이보영 쌤의 여섯번째 칼럼: 생태계

이등급을 보장해주는 영어

이보영 쌤입니다.

오늘 다룰 주제는 생태계: 공존, 경쟁, 기생, 포식 입니다.

수능에서 ecology는 자주 출제되는 영역으로 

1. 생태계에서 종들이 살아가는 방식

혹은

2. 생태계 변화와 멸종위기

의 형태로 문제화됩니다.

2017년 6월 모의평가 제목 23번 

Savannas pose a bit of a problem for ecologists. There is an axiom in ecology that ‘complete competitors cannot coexist’: in other words, where two populations of organisms use exactly the same resources, one would be expected to do so slightly more efficiently than the other and therefore come to dominate in the long term. In temperate parts of the world, either trees dominate (in forests) or grasses dominate (in grasslands). Yet, in savannas grasses and trees coexist. The classic explanation proposes that trees have deep roots while grasses have shallow roots. The two plant types are therefore able to coexist because they are not in fact competitors: the trees increase in wetter climates and on sandier soils because more water is able to penetrate to the deep roots. Trees do indeed have a few small roots which penetrate to great depth, but most of their roots are in the top half-metre of the soil, just where the grass roots are.

* axiom: 원리, 공리

① A War at Hand Between Plants in Savannas

② A Rivalry for Wetter Soils among Savanna Trees

③ Are Savannas a Hidden Treasure of Bio-Diversity?

④ Cyclic Dominance of Trees over Grasses in Savannas

⑤ Strange Companions: Savanna Plants Confuse Ecologists

사바나 지역에서 풀과 나무가 서로 공존한다는 내용이 출제되었었는데 정답선지인 Strange Companions: Savanna Plants Confuse Ecologists라는 표현에 나온 companions(동행자)는 해당 지문이 공존에 대한 내용임을 분명하게 보여주고 있습니다. Strange라는 표현이 나온 이유는 풀과 나무가 겉으로는 경쟁을 하는 것으로 보이기 때문입니다. 

18년도 6평 28. 다음 글의 밑줄 친 부분 중, 어법상 틀린 것은?

Though most bees fill their days visiting flowers and collecting pollen, some bees take advantage of the hard work of others. These thieving bees sneak into the nest of an ① unsuspecting “normal” bee (known as the host), lay an egg near the pollen mass being gathered by the host bee for her own offspring, and then sneak back out. When the egg of the thief hatches, it kills the host’s offspring and then eats the pollen meant for ② its victim. Sometimes called brood parasites, these bees are also referred to as cuckoo bees, because they are similar to cuckoo birds, which lay an egg in the nest of another bird and ③ leaves it for that bird to raise. They are more ④ technically called cleptoparasites. Cleptomeans “thief” in Greek, and the term cleptoparasite refers specifically to an organism ⑤ that lives off another by stealing its food. In this case the cleptoparasite feeds on the host’s hard-earned pollen stores.

* brood parasite: (알을 대신 기르도록 하는) 탁란 동물

11년도 6평 26번

In a neat demonstration of the power of evolution, these results show how, in the absence of pressure from parasitic cuckoos, the appearance of the eggs has altered because having a similar pattern is no longer so much of an advantage

기생하는 생활방식을 보여주는 벌에 대한 내용입니다. 그 전에는 대표적 탁란 동물인 뻐꾸기가 출제된 적이 있었죠.  

20년도 9평 30. 다음 글의 밑줄 친 부분 중, 문맥상 낱말의 쓰임이 적절하지 않은 것은?

One misconception that often appears in the writings of physical scientists who are looking at biology from the outside is that the environment appears to them to be a static entity, which cannot contribute new bits of information as evolution progresses. This, however, is by no means the case. Far from being static, the environment is constantly changing and offering new ① challenges to evolving populations. For higher organisms, the most significant changes in the environment are those produced by the contemporaneous evolution of other organisms. The evolution of a horse’s hoof from a five-toed foot has ② enabled the horse to gallop rapidly over open plains. But such galloping is of no ③ advantage to a horse unless it is being chased by a predator. The horse’s efficient mechanism for running would never have evolved except for the fact that meat-eating predators were at the same time evolving more efficient methods of ④ attack. Consequently, laws based upon ecological relationships among different kinds of organisms are ⑤ optional for understanding evolution and the diversity of life to which it has given rise. 

* hoof: 발굽 ** gallop: 질주하다 *** predator: 포식자 

포식자의 존재 때문에 말이 질주하는 능력을 발달시킬 수 있었다는 내용입니다. 포식자와 먹이의 관계를 다룬 내용이죠. 

이 외에도

18년도 9평 41,42번

An ecosystem that is altered or damaged in some way will be out of balance with the biome for that area.

20년도 수능 24번

Beside the decreased chance of empty ecological niches but the increased probability of competitors that prevent invasion success, diverse communities are assumed to use resources more completely and, therefore, limit the ability of invaders to establish.

등등 생태계와 관련된 많은 문제들이 출제되고 있습니다. 

문제풀이 포인트는 ecology 지문이 문제로 나왔을 때 공존, 경쟁, 기생, 포식을 나타내는 키워드에 집중하세요. 해당 표현들을 재진술 하는 말들이 정답일 가능성이 매우 높습니다. (coexist를 companion으로 바꾼 것처럼)