2021-11-21 14:26:39
高三英语联考推理判断题细节理解题
Corn is among the most commonly consumed grains on the planet. Globally, the average human will consume 70 pounds of corn each year! That's a whole lot of corn that needs to be grown each year, and that's not even accounting for corn being grown for animal consumption and biofuel. Just like many other popular foods, farmers are finding it difficult to get enough corn produced.
Of course, complicating matters is the fact that corn is a tropical(热带的) plant, meaning farmers can't produce it during the colder months of the year. Now, researchers from Cornell University's Boyce Thompson Institute have developed their own solution:a new variation of corn that recovers much more quickly after being exposed to cold temperatures.
Lead researcher David Stern, president of the Boyce Thompson Institute, and his team made this incredible breakthrough by building on research originally published two years ago. That study had discovered that increasing the levels of an enzyme(酶) called Rubisco in plants caused them to grow more rapidly and reach larger sizes. Rubisco helps plants turn atmospheric carbon dioxide(CO2) into sugar. Regarding corn specifically, Rubisco levels in corn drop considerably in cold weather.
This time, the research team planted a large group of corn plants, and provided a portion of the group with more Rubisco. Then, they allowed all the plants to grow for three weeks at 77 degrees Fahrenheit (normal growing temperature for corn) before dropping the temperature to 57 degrees Fahrenheit for two more weeks. Finally, they heated things up back again to 77 degrees.
“The corn with more Rubisco performed better than regular corn before, during and after chilling(冷却),” explains first author Coralie Salesse-Smith.“In fact, we were able to reduce the severity of chilling stress and allow for a more rapid recovery.”
All in all, the corn with more Rubisco was able to recover from the colder temperatures more quickly and with less damage done. The Rubisco corn plants grew to be taller. These results are very promising. However, Stern and his team say they're still working on improving their approach.
9.What makes the research particularly necessary according to the text?