Spring is arriving earlier in cities. Why is this? A recent study proposed a

游客2024-03-07  8

问题     Spring is arriving earlier in cities. Why is this? A recent study proposed a culprit (元凶) : light pollution, a key【C1】________between a city center and the surrounding area. To test if this could cause【C2】________blooms, researchers exposed plants to long periods of artificial light and found that, as predicted, exposed plants started blooming earlier than those that grew in【C3】________light.
    Unsurprisingly, plants are【C4】________assessing the available daylight to understand if it’s time for them to bloom. When the days become long enough, they know to start making leaves. But city lights make it harder for plants to assess when spring has actually sprung. Heavy exposure seems to trick plants into【C5】________it’s later in the year and that conditions are better than they actually are.
    Whatever the reason, or combination of reasons, when plants bloom earlier than usual, it can spell disaster for ecological systems—in which【C6】________is key. Take for example, the relationship between oak trees and winter moths. When the moths hatch each spring, the larvae (幼虫) feed on the oak leaves. If they hatch too early, there’s no food. If they hatch too late, the【C7】________leaves are too hard for the larvae to eat. Then, if the larvae die, the things that feed on moths die, like bats. Fewer bats mean mosquitoes can【C8】________, having lost one of their major predators (捕食者). More mosquitoes can mean more vectors for disease and more chances of human exposure.
    Unlike climate change, however, light pollution is a problem with readily apparent【C9】________ One report from Italy suggests using fixtures that cast light downward instead of upward and outward, or switching to high-efficiency bulbs that emit narrower wavelengths of light, which researchers have found don’t【C10】________plants quite so strongly.
    A) affect      E) instantly  I) prosperous  M) thinking
    B) constantly  F) mature     J) rarely      N) thrive
    C) difference  G) normal     K) regard      O) timing
    D) early       H) numerous   L) solutions [br] 【C6】

选项

答案 O

解析 名词辨义题。此处空格位于which引导的非限制性定语从句中,该从句中缺乏主语,可知空格处应填入一个名词。而由空格后的系动词is及空格前没有不定冠词a可以判断,此处填入的名词应为不可数名词。本段中,该句之后的内容以橡树和冬蛾为例,大篇幅阐释了时机对于生物存活的重要性和相互的影响。备选词汇timing意为“时机”,符合此处语境,故选O。
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