2024年3月15日发(作者：)

2020全国卷1 阅读理解D 重难点赏析

D

The connection between people and plants has long been the subject of

scientific research. Recent studies have found positive effects. A study conducted

in Youngstown，Ohio，for example, discovered that greener areas of the city

experienced less crime. In another, employees were shown to be 15% more

productive when their workplaces were decorated with houseplants.

The engineers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology(MIT)have taken it

a step further changing the actual composition of plants in order to get them to

perform diverse，even unusual functions. These include plants that have sensors

printed onto their leaves to show when they’re short of water and a plant that

can detect harmful chemicals in groundwater. ‘We’re thinking about how we

can engineer plants to replace functions of the things that we use every day,’

explained Michael Strano, a professor of chemical engineering at MIT.

One of his latest projects has been to make plants glow(发光)in experiments

using some common vegetables. Strano’s team found that they could create a

faint light for three-and-a-half hours. The light，about one-thousandth of the

amount needed to read by，is just a start. The technology, Strano said, could one

day be used to light the rooms or even to turn tree into self-powered street lamps.

In the future，the team hopes to develop a version of the technology that can

be sprayed onto plant leaves in a one-off treatment that would last the plant’s

lifetime. The engineers are also trying to develop an on and off＂switch＂where

the glow would fade when exposed to daylight.

Lighting accounts for about 7% of the total electricity consumed in the US.

Since lighting is often far removed from the power source(电源)-such as the

distance from a power plant to street lamps on a remote highway-a lot of energy is

lost during transmission(传输). Glowing plants could reduce this distance and

therefore help save energy.

32. What is the first paragraph mainly about?

A. A new study of different plants.

B. A big fall in crime rates.

C. Employees from various workplaces.

D. Benefits from green plants.

33. What is the function of the sensors printed on plant leaves by MIT

engineer?

A. To detect plants’ lack of water

B. To change compositions of plants