The Ebro Delta, in Spain, famous as a battleground during the Spanish Civil War, is now the setting for a different contest, one that is pitting rice farmers against two enemies: the rice-eating giant apple snail, and rising sea levels. What happens here will have a bearing on the future of European rice production and the overall health of southern European wetlands.
Located on the Mediterranean just two hours south of Barcelona, the Ebro Delta produces 120 million kilograms of rice a year, making it one of the continent's most important rice-growing areas. As the sea creeps into these fresh-water marshes, however, rising salinity (盐分) is hampering rice production. At the same time, this sea-water also kills off the greedy giant apple snail, an introduced pest that feeds on young rice plants. The most promising strategy has become to harness one foe against the other.
The battle is currently being waged on land, in greenhouses at the University of Barcelona. Scientists working under the banner 'Project Neurice' are seeking varieties of rice that can withstand the increasing salinity without losing the absorbency that makes European rice ideal for traditional Spanish and Italian dishes.
'The project has two sides,' says Xavier Serrat, Neurice project manager and researcher at the University of Barcelona, 'the short-term fight against the snail, and a mid-to long-term fight against climate change. But the snail has given the project greater urgency.'
Originally from South America, the snails were accidentally introduced into the Ebro Delta by Global Aquatic Technologies, a company that raised the snails for fresh-water aquariums (水族馆), but failed to prevent their escape. For now, the giant apple snail's presence in Europe is limited to the Ebro Delta. But the snail continues its march to new territory, says Serrat. 'The question is not whether it will reach other rice-growing areas of Europe, but when.'
Over the next year and a half investigators will test the various strains of salt-tolerant rice they've bred. In 2018, farmers will plant the varieties with the most promise in the Ebro Delta and Europe's other two main rice-growing regions—along the Po in Italy, and France's Rhône. A season in the field will help determine which, if any, of the varieties are ready for commercialization.
As an EU-funded effort, the search for salt-tolerant varieties of rice is taking place in all three countries. Each team is crossbreeding a local European short-grain rice with a long-grain Asian variety that carries the salt-resistant gene. The scientists are breeding successive generations to arrive at varieties that incorporate salt tolerance but retain about 97 percent of the European rice genome (基因组).
Why does the author mention the Spanish Civil War at the beginning of the passage? ______
为什么作者在文章的开头提到了西班牙内战? 由出题的顺序规律和题干中的Spanish Civil War定位到第一段。 埃布罗河三角洲的稻农正在进行一场同样重要的战争。根据定位词看到第一句：The Ebro Delta, in Spain, famous as a battleground during the Spanish Civil War, is now the setting for a different contest, one that is pitting rice farmers against two enemies: the rice-eating giant apple snail, and rising sea levels.(以西班牙内战期间的战场而出名的西班牙埃布罗河三角洲，现在又成了另一种不同战场，一场稻农们对抗两大敌人的战争：以水稻为食的巨型苹果螺以及海平面的持续上升。)通读全文之后发现，接下来的几个段落都围绕水稻以及巨型苹果螺在讲述，所以作者在开头提到西班牙内战，是为了引出埃布罗河三角洲，从而进一步讲述在这个地方稻农面临的斗争，以及这场战争的重要影响。其中setting for a different contest与选项中的waging a battle of similar importance是同义替换，所以答案选择C。 选项A“它对西班牙稻农的生活有很大的影响”原文中并未提及，故排除；选项B“它在西班牙历史记录中具有重要意义”与题干不符，题干是问作者为什么会提及西班牙内战，而不是问内战本身的意义，故排除；选项D“埃布罗河三角洲的稻农正经历着和内战一样艰难的时期”与原文不符，原文强调的是稻农们面临的挑战的重要性，而非稻农们自身生活的艰难，故排除。 [参考译文] 以西班牙内战期间的战场而出名的西班牙埃布罗河三角洲，现在又成了另一种不同战场，一场稻农们对抗两大敌人的战争：以水稻为食的巨型苹果螺以及海平面的持续上升。这里发生的一切都将对未来欧洲水稻的生产以及南欧湿地的整体健康产生影响。 埃布罗河三角洲位于地中海，距离巴塞罗那只有两小时车程，每年生产1.2亿千克水稻，使其成为欧洲大陆最重要的水稻种植区之一。然而，随着海水逐渐漫延到这些淡水沼泽，不断增加的盐分阻碍着水稻的生产。与此同时，海水也杀死了这些贪婪的巨型苹果螺，一种以水稻幼苗为食的外来引进害虫。最有希望的策略是利用一个敌人来对付另一个。 目前，这场斗争正在陆地上展开，在巴塞罗那大学的温室里。在“Neurice项目”的旗帜下工作的科学家们正在寻找一种水稻品种，能够耐受不断增加的盐分但又不会失去其吸收能力，让欧洲水稻成为西班牙和意大利传统菜肴的理想选择。 “这个项目有两个方面，”Neurice项目的经理兼巴塞罗那大学研究员泽维尔·塞拉特说，“一个是与苹果螺作短期的斗争，另一个是与气候变化作中长期的斗争。但是对付苹果螺对这个项目来说更加紧迫。” 这种螺源自于南美洲，由全球水产技术公司意外引入到埃布罗河三角洲，这家公司专门为淡水水族馆饲养螺，但未能阻止它们的逃逸。目前，巨型苹果螺在欧洲仅存在于埃布罗河三角洲。但塞拉特说，苹果螺将继续侵略新的领域。“问题不在于它是否会波及欧洲的其他水稻种植区，而在于何时。” 在接下来的一年半时间里，调查人员将测试他们培育的各种耐盐水稻品种。2018年，农民们将在埃布罗河三角洲和欧洲其他两个主要的水稻种植区——意大利波河沿岸和法国罗纳河畔——种植最有希望的品种。种植一整季将有助于决定哪些品种可用于商业化，如果有的话。 作为欧盟资助的一个项目，这三个国家都在进行着对耐盐水稻品种的研究。每个团队都在将欧洲当地的一种短粒水稻与亚洲携带耐盐基因的长粒水稻进行杂交。科学家们正在培育连续后代的既能耐盐但同时保留大约97%欧洲水稻基因组的水稻品种。
What may be the most effective strategy for rice farmers to employ in fighting their enemies? ______
对稻农来说，对抗敌人最有效的策略是什么? 由题干中的the most effective strategy、fighting their enemies定位到第二段。 以一恶来对抗另一恶。根据定位词看到第二段最后一句：The most promising strategy has become to harness one foe against the other.(最有希望的策略是利用一个敌人来对付另一个。)文章第一段说到对于稻农来说的两个敌人：巨型苹果螺和海平面上升。在第二段开头说由于海平面上升，海水的漫延使水稻的盐分增加，阻碍其生长，但是却能杀死以水稻幼苗为食的苹果螺，由此可知，海平面上升对击败苹果螺是有用的，并且段落最后一句也进行了总结；其中选项D是对该定位句的同义改写，所以答案选择D。 选项A“首先打击较弱的敌人”、选项B“一石二鸟”以及选项C“逐个消灭敌人”均与原文内容不符，故排除。
What do we learn about 'Project Neurice'? ______
关于“Neurice项目”我们了解到什么? 由题干中的“Project Neurice”定位到第三、四段。 它的当务之急是控制害虫。根据定位词首先看到第三段，介绍了“Neurice项目”中科学家们正在寻找新的水稻品种来解决当下的问题，第四段说到：“The project has two sides,” says Xavier Serrat, Neurice project manager and researcher at the University of Barcelona, “the short-term fight against the snail, and a mid-to-long-term fight against climate change. But the snail has given the project greater urgency.”(“这个项目有两个方面，”Neurice项目的经理兼巴塞罗那大学研究员泽维尔·塞拉特说，“一个是与苹果螺作短期的斗争，另一个是与气候变化作中长期的斗争。但是对付苹果螺对这个项目来说更加紧迫。”)由此可知，针对稻农面临的两场斗争，对付苹果螺这件事更加紧要；其中选项C是对原文the snail has given the project greater urgency的同义改写，the pest指代的就是对水稻有危害的巨型苹果螺，所以答案选择C。 选项A“它的目标必须要付出代价才能实现”未在原文中提及，故排除；选项B“它旨在增加西班牙水稻的产量”利用常识设置干扰，但是原文中并未提及要增加水稻产量的相关内容，故排除；选项D“它试图在气候变化的帮助下杀死苹果螺”利用第二段最后提及的harness one foe against the other(利用一个敌人来对付另一个)来设置干扰，但这并不是“Neurice项目”的内容，故排除。
What does Neurice project manager say about the giant apple snail? ______
关于巨型苹果螺，“Neurice项目”的经理说了什么? 由题干中的Neurice project manager定位到第四、五段。 它将入侵欧洲其他的水稻种植区。根据定位词首先看到第四段，可知“Neurice项目”的经理是塞拉特，在第四段他主要表达的观点是对付苹果螺对这个项目来说更加紧迫。再看第五段最后两句：But the snail continues its march to new territory, says Serrat. “The question is not whether it will reach other rice-growing areas of Europe, but when.”(但塞拉特说，苹果螺将继续侵略新的领域。“问题不在于它是否会波及欧洲的其他水稻种植区，而在于何时。”)由此可知，苹果螺将会入侵到欧洲其他地区；其中continues its march与选项B中的invade是同义替换，另外other rice-growing areas of Europe几乎是原词重现，所以答案选择B。 选项A“它只能在欧洲南部的湿地上生存”利用limited to the Ebro Delta来设置干扰，原文只说目前在欧洲只存在于埃布罗河三角洲，且这种螺源自于南美洲，所以它并不只在欧洲南部的湿地上生存，故排除；选项C“它以超出人类想象的速度繁殖”，在原文中并未提及“繁殖速度”的相关内容，故排除；选项D“它是被有意引入稻田的”与原文矛盾，原文说是由全球水产技术公司意外引入到埃布罗河三角洲的，故排除。
What is the ultimate goal of the EU-funded program? ______
欧盟资助项目的最终目标是什么? 由题干中的the ultimate goal of the EU-funded program定位到最后一段。 培育理想的耐盐水稻品种。根据定位词首先看到段落第一句：As an EU-funded effort, the search for salt-tolerant varieties of rice is taking place in all three countries.(作为欧盟资助的一个项目，这三个国家都在进行着对耐盐水稻品种的研究。)由此可知，欧盟资助的项目是对耐盐水稻品种的研究。再看到段落最后一句：The scientists are breeding successive generations to arrive at varieties that incorporate salt tolerance but retain about 97 percent of the European rice genome.(科学家们正在培育连续后代的既能耐盐但同时保留大约97%欧洲水稻基因组的水稻品种。)由此可推断，这个项目的最终目标是培育出既能耐盐但同时保留大部分欧洲水稻基因组的品种，选项A是对这两句话的概括，所以答案选择A。 选项B“增加西班牙水稻的吸收效果”以及选项C“将西班牙水稻引入欧洲其他地区”均未在原文中提及，故排除：选项D“推广水稻杂交育种技术”利用crossbreeding设置干扰，但原文并没有说要推广水稻杂交育种技术，故排除。