1996年5月托福阅读全真试题
Question 1-12
Orchids are unique in having the most highly developed
of all blossoms, in which the usual male and female reproductive
organs are fused in a single structure called the column.
The column is designed so that a single pollination will fertilize
hundreds of thousands, and in some cases millions, of seeds,
so microscopic and light they are easily carried by the breeze.
Surrounding the column are three sepals and three petals,
sometimes easily recognizable as such, often distorted into gorgeous,
weird, but always functional shapes. The most noticeable
of the petals is called the labellum, or lip. It is often dramatically
marked as an unmistakable landing strip to attract
the specific insect the orchid has chosen as its pollinator.
To lure their pollinators from afar, orchids use appropriately
intriguing shapes, colors, and scents. At least 50 different
aromatic compounds have been analyzed in the orchid family,
each blended to attract one, or at most a few, species of
insects or birds. Some orchids even change their scents to interest
different insects at different times.
Once the right insect has been attracted, some orchids
present all sorts of one-way obstacle courses to make sure it
does not leave until pollen has been accurately placed or removed.
By such ingenious adaptations to specific pollinators,
orchids have avoided the hazards of rampant crossbreeding in
the wild, assuring the survival of species as discrete identities.
At the same time they have made themselves irresistible to collectors.
1.What does the passage mainly discuss?
(A) Birds
(B) Insects
(C) Flowers
(D) Perfume
2.The orchid is unique because of
(A) the habitat in which it lives
(B) the structure of its blossom
(C) the variety of products than can be made from it
(D) the length of its life
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