The constant evolution of the humble tomato

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题目与答案

1. An explanation of research aimed at restoring the health of the heirloom tomato
   • A
   • B
   • C
   • D
   • E
   • F

   答案：E

   原文定位：This means breeders feel confident that getting germ-beating genes back into heirlooms won't harm the desirable aspects of the fruit. Modern breeding has resuscitated grocery store tomatoes with an influx of wild genes; in the past 50 years, as many as 40 disease-resistant genes have been bred back into commercial crops

2. A reference to a false belief about the heirloom tomato
   • A
   • B
   • C
   • D
   • E
   • F

   答案：A

   原文定位：The tomato enthusiast might conclude that, given the immense varieties, heirlooms must have a more diverse and superior set of genes than the tomatoes available in grocery stores;However, their seeming diversity is only skin-deep: heirlooms are actually feeble and inbred;The irony of all this;is all that diversity of heirlooms can be accounted for by a handful of genes. There're probably no more than 10 mutant genes that create the diversity of heirlooms you see

3. A description of the flavor of the heirloom tomato
   • A
   • B
   • C
   • D
   • E
   • F

   答案：E

   原文定位：Any plant that produces only two fruits, as heirlooms sometimes do, is highly likely to produce juicier, sweeter, and more flavorful fruit than varieties that produce 100, as commercial types do. In addition, heirlooms are sold ripened on the vine, a certain way to get tastier results than allowing them to mature on the shelf

4. A reference to a single gene that significantly improves the cultivation of tomatoes
   • A
   • B
   • C
   • D
   • E
   • F

   答案：D

   原文定位：Most of these genes have only small effects on tomato size and shape, but recently Tanksley and his colleagues reported that they found a gene that increases fruit size by 50 percent. It was probably the most important event in domestication

5. The transplanting of certain genes into tomatoes can change their shape.
   • Steven Tanksley
   • Esther van der Knaap
   • Roger Chetelat
   • Doug Heath

   答案：Esther van der Knaap

   原文定位：To discover those genes, Esther van der Knaap, a Tanksley alumnus now at The Ohio State University, took a gene from one heirloom tomato and inserted it into a wild relative. She observed that, as a result, the tiny fruits became shaped like pears

6. The flavor of the heirloom tomato is largely dependent on actual yield and cultivation.
   • Steven Tanksley
   • Esther van der Knaap
   • Roger Chetelat
   • Doug Heath

   答案：Roger Chetelat

   原文定位：Chetelat elaborates that heirlooms' taste may have less to do with their genes than with the productivity of the plant and the growing environment

7. A new type of tomato can be produced that is stronger than the original heirloom tomato yet equally sweet and flavor some.
   • Steven Tanksley
   • Esther van der Knaap
   • Roger Chetelat
   • Doug Heath

   答案：Doug Heath

   原文定位：he created a new multi-colored tomato less prone to cracking and also endowed with 12 disease-resistant genes;He claims he is also able to maintain a comparable flavor and sugar profile even on productive plants

8. The wide variety of heirloom tomatoes is due to only a small number of genes.
   • Steven Tanksley
   • Esther van der Knaap
   • Roger Chetelat
   • Doug Heath

   答案：Steven Tanksley

   原文定位：The irony of all this," says Steven Tanksley, a geneticist at Cornell University, is all that diversity of heirlooms can be accounted for by a handful of genes. There're probably no more than 10 mutant genes that create the diversity of heirlooms you see

9. 22 There is little information on the of the tomato despite the existence of data on the growing of other New World crops _____ .

   答案：origin

   原文定位：But whereas scientists have uncovered a wealth of archaeological evidence on early farming practices in the New World, the record is blank when it comes to the tomato

10. 23 Although it is uncertain, the tomato is thought to have first grown in the _____.

    答案：farming

    原文定位：The modern tomato seems to have its origins in the Andes in South America and may have been domesticated in Vera Cruz, Mexico

11. 24 In regard to genetic similarities, the type of tomato _____ is the nearest to the earliest.

    答案：currant

    原文定位：The closest relative is the currant tomato, which, based on genetic comparisons, split from today's tomato some 1.4 million years ago

12. 25 A genetic _____ which is evident in pomodoro produced larger tomatoes.

    答案：mutation

    原文定位：The first written record of tomatoes-from Spain in the 1500s-confirms that this mutation, which enlarges tomatoes by producing compartments known as locules, existed back in the same yellow tomatoes that gave Italians the word pomodoro, or golden apple

    同义替换：「genetic」↔「mutation」，「is evident in」↔「existed back in」，「produced」↔「enlarges;increases」

13. 26 _____ are a problem for heirloom tomatoes because they frequently lead to damage and deterioration.

    答案：infections

    原文定位：They often suffer from infections that cause the fruit to crack, split, and otherwise rot quickly

    同义替换：「a problem for」↔「suffer from」，「frequently」↔「often」，「lead to」↔「cause」，「damage」↔「crack;split」