Tech University students have discovered a plant species that is still new to science—first described in 2020. The plant is called the Cumberland pagoda-plant, scientific name Blephilia woffordii. Only four other known populations of the plant have been discovered, surrounding the Caney Fork River area. The first scientists to describe it were Aaron Floden, Ph.D. and Ed Schilling, Ph.D.

Students participating in a field botany(植物学) summer course made the fateful discovery during a four-day hiking event around the Appalachian Center for Craft. On the last day of collecting plants around the trails, a large fallen oak tree in the way resulted in the students taking a necessary detour(绕行) off of their path. Walking around the hole left behind by the fallen tree led to the discovery of the bright white flowers of the Blephilia woffordii.

“This discovery of a new location for a very recently described species is significant. That new collection would be the furthest east it gets. It highlights the importance of the Central Basin and the Eastern Highland Rims with respect to the level of plant diversity,” Floden said.

Student Emmalee Higdon collected the specimen and put it in the university’s museum, the Hollister Herbarium, a structure that houses nearly 40,000 plant specimens for scientific study. “Each time a new site for a rare plant is found, we learn a little more about where to search in the future. We know that Cumberland pagoda-plant likes limestone rock outcrops, but we are still learning how much sunlight it needs and how much is too much,” botanist(植物学家) Todd Crabtree said.

 “The students in this class worked hard during these surveys to collect many important specimens and even to identify them. Their positive and inquisitive attitudes made it possible for us to cover as much ground as we did.” Tech associate professor of biology Shawn Krosnick said.

本时文内容由奇速英语国际教育研究院原创编写，未经书面授权，禁止复制和任何商业用途，版权所有，侵权必究！（作者投稿及时文阅读定制请联系微信：18980471698）

1.What is special about the students’ discovery?

A It is rare.

B It is expensive.

C It is famous.

D It is tall.

解析：选A。A 细节理解题。根据第一段的“Tech University students have discovered a plant species that it is still new to science”可以得知，学生发现的植物物种是非常稀有的。故选A。

2.Tech University students took a longer route on the last day to ________.

A make their hiking longer

B make a fateful discovery

C enjoy beautiful flowers

D avoid a fallen tree

解析：选D。D 细节理解题。根据第二段的“a large fallen oak tree in the way resulted in the students taking a necessary detour(绕行) off of their path”可知，学生们被一棵倒下的橡树挡住了去路，所以必须绕道而行。故选D。

3.What does the underlined word “specimen” refer to?

A Species.

B Plant.

C Site.

D Sample.

解析：选D。D 词义猜测题。根据划线词所在句的后文“ put it in the university’s museum”以及“nearly 40,000 plant specimens for scientific study”可知这些放在博物馆里用于科学研究的是植物“样品”。故选D。

4.What’s Shawn Krosnick’s attitude towards the students?

A Indifferent.

B Sympathetic.

C Appreciative.

D Doubtful.

解析：选C。C 推理判断题。根据最后一段中的“The students in this class worked hard”以及“Their positive and inquisitive attitudes made it possible”可知，Shawn Krosnick对于这些学生是很赞赏的。故选C。