T45P2 Wind pollination

★★★

 阅读笔记参考:

文章讲解：

para 1: 

①Pollen, a powdery substance, which is produced by flowering plants and contains male reproductive cells, is usually carried from plant to plant by insects or birds, but some plants rely on the wind to carry their pollen. ②Wind pollination is often seen as being primitive and wasteful in costly pollen and yet it is surprisingly common, especially in higher latitudes. ③Wind is very good at moving pollen a long way; pollen can be blown for hundreds of kilometers, and only birds can get pollen anywhere near as far. ④The drawback is that wind is obviously unspecific as to where it takes the pollen. ⑤It is like trying to get a letter to a friend at the other end of the village by climbing onto the roof and throwing an armful of letters into the air and hoping that one will end up in the friend’s garden. //⑥For the relatively few dominant tree species that make up temperate forests, where there are many individuals of the same species within pollen range, this is quite a safe gamble. ⑦If a number of people in the village were throwing letters off roofs, your friend would be bound to get one. ⑧By contrast, in the tropics, where each tree species has few, widely scattered individuals, the chance of wind blowing pollen to another individual is sufficiently slim that animals are a safer bet as transporters of pollen. ⑨Even tall trees in the tropics are usually not wind pollinated despite being in windy conditions. ⑩In a similar way, trees in temperate forests that are insect pollinated tend to grow as solitary, widely spread individuals.

near as far

这里的near可作almost

风媒传粉很浪费，但是也很常见，特别是高纬度，可以传的远，只是传的不准；

上来一段就老长，很多同学都没耐心读。可是阅读前紧后松，前面不读好，后面就更容易丢。而且这一段出了5题，更要细致。

slim chance c.f. fat chance ~ big deal / smart move

big deal “多大点事儿~”在口语中常常作为反语使用。

-Hey, do you know that he makes a new girlfriend？

-Big deal!

-嘿，你知道他找了个新女友吗？

-切，有什么了不起的！

1. The word “drawback” in the passage is closest in meaning to

D

• A other side of the issue

• B objection

• C concern

• D problem

第1题是送的；

2. Which of the following can be inferred from paragraph 1 about pollen production?

A

• A Pollen production requires a significant investment of energy and resources on the part of the plant.

• B The capacity to produce pollen in large quantities is a recent development in the evolutionary history of plants. NE

• C Plants in the tropics generally produce more pollen than those in temperate zones. RE

• D The highest levels of pollen production are found in plants that depend on insects or birds to carry their pollen. RE

从第2题就开始错。。推断题，考定位+逻辑推理。肯定是先定位。但是定不到。不过可以结合刚刚是第2题，大概率信息定位在段落开头附近~只有文章开头第二句Wind pollination is often seen as being primitive and wasteful in costly pollen and yet it is surprisingly common, especially in higher latitudes. 讲到与产花粉相关；

另外选项A里的on the part of 是“ 就...而言”的意思:

as far as is related to, regards, or concerns someone; to the degree that someone is involved or a part of something.

3. According to paragraph 1, wind-pollinated trees are most likely to be found

A

• A in temperate forests

• B at lower latitudes 

• C in the tropics 

• D surrounded by trees of many different species RE

事实信息题的题干，考的是推断题的做法。对应⑥⑧

考察信息理解能力。

4. Paragraph 1 supports which of the following as the reason animals are a safer bet than wind as pollinators when the individual trees of a species are widely separated?

C

• A Animals tend to carry pollen from a given flower further than the wind does. RE

• B Animals serve as pollinators even where there is little wind to disperse the pollen. NE 选项本身没问题，可惜原文中没有相关信息。。

• C An animal that visits a flower is likely to deliberately visit other flowers of the same species and pollinate them. 

• D Birds and insects fly in all directions, not just the direction the wind is blowing at a given moment.  NE

又是事实信息题的题干，却需要用推断题（直接对比取反）的做法，定位在⑧。

5. In paragraph 1, the author compares pollen moved by wind with letters thrown off roofs in order to 典型的修辞目的题

C

• A explain why there are relatively few species of trees that depend on wind pollination

• B compare natural, biological processes with human social practices 站在房顶上扔信怎么可能是个social practice...

• C make a point about the probability of wind-blown pollen reaching a tree of the same species

• D argue against the common assumption that the tallest trees are the most likely to employ wind pollination

para 2: 

Since wind-pollinated flowers have no need to attract insects or other animals, they have dispensed with bright petals, nectar, and scent. These are at best a waste and at worst an impediment to the transfer of pollen in the air. The result is insignificant-looking flowers and catkins (dense cylindrical clusters of small, petalless flowers).

风媒传粉植物特点；

...  they have dispensed with bright petals, nectar, and scent.

catkins (dense cylindrical clusters of small, petalless flowers)

柔荑（yi2）花序

手如柔荑，肤如凝脂，领如蝤(qiú)蛴(qí)，齿如瓠(hù)犀(xī)，螓(qín)首蛾眉，巧笑倩兮，美目盼兮。——《诗·卫风·硕人》

6. Paragraph 2 suggests that wind-pollinated plants do not have bright petals, nectar, and scent for which TWO of the following reasons? To receive credit, you must select TWO answers.

AC

• A They interfere with pollination by wind.

• B They are easily damaged by wind.

• C They are unnecessary.

• D They reduce the amount of pollen that can be produced.

para 3: 

①Wind pollination does, of course, require a lot of pollen. ②Birch and hazel trees can produce 5.5 and 4 million grains per catkin, respectively. ③There are various adaptations to help as much of the pollen go as far as possible. ④Most deciduous wind-pollinated trees (which shed their leaves every fall) produce their pollen in the spring while the branches are bare of leaves to reduce the surrounding surfaces that “compete” with the stigmas (the part of the flower that receives the pollen) for pollen. // ⑤Evergreen conifers, which do not shed their leaves, have less to gain from spring flowering, and, indeed, some flower in the autumn or winter.

birch and hazel 桦树和榛树

为了花粉传播，植物的适应性特征；

Evergreen conifers 

... and, indeed, some flower in the autumn or winter.

注意这里flower的词性。

7. The word “respectively” in the passage is closest in meaning to

C

• A over time

• B separately

• C in that order

• D consistently

第7题倒是个易错题，看看烂题数就知道了。

精准释义如下：

B对应第一个义项，叫区别，分开；C对应第二个义项，依次。只是C在文中更优。这就有点像高考题了。不必在意。

8. According to paragraph 3, why do most deciduous wind-pollinated trees produce their pollen in the spring?

B

• A To avoid competing with evergreen conifers, which flower in the fall or winter IR

• B So that the leaves of the trees receiving the pollen will not prevent the pollen from reaching the trees’ stigmas 

• C Because they do not have enough energy to produce new leaves and pollen at the same time NE

• D In order to take advantage of the windiest time of year NE

para 4: 

①Pollen produced higher in the top branches is likely to go farther: it is windier (and gustier) and the pollen can be blown farther before hitting the ground. ②Moreover, dangling catkins like hazel hold the pollen in until the wind is strong enough to bend them, ensuring that pollen is only shed into the air when the wind is blowing hard. ③Weather is also important. ④Pollen is shed primarily when the air is dry to prevent too much sticking to wet surfaces or being knocked out of the air by rain. ⑤Despite these adaptations, much of the pollen fails to leave the top branches, and only between 0.5 percent and 40 percent gets more than 100 meters away from the parent. ⑥But once this far, significant quantities can go a kilometer or more. ⑦Indeed, pollen can travel many thousands of kilometers at high altitudes. ⑧Since all this pollen is floating around in the air, it is no wonder that wind-pollinated trees are a major source of allergies.

... it is windier (and gustier) ...

对风媒传粉距离的影响因素；

dangling catkins like hazel（榛树）：

9. According to paragraph 4, which of the following is NOT an adaptation that helps ensure that pollen travels as far as possible?

B

• A Pollen-producing flowers and catkins are located at or near the top of the tree.

• B Trees grow at least 100 meters away from each other.

• C Dangling catkins release pollen only when the wind is blowing hard.

• D Pollen is not released during rain storms or when the air is damp.

10. The word “significant” in the passage is closest in meaning to

B

• A sufficient

• B considerable

• C increasing

• D small

sufficiently great or important to be worthy of attention

足够大的或者重要到了值得注意的程度

11. The phrase “no wonder” in the passage is closest in meaning to

A

• A unsurprising

• B understandable

• C well-known

• D unfortunate

no wonder 难怪，不足为奇

it is not surprising or unexpected at all.

尽管understandable也适合..

所以单词题的考点是认知，紧踩单词本意。

para 5: 

①Once the pollen has been snatched by the wind, the fate of the pollen is obviously up to the vagaries of the wind, but not everything is left to chance.  ②Windborne pollen is dry, rounded, smooth, and generally smaller than that of insect-pollinated plants. ③But size is a two-edged sword. ④Small grains may be blown farther but they are also more prone to be whisked past the waiting stigma because smaller particles tend to stay trapped in the fast-moving air that flows around the stigma. ⑤But stigmas create turbulence, which slows the air speed around them and may help pollen stick to them.

snatch 一把抓住

vagary

whisk 吹拂

花粉的特点及如何更好的接收花粉的特点。

12. Small grains may be blown farther but they are also more prone to be whisked past the waiting stigma because smaller particles tend to stay trapped in the fast-moving air that flows around the stigma.

D

• A Because smaller particles tend to stay trapped in the fast-moving air, they are blown much farther than other grains. 因果错

• B Smaller particles are trapped by the stigma when fast-moving air flows past it. 对象错

• C Small particles that are whisked past the waiting stigma gain speed and are often trapped in the fast-moving air. NE

• D While smallness helps pollen travel farther, it also makes it more likely to be blown past the stigma. 

逻辑框架：X but Y because Z

X = farther   Y = whisk past stigma    Z = trap in air

13

Wind pollination does, of course, require a lot of pollen. ■Birch and hazel trees can produce 5.5 and 4 million grains per catkin, respectively. ■There are various adaptations to help as much of the pollen go as far as possible. ■Most deciduous wind-pollinated trees (which shed their leaves every fall) produce their pollen in the spring while the branches are bare of leaves to reduce the surrounding surfaces that “compete” with the stigmas (the part of the flower that receives the pollen) for pollen. ■Evergreen conifers, which do not shed their leaves, have less to gain from spring flowering, and, indeed, some flower in the autumn or winter.

B

← This level of volume is important to ensure that at least some of the pollen reaches a target tree, but dispersing the pollen is crucial as well. →

14

• A. Because there are few trees in temperate forests, it is safer to transport pollen by insects or birds.

• B. Most wind-pollinated trees are deciduous because evergreen needles compete with the stigma for pollen, making wind pollination uncertain. NE

• C. Wind pollination is a safe reproductive strategy for trees in temperate forests where there are only a few dominant species and, therefore, many individuals of the same species. 对应一段

• D. Wind-pollinated plants usually have small petalless flowers which often grow in catkins that produce a very fine-grained pollen. 对应二段

• E. Wind pollination requires production of a large amount of pollen, which must be released at the right time and under the right conditions to extend its range. 对应四段

• F. Wind-pollinated trees must grow in regions that are only moderately windy because strong winds will blow the tiny pollen grains past the stigma. NE