Unit 5Revealing natureCorn is among the most widely consumed grains on the planet. On a global scale, the average human will consume 70 pounds of corn each and every year! That's a whole lot of corn that needs to be grown each year, and that's not even accounting for corn being grown for animal consumption and biofuel. Just like many other popular foods, farmers are finding it difficult to keep up with all that demand.Of course, complicating matters is the fact that corn is a tropical plant, meaning it is very sensitive to cold weather and thus farmers are unable to produce it during the colder months of the year in more temperate climates. Now, researchers from Cornell University's Boyce Thompson Institute have developed their own solution: a new variation of corn that recovers much more quickly after being exposed to cold temperatures.If this new variation of corn proves to be viable, it could revolutionize and increase global production, allowing more areas to grow corn, and farmers to produce greater quantities.“In the field, chilling stress happens most often in the spring when cold temperatures combine with strong sunlight, causing plants to bleach，”comments lead researcher David Stern, president of the Boyce Thompson Institute, in a release.“So a more chillingtolerant corn could help farmers plant earlier in the year with confidence that their crop would survive a cold spell and bounce back quickly once the weather warmed up again.” 开启快乐学习之旅越冻越美丽？在这一点上人类可能比不过它……[知识点击]1．consumed 被消费的2．scale n. 规模；比例； 数值范围 3．account for 对……做出解释；说明……原因；(数量、比例上)占；列入预算4．tropical adj. 热带的；热情的；酷热的5．temperate adj. 气候温和的；温带的6．variation...
