新托福TPO5阅读原文及译文

新托福 TPO5 阅读原文 一 Minerals and Plants TPO 5 1 Minerals and Plants Research has shown that certain minerals are required by plants for normal growth and development The soil is the source of these minerals which are absorbed by the plant with the water from the soil Even nitrogen which is a gas in its elemental state is normally absorbed from the soil as nitrate ions Some soils are notoriously deficient in micro nutrients and are therefore unable to support most plant life So called serpentine soils for example are deficient in calcium and only plants able to tolerate low levels of this mineral can survive In modern agriculture mineral depletion of soils is a major concern since harvesting crops interrupts the recycling of nutrients back to the soil Mineral deficiencies can often be detected by specific symptoms such as chlorosis loss of chlorophyll resulting in yellow or white leaf tissue necrosis isolateddeadpatches anthocyanination developmentofdeepred pigmentation of leaves or stem stunted growth and development of woody tissue in an herbaceous plant Soils are most commonly deficient in nitrogen and phosphorus Nitrogen deficient plants exhibit many of the symptoms just described Leaves develop chlorosis stems are short and slender and anthocyanin discoloration occurs on stems petioles and lower leaf surfaces Phosphorus deficient plants are often stunted with leaves turning a characteristic dark green often with the accumulation of anthocyanin Typically older leaves are affected first as the phosphorus is mobilized to young growing tissue Iron deficiency is characterized by chlorosis between veins in young leaves Much of the research on nutrient deficiencies is based on growing plants hydroponically that is in soilless liquid nutrient solutions This technique allows researchers to create solutions that selectively omit certain nutrients and then observe the resulting effects on the plants Hydroponics has applications beyond basic research since it facilitates the growing of greenhouse vegetables during winter Aeroponics a technique in which plants are suspended and the roots misted with a nutrient solution is another for growing plants without soil While mineral deficiencies can limit the growth of plants an overabundance of certain minerals can be toxic and can also limit growth Saline soils which have high concentrations of sodium chloride and other salts limit plant growth and research continues to focus on developing salt tolerant varieties of agricultural crops Research has focused on the toxic effects of heavy metals such as lead cadmium mercury and aluminum however even copper and zinc which are essential elements can become toxic in high concentrations Although most plants cannot survive in these soils certain plants have the ability to tolerate high levels of these minerals Scientistshaveknownforsometimethatcertainplants called hyperaccumulators can concentrate minerals at levels a hundredfold or greater than normal A survey of known hyperaccumulators identified that 75 percent of them amassed nickel cobalt copper zinc manganese lead and cadmium are other minerals of choice Hyperaccumulators run the entire range of the plant world They may be herbs shrubs or trees Many members of the mustard family spurge family legume family and grass family are top hyperaccumulators Many are found in tropicalandsubtropicalareasoftheworld whereaccumulationofhigh concentrations of metals may afford some protection against plant eating insects and microbial pathogens Only recently have investigators considered using these plants to clean up soil and waste sites that have been contaminated by toxic levels of heavy metals an environmentally friendly approach known as phytoremediation This scenario begins with the planting of hyperaccumulating species in the target area such as an abandoned mine or an irrigation pond contaminated by runoff Toxic minerals would first be absorbed by roots but later relocated to the stem and leaves A harvest of the shoots would remove the toxic compounds off site to be burned or composted to recover the metal for industrial uses After several years of cultivation and harvest the site would be restored at a cost much lower than the price of excavation and reburial the standard practice for remediation of contaminated soils For examples in field trials the plant alpine pennycress removed zinc and cadmium from soils near a zinc smelter and Indian mustard native to Pakistan and India has been effective in reducing levels of selenium salts by 50 percent in contaminated soils 译文 TPO 5 1 矿物质和植物 研究表明 某些矿物质是植物正常生长发育所必需的 土壤是这些矿物质的 来源 它们通过水分被植物从土壤中吸收 即使是元素状态为气体的氮 也通常 作为硝酸根离子从土壤中被吸收 众所周知 一些土壤缺乏微量营养素 因此大 多数植物不能生长 例如所谓的蛇纹岩土壤 由于缺乏钙 只有那些能忍受如此 低含量的钙的植物才能够存活 在现代农业 土壤矿物质枯竭是一个大问题 因 为收割庄稼切断了养分返回土壤的循环 矿物质缺乏通常可由特定的症状检测出来 如褪绿 叶绿素损失导致黄叶或 白叶的现象 坏疽 孤立的坏死斑 花青素的形成 形成深红色叶片和茎色素沉 积 发育不良以及草本植物长木质组织 土壤最常缺乏的是氮和磷 氮缺乏植 物表现出了刚才描述的许多症状 叶片黄化 茎短而细以及发生在茎 叶柄以及 下叶表面的花青素变色 磷缺乏的植物往往发育不良 叶片变成特殊的深绿色 经常伴随着花青素的积累 由于磷流向新生的组织 通常