2017年中科院考博英语真题9

We’ve all heard about endangered animals. Creatures like the critically endangered black rhinoceros are famous. But what are the most endangered plants? They might not be as exciting or loveable as animals, but they are just as important to the ecosystem一and humanity relies on that ecosystem.

Here are three of the most threatened plants today. 71 These plants occupy some of the most inaccessible, remote parts of our planet. They are threatened by habitat destruction, illegal collection, poaching, and competition with invading species.

Attenborough’s pitcher plant is known only from the relatively inaccessible summit of Mount Victoria in Palawan in the Philippines. There are thought to be only a few hundred of them. 72 Attenborough’s pitcher plant is one of the biggest, with pitchers up to 30cm in height that can trap insects and rats. It was only discovered in 2007 when a team of botanists, tipped off by two Christian missionaries, scaled Mount Victoria. 73

The suicide palm is a gigantic palm found only in remote parts of north-west Madagascar. It lives for about 50 years, then flowers only once, and dies soon after. Suicide palms were discovered in 2005 by a cashew plantation manager during a family outing, and formally described in 2008. With trunks reaching 18m in height, and huge fan-leaves up to 5m across, the palms can be seen on Google Earth. 74

The coral tree, with its bright red flowers and spiny trunk, occurs only in the remote forests of south-east Tanzania. 75 However, the forest patch was cleared to grow biofuels, and the species was feared to have gone extinct again until it was re-rediscovered to 2011. There are now fewer than 50 mature individuals in the wild, in a single unprotected location.

A. Pitcher plants are carnivorous plants that trap animals in liquid-filled bowls called pitchers.

B. They are almost all classed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

C. It was declared extinct in 1998，but rediscovered in 2001 in a small patch of forest.

D. As a result, the population has dropped more than 95% over the last 20 years.

E. There are only about 90 in the wild.

F. It is named after British natural history broadcaster David Attenborough.

点击返回2015年中科院考博英语真题总卷<<<

考博英语自学神器：中国科学院大学-希赛学习包

版权辅导教材+推荐自学计划+在线智能题库+知识点练习+入群共同学习+1-2年服务期

考博英语培训课程：中国科学院-希赛课程

结合历年考试真题，辅以相关理论知识，以轻松、简化的语言教授，让学生迅速掌握知识点及做题技巧。

小编推荐：

中国科学院2019考博英语初试时间及科目

中国科学院2019考博英语报名条件

中国科学院2019考博英语报名时间

中国科学院2019考博英语网上报名方式

加入希赛网，获取更多考博英语相关信息，真题解析

>>点击注册会员，享更多英语考试相关资料