2. at the mercy of [?t e? ?m?:si ?v] 任…摆布，在…前毫无办法
3. inconsistent [??nk?n?s?st?nt]
adj.不一致的，不调和的；前后矛盾的，不合逻辑的；反复无常的；歧出
4. cultivate [?k?ltiveit]
vt. 耕作，种植;教养，栽培;改善;交朋友
5. trait [tre?t] n.特点，特性；少许
6. literally [?lit?r?li]
adv. 逐字地;照字面地;确实地，真正地;[口语]差不多，简直（用于加强语意）
7. rusty [?r?sti:]
adj. 生锈的，腐蚀的;铁锈色的，锈色的;变钝的;褪了色的
8. inselberg [?n'selb?:g] n.岛（状）山，孤山，残山
9. rear up [ri? ?p] 用后腿站立；养大
2018年6月大学英语六级真题试卷及答案（二）
10. remnant [?remn?nt]
n.剩余部分；残余；幸存者；零料，零头布 adj.剩余的；残留的
11. harsh [hɑ:?]
adj. 粗糙的;刺耳的;严厉的，严格的;残酷的
12. contract [k?n?tr?kt]
vt.& vi. 染上（恶习，疾病等）;缩小，紧缩; vi. 订契约，承包n. 契约;婚约;[法]契约法;行贿
13. revive [ri?vaiv]
vt. 使复活，使恢复;使振奋，复原;使再生，使重新流行;唤醒，唤起;
vi. 复苏，恢复;振作，恢复;再生，重新流行;再生效力
14. metabolism [m??t?b?l?z?m] n.新陈代谢；代谢作用
15. cease [si:s] vt. 停止，终止，结束;
vi. 终止，停止;永不停止的过程;停止行动; n. 停止
16. cope [k?up]
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vi. 成功地应付，对付;对抗; n. 长袍;斗篷状覆盖物;墙帽; vt. 笼罩;给…盖墙压顶
17. prolonged [pr??l??d]
adj.持续很久的；延长的；拖延的；曼
18. divert [dai?v?:t] vt. 使转移;娱乐;转移注意力
19. evaporate [i?v?p?reit] vt.& vi. （使某物）蒸发掉; vi. 消失;发散气体;蒸发;
vt. 使脱水;使蒸发;使挥发;使沉淀
20. delicate [?delikit]
adj. 微妙的;熟练的;纤弱的;易损的
21. bud [b?d]
n. 芽，萌芽;蓓蕾，骨朵;未成熟的人，少男少女;〈美〉刚进社交界的姑娘;
vi. 发芽，长出蓓蕾;开始发育;<植>芽接
22. robust [r???b?st]
adj.强健的；结实的；强劲的；坚定的
23. stem [stem]
n. （花草的）茎;词干;（高脚酒杯的）脚;烟斗柄;
2018年6月大学英语六级真题试卷及答案（二）
vt. 遏制[阻止]（液体的流动等）;阻止;封堵;遏止
24. sprout [spra?t] vi.发芽；抽芽 vt.使发芽；使生长
n.幼芽，新梢；[植]球芽甘蓝；幼苗状物，年轻人；美俚〉后代
25. isolate [?ais?leit]
vt. 使隔离，使孤立;[电]使绝缘;[化]使离析;[微]使细菌分离; vi. 隔离，孤立;
n. [微]分离菌;隔离种群; adj. 隔离的，分离的;孤立的
26. resurrection [?rez??rek?n]
n.宗 耶稣复活；使复活者；恢复使用；宗 （最后审判日）所有死者的复活 adj.复活的，复兴的
27. investigate [in?vestiɡeit] vt. 调查;审查;研究; vi. 作调查
28. molecular [m??lekj?l?] adj. 分子的，由分子组成的
29. prevail [pri?veil]
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vi. 流行，盛行;获胜，占优势;说服，劝说
30. subsistence [s?b?s?st?ns] n.存活，生存；生计，维生之道
36. There are a couple of plants tough and adaptable enough to survive on bare rocky hills and in deserts. 36.【答案】C
【解析】关键词： a couple of plants tough and adaptable, survive on bare rocky hills
and in deserts 根据【36】Extreme conditions produce extremely tough plants. In the rusty red deserts of South Africa, steep- sided rocky hills called inselbergs rear up from the plains like the bones of the earth. The hills are remnants of an earlier geological era, scraped bare of most soil and exposed to the elements. Yet on these and similar formations in deserts around the world, a few fierce plants have adapted to endure under ever-changing conditions.可以定位到C段，因此本题的正确答案为C选项
37.Farrant is trying to isolate genes in resurrection plants and reproduce them in crops. 【答案】H
【解析】关键词： isolate genes in resurrection plants, reproduce them in crops 根据【37】 After completing her Ph. D. on seeds, Farrant began investigating whether it might be possible to isolate the properties that make most seeds so resilient (迅速恢复活力的）and transfer them to other plant tissues. What Farrant and others have found over the past two decades is that there are many genes involved in resurrection plants' response to dryness. Many of them are the same that regulate how seeds become dryness-tolerant while still attached to their parent plants. Now they are trying to figure out what molecular signaling processes activate those seed-building genes in resurrection plants—and how to reproduce them in crops. Most genes are regulated by a master set of genes,'' 可以定位到H段，因此本题的正确答案为H选项
38.Farmers in South Africa are more at the mercy of nature, especially inconsistent rainfall. 【答案】A
【解析】关键词：Farmers in South Africa ,inconsistent rainfall根据【38】Food security and fortunes depend on sufficient rain, and nowhere more so than in Africa, where 96% of farmland depends on rain instead of the irrigation common in more developed places. It has
consequences: South Africa’s ongoing drought—the worst in three decades—will cost at least a 2018年6月大学英语六级真题试卷及答案（二）
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quarter of its corn crop this year. 可以定位到A段，因此本题的正确答案为A选项 39.Resurrection crops are most likely to be the choice of subsistence farmers.
【答案】K
【解析】关键词：Resurrection crops ,to be the choice of subsistence farmers.根据【39】Farrant says, so these plants will be targeted not at Iowa farmers trying to squeeze more cash out of high-yield fields, but subsistence farmers who need help to survive a drought like the present one in South Africa. \可以定位到K段，因此本题的正确答案为K选项
40.Even though many plants have developed various tactics to cope with dry weather, they cannot survive a prolonged drought. 【答案】E
【解析】 关键词：many plants have developed various tactics ,they cannot survive a
prolonged drought根据 【40】The big difference between \tough plants: metabolism. Many different kinds of plants have developed tactics to weather dry spells. Some plants store reserves of water to see them through a drought ； others send roots deep down to subsurface water supplies. But once these plants use up their stored reserve or tap out the underground supply, they cease growing and start to die. 可以定位到E段，上述是对红线部分的概述，因此本题的正确答案为E选项
41.Despite consumer resistance, researchers are pushing ahead with genetic modification of crops.
【答案】I
【解析】关键词： consumer resistance,researchers are pushing ahead , genetic
modification of crops根据 【41】She says she is aware that plenty of people do not want to eat genetically modified crops, but she is pushing ahead with every available tool until one works. 可知，本题是对本段的陈述，因此本题的正确答案为I选项
42.Most seeds can pull through dry spells and begin growing when conditions are ripe, but once this process starts, it cannot be held back. 【答案】G
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【解析】关键词：seeds, conditions are ripe,this process starts, held back根据【42】they cannot bud and grow if they dry out (as you may know if you've ever tried to grow a tree from an avocado pit). In the seed world, that makes them rare,because most seeds from flowering plants are quite robust. Most seeds can wait out the dry,unwelcoming seasons until conditions are right and they sprout (发芽）.Yet once they start growing,such plants seem not to retain the ability to hit the pause button on metabolism in their stems or leaves.可以定位到G段，因此本题的正确答案为G选项
43.Farrant is working hard to cultivate food crops that can survive extreme dryness by studying the traits of rare wild plants. 【答案】B
【解析】关键词：Farrant,to cultivate food crops that can survive extreme
dryness,studying the traits of rare wild plants 根据 Biologist Jill Farrant of the University of
Cape Town in South Africa says that nature has plenty of answers for people who want to grow crops in places with unpredictable rainfall. 【43】She is hard at work finding a way to take traits from rare wild plants that adapt to extreme dry weather and use them in food crops. 上述是对红线部分的概述，因此本题的正确答案为B选项
44.By adjusting their metabolism, resurrection plants can recover from an extended period of drought. 【答案】F
【解析】关键词：adjusting their metabolism, resurrection plants, recover from an
extended period of drought.根据【44】 When they detect an extended dry period, they divert their metabolisms producing sugars and certain stress-associated proteins and other materials in their tissues.可以定位到F段，因此本题的正确答案为F选项
45.Resurrection plants can come back to life in a short time after a rainfall. 【答案】D
【解析】关键词： Resurrection plants , come back to life in a short time after a rainfall 根据【45】Farrant calls them resurrection plants (复苏植物）.During months without water under a harsh sun, they wither, shrink and contract until they look like a pile of dead gray leaves. But
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