托福阅读真题Official 46 Passage 3（六）

托福阅读真题Official 46 Passage 3（六）

Ecosystem Diversity and Stability

Conservation biologists have long been concerned that species extinction could have significant consequences for the stability of entire ecosystems—groups of interacting organisms and the physical environment that they inhabit.An ecosystem could survive the loss of some species,but if enough species were lost,the ecosystem would be severely degraded.In fact,it is possible that the loss of a single important species could start a cascade of extinctions that might dramatically change an entire ecosystem.A good illustration of this occurred after sea otters were eliminated from some Pacific kelp(seaweed)bed ecosystems:the kelp beds were practically obliterated too because in the absence of sea otter predation,sea urchin populations exploded and consumed most of the kelp and other macroalgae.

It is usually claimed that species-rich ecosystems tend to be more stable than species-poor ecosystems.Three mechanisms by which higher diversity increases ecosystem stability have been proposed.First,if there are more species in an ecosystem,then its food web will be more complex,with greater redundancy among species in terms of their nutritional roles.In other words,in a rich system if a species is lost,there is a good chance that other species will take over its function as prey,predator,producer,decomposer,or whatever role it played.Second,diverse ecosystems may be less likely to be invaded by new species,notably exotics(foreign species living outside their native range),that would disrupt the ecosystem’s structure and function.Third,in a species-rich ecosystem,diseases may spread more slowly because most species will be relatively less abundant,thus increasing the average distance between individuals of the same species and hampering disease transmission among individuals.

Scientific evidence to illuminate these ideas has been slow in coming,and many shadows remain.One of the first studies to provide data supporting a relationship between diversity and stability examined how grassland plants responded to a drought.Researchers D.Tilman and J.A.Downing used the ratio of above-ground biomass in 1988(after two years of drought)to that in 1986(predrought)in 207 plots in a grassland field in the Cedar Creek Natural History Area in Minnesota as an index of ecosystem response to disruption by drought.In an experiment that began in 1982,they compared these values with the number of plant species in each plot and discovered that the plots with a greater number of plant species experienced a less dramatic reduction in biomass.Plots with more than ten species had about half as much biomass in 1988 as in 1986,whereas those with fewer than five species only produced roughly one-eighth as much biomass after the two-year drought.Apparently,species-rich plots were likely to contain some drought-resistant plant species that grew better in drought years,compensating for the poor growth of less-tolerant species.

To put this result in more general terms,a species-rich ecosystem may be more stable because it is more likely to have species with a wide array of responses to variable conditions such as droughts.Furthermore,a species-rich ecosystem is more likely to have species with similar ecological functions,so that if a species is lost from an ecosystem,another species,probably a competitor,is likely to flourish and occupy its functional role.Both of these,variability in responses and functional redundancy,could be thought of as insurance against disturbances.

The Minnesota grassland research has been widely accepted as strong evidence for the diversity-stability theory;however,its findings have been questioned,and similar studies on other ecosystems have not always found a positive relationship between diversity and stability.Clearly,this is a complex issue that requires further field research with a broad spectrum of ecosystems and species:grassland plants and computer models will only take us so far.In the end,despite insightful attempts to detect some general patterns,we may find it very difficult to reduce this topic to a simple,universal truth.

Question 11 of 14

The word“detect”in the passage is closest in meaning to

A.repeat

B.alter

C.find

D.emphasize

正确答案：C

题目详解

题型分类：词汇题

选项分析：

词汇所在句In the end,despite insightful attempts to detect some general patterns,we may find it very difficult to reduce this topic to a simple,universal truth.原句意为：最后，尽管一些有远见的尝试会去发现一些普遍的模式，但仍然很难将这个话题转换为一个简单的、普适性的真理。其中的detect意为“发现，察觉”。

C选项：find发现，找到，符合文意。

A选项：repeat重复。

B选项：alter改变。

D选项：emphasize强调。

Question 12 of 14

According to paragraph 5,which of the following is true about Tilman and Downing’s findings?

A.General patterns of diversity and stability have been established as a result of the findings.

B.Questions about the findings have been refuted by computer models.

C.The findings have been tested in a broad spectrum of ecosystems with similar results.

D.The findings are not sufficient to prove a definite link between diversity and stability in ecosystems.

正确答案：D

题目详解

题型分类：事实信息题

原文定位：定位词Tilman and Downing's findings。

选项分析：

第5段指出，尽管这个实验被广泛认为是支持生物多样性与稳定性的证据，但是，它的研究结果却受到了质疑，因为对于其他生态系统的研究并未能得出生物多样性与稳定性之间存在正面联系的结果。D选项符合原文。

A选项文章中已经说明研究结果受到质疑，错误。

B选项答案无中生有，并没有说findings被驳倒。

C选项答案无中生有，并没有提及测试test。

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