阅读理解 Who would have thought we would become a planet of "ologies"? There's biology, psychology, herpetology, etymology, and geology just to name a few. However, one "ology" truly helps us to understand the most part of our planet, our environment. Ecology (which is filled with ecologists) is the study of ecosystems and the beings and organisms that inhabit those ecosystems. Just think, in condition of bees, deer and other organisms, you are important to ecologists.
Ecosystems are communities that vary in size and location. They can be as small as a patch of glass or as large as the entire biosphere. The many varieties of plants and animals that exist in our planet ecosystems are important to our ecosystems. Plants in particular provide oxygen and nutrients all organisms need to survive. These producers have the ability to use the sun's energy to produce food (think photosynthesis) . This is where the animals and consumers become important. The animals get their energy by eating the plants and other organisms within the ecosystem. Without the producers and consumers, decomposers would not have a job. As you may have guessed, decomposers, like bacteria, step in to break down the waste excreted from animals and the remains of other organisms. Once broken down, the organic materials are absorbed by the soil and gases are sent back into our atmosphere. The whole process is ready to start again through the Earth's natural cycles. There has to be a balance of producers, consumers, decomposers in order to remain a balanced ecosystem.
Remember, all organisms need matter and energy to survive. An ecosystem is balanced when matter and energy more efficiently through those ecosystems. Just as your backpack has a limit on the number of huge textbooks it can carry at any given time, all ecosystems have a limit on the populations they can maintain. Carrying capacity is the largest population an ecosystem can support at any particular time. The support of this population depends on the amount of resources (matter and energy) that are available and the movement of those resources within that ecosystem. If energy and matter are moving efficiently through an ecosystem, then the current population of plants and animals has not reached beyond the ecosystem's carrying capacity. Once food resources dwindle or animal populations increase dramatically, the ecosystem may not be able to support those populations. Fortunately, nature has three ways to control the balance of ecosystems: ecological responses to change, energy transfer, and food chains and food webs.
单选题 56.The purpose of starting the article with the word-ending "ology" (Line 1) is______.
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】文章第一段提到了“ologies”这个词,表明它同biology,psychology,herpetology,etymology,geology等类似,由此引出整篇文章要讲述的问题“ecology”,“ologies”在第一句中出现具有启下之意。因此,本题选C。
单选题 57.According to this article, the ecosystems______.
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】本题是对事实细节的考查。文章中第二段第一句话提到“生态系统是位置和大小变化很大的群体”,与D选项意思相同。因此本题选D。
单选题 58.According to the article, the word "producers" (Line 4, Paragraph 2) refers to______.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】本题考查对文章细节的理解。文章第二段第四句提到“特别是植物,它提供所有生物生存所需的氧气和营养”。因此,本题选A。
单选题 59.We can infer from the article that in the ecosystem the job for the "decomposer" (Line 7, Paragraph 2) is to______.
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】文章第二段倒数第四句提到,“细菌之类的分解者一步步分解动物排出的废物以及其他生物的遗骸”,分析各个选项可知C为同义转述,因此,本题选C。
单选题 60.According to the article, ______ has three ways to control the balance of the ecosystems.
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】本题考查文章细节,通过文章最后一句的“自然以三种方式控制生态系统的平衡”可知,正确选项为D。