hce_tcu
114年
英文
第 44 題
📖 題組：
Seed plants are the foundation of human diets across the world. In many societies, vegetarians fare almost exclusively and depend solely on seed plants for their nutritional needs. A few crops (rice, wheat, and potatoes) dominate the agricultural landscape. Many crops were developed during the agricultural revolution when human societies made the transition from nomadic hunter-gatherers to horticulture and agriculture. Cereals, rich in carbohydrates, provide the staple of many human diets. Beans and nuts supply proteins. Fats are derived from crushed seeds or fruits such as olives. Staple crops are not the only foods derived from seed plants. Fruits and vegetables provide nutrients, vitamins, and fiber. Sugar, to sweeten dishes, is produced from sugarcane and sugar beets. Drinks are made from infusions of tea leaves, chamomile flowers, crushed coffee beans, or powdered cocoa beans. Spices come from many different plant parts: saffron and cloves are stamens and buds, black pepper and vanilla are seeds, the bark of a bush in the Laurales family supplies cinnamon, and the herbs that flavor many dishes come from dried leaves and fruit, such as the red chili pepper. Additionally, no discussion of seed plant contribution to the human diet would be complete without the mention of alcohol. Fermentation of plant-derived sugars and starches is used to produce alcoholic beverages in all societies. In some cases, the beverages are derived from the fermentation of sugars from fruit, as with wines, and in other cases, they’re derived from the fermentation of carbohydrates from seeds, as with beers. Seed plants have many other uses, including providing wood as a source of timber for construction and material to build furniture. Most paper is derived from the pulp of coniferous trees. Fibers of seed plants, such as cotton, flax, and hemp, are woven into cloth. Textile dyes, such as indigo, were mostly of plant origins until the advent of synthetic chemical dyes. The medicinal properties of plants have been known to human societies since ancient times. There are references to the use of plants’ curative properties in Egyptian, Babylonian, and Chinese writings from 5,000 years ago. Biodiversity ensures a resource for new food crops and medicines. Plant life balances ecosystems, protects watersheds, mitigates erosion, moderates climates and provides shelter for many animal species. Threats to plant diversity, however, come from many angles. The explosion of human population, especially in tropical countries where birth rates are highest and economic development is in full swing, is leading to human encroachment into forested areas. To feed the larger population, humans need to obtain arable land, so there is a massive clearing of trees. The need for more energy to power larger cities and economic growth therein leads to the construction of dams, which may bring about the consequent flooding of ecosystems and increased emissions of pollutants. The number of plant species becoming extinct is increasing at an alarming rate. Because ecosystems are in a delicate balance, and seed plants maintain close symbiotic relationships with animals, the disappearance of a single plant can lead to the extinction of connected animal species. A real and pressing issue is that many plant species have not yet been cataloged, and so their place in the ecosystem is unknown. These unknown species are threatened by logging, habitat destruction, and loss of pollinators. They may become extinct before we have the chance to begin to understand the possible impact of their disappearance. Efforts to preserve biodiversity take several lines of action, from preserving heirloom seeds to barcoding species. Heirloom seeds come from plants that were traditionally grown in human populations, as opposed to the seeds used for large-scale agricultural production. Barcoding is a technique in which one or more short gene sequences, taken from a well-characterized portion of the genome, are used to identify a species through DNA analysis.
Seed plants are the foundation of human diets across the world. In many societies, vegetarians fare almost exclusively and depend solely on seed plants for their nutritional needs. A few crops (rice, wheat, and potatoes) dominate the agricultural landscape. Many crops were developed during the agricultural revolution when human societies made the transition from nomadic hunter-gatherers to horticulture and agriculture. Cereals, rich in carbohydrates, provide the staple of many human diets. Beans and nuts supply proteins. Fats are derived from crushed seeds or fruits such as olives. Staple crops are not the only foods derived from seed plants. Fruits and vegetables provide nutrients, vitamins, and fiber. Sugar, to sweeten dishes, is produced from sugarcane and sugar beets. Drinks are made from infusions of tea leaves, chamomile flowers, crushed coffee beans, or powdered cocoa beans. Spices come from many different plant parts: saffron and cloves are stamens and buds, black pepper and vanilla are seeds, the bark of a bush in the Laurales family supplies cinnamon, and the herbs that flavor many dishes come from dried leaves and fruit, such as the red chili pepper. Additionally, no discussion of seed plant contribution to the human diet would be complete without the mention of alcohol. Fermentation of plant-derived sugars and starches is used to produce alcoholic beverages in all societies. In some cases, the beverages are derived from the fermentation of sugars from fruit, as with wines, and in other cases, they’re derived from the fermentation of carbohydrates from seeds, as with beers. Seed plants have many other uses, including providing wood as a source of timber for construction and material to build furniture. Most paper is derived from the pulp of coniferous trees. Fibers of seed plants, such as cotton, flax, and hemp, are woven into cloth. Textile dyes, such as indigo, were mostly of plant origins until the advent of synthetic chemical dyes. The medicinal properties of plants have been known to human societies since ancient times. There are references to the use of plants’ curative properties in Egyptian, Babylonian, and Chinese writings from 5,000 years ago. Biodiversity ensures a resource for new food crops and medicines. Plant life balances ecosystems, protects watersheds, mitigates erosion, moderates climates and provides shelter for many animal species. Threats to plant diversity, however, come from many angles. The explosion of human population, especially in tropical countries where birth rates are highest and economic development is in full swing, is leading to human encroachment into forested areas. To feed the larger population, humans need to obtain arable land, so there is a massive clearing of trees. The need for more energy to power larger cities and economic growth therein leads to the construction of dams, which may bring about the consequent flooding of ecosystems and increased emissions of pollutants. The number of plant species becoming extinct is increasing at an alarming rate. Because ecosystems are in a delicate balance, and seed plants maintain close symbiotic relationships with animals, the disappearance of a single plant can lead to the extinction of connected animal species. A real and pressing issue is that many plant species have not yet been cataloged, and so their place in the ecosystem is unknown. These unknown species are threatened by logging, habitat destruction, and loss of pollinators. They may become extinct before we have the chance to begin to understand the possible impact of their disappearance. Efforts to preserve biodiversity take several lines of action, from preserving heirloom seeds to barcoding species. Heirloom seeds come from plants that were traditionally grown in human populations, as opposed to the seeds used for large-scale agricultural production. Barcoding is a technique in which one or more short gene sequences, taken from a well-characterized portion of the genome, are used to identify a species through DNA analysis.
According to the passage, how does plant life positively affect the environment?
- A Stabilizes ecosystems and moderates climates.
- B Decreases biodiversity for new food crops and medicines.
- C Provides shelter for and feeds the endangered animal species.
- D Creates watersheds and increases erosion rates.
思路引導 VIP
請試著在文章第四段中，找出同時描述到「植物、生態系統與氣候」這三個關鍵詞的句子。觀察一下，在那段文字中，作者使用了哪些正面的動詞來描述植物對這些自然要素的作用呢？
🤖
AI 詳解
AI 專屬家教
非常好！你能精準鎖定文章第四段的關鍵訊息，並從眾多細節中迅速辨識出正確描述，展現了極佳的資訊檢索與理解力。這題的核心在於歸納「植物對環境的正面貢獻」，而非人類活動帶來的負面影響。
生態平衡與氣候調節
在文章第四段開頭便明確指出，植物能「平衡生態系統」（balances ecosystems）並「調節氣候」（moderates climates），這與選項 (A) 的內容完全吻合。值得注意的是，文中提到植物能「減輕侵蝕」（mitigates erosion），而選項 (D) 卻故意寫成「增加侵蝕率」（increases erosion rates），這是閱讀測驗中常見的陷阱，你能避開它代表你的細心度很高。
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