To the human ears a field of flowers is silent, save the noise of birds and insects. To certain animal ears, however, a field of flowers is full of conversation.
It has long been known that plants communicate when stressed. You need only observe a houseplant to realize that a plant wilts (枯萎) when it needs water, or turns yellow at the edges when it has been watered too much. Some plants may also emit a bitter taste to deter insects from capitalizing on their stressed state; while others may emit organic compounds to alarm other plants in the area.
Now, a new study, conducted by researchers at Tel Aviv University. shows that not only do plants express themselves in the above ways when stressed, they also emit sounds.
According to the study, plants emit sounds at frequencies between 40 to 80 kilohertz- beyond the range of human ears—but within the range of some animals. “While imperceptible to the human ears, the sounds emitted by plants can probably be heard by such animals as bats, mice, and insects, "explained Dr. Lilach Hadany, a Professor at Tel Aviv University and a co-author of the study.
One of the primary breakthroughs of Hadany's study is that the researchers have managed to understand and classify the sounds that plants generate for the first time. Plants that are not stressed produce about one noise per hour, but plants that are stressed, dehydrated, or injured many hundreds of sounds per hour, and each of these sounds seems to be specific to the type of stress the plant is under.
This type of information could be vital for agriculture. Knowing what sounds their plants are making could help farmers determine whether their crops are in danger or drought or disease and allow them to make the necessary changes to let their plants to thrive.
Amazingly enough, the researchers are not actually sure how the plants make sounds, though it may have something to do with cavitation (空穴现象), which is when the water tension in the plants becomes too high and the water turns to gas, making an ultrasonic popping noise.
Whatever the case, this is still a game-changer for plant science, and potentially for the future of agriculture. One day soon your plants may be-able to tell you if they are hungry, thirsty, or just feeling lonely.
8. What does the underlined word “deter” mean in paragraph 2?
A.Identify. | B.Ignore. | C.Prevent. | D.Preserve. |
9. What can we know about the new study according to the passage?
A.The sounds emitted by plants always remain the same. |
B.All animals are not able to hear the sounds produced by plants. |
C.Previous experiments suggested similar findings to the new study. |
D.Researchers have made sense of how plants exactly make sounds. |
10. What is paragraph 6 mainly about?
A.The new study’s benefits to farmers. |
B.The new study’s limitations in agriculture. |
C.The new study’s impact on further studies. |
D.The new study’s insight into relevant research. |
11. What is the author’s attitude towards the scientific value of the new study?
A.Indifferent. | B.Skeptical. | C.Ambiguous. | D.Favorable. |