Today’s article

“Do trees grow differently on the edge of forests?” — Matt Goisman, Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, October 8, 2026.

Original article: https://seas.harvard.edu/news/do-trees-grow-differently-edge-forests

Free to read without login. This is a selected article from October 8, not a report published today. Read the full text at the source; the exercises below are original.

Suggested level: IELTS 6.0–7.0 · Time: 10–12 minutes (editorial estimate)

Introduction

森林边缘的树木能否用同一套模型描述？今天练习抓住研究假设、验证方法和误差方向。先通读，再回原文定位答案。

Vocabulary

  1. biomass — 生物量
  2. assumption — 假设
  3. interior — 内部
  4. runoff — 径流
  5. replicate — 复现
  6. underestimate — 低估
  7. bias — 偏差
  8. immerse — 沉浸；使置身于

Reading comprehension

For questions 1–3, choose TRUE, FALSE, or NOT GIVEN. Answer questions 4–5 briefly in English.

1. Traditional models treated growth rates as broadly uniform across a forest.

Reference answer
TRUE. They assumed similar growth throughout.

2. The model overestimated biomass in the edge plots by 12%.

Reference answer
FALSE. It underestimated biomass by 12%.

3. The researchers measured exactly 100 trees.

Reference answer
NOT GIVEN. The article supplies no tree count.

4. How did Yin check the model’s accuracy?

Reference answer
She compared its estimates with her field measurements.

5. Name two environmental conditions that might make edge trees grow differently.

Reference answer
Any two: more sunlight, wind exposure, or fertilizer runoff.

Reading strategy

注意第 2 题的方向词：百分比一致，不代表判断正确。第 5 题问的是可能影响因素，回答时不要擅自写成已证明的因果关系。

Expression practice

underestimate X by Y% — 将 X 低估了 Y%。

Original practice sentence: Our first plan underestimated the time needed by 20%.

试着将 underestimate 换成 overestimate，并解释意思如何变化。