A
[1] It happens countless times a day. A flower’s bright color and the smell of sweet nectar (花蜜) attract a bee. The bee stops by for a quick taste and small grains of pollen (the powder produced by a flower) stick to its body. The bee then travels to another flower of the same type and leaves the pollen as it has another meal. This is an example of animal pollination (授粉) — a process extremely important to plant reproduction.
[2] It’s not only plants that depend on animal pollination — humans do, too. Worldwide, nearly a thousand plants that we grow for food, spices, clothing fibers, and medicine depend on it. If pollination suddenly stopped, we would have no apples, tomatoes, coffee, and many other goods.
[3] This important process is carried out by more than 200,000 different animal species known as pollinators. Flies and beetles - the original pollinators - date back 130 million years to the first flowering plants. Birds, butterflies, and ants also do their part. Even nonflying mammals help out: monkeys tear open flowers with their hands, accidentally spreading pollen into the air and onto their fur.
[4] Pollinators are therefore important, but they are also at risk. Climate change, habitat loss, and invasive predators (入侵捕食者) all threaten them. The United States, for example, has lost over 50 percent of its honeybees over the past ten years. A serious threat facing bees is colony collapse disorder, when worker bees mysteriously disappear from their colony. Scientists are still trying to identify its cause.
[5] There is a quote attributed to Einstein that if bees ever disappeared, man would only have four years left to live. Whether that’s true or not does not really matter, says wildlife photographer Louie Schwartzberg: the key point is that there is a real danger. “The healthiest food we need to eat,” he says, “would disappear without pollinating plants. It’s pretty serious.”
1. What might be left on flower B, as is shown in the picture?
A. Nectar.
B. Pollen.
C. Leaves.
D. Fur.
2. What can be inferred from the text?
A. Pollination means a lot to fruits and grains.
B. Nearly a thousand plants depend on pollination.
C. Monkeys are the only nonflying mammal pollinators.
D. There are more than 20,000 different species of pollinators.
3. What threat are honeybees faced with?
A. Climate change. B. Habitat loss.
C. Invasive predators. D. Colony collapse disorder.
4. What does the underlined “a real danger” in the last paragraph refer to?
A. Bees are disappearing. B. Humans can only survive 4 years.
C. Food shortage is serious. D. No pollinating plants, no healthy food.
5. Which might be the best title?
A. The Importance of Pollinators B. The Creator of Nature
C. The Wonder of Reproduction D. The Secret Life of Bees
【答案】1. B 2. A 3. D 4. D 5. A
【解析】
这是一篇说明文。文章讲述了授粉者对世界的重要性。
【1题详解】
细节理解题。由第一段中的“he bee stops by for a quick taste and small grains of pollen (the powder produced by a flower) stick to its body. The bee then travels to another flower of the same type and leaves the pollen as it has another meal.”（蜜蜂停下来快速尝一尝，小粒花粉（花朵产生的粉末）黏在的身体上。然后蜜蜂跑到另一朵花上，在吃另一顿饭时留下花粉。）可知蜜蜂在花朵A上沾到花粉，又跑到花朵B上，会在花朵B上留下花粉。故选B项。
【2题详解】
推理判断题。由第二段中的“Worldwide, nearly a thousand plants that we grow for food, spices, clothing fibers, and medicine depend on it. If pollination suddenly stopped, we would have no apples, tomatoes, coffee, and many other goods.”（在世界范围内，我们种植的用于食品、香料、服装纤维和医药的近千种植物都依赖于授粉。如果授粉突然停止，我们就没有苹果、西红柿、咖啡和其他许多商品。）可推断出授粉对水果和谷物有很大的意义。故选A项。
【3题详解】
细节理解题。由第四段中的“A serious threat facing bees is colony collapse disorder, when worker bees mysteriously disappear from their colony.”（蜜蜂面临的一个严重威胁是蜂群崩溃失调，工蜂会神秘地从蜂群中消失。）可知蜜蜂面临蜂群崩溃失调的威胁。故选D项。
【4题详解】
词句猜测题。由第五段中的“Whether that’s true or not does not really matter, says wildlife photographer Louie Schwartzberg: the key point is that there is a real danger. “The healthiest food we need to eat,” he says, “would disappear without pollinating plants. It’s pretty serious.””（野生动物摄影师路易·施瓦茨伯格说：不管那是真是假并不重要，关键是存在真正的危险。“我们需要吃的最健康的食物，”他说，“如果不给植物授粉，它们就会消失。这很严重。”），可知，a real danger（真正的危险）指的是“没有授粉植物，没有健康的食物”。故选D项。
【5题详解】
主旨大意题。由第二段首句“It’s not only plants that depend on animal pollination — humans do, too.”（赖动物授粉的不仅是植物，人类也是。）第四段首句“Pollinators are therefore important, but they are also at risk.”（因此，传粉者很重要，但它们也处于危险之中。）和第五段“There is a quote attributed to Einstein that if bees ever disappeared, man would only have four years left to live. Whether that’s true or not does not really matter, says wildlife photographer Louie Schwartzberg: the key point is that there is a real danger. “The healthiest food we need to eat,” he says, “would disappear without pollinating plants. It’s pretty serious.””（爱因斯坦有句名言，如果蜜蜂消失了，人类只剩下四年的寿命。野生动物摄影师路易·施瓦茨伯格说：关键是存在真正的危险。“我们需要吃的最健康的食物，”他说，“如果不给植物授粉，它们就会消失。这很严重。”）可推断出文章讲的是授粉者的重要性。所以这篇文章最好的题目是“授粉者的重要性”。故选A项。
