Section C: Reading Comprehension

Directions: There are 2 passages in this section. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D). You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre.

Passage Two

Questions 51 to 55 are based on the following passage.

Chocolates save us from many things, especially emotional distress. They comfort us in times of trouble, calming down a racing heart by channeling happy calories inside us. We all have faith in chocolates to delight us in an instant!

Recently, chocolate lovers were heartbroken as scientists claimed that they can become extinct by 2050! But hey, we have some happy news for you. Scientists can still help save chocolates from dying out! If you are not aware as to why scientists made the statement about the death of this wonderful thing, let us tell you the facts. Chocolate trees, whose seeds are used to make chocolate, grow in the tropical plant world and require very specific weather conditions to prosper.

Now, fifty percent of the world's cocoa beans come from two countries in West Africa: Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana. Scientists believe that both of these countries will experience a 3.8F temperature increase by 2050 due to global warming, endangering the cacao farms in the rainforests. These farms will then have to be shifted to cooler mountainous areas, which are the natural habitat of wildlife. This will lead to some tough decisions: whether to grow chocolate or save wildlife.

Unfortunately, the crisis of global warming has already had a serious negative impact on cacao farms' yields, leading to the prices of chocolates skyrocketing.

Scientists, however, are trying to find a long-term and eco-friendly solution to this problem! They are trying to modify the species with a gene-editing technology, which will transform the seedlings into a species that survives even in a drier and warmer climate.

According to a report by The Business Insider, in the University of California's new bio-sciences building, tiny green cacao seedlings are lined up in refrigerated greenhouses for a new experiment by using a technology called CRISPR. By manipulating the DNA of plants, this technology is already being used across the world to make plants tougher and cheaper. Similarly, in this unconventional experiment, scientists will make tiny, precise changes to the DNA of the seedlings to make the cocoa crops survive in warmer and drier climates.

51. What do people believe chocolates can do?

A) Cheer them up instantly.

B) Create happy calories.

C) Conceal emotional distress.

D) Relieve them of heart trouble.

52. What was scientists' recent assertion about chocolates?

A) They could become a rare treat in the near future.

B) They could calm people down a bit in times of crisis.

C) They could prevent people from getting heartbroken.

D) They could become unavailable in less than 30 years.

53. What would happen if the cacao farms were shifted to cooler mountainous areas?

A) The natural habitat of wildlife there would be ruined.

B) The cacao farmers would have a tough time to adapt.

C) The rainforests would be shrinking dramatically.

D) The quality of cocoa beans would suffer greatly.

54. What do we learn about the cacao farms in the crisis of global warming?

A) They try to seek help from gene-editing scientists.

B) They decide to move to cooler mountainous areas.

C) They have suffered a lot due to a decrease in produce.

D) They have benefited by raising prices of cocoa beans.

55. What are scientists trying to do in the University of California's new bio-sciences building?

A) Build rows of refrigerated greenhouses for research on cacao seedlings.

B) Gene-edit cacao seedlings for them to withstand a drier, warmer climate.

C) Produce chocolates with the latest gene-editing technology.

D) Transplant the genes of tougher plants to cacao seedlings.

Answers & Explanations

51. A。解析：题干问人们相信巧克力能做什么。定位第一段最后一句：We all have faith in chocolates to delight us in an instant!（我们都相信巧克力能在瞬间让我们高兴起来）。delight us in an instant 同义替换为 cheer them up instantly。对应选项 A (Cheer them up instantly 瞬间让他们振作起来)。

52. D。解析：题干问科学家最近对巧克力的断言是什么。定位第二段首句：Recently, chocolate lovers were heartbroken as scientists claimed that they can become extinct by 2050!（最近，巧克力爱好者心碎了，因为科学家声称它们到 2050 年可能会灭绝）。现在距离2050年不到30年时间，extinct 同义替换为 become unavailable。对应选项 D (They could become unavailable in less than 30 years 它们可能在不到30年的时间里变得无法获得)。

53. A。解析：题干问如果可可农场转移到较凉爽的山区会发生什么。定位第三段：...shifted to cooler mountainous areas, which are the natural habitat of wildlife. This will lead to some tough decisions: whether to grow chocolate or save wildlife.（...转移到较凉爽的山区，而那是野生动物的自然栖息地。这将导致一些艰难的决定：是要种巧克力还是拯救野生动植物）。说明如果搬过去，将会占用或毁坏野生动植物的栖息地。对应选项 A (The natural habitat of wildlife there would be ruined 那里野生动植物的自然栖息地将被毁坏)。

54. C。解析：题干问在全球变暖危机中我们了解到可可农场什么情况。定位第四段：...has already had a serious negative impact on cacao farms' yields...（...已经对可可农场的产量产生了严重的负面影响...）。yields（产量）对应 produce（农产品）。对应选项 C (They have suffered a lot due to a decrease in produce 由于产量下降，它们遭受了很多损失)。

55. B。解析：题干问科学家在加州大学的新生物科学大楼里试图做什么。定位最后一段：scientists will make tiny, precise changes to the DNA of the seedlings to make the cocoa crops survive in warmer and drier climates.（科学家将对幼苗的 DNA 进行微小而精确的改变，使可可作物在更温暖、更干燥的气候中存活）。make changes to the DNA 对应 Gene-edit，survive 对应 withstand。对应选项 B (Gene-edit cacao seedlings for them to withstand a drier, warmer climate 对可可幼苗进行基因编辑，使它们能够经受住更干燥、更温暖的气候)。

核心搭配与高分句型

【核心搭配与高频短语】

• calm down：使平静，使镇定（calming down a racing heart）
• have faith in：对...有信心，相信（We all have faith in chocolates）
• die out：灭绝，逐渐消失（save chocolates from dying out）
• be aware as to：意识到关于...（are not aware as to why）
• lead to：导致，引起（leading to the prices of chocolates skyrocketing）
• line up：排队，排列成行（tiny green cacao seedlings are lined up）
• make changes to：对...做出改变（make tiny, precise changes to the DNA）

【亮点句型解析】

• With/By + 动名词短语 (作方式状语)：
  "They comfort us in times of trouble, calming down a racing heart by channeling happy calories inside us."
  （它们在困难时期安慰我们，通过在我们体内输送快乐的卡路里来平复狂跳的心脏。）`by channeling...` 作为方式状语，非常生动地解释了巧克力是如何起到安慰作用的。
• Whose 引导的非限制性定语从句：
  "Chocolate trees, whose seeds are used to make chocolate, grow in the tropical plant world and require very specific weather conditions to prosper."
  （可可树，其种子被用来制作巧克力，生长在热带植物世界中，需要非常特定的天气条件才能繁茂。）`whose seeds...` 在主句中间作插入语补充说明，句式紧凑，是高分写作中增加信息密度的常用手段。