a finding of Tseng’s team?
(A) Eight species of beetles have shrunk over the past century.
(B) Some beetles were not affected by temperature change.
(C) Most beetles tend to live longer with climate warming.
(D) Beetles and fish may shrink down to the same size.

[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.

[題組:第48題到第51題]
49. According to this passage, which of the following statements is true about the Svalbard Global Seed Vault?
(A) It is using up a lot of the funding.
(B) It is located in the center of Norway.
(C) It aims to fight against gene modified crops.
(D) It holds 75 percent of global crop diversity.

[題組:第48題到第51題]
50. Which of the following is true about the role of farmers in preserving crop variety?
(A) Competing with seed banks.
(B) Providing practical knowledge.
(C) Packaging seeds for research.
(D) Responding to population growth.

[題組:第48題到第51題]
51. What does “the highly centralized approach” in the third paragraph refer to?
(A) Working with institutions.
(B) Working with farmers.
(C) Finding enough crop diversity.
(D) Finding sufficient funds.

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