1 . Do plants listen to music? How can a plant possibly respond to music? Well, plants breathe through their many mouths, which are also known as stomata and it has been discovered that plant stomata respond to music!
A few years ago, scientists at the University of California, San Diego discovered what controls a plant’s stomata.The two cells that form the stoma consist of specialized cells adjusted to the resonant(共鸣的)frequency of calcium(钙). When exposed to this frequency the stomata close. However, if the frequency isn’t exactly right the cells will open again within an hour.This happens even if the concentration of calcium is high enough that the stomata would normally close.
When specific music or bird songs cause the plant to vibrate(颤动), but not at the exact frequency for calcium resonance, the stomata will open after a misjudgment of time, even though the plant would keep them closed under normal circumstances.
Testing has shown that a leaf fertilizer(肥料)applied to the plant will have more effect on the development and growth of the plant if its stomata are wide open. This is quite logical, because plants absorb the leaf fertilizer through their stomata.Combinations of frequency and leaf fertilizer are available for many different crops. However, if the stomata are forced to remain open, the plant won’t be able to control the amount of water lost and so it risks dehydration(脱水). As a result, exposing plants to music for over 3 hours a day could endanger their health.There could also be bad effects on plants if the volume or frequency is too high.
It isn’t exactly clear how music influences the development and growth of plants, but more and more is being discovered about resonance physics and we’re closer than ever to solid scientific proof and theories in this area. Maybe, in twenty years’ time people will laugh if you say plants don’t have ears!
1. Why does the author ask the questions in Paragraph 1?| A．To express his doubts. |
| B．To present different ideas. |
| C．To describe the lifestyle of plants. |
| D．To introduce points for discussion. |
| A．The reopening of the cells. |
| B．The change in frequency. |
| C．The frequency of calcium. |
| D．The closing of the stomata. |
| A．future plants are likely to have ears |
| B．how music affects plant growth is widely known |
| C．growers must be careful when exposing plants to music |
| D．the stomata don’t affect the effect of leaf fertilizer on plants |
| A．Benefits of Music to Plants |
| B．Influence of Music on Plants |
| C．How to Improve Plant Growth? |
| D．How Do Plants Listen Without Ears? |
2 . About 17 years ago, I became allergic to Delhi's air. My doctors told me that my lung function had gone down to 70 percent. My doctor told me that there were three plants, with which I could grow all the fresh air indoors to keep me healthy.
The three plants are Areca palm, Mother-in-law's Tongue and money plant. Areca palm is a plant which removes CO2 and turns it into oxygen. We need four shoulder-high plants every person. The second plant is Mother-in-law's Tongue. It is called a bedroom plant because it turns CO, into oxygen at night. And we need six to eight waist-high plants every person. The third plant is money plant, and it preferably grows in hydroponics. This particular plant removes some harmful chemicals.
My team and I have tried these plants at our own building in Delhi, which is a 50,000-square-feet, 20-yearold building. And it has close to 1,200 such plants for 300 families. Our studies have found that there is a 42 percent probability of one's blood oxygen going up by one percent if one stays indoors in this building for 10 hours. Our experience also points to an amazing reduction in energy requirements in the building by an outstanding 15 percent. The government has published a study to show that this is the healthiest building in Delhi. And the study has also shown that, compared to other buildings, there is a reduced incidence of headaches by 24 percent.
In my opinion, these studies above are also important for the environment because the world’s energy requirements are expected to grow by 30 percent in the next decade. 40 percent of the world's energy is taken up by buildings currently, and 60 percent of the world's population will be living in buildings in cities with a population of over one million in the next 15 years. And there is a growing preference for living and working in air-conditioned places.
1. What is the function of the first paragraph?| A．To show the results of growing plants. | B．To give the reason for the author's studies. |
| C．To introduce the author's life. | D．To praise the author's doctor. |
| A．CO2. | B．Oxygen. | C．Money plant. | D．Mother-in-law's Tongue. |
| A．The building with the three plants is the healthiest in Delhi |
| B．The possibility of headaches reduces by 40 percent. |
| C．The energy requirements in the building drop by 42 percent. |
| D．People can stay in the building for only 10 hours. |
| A．Complex. | B．Boring. | C．Meaningful. | D．Useless. |
3 . Bamboo, the fast-growing grass plant common to Africa, Asia and Latin America, has been used for thousands of years to build houses, bridges, and scaffolding(脚手架).
In recent years, concerns about the unsustainability of building materials have caused a fresh look at “natural”construction. Research by the International Bamboo and Rattan Organization, INBAR, shows that bamboo can provide a low-carbon, renewable alternative to timber, steel and cement.
Since 2015, Bamboo U has welcomed more than 400 people through its doors.
| A．Nonetheless, not everyone can build their house with bamboo. |
| B．It’s important to develop an appreciation for the craft. |
| C．Bamboo can also be used to create something new. |
| D．One organization is fighting to change this understanding. |
| E．The plant stores more carbon than certain species of trees. |
| F．However, Bamboo U is giving a much-needed push to this old craft. |
| G．Architects have called it “green steel”. |
4 . Art museums are filled with centuries-old paintings with details of plants that today give us clues about evolution and breeding practices.
Exhibited at an art museum in New York City, The Harvesters created by Pieter Bruegel in 1565 shows farmers cutting wheat nearly as tall as they are. “Nowadays, if you walk through a wheat field, you basically see that wheat is about knee-height. The short wheat is essentially a consequence of breeding from the second half of the 20th century. ” said biologist Ive De Smet.
According to De Smet, wheat is just one example of how historical artwork can allow us to track the transformation of food crops over time. He teamed up with art historian David Vergauwen to seek similar kinds of artwork around the world.
Friends since childhood, their interest in plants in artwork began with a visit to a museum in Russia, where they noticed an odd-looking watermelon in an early-17th-century painting. A watermelon usually is believed to be dark red on the inside. But that one appeared to be pale and white. De Smet assumed the painter had done a poor job. But Vergauwen had a different idea. He says, “This is one of the best painters ever from that era. So, if he painted it like that, that’s the way it must have looked like. ”
Other paintings revealed that there were both red and white watermelons grown during the 17th century. The color is determined by a gene that controls the lycopene（番茄红素）. “There must have been some sort of genetic change preventing the accumulation of that color. Now, with all the genetic knowledge that we have from various plant species, we can look in more details how something comes about. ”
The team hopes to create an online research database of historical plant artwork. They call for contributions of art enthusiasts around the world via the social media. But they caution, the source paintings need to be realistic. “If you’re going to use, for example, Picasso’s paintings to try and understand how a pear looked like in the early 20th century, you might be misled. ” Indeed, such an attempt could be fruitless.
1. What can we learn about wheat from Paragraph 2?| A．It had no short variety before the 1950s. |
| B．It became shorter and shorter as it evolved. |
| C．It grew shorter as farmers’ heights changed. |
| D．It was about knee-height in the 17th century. |
| A．Their life-long friendship. | B．A white watermelon painting. |
| C．Their professional background. | D．An argument over the best painters. |
| A．To show the contributions of art enthusiasts. |
| B．To give an example of historical plant artwork. |
| C．To tell how a pear looked in the early 20th century. |
| D．To stress the importance of having realistic source painting. |
| A．Centuries-old paintings of plants. | B．Plants information revealed in old art. |
| C．The values of different works of art. | D．Popular objects in historic artworks. |
5 . As spring advances across the Midwest, a new study looking at blooming (盛开的) flowers suggests non-native plants might live longer than native plants due to climate change.
The study — led by researchers at Indiana University and Michigan State University — has shown warming temperatures affect native and non-native flowering plants differently, which could change the look of local landscapes (风景) over time. “When a plant flowers determines whether it will be pollinated (授粉) by bees or other insects and how much time it will have to produce seeds. Our data makes me worry that we will have a very weedy (杂草丛生的) world in our future.” said the study’s lead author Jen Lau, an associate professor in Indiana University.
The researchers’ findings suggest non-native plants may be better at shifting their flowering time compared to native plants. These differences are thought to influence a plant’s success both now and in future warmer environments.
Lau and her students simulated (模拟) global warming in fields planted with 45 native and non-native plants. Some areas were warmed by infrared (红外线的) heaters, while other areas were not. Lau’s lab surveyed all plants to determine when they first flowered and how long they flowered.
When plants were grown in warmed plots simulating the climate change expected in the Midwest by the end of the century, the researchers found that non-native plants flowered more than 11 days earlier on average. In contrast, native plants didn’t change flowering times at all when warmed.
They also found earlier-flowering non-native plants had greater geographic spread, suggesting that flowering earlier may help promote successful occupation across large areas.
The findings suggest important differences in how native and non-native plants respond to climate change.
1. What does the new study find about native plants compared with non-native?| A．They have a longer life cycle. |
| B．They are likely to have more flowers. |
| C．They are more adaptable to climate change. |
| D．They may be at greater risk from climate change. |
| A．She’s quite sure that a weedy world is waiting for us. |
| B．Plants may lose the ability to flower in the future. |
| C．The timing of a plant’s flowering is key to its life cycle. |
| D．A plant’s flowering time almost has no effect on its pollination. |
| A．Changing. | B．Postponing. |
| C．Arranging. | D．Predicting. |
| A．How global warming affected plant species |
| B．How the researchers tested their supposition. |
| C．How to keep the warmth of the planted fields. |
| D．How to determine the flowering times of plants. |
6 . Gardens come in all shapes and sizes.
One of the most important things to remember when planning a garden is to grow what you love. This way, you’ll be sure to enjoy the process. You can grow vegetables. If you don’t like vegetables, try fruits or flowers. You can grow a garden to feed yourself, your neighbors, and a family that’s going through a hard time.
Once you decide what type of garden you’d like to start, you’ll need to plan a few things before getting to work.
After you have the correct soil, choose your plants. Will you start with seeds or young plants? Growing from seeds is often less expensive. And it’s more satisfying, because you have a chance to watch the growth from seed to plant.
| A．Now you’re ready to plant your garden. |
| B．Starting a new one might seem challenging. |
| C．But growing from young plants is easier. |
| D．First, work out where your garden will lie. |
| E．You’ll be able to plant season after season and try to grow new things. |
| F．It will help you explore and understand the whole progress of these plants. |
| G．There are many different things you can grow and many different reasons to grow. |
7 . Students at Beijing’ s Yucai High School have to be very careful when playing football on the school’ s field. That’ s because there is a 100- year-old tree growing in the middle of it. And keeping their eye on the ball too much can result in a painful collision.
Building a football field around a tree sounds pretty stupid. But the school had no choice. It’ s reported that there are historic buildings all around Yucai High School, and this was the only space that could be used for a football field. Before starting working on the field, the school did ask to have the tree moved and planted somewhere else. However, they were told that it was hundreds of years old, and that it was a national treasure.
Having it moved and planted somewhere else was too risky—they might damage or kill the tree. So they were 1eft with no choice but to build the field around it.
Interestingly, Yucai High School is built on the grounds of Beijing’s Royal Gardens of the Ming and Qing dynasties. A reporter for the Beijing News believes that the strangely- located tree is the oldest tree in the Chinese capital. That information has not been checked, but other people think the tree is only 100 years old.
Playing a serious game of football on this field cannot be very pleasant. The tree could“catch” the ball and change its direction from time to time. But the students have no choice but to train on the playground with the tree. Luckily, they can play on a different field in competitions with other schools.
1. If students play football on the school field,________.| A．they might run into a tree | B．they will have a good chance of winning |
| C．they will fall down more often | D．they can control the ball all the time |
| A．Because the tree was as old as the school. |
| B．Because the school could only use that place. |
| C．Because students in the school liked the tree. |
| D．Because the tree had something to do with the city’s history. |
| A．Because there was no other place for the tree. |
| B．Because it may have been dangerous for the tree and it might have died. |
| C．Because the tree was too big to be moved. |
| D．Because it was more meaningful to keep the tree where it was. |
| A．It’s the oldest tree in the Chinese capital. |
| B．It was planted in Ming Dynasty. |
| C．Some believe it is only one-hundred years old. |
| D．Students will play on another field to protect it. |
8 . Contrary to the long-held belief that plants in the natural world are always in competition, new research has found that in severe environments adult plants help smaller ones and grow well as a result.
The research, led by Dr Rocio, studied adult and seedling (幼苗)plants in the ecological desert in the south-east of Spain. Dr Rocio said, “If you're a seedling in a poor land — the top of a mountain or a sand hill, for example-and you’re lucky enough to end up underneath a big plant, your chances of survival are certainly better than if you landed somewhere on your own. What we have found, which was surprising, is an established large plant, called a ‘nurse’, protects a seedling; it also produces more flowers than the same plants of similar large size growing on their own.”
Other benefits of nurse-seedling partnerships include that more variety of plants growing together can have a positive effect on the environment. For example, vegetation areas with nurse plants with more flowers might be able to attract higher numbers of pollinators(传粉者)in an area, in turn supporting insect and soil life and even provide a greater range of different fruit types for birds and other animals.
“The biggest winner for this system of nursing a plant is biodiversity(生物多样性),” Dr Rocio said. “The more biodiverse an area, the greater number of species of plants, insect life, mammals and birds, and the better the chances of long-term healthy functioning of the environment and ecosystems. ” This system is win-win for adult and seedling plants in unfavorable environments.
The research is of value to those who manage and protect plants in tough environments. Most home gardeners and farmers plan to ensure their soil and conditions are the best they can be for plant growth, but the findings might be of value to those who garden in bare places.
1. What is a common understanding of plants?| A．They can help each other. | B．They can survive ill conditions. |
| C．They compete with each other. | D．They grow well on their own. |
| A．They will produce more flowers. | B．They will die owing to competition. |
| C．They will make adult plants larger. | D．They will get support from adult plants. |
| A．It leads to unfavorable environments. |
| B．It produces long-term healthy chances. |
| C．It attracts higher and larger pollinators. |
| D．It provides a more variety of plant types. |
| A．People studying organic farming. |
| B．People protecting plants on sand hills. |
| C．People wanting to change biodiversity. |
| D．People keeping more animals on the farm. |
9 . Bamboo is the tallest member in the grass family. It is one of the fastest growing plants on earth, growing reportedly up to 98 inches in just 24 hours. Bamboo is mainly found in Asia, some parts of Africa and parts of the America in many different varieties. Over centuries bamboo has had a variety of uses like medicine, paper, construction, furniture, home decoration and musical instruments.
The use of bamboo as a construction material is not new and many countries have been using it to build homes for centuries. Bamboo’s unique and efficient natural design makes it a good building material.
Bamboo is very flexible and hence when it grows it can be defined to grow into specific shapes. Its shock absorption capacity (减震功能) makes it a great building material for earthquake- resistant houses. Bamboo houses can also stand a hurricane with wind speeds of up to 170 mph.
Bamboo is cheap and readily available in areas where it is cultivated. Transportation of bamboo is also cheaper than other materials.
The most important quality of bamboo is its environmentally friendly quality. It is renewable and bamboo forests can be grown in a few years. Its naturally smooth surface does not require painting, making it safe from health dangers caused by paint. Bamboo can be grown in a variety of climates and houses made of bamboo do not require use of other materials like concrete (混凝土), steel, etc. Pesticides (杀虫剂) and other chemicals need not be used while cultivating bamboo, making it more eco-friendly.
Bamboo also has certain drawbacks. For example, not all types of bamboo can be used for construction. Bamboo cannot be used to build the skyscrapers that we all love. Wet bamboo deteriorates (变坏) faster.
Despite all the drawbacks, the environmentally friendly features of bamboo make it a great building material. The few drawbacks that bamboo has can be mitigated with research and the use of bamboo as an alternative building material should be encouraged to make our earth greener.
1. Which is mentioned in the first paragraph?| A．The drawback of bamboo. | B．The varieties of bamboo. |
| C．The growing areas of bamboo. | D．The qualities of bamboo. |
| A．The qualities that bamboo has to make it a good building material. |
| B．The reasons why bamboo is an environmentally friendly building material. |
| C．The different uses of bamboo throughout history. |
| D．The great demand for bamboo in the world now. |
| A．Bamboo houses are dangerous in earth- quakes and hurricanes. |
| B．Bamboo can be used to build skyscrapers. |
| C．Bamboo is grown in all parts of the world. |
| D．Bamboo is cheaper to transport compared with other materials. |
| A．absorbed | B．allowed | C．reduced | D．ignored |
