夜雨聆风Section II Reading Comprehension
Part A
Directions: Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D. Mark your answers on the ANSWER SHEET.
Text 2
Given their slow growth and sessile lives, the idea of plants battling one another may seem fanciful. Yet they do. They fight for access to water, nutrients and pollinators. Since one plant's leaves are another's shade, growing towards the sun can be a duel to the death. As in any conflict, espionage helps. A paper published in the Journal of Experimental Botany reveals how plants engage in it.
Botanists have known for years that plants can communicate with each other. One way is via chemicals known as volatile organic compounds (VOCs). When plants are attacked by pests, for instance, the composition of the VOCs they release changes. Previous work has shown that this drives nearby plants to raise their own defences in anticipation of being attacked in turn. What has gone unexplored is whether plants detect VOCs released by their neighbours when they are healthy. So Velemir Ninkovic, an ecologist at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, decided to run an experiment.
With a team of colleagues, Dr Ninkovic planted three varieties of barley that grow at different rates—one quickly, one slowly and one at a middling pace. The plants were put in growing chambers next to one another, but with no way for them to shade their neighbours. The only connection that the plants had to one another was through one-way air vents that connected their growing containers. These allowed the researchers to blow air from one chamber to the next, and to monitor the effect that this had on the plants over 25 days.
The results were striking. The slow-growing barley grew more quickly when it was exposed to air from the chambers of its fast-growing cousins, producing 20% more biomass than when it was placed next to slower-growing plants. This, Dr Ninkovic surmises, is because the slow-growing plants were detecting the compounds released by their neighbours and realising that, in the wild at least, they would be at risk of getting shaded out if they did not get a shift on.
Fast-growing plants exposed to air from the chambers of their slow-growing cousins reacted in the opposite way. With less need to race for the sun, they cut their growth rates notably. (The plants with intermediate growth rates had no significant effects on their neighbours.) Dissection of these plants and genetic analysis of their tissues revealed more details about exactly what was going on. While the laggards were switching resources towards growth, the speedsters were able to spend more of theirs on metabolically expensive defensive measures, such as churning out chemicals that make their leaves unpalatable to herbivores.
Barley plants, in other words, can chemically eavesdrop on their competitors, and tweak their own growing strategies accordingly. Farmers are already experimenting with using VOCs to boost productivity. Dr Ninkovic's results suggest they may be able to nudge crops to produce protective compounds if pests are expected to arrive, as well as inducing them to grow more quickly to boost yields when risks are low.
21. According to Paragraph 2, what aspect of plant VOC communication had not been previously investigated?
[A] Whether pest attacks could alter the chemical composition of VOCs released by barley.
[B] Whether plants detect chemical signals emitted by undamaged neighboring plants.
[C] Whether VOC signals from distressed plants could travel across extended field distances.
[D] Whether recipient plants can simultaneously activate multiple chemical defense pathways.
22. The experimental design described in Paragraph 3 was intended primarily to ensure that ________.
[A] all three barley varieties were grown under identical temperature and humidity conditions.
[B] the contribution of root competition to plant growth could be precisely measured.
[C] airborne chemical signals served as the sole pathway of interaction between neighboring plants.
[D] researchers could directly sample and quantify the VOCs emitted from each growing chamber.
23. Dr. Ninkovic's interpretation of the slow-growing barley's 20% biomass increase suggests that plants are capable of ________.
[A] absorbing growth-promoting hormones directly through leaf surfaces upon chemical exposure.
[B] detecting a competitive threat from neighbors and adjusting their growth strategy accordingly.
[C] reallocating metabolic resources specifically from root systems to accelerate above-ground growth.
[D] undergoing heritable genetic changes triggered by prolonged exposure to neighboring plant compounds.
24. It can be inferred from Paragraph 5 that fast-growing plants, upon perceiving reduced competition, ________.
[A] released elevated levels of VOCs specifically designed to suppress weaker neighbors.
[B] redirected resources freed from slower growth into metabolically costly chemical defenses.
[C] shifted their reproductive priorities toward seed production rather than vegetative expansion.
[D] exhibited signs of genetic adaptation to low-competition environments within the experimental period.
25. According to the last paragraph, Dr. Ninkovic's findings are agriculturally significant primarily because they suggest that ________.
[A] synthetic pesticides could be comprehensively replaced by naturally derived plant VOCs.
[B] selective breeding programs could engineer barley strains with permanently enhanced defenses.
[C] VOC signals could be harnessed to steer crop behavior in response to anticipated conditions.
[D] the precise timing of pest invasions could be reliably forecast through field VOC monitoring.
附注：根据历年考研英语真题阅读题源外刊等，摘选最新文章，模拟仿真出题。
参考答案见以下。
Quick look: BCBBC
21.【正确答案】B
【解析】题型：事实细节题
定位：第二段"What has gone unexplored is whether plants detect VOCs released by their neighbours when they are healthy."
分析：题目询问在宁科维奇博士实验之前，植物VOC通讯研究中哪个层面"此前尚未被探索"。原文以"What has gone unexplored"一语，旗帜鲜明地点出了研究空白：植物是否会检测邻居在健康状态下释放的VOC。选项B"是否植物能检测到未受损伤的邻近植物所释放的化学信号"是对该核心句的精准转述，其中"undamaged"对应原文"when they are healthy"，"chemical signals"对应"VOCs"。
干扰项：[A] 害虫侵袭是否会改变大麦释放的VOC化学成分（已知信息，属"偷换已知结论为未知"的典型陷阱——原文明确写道"When plants are attacked by pests... the composition of the VOCs they release changes"，此为前人已验证的事实）；[C] 受损植物的VOC信号能否传播至更远的田间距离（无中生有，原文只提及"nearby plants"，从未探讨传播距离问题）；[D] 接受者植物是否能同时激活多条化学防御途径（无中生有，原文完全未涉及"多条防御途径同步激活"的概念）。
22.【正确答案】C
【解析】题型：实验细节题
定位：第三段"with no way for them to shade their neighbours... The only connection that the plants had to one another was through one-way air vents that connected their growing containers."
分析：题目询问第三段实验设计的"主要目的"。原文通过两处关键设计说明了对非气体干扰变量的排除：一是生长室相邻却"彼此无法遮荫"，二是植物间"唯一的联系"是单向通风口。两处设计共同服务于同一核心目的：确保空气传播的化学信号是植物间互动的唯一通道，以此孤立并验证VOC的独立作用。选项C"空气中的化学信号是相邻植物间唯一互动途径"精准概括了这一实验逻辑。
干扰项：[A] 确保三种大麦品种在相同温湿度条件下生长（无中生有，温湿度控制未在文中作为实验设计要点加以说明）；[B] 精确测量根系竞争对植物生长的贡献（事实偏差，根系竞争被该实验设计所排除——植物置于各自独立的生长容器中，而非被测量）；[D] 直接采样并量化每个生长室排放的VOC（无中生有，研究者通过通风口监测的是生物量与生长效果，而非直接定量VOC排放）。
23.【正确答案】B
【解析】题型：推理判断题
定位：第四段"This, Dr Ninkovic surmises, is because the slow-growing plants were detecting the compounds released by their neighbours and realising that, in the wild at least, they would be at risk of getting shaded out if they did not get a shift on."
分析：题目询问宁科维奇博士的推断揭示了植物具备什么能力。原文论述的因果链完整清晰：慢生长植物"察觉到（detecting）"邻居释放的化合物→"意识到（realising）"自身面临被遮蔽的竞争风险→随即加速生长以响应威胁。这一机制表明植物能够"感知来自邻居的竞争威胁并据此调整生长策略"。选项B是对这一核心机制的精准同义转述。
干扰项：[A] 通过叶表面直接吸收促生长激素（无中生有，VOC经由空气传播并被植物化学感知，文中无任何叶表直接吸收激素的描述）；[C] 将代谢资源专门从根系转移以加速地上部生长（过度推断，原文仅说"switching resources towards growth"，并未具体指明资源来自根系，亦未提"地上部"）；[D] 经历因长期暴露于邻近植物化合物而触发的可遗传基因变化（严重过度推断，文中描述的是植物的表型可塑性反应，而非永久性遗传修改，遗传分析仅用于解释生理变化机制）。
24.【正确答案】B
【解析】题型：推理判断题
定位：第五段"With less need to race for the sun, they cut their growth rates notably... the speedsters were able to spend more of theirs on metabolically expensive defensive measures, such as churning out chemicals that make their leaves unpalatable to herbivores."
分析：题目要求推断快生长植物在"感知竞争压力降低"后所发生的变化。原文逻辑链清晰：感知低竞争压力→削减生长速率→节省出的资源被投入"代谢成本高昂的防御措施"（即合成令草食动物难以下咽的化学物质）。选项B"将因生长减速而释放出的资源转移至代谢成本高昂的化学防御"完整还原了这条逻辑链，"redirected resources freed from slower growth"对应"spend more of theirs"，"metabolically costly"对应"metabolically expensive"。
干扰项：[A] 释放更高浓度VOC以专门抑制较弱邻居的发育（因果倒置，文中的作用方向是：慢生长植物检测到快生长邻居的VOC后作出响应，而非快生长植物主动以VOC压制对方）；[C] 将生殖优先级从营养生长转向种子生产（无中生有，原文完全未提及种子生产或生殖策略的转变）；[D] 在实验期间表现出对低竞争环境的遗传适应迹象（无中生有+严重过度推断，25天实验周期内不存在发生遗传适应的生物学条件，且文中遗传分析旨在揭示生理机制，而非证明遗传适应）。
25.【正确答案】C
【解析】题型：主旨归纳题（末段要旨）
定位：末段"Dr Ninkovic's results suggest they may be able to nudge crops to produce protective compounds if pests are expected to arrive, as well as inducing them to grow more quickly to boost yields when risks are low."
分析：末段列举了宁科维奇博士研究对农业的两重潜在应用：（1）预期害虫来袭时，引导作物产生保护性化合物；（2）风险较低时，诱导作物加速生长以提高产量。二者的共同逻辑内核是：利用VOC信号，根据对外部条件的预判，定向调控作物行为。选项C"VOC信号可被用于根据预期条件引导作物行为"是对这两个应用场景最精炼的上位词归纳，"steer crop behavior"对应"nudge crops to... / inducing them to..."，"anticipated conditions"对应"if pests are expected to arrive... when risks are low"。
干扰项：[A] 合成农药可被植物源VOC全面替代（绝对化，原文仅用"may be able to"表达可能性，且从未提及"替代农药"的意图）；[B] 选择性育种项目可培育出具有永久强化防御力的大麦品系（无中生有，原文所探讨的是VOC的即时调控应用，选择性育种属长期基因工程领域，与文意相去甚远）；[D] 害虫入侵的精确时间可通过田间VOC监测可靠预测（因果颠倒，原文逻辑是"若预期害虫来袭，则利用VOC引导作物响应"，VOC是调控手段，而非预报害虫时间的工具）。
【词汇注释】
sessile: adjective (BIOLOGY) permanently fixed to a substrate; incapable of self-locomotion 固着的；不能自由移动的（文中指植物扎根于土壤、无法主动迁移的生命特质，与动物形成对比）
espionage: noun (GENERAL) the covert gathering of intelligence from competitors or adversaries 间谍活动；情报窃取（文中作结构性比喻，将植物通过化学信号"窃取"邻居生长信息的行为类比为军事情报活动，贯穿全文）
volatile organic compounds (VOCs): noun phrase (CHEMISTRY/ECOLOGY) organic chemicals that readily evaporate at ambient temperatures and function as airborne signals in ecosystems 挥发性有机化合物（植物间化学通讯的气态媒介，是本文实验机制的核心物质）
surmise: verb (GENERAL) to arrive at a tentative conclusion through inference rather than definitive proof 推测；推断（文中特指研究者在实验数据基础上所作的合理推断，措辞严谨，表明结论尚待进一步验证）
biomass: noun (BIOLOGY) the total quantity or weight of organic matter produced by living organisms in a given area 生物量（文中指植物通过生长所积累的有机物总量，是衡量生长速率变化的量化指标）
unpalatable: adjective (GENERAL) disagreeable or offensive to the taste; difficult to accept 难以入口的；令人厌恶的（文中指植物合成的一类令草食动物产生排斥感的化学物质，为其防御机制的效果描述）
eavesdrop: verb (GENERAL) to secretly listen to a private conversation without the knowledge of the speakers 偷听；窃听（文中作比喻，描述植物通过感知竞争者释放的VOC来"监听"其生长状态信息的行为，呼应开篇"espionage"意象）
【长难句】
While the laggards were switching resources towards growth, the speedsters were able to spend more of theirs on metabolically expensive defensive measures, such as churning out chemicals that make their leaves unpalatable to herbivores.
——由 while 引导的对比/让步状语从句，主语 the laggards（落后者，即慢生长植物）为文中的比喻称谓，switching resources towards 表示"将资源转向……"。
第二层 the speedsters were able to spend more of theirs on metabolically expensive defensive measures——主句，主语 the speedsters（领跑者，即快生长植物）为另一比喻称谓；theirs 为 their resources 的省略形式；spend...on... 为固定搭配（将……用于……）；metabolically expensive 为复合形容词，意为"代谢成本高昂的"。
第三层 such as churning out chemicals——by such as 引出举例，churning out 为动词短语，意为"大量合成/产出"，说明 defensive measures 的具体形式。
第四层 that make their leaves unpalatable to herbivores——that 引导的定语从句，修饰 chemicals；herbivores 指草食动物。
【参考译文】
鉴于植物生长缓慢、生来固着，"植物之间相互争斗"这一想法或许听起来异想天开。然而，它们确实会争斗。它们争夺水分、养分和传粉者的青睐。由于一株植物的叶子会遮蔽另一株的阳光，向阳而生可能就是一场你死我活的决斗。正如任何冲突中一样，情报活动大有裨益。发表于《实验植物学杂志》的一篇论文揭示了植物是如何开展这种"谍报活动"的。
多年来，植物学家已知晓植物可以相互交流。途径之一是通过被称为挥发性有机化合物（VOCs）的物质。例如，当植物遭受害虫侵袭时，其所释放的挥发性有机化合物的成分便会发生变化。此前的研究表明，这会驱使附近的植物提前强化自身防御，以应对可能随之而来的攻击。然而，尚未有人探索过：当邻近植物处于健康状态时，植物是否也会检测其所释放的挥发性有机化合物。于是，瑞典农业科学大学的生态学家维莱米尔·宁科维奇决定开展一项实验。
宁科维奇博士与团队同事合作，种植了三种生长速率各异的大麦——一种生长迅速，一种生长缓慢，一种居中。这些植物被置于相邻的生长室内，但彼此之间无法遮荫。植物间唯一的联系，是通过连接各生长容器的单向通风口实现的。这使研究人员能够将气体从一个生长室吹向另一个，并在25天内持续监测其对植物生长的影响。
实验结果令人瞩目。慢生长大麦暴露于快生长"同族"的生长室气体中后，生长速度明显加快，产生的生物量比与慢生长植物相邻时多出20%。宁科维奇博士推测，这是因为慢生长植物察觉到了邻居释放的化合物，并由此意识到：在野外环境下，若不加快生长，它们将面临被遮蔽的风险。
相反，接触到慢生长"同族"生长室气体的快生长植物则作出了截然相反的反应——它们明显降低了自身的生长速率。（生长速率居中的植物对邻居没有显著影响。）对这些植物的解剖及对其组织的遗传分析进一步揭示了内部的具体变化：慢生长植物将资源转向了生长方面，而快生长植物则得以将更多资源用于代谢成本高昂的防御措施上，例如大量合成一些令草食动物难以下咽的化学物质。
换言之，大麦植株能够对竞争者进行化学"窃听"，并据此调整自身的生长策略。农民已在尝试利用挥发性有机化合物来提高农业产量。宁科维奇博士的研究结果表明，在害虫预计来袭时，农民或许能够"引导"作物产生更多保护性化合物；而当风险较低时，也可诱导作物加速生长，以提高产量。
附注：
