Question

the author is a biologist and college professor. he is considered one of the worlds experts on snakes. from tracks and shadows rainforests are dimly lit and exceptionally diverse—claustrophobically dark and fecund—so no wonder tropical biologists end up puzzling over existential questions. at la selva biological station in costa rica, giant trees with buttressed trunks tower overhead, obscuring the sky, and every glimpse holds the vibrant greens and somber browns of plants and their decaying remnants. after a torrential shower the air reverberates with the buzzes, whines, and clicks of insects. mantled howler monkeys sound off in the distance. all around us leaf litter reeks from the chemical adventures of microbes, and over the course of hours my puny primate nose wrinkles toward some collared peccaries, then heaps of rotting fruit and a pile of cat droppings. rounding a trail curve im baffled by a shimmering lavender stripe, dozens of yards long and a half - inch tall, then i drop to my knees and contemplate thousands of leaf - cutter ants, each carrying a single delicate flower petal. and from time to time, slogging along the muddy paths, i imagine being overgrown by mosses and fungi, or devoured by spike - headed katydids the size of small mice. setting aside matters of life and death for the moment, what do ecologists mean by “exceptionally diverse,” and why might anyone care? a comparison among some familiar places illustrates how numbers of species increase toward the equator, culminating in unparalleled tropical richness. california at la selva biological station in costa rica, giant trees with buttressed trunks tower overhead, obscuring the sky, and every glimpse holds the vibrant greens and somber browns of plants and their decaying remnants. (paragraph 1) what do the words vibrant and somber suggest about the plants in the rainforest? 1. the words show parts of plants lifecycles, with “vibrant” suggesting living and “somber” suggesting declining. 2. the words contrast different kinds of plants, with “vibrant” suggesting showy and “somber” suggesting hidden. 3. the words illustrate two viewpoints about plants, with “vibrant” suggesting exciting and “somber” suggesting dull. 4. the words emphasize plants struggle to survive, with “vibrant” suggesting strong and “somber” suggesting weak.

Explanation:

The word "vibrant" typically means full of life and energy, which can be associated with living plants. "Somber" means dull or dark - colored, often associated with decaying or declining parts of plants. These words together show different parts of plants' lifecycles.

Answer:

1. The words show parts of plants' lifecycles, with "vibrant" suggesting living and "somber" suggesting declining.