A
Money doesn’t grow on trees but gold does. Scientists in Western Australia claim to have made a new discovery—they have found gold in the leaves and branches of trees. The researchers believe that the trees suck up the gold from deep underground, over 30 metres down. The discovery has been described as the first of its kind in the world.
Australian gold exploration companies are pleased because it will make finding gold cheaper. Rather than drilling deep holes to find gold, they will be able to examine tree leaves and branches. The trees show what is happening under the earth’s surface. There is only a tiny amount of gold in the leaves. It would take 500 trees to make one gold ring. The gold is found using a special X-ray machine and a powerful microscope, which scan the leaves and branches.
The claim is that this is the first time that gold particles have been found in living material. However, this might not be true. Ancient Chinese wisdom understood the connection between plants and the precious stones and minerals underneath them. They used plant life to find minerals — and that was thousands of years ago. In the Zhou Dynasty, it was written in a book that a certain plant grew only near deposits (矿床) of gold. Over the next 2, 000 years, Chinese people wrote about different plants and how they grew, showing where minerals and precious stones such as jade, copper, lead, silver and gold were. Even more importantly, in the 1000s, Su Song described how Portulaca plants could yield mercury if crushed, dried and allowed to decay (腐烂). That was certainly the first time ever that a metal was obtained from a plant.
The Previous Secrets of the Realm of the King of Xin, written during the Ming Dynasty, described how different metals were observed and extracted (提炼) from certain plants. This knowledge was unknown in the rest of the world until about 1600, when a British man realised that oak trees grew larger and greener where there was alum in the ground. Maybe ancient Chinese knowledge has more to teach modern scientists.
【文章大意】本文是一篇说明文, 介绍了澳大利亚科学家发现在树叶中可以找到金子, 事实上古代中国人早就发现了植物和矿物质之间的联系。
1. According to Australian scientists, where can gold be probably found?
A. In the roots of trees.
B. In the leaves of trees.
C. In the trees everywhere.
D. In the underground near trees.
【解析】选B。细节理解题。根据第一段中Scientists in Western Australia claim to have made a new discovery—they have found gold in the leaves and branches of trees. 可知, 澳大利亚西部的科学家们声称他们在树叶和树枝中发现了金子, 也就是说澳大利亚科学家认为在树叶中可以找到金子, 故选B。
2. How can we tell whether there is gold or not?
A. By drilling deep holes in the trees
B. By cutting the leaves of trees into pieces.
C. By examining the surface of the ground under the trees.
D. By scanning the leaves and branches using a special microscope.
【解析】选D。细节理解题。根据第二段中The gold is found using a special X-ray machine and a powerful microscope, which scan the leaves and branches. 可知, 用一种特殊的显微镜扫描树叶和树枝可以知道是否有金子, 故选D。
3. Who first found the link between plants and minerals?
A. Australian scientists.
B. Su Song.
C. Ancient Chinese people.
D. A British man.
【解析】选C。细节理解题。根据第三段中Ancient Chinese wisdom understood the connection between plants and the precious stones and minerals underneath them. ”可知, 中国古人的智慧就认识到植物与它们下面的宝石和矿物质之间的联系, 也就是说是古代中国人最先发现植物和矿物质之间的联系的, 故选C。
4. The author develops Paragraph 4 mainly by .
A. using examples
B. making comparisons
C. listing figures
D. analyzing effects
【解析】选B。推理判断题。根据第四段中The Previous Secrets of the Realm of the King of Xin, written during the Ming Dynasty, described how different metals were observed and extracted from certain plants. This knowledge was unknown in the rest of the world until about 1600, when a British man realised that oak trees grew larger and greener where there was alum in the ground可知, 写于明朝的一本书中描述了从某些植物中观察和提取不同金属的过程, 而直到1600年左右, 一位英国人才发现, 在有明矾的地方, 橡树会长得又大又绿, 因此第四段是通过作比较的方法展开的, 故选B。
