Vinegar is great. It makes salad, fries and dumplings taste better, and you can even clean your wind

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Vinegar is great. It makes salad, fries and dumplings taste better, and you can even clean your windows with it. And now, according to scientists, it may even help the planet’s population survive climate change.
Researchers from the RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science (CSRS) in Japan have found that growing plants in vinegar makes them more resistant to droughts. This could mean that in the future, worries about climate change affecting the world’s supply of food will be much less.
The discovery was made after the researchers studied the Arabidopsis, a plant known for its ability to survive in dry weather. It was found that when the plant was placed in drought-like conditions, it produced a chemical called acetate(醋酸盐)—the main component of vinegar.
After discovering this, the scientists experimented further by adding acetate to the soil of other plants, and they stopped giving them water completely. After leaving the plants for 14 days, they found that the ones treated with acetate had survived, while the untreated plants had dried up and died. It’s hoped that this simple method of survival could soon be used to help farmers in dry countries keep their crops alive.
Jong Myong Kim, the co-author of the study, tells Popular Science that he’s already been in touch with people all over the world who are interested in trying this simple and cost-effective method out for themselves from flower growing companies to amateur gardeners. Although at this point keeping thirsty plants alive isn’t as easy as just pouring vinegar over them, Kim says he and his team are working on making the process as simple as possible. “Now we are trying to cooperate with some farmers, and also some companies, to make a method of applying this system,” he says.
And for those of us who always forget to ask our neighbors to water our plants when we go away, hopefully this means the end of returning home from a trip to find our favorite flowers have died.
40. What is mentioned as a feature of the Arabidopsis?
A. It produces acetate in wet conditions.
B. It is mainly composed of acetate.
C. It can survive in nowhere but desert.
D. It can be tolerant of drought.
41. The scientists experimented further by adding acetate to the soil of other plants to    .
A. find a simple way of keeping the crops of farmers alive
B. stop watering them
C. check the effectiveness of the acetate to resist drought
D. treat the dried-up plants
42. What is the author’s attitude to the discovery?
A. Objective. B. Unsupportive.
C. Indifferent. D. Optimistic.
43. What is the best title of the text?
A. Vinegar May End Hunger
B. Vinegar Keeps Plants Living Forever
C. How to Survive Climate Change
D. Plants Need Water
【答案】40. D    41. C    42. D    43. A
【解析】