【易伯华出品】雅思阅读真题解析--Researcher on the Tree Crown

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Researcher on the Tree Crown(树冠研究)

You should spend about 20 minutes on Question 14-26 which are based on

Reading Passage below.

AThe forest canopy-the term given to the aggregated crowns of trees in a

forest-is thought to host up to 40 per cent of all species, of which ten per

cent could be unique to the forest roof. "We're dealing with the richest, least

known, most threatened habitat on Earth," says Andrew Mitchell, the executive

director of the Global Canopy Programme/ a collection of groups undertaking

research into this lofty world. "The problem with our understanding of forests

is that nearly all the information we have has been gleaned from just two meters

above the soil, and yet we're dealing with trees that grow to heights of 60

meters, or in the case of the tallest redwood 112 meters. It's like doctors

trying to treat humans by only looking at their feet."

BTropical rainforest comprises the richest of ecosystems, rivalled only by

coral reel for its diversity and complex interrelationships. And a great deal of

that diversity lives up in the canopy-an estimated 70-90 per cent of life in the

rainforest exists in the trees; one in ten of all vascular plants are canopy

dwellers; and about 20-25 per cent of all invertebrates are thought to be unique

to the canopy.

CThe first Briton to actually get into the canopy may have been Sir Francis

Drake who, in 1573, gained his first glimpse of the Pacific Ocean from a tall

tree in Darien, Panama. However, the first serious effort to reach and study the

canopy didn't begin until 1929. The Oxford University Expedition to British

Guiana, led by Major RWG Hingston, still ended up help of locals when it came to

building an observation platform. It was a successful expedition all the same,

despite the colony's acting governor getting stuck high up on a winched seat

during a visit. In terms of canopy access, the French have proved themselves to

be excellent innovators, taking things further with the development of

'lighter-than-air platforms -balloons and related equipment, to you and me.

Francis Halle; from the Laboratoire de Botanique Tropicale at Montpellier

University took to a balloon in the mid-1980s in order to approach the canopy

from above. His work in French Guiana was inspired by the use in Gabon of a

tethered helium balloon by Marcel and Annette Hladick. Halle went one further by

using a small purpose-built airship-a cigar-shaped balloon with propellers to

aid manoeuvrability. "We suddenly had a mobile system that could move around the

treetops; there was no other means of doing this," says Mitchell.

DFrom this, two balloon-dependent features have developed: the radeau or

raft, and the luge or sledge. The raft is a 'floating' platform, employed by

French academics Dany Cleyet-Marrel and Laurent Pyot and is essentially an

island in the treetops. Made of kevlar mesh netting and edged with inflated

neoprene tubes, it rests on top of the canopy, allowing sampling (mostly of

plants and insects) to take place at the edges of the platform, and can stay in

position for several days. The luge, on the other hand, is an inflated hexagon

similar to a traditional balloon basket but with a hole in the bottom covered

with Kevlar mesh. Such techniques aren't without their problems, however,

"balloons can cover larger areas, especially for collection purposes, but they

are extremely expensive- Jibe raft alone cost 122,000 [euro] (86,000 [pounds

sterling]) in 2001], nut very effective because you can only reach the tops of

the trees, and are highly dependent on the weather, " says Dr Wilfried Morawetz,

director of systematic botany at the University of Leipzig. “Balloons can

usually only be used in the early morning for two to four hours. Last time, we

could only fly three times during a whole week." Given these factors, it comes

as no surprise that operations involving these balloons numbered just six

between 1986 and 2001.

ESmithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama. Smith had the idea of

using a static crane to get into the treetops. Un-tethered balloons may allow

widely distributed sites to be sampled, but cranes allow scientists to study an

area of at least a hectare from soil to canopy throughout the year, year after

year. "Cranes beat any other access mode. They are cheap, reliable and fast. In

two minutes I can reach any point in our forest, which is essential for

comparative measurements across species," says Professor Christian Korner of the

University of Basel. Korner is using a static crane in a unique carbon

dioxide-enrichment experiment in Switzerland, in an attempt to discover how

forests might respond to the global increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide (see

Swiss canopy-crane carbon experiment, right). For reasons of convenience, cranes

are generally situated close to cities or a research center. Leipzig University

has a crane not far from the town, the Location allowing scientists to study the

effect of city pollutants on forests. In order to increase the amount of canopy

a crane can access, some have been mounted on short rail tracks. In "1995, Dr

Wilfried Morawetz was the first to use this technique, installing a crane on 150

meters of track in Venezuelan rainforest. “In my opinion, cranes should be the

core of canopy research in the future," he says.

FIt appears that the rest of the scientific community has now come around to

Mitchell's way of thinking. "I think most scientists thought him mad to consider

such a complex field station at first," says internationally respected

'canopist' Meg Lowman, the executive director of the Marie Selby Botanical

Gardens. "However, we've all come to realize that a combination of methods, a

long-term approach to ecological studies and a collaborative approach are the

absolute best ways to advance canopy science. A permanent canopy field station

would allow that to happen." With A dedicated group of canopy scientists working

together and a wide range of tools available for them to get into the treetops,

we're now finally on our way towards a true understanding of the least-known

terrestrial habitat.

Questions 14-18

The reading Passage has seven paragraphs A-F

Which paragraph contains the following information?

Write the correct letter A-F, in boxes 14-18 on your answer sheet

14. The Scientific significance for committing canopy study.

15. The first academic research attempt mentioned to get to the top

canopy.

16. The overview idea of forest canopy and the problem of understanding the

forests.

17. A recognition for a long term effect and cooperation.

18. An innovation accessing to treetop which proved to be an ultimate

solution till now.

Questions 19-22

Summary

Complete the following summary of the paragraphs of Reading Passage, using No

More than Two words from the Reading Passage for each answer. Write your answers

in boxes 19-22 on your answer sheet.

Scientists keep trying new methods to access to the canopy of the treetop.

Though early attempt succeeded in building an observation platform yet the help

from the 19 was imperative; further innovators made by the French who built a

platform with equipment by using 20 . Later, the ‘floating’ platform of 21 is serving as

an island in the treetops. Then finally, there came the next major breakthrough

in Panama. Scientists applied 22 to access to the treetops, which are proved to

be the center of canopy research in today and in the future.

Questions 23- 27

Use the information in the passage to match the category (listed A-F) with

opinions or deeds below. Write the appropriate letters A-F in boxes 23-27 on

your answer sheet.

NB you may use any letter more than once

A. Sir Francis Drake

B. Wilfried Morawetz

C. Dany Cleyet-Marrel

D. Francis Halle

E. Christian Korner

F. Alan Smith

23. Scientist whose work was inspired by the method used by other

researchers.

24. Scientist who made a claim that balloon could only be used in a limited

frequency or time.

25. Scientist who initiated a successful access mode which is cheap and

stable.

26. Scientist who had committed canopy-crane experiment for a specific

scientific project.

27. Scientist who initiated the use of crane on the short rail tracks.

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