阅读下列短文,从每题所给的四个选项(A、B、C和D)中,选出最佳选项。 Superman had it right: if you want to keep something safe, build a mountain fortress (堡垒)above the Arctic Circle. That’s the thinking ---more or less---behind the Svalbard Global Seed Vault(地窖). Almost every nation keeps collections of native seeds so local crops can be replanted in case of an agricultural disaster. The Global Seed Vault, opened on the far-northern Norwegian island of Spitsbergen, is a backup for the backups. It’s badly needed---as many as half the seed banks in developing countries are at risk from natural disasters. The vault can hold up to 4.5 million samples, which will be kept dry at about -18°C. Even if the facility(设施) loses power, the Arctic climate should keep the seeds alive for thousands of years. On an unusual old farm in New York City, workers are also storing away the seeds of the future. In this unlikely place, researchers are putting the seeds from flowering plants and trees in a sleeplike state called suspended animation (假死状态). Many years from now, other workers will wake up the sleeping seeds and plant them where they're most needed. These seeds are like the legendary (传说中的) Rip van Winkle, who fell asleep under a tree and woke up 20 years later. The small farm, called the Greenbelt Native Plant Center, is part of a global effort to save threatened(受到威胁的) plants and trees. The most important step is to collect seeds at exactly the right time---when they are just about ready to fall from the plant. The seeds are being kept in storage at the Greenbelt Center. When planted in the future, these seeds could help restore damaged parklands and forests. |