《2026年一本密卷高考英语》

Scientists recently discovered giant viruses infecting algal blooms(藻花) that dot the Greenland ice sheet, the largest single contributor to global sea level rise. Hordes of giant viruses may be slowing the impacts of climate change.
Scientists announced the discovery in a recent paper on the Greenland ice sheet. “Giant viruses infect the microalgae,” said Laura Perini, one of the paper's lead authors and a researcher at Denmark's Aarhus University. “If they kill the algae, they kind of reduce the speed at which the ice is melting.”
Since being classified in the 1980s, giant viruses—or nucleocytoplasmic large DNA viruses, have been found all over the world in soil, rivers and oceans. Perini and her team wanted to find out if they also inhabited icy Greenland. They conducted genetic analyses on samples taken from the ice sheet. They found viral genes hiding in algal cells, indicating that the viruses have been infecting the algae populations for a while—likely hundreds of years. “Those pathogens are likely killing algae cells and obstructing(阻碍) the growth of blooms, though that was not investigated in the paper”, said Frederik Schultz, one of the world's top giant virus researchers. “Giant viruses play a role there in terminating(结束) the algae,” said Schulz in an interview.
“It's nice to find cases where giant viruses potentially could be useful,” said Schulz, who was not involved in Perini's study. “What if you would introduce this virus for, like, a targeted removal of those colored algae potentially to reduce the melting of the glacier?” Schulz said that may not be a good idea—algae have other functions, like storing carbon—but the study indicates it's worth exploring and puts the idea “on his radar”.
Marco Tedesco, a glaciologist at Columbia University who has studied the Greenland ice sheet for years, said, “There are a lot of other factors that may also affect how Greenland's ice sheet responds to warming temperatures.” “A lot more data is needed,” Tedesco added. “And that requires major coordinated research projects, involving multiple regions of the Greenland ice sheet and scientists across many different disciplines, from glaciologists to microbiologists”.
Perini said that other microbes or factors might also help slow the melting. For instance, as the ice sheet melts, pools of dark-colored water with germs may collect on the surface and thus absorb sunlight and cause even faster melting.
1. Laura Perini, Frederik Schulz and Marco Tedesco might all agree that B.
A. large DNA viruses are environmentally friendly
B. giant viruses can terminate the growth of algal blooms
C. the algal bloom is the top factor that has impact on climate change
D. it's a good idea to introduce giant viruses for the removal of colored algae
2. In Paragraph 3, the underlined part of “Those pathogens” probably refers to C.
A. genetic samples
B. algal blooms
C. viral genes
D. viral functions
3. What will Laura Perini probably do next for her research?
A. Use other microbes to control the algae.
B. Find other tiny germs both in ice and water.
C. Collect the dark-colored water of the Greenland ice sheet.
D. Measure the amount of melted water because of algal blooms.
4. What is the purpose of writing this passage?
A. To show a great discovery of giant viruses.
B. To discuss how giant viruses slow the sea level rise.
C. To inform a new discovery on the Greenland ice melting.
D. To stress the important function of algae in the Greenland ice sheet.

答案： 1. B 2. C 3. B 4. C