Most plants you see out in nature are leafy and green, at least for some part of their lives. That’s because they use green pigments, which are called chlorophyll (叶绿素), to harvest energy from sunlight. But the plant Hydnora Africana, doesn’t have leaves or chlorophyll at all.
So, how can it survive? Well, it’s a parasite (寄生), and H Africana attaches itself to other plants’ roots, and begins getting sugars, minerals, and water from its host.
At the same time, the parasite grows a root system, living completely underground, until it’s ready to reproduce. At which point, it grows one of the strangest looking flowers in the world. When the flower’s mature, it breaks the soil from beneath and reaches out in order to be pollinated (授粉).
But just as this plant doesn’t look like the normal flower, it doesn’t smell like one either. It gives out a smell like a rotting (腐烂) animal . The smell attracts insects and flies looking for a delicious meal. But when they get inside the flower and find no tasty treat, they can’t get back out again.
There’s a sort of room inside the flower, and the top of the room closes behind the insects. The walls of the flower are also slippery, making escape even more difficult.
Over the course of about a day, the flower’s male organs mature, and the insects get coated in pollen. And at the end of this transformation, the inside of the plant gets less slippery, and the chamber opens, allowing the insects and flies to escape.
At that point, attracted by a new rotting smell, they might just find another H Africana flower and pollinate it as they fall inside.
8. Why is chlorophyll so important to plants?
A.Chlorophyll gives plants green color. |
B.Chlorophyll helps leaves to grow. |
C.Chlorophyll can harvest energy from sunlight. |
D.Plants cannot survive without Chlorophyll . |
9. About H Africana, which description is right?
A.It’s a parasite without roots. |
B.It gets food through other plants’ root. |
C.It never grows out of the ground. |
D.Its flowers smell sweet. |
10. The insects attracted to pollinate will _____.
A.find tasty treat inside the flower. |
B.never get out of the flower again. |
C.get little chance to pollinate successfully. |
D.escape after being trapped about a day. |
11. The passage mainly interprets______.
A.What is a parasite. |
B.How a parasite to survive. |
C.How H Africana reproduce. |
D.Why bad smell is so useful. |