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Seeds on Ice
Close to the North Pole, the remote and rocky plateau mountain in the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard seems an unlikely spot for any global effort to safeguard agriculture.In this cold and deserted environment, no grains, no gardens, no trees can grow.Yet at the end of a 130meterlong tunnel cut out of solid stone is a room filled with humanity's most precious treasure, the largest and most diverse seed collection — more than a halfbillion seeds.
A quiet rescue mission is under way.With growing evidence that unchecked climate change will seriously affect food production and threaten the diversity of crops around the world, the Svalbard Global Seed Vault represents a major step towards ensuring the preservation of hundreds of thousands of crop varieties.This is a seed collection, but more importantly, it is a collection of the traits found within the seeds：the genes that give one variety resistance to a particular pest and another variety tolerance for hot, dry weather.
Few people will ever see or come into contact with the contents of this vault.In sealed boxes, behind multiple locked doors, monitored by electronic security systems, enveloped in belowzero temperatures, and surrounded by tons of rock, hundreds of millions of seeds are protected in their mountain fortress.Frozen in such conditions inside the mountain，seeds of most major crops will remain viable for hundreds of years, or longer.Seeds of some are capable of retaining their ability to grow for thousands of years.
Everyone can look back now and say that the Seed Vault was a good and obvious idea, and that of course the Norwegian government should have approved and funded it.But back in 2004, when the Seed Vault was proposed, it was viewed as a crazy, impractical, and expensive idea.
We knew that nothing would provide a definite guarantee.But we were tired, fed up, and frankly scared of the steady losses of crop diversity.The Seed Vault was built by optimists who wanted to do something to preserve options so that humanity and the crops might be better prepared for change.If it simply resupplied seed gene banks with samples those gene banks had lost, this would repay our efforts.
The Seed Vault is about hope and commitment — about what can be done if countries come together and work cooperatively to accomplish something significant, longlasting, and worthy of who we are and wish to be.
语篇解读：本文是一篇说明文。文章介绍了种子基因库，也就是为未来的农业储存多种种子的地方。
1．What's the Seed Vault according to the passage?
A．A tunnel where the collected seeds are displayed.
B．A stone room that contains the seeds of endangered crops.
C．A seed gene bank that stores diverse seeds for future agriculture.
D．A lab where researchers study how to maintain the diversity of crops.
解析：选C 细节理解题。根据第一段的内容及第二段中的the Svalbard Global Seed Vault represents a major step towards ensuring the preservation of hundreds of thousands of crop varieties可知，the Seed Vault是一个种子基因库，储存不同的种子备未来之用。故选择C项。
2．What does the underlined word “viable” in Paragraph 3 probably mean?
A．Mature. B．Clean.
C．Alive. D．Valuable.
解析：选C 词义猜测题。根据画线词后的Seeds of some are capable of retaining their ability to grow for thousands of years.可知，有些种子能保持数千年的生长能力。所以画线词的意义应与之一致，即“可生存的”。故选择C项。
3．What does the third paragraph mainly tells us?
A．How the seeds are preserved.
B．Where people keep the seeds.
C．Why the seeds are protected.
D．What people do to study the seeds.
解析：选A 段落大意题。根据第三段中的In sealed boxes, behind multiple locked doors, monitored by electronic security systems, enveloped in belowzero temperatures, and surrounded by tons of rock可知，该段主要介绍种子基因库的储存条件，故选择A项。
4．What can we learn from the passage?
A．The Seed Vault offers a solution to climate change.
B．Most countries took part in rescuing the seed varieties.
C．The Seed Vault guarantees to prevent the loss of crop diversity.
D．Many people originally considered building the Seed Vault unwise.
解析：选D 细节理解题。根据第四段的内容可知，回过头来看，现在每个人都可以说种子库显而易见是一个好主意，挪威政府当然应该批准并资助它。但早在2004年，当种子库这个想法被提出的时候，它被认为是一个疯狂、不切实际和昂贵的想法。由此推断D项正确。
