The use of bamboo in science and technology is really exciting. In the Warring States period, Li Bing
Papermaking
In the Yuan dynasty, a man
2 . Digging out potato tubers (茎块) is one of the greatest rewards gardens have to offer. Children in particular are surprised at seeing these tubers that almost magically become chips, mash (泥) or baked potatoes.
Happily, potatoes are very easy to grow. Seed tubers are placed in good garden soil, ideally with some compost (堆肥) for every square meter, in a sunny spot, about 10cm deep at 30cm intervals in rows 60-70cm apart.
Seed tubers are offered as earliest and second earliest and maincrop. The second earliest and maincrops can be stored for winter use but earliest are usually consumed in summer.
Seasoned potato growers buy early seed potatoes in February and place them in a cool, reasonably light place and let them sprout (发芽). It takes six weeks for small sprouts to form.
Early potatoes are typically planted from middle March in the South, but are likely to emerge before the first season finishes in May. The shoots are frost-sensitive requiring protection on cod nights with either earth or newspapers.
Second early and maincrop potatoes are planted in middle April—the frost risk will be low, but not absent, by the time they emerge. As the stems (茎) grow, soil should be drawn around them until the leaves meet in the row in early summer. At this stage, the potato field is a series of ridges (脊，垄). The tubers form in the ridge, protected from light that turns them green. Covering with black plastic or a thick layer of compost is also accessible instead of ridging, but plastic is not sustainable and slugs (鼻涕虫) can multiply in compost.
Once the flowers are fully open, it is time to dig plants when the tubers are the size of a hen’s egg. They grow rapidly but gradually lose their juicy new potato flavour, so harvest freely.
1. What’s the writing purpose of paragraph 1?| A．To describe a magic process. |
| B．To recall a childhood memory. |
| C．To raise a potato-related topic. |
| D．To introduce a gardening award. |
| A．The closer the intervals are, the faster they will grow. |
| B．The warmer the weather is, the better they will grow. |
| C．The earlier they are planted, the healthier they will grow. |
| D．The deeper they are planted, the stronger they will grow. |
| A．Frost. | B．Plastic. | C．Ridges. | D．Slugs. |
| A．How to cook potatoes. | B．How to grow potatoes. |
| C．How to harvest potatoes. | D．How to preserve potatoes. |
3 . Looking for a big-leafed houseplant that will make a statement in your room and decorate yourhome? If so, then you’ve come to the right place!
Peace Lily
Extremely easy to look after, this popular, flowering plant is very tolerant and undemanding. It is a beloved houseplant for its large, glossy oval leaves and unusual white spoon-shaped flowers. Typically blooming in the spring, this lovely plant can effectively brighten up a living space.
African Mask Plant
This indoor plant is a smaller plant with large dark green leaves that are shaped like a heart. Native to tropical (热带的) parts of Africa, it prefers high heat and high humidity. That can be somewhat a tricky task for the average plant owner to achieve in their home, who is likely to have trouble duplicating (复制) these steamy conditions.
Snake plant
Commonly referred to as mother-in-law’s tongue, it is one of the easiest houseplants to take care of. With tall, twisting sword-shaped leaves that grow upright, it has air-purifying capabilities and can merrily grow in almost dark corners of the house. But the plant is poisonous to dogs and cats, so it’s wise to keep this plant away from them, if your pets are plant chewers.
Kentia Palm
Caring for the Kentia Palm plant is very straightforward, which can be neglected for weeks at a time. Quite enjoying a bit of shade, it has big leaves that grow from a narrow base and is great for filling a corner without taking up much floor-space. Place it in front of a blank wall, and its archingfronds (大型复叶) will cast beautiful shadows.
1. Which of the following requires an experienced plant owner?| A．Peace Lily. |
| B．African Mask Plant. |
| C．Snake plant. |
| D．Kentia Palm. |
| A．It poses little danger to dogs and cats. |
| B．It is better for purifying air than others. |
| C．It gets its name from a poisonous snake. |
| D．It grows well in shady areas of the house. |
| A．Distinctive leaves. |
| B．Flowering season. |
| C．Growth temperature. |
| D．Striking size. |
The Amazon rainforest is home to a great
5 . Imagine a plate holding two strawberries, similar in appearance. One came out of a supermarket box, meaning it was probably harvested before it is fully grown, immediately placed in a forced-air cooling unit, loaded onto a refrigerated truck and driven hundreds of miles. By the time it reached the plate two weeks may have passed. The other strawberry was picked from a garden minutes before being eaten.
The first one will probably not taste good as expected. The second is likely to be sweet; the flavor will remain in the mouth. Supermarket strawberries are not entirely without advantages: they are convenient and available even in winter. But the two berries differ from each other in the same way that hearing music in a concert hall differs from listening to an MP3. The home-grown fruit is an eatable case for planting a home garden.
Planting cool-weather greens can seem meaningless as well-stocked supermarket shelves are available all week. But the same could be said of cooking: cheap and good restaurants everywhere, so why bother to make your own meals?
That attitude fails to understand the basic appeal of gardening: it mistakes the product for the purpose. It is true that a garden can produce tomatoes and carrots that taste like themselves rather than the plastic they are usually packaged in. Finding some favorite vegetables in the shops can take some time, effort and expense; growing your own vegetables, rare or routine, ensures a reliable supply.
On the other hand, a garden, especially in the early years, can also produce frustration. Creative gardeners may plant the wrong crops for their soil. Little animals may have the habit of taking single bites of cucumbers, beans and tomatoes. And even expert gardeners can lose a season’s harvest to uncooperative weather.
No matter. The real joy of gardening is the time spent doing it. The deepest pleasure- -as with cooking, writing, bringing up children or almost anything worthwhile- -is in the work itself. A gardener’s memories center not around the food produced, but around long summer afternoons with hands in the dirt of a home garden, surrounded by family. To garden is to patiently and lovingly help life grow, in the ground and above it.
1. What might have caused the strawberries to taste different in paragraph 1?| A．Temperature. | B．Freshness. | C．Appearance. | D．Soil. |
| A．To promote supermarket strawberries. |
| B．To highlight the value of a home garden. |
| C．To stress the differences between them. |
| D．To provide suggestions on fruit shopping. |
| A．Regarding planting a garden as worthless. |
| B．Favoring what is grown in a home garden. |
| C．Enjoying food made by yourself at home. |
| D．Understanding what a garden is intended for. |
| A．Stores can never take the place of a garden. |
| B．Garden products are not for sale in the stores. |
| C．Gardens may fail to produce what you want. |
| D．Training is required for productive gardens. |
| A．Observe patiently how plants grow all summer. |
| B．Spend time taking care of a garden with family. |
| C．Make friends with gardeners in the neighborhood. |
| D．Labor lovingly to clean the dirt out of the garden. |
6 . If there is one thing that comes to mind when the words “South Pacific” are spoken, then it must be coconut palms (椰子树). Most of us have images of all attractive coconut palms lining sandy beaches. But the coconut tree is more than a central characteristic of picture postcards bought by tourists.
To people of the South Pacific, the coconut tree is also known as the “Tree of Life”. It gets this name because of the different kinds of products which the coconut palm provides from its various parts. From the leaves down to its roots, it plays a great part in the life of many island people. The coconut tree provides food, shelter, fuel as well as income from exports.
Coconut leaves produce good-quality paper pulp (纸浆), hats, wastebaskets and bags. Flesh (果肉) and water (often called the milk) from the young, green coconut can be taken as a healthy food and drink. It is also used in salads and other tasty dishes.
Coconut husks (外壳) it are often thrown away, but they can be used to produce different kinds of useful products such as ropes, fishing nets, and floor coverings.
Coconut water can be used in the production of wine and is also used to treat a number of medical problems.
The white coconut flesh is a good source of coconut oil, coconut chips, and feed for animals.
The trunk of the coconut tree is a strong and durable wood, which can be used to build houses.
Medicines and dyes (燃料) are obtained from the roots.
The English oak, the Lebanon cedar or the Australian gum tree all have a place in history but the coconut palm is the only true “Tree of Life”.
1. Why is the coconut palm called the “Tree of Life”?| A．It has a long lifetime. | B．It is mostly exported. |
| C．It has a vast range of uses. | D．It is necessary for islanders. |
| A．Leaves. | B．Flesh. | C．Husks. | D．Water. |
| A．long-lived. | B．wet. | C．flexible. | D．rough. |
| A．To introduce a useful type of plant. |
| B．To announce some new discoveries. |
| C．To tell readers about island people’s life. |
| D．To explain how to make full use of coconut leaves. |
7 . For many people, catching a smell of freshly cut grass is a pleasant sign that warmer weather is here to stay. For the grass, however, this scent signals an entirely different story.
The smell we associate with freshly cut grass is actually a chemical SOS, one used by plants to beg nearby creatures to save them from attack. After all, when danger strikes —whether it's gardening equipment or a hungry caterpillar — plants can't lift their roots and run. They must fight where they stand. To protect themselves, plants employ a string of molecular (分子) responses. These chemical communications can be used to poison an enemy, warn surrounding plants of dangers or attract helpful insects to perform needed services.
Clearly, plants can communicate. But does that mean they can feel pain? According to some researchers, plants release gases that are the equivalent of crying out in pain. Using a laser-powered microphone, researchers have picked up sound waves produced by plants releasing gases when cut or injured. Although not audible to the human ear, the secret voices of plants have revealed that cucumbers scream when they are sick, and flowers cry when their leaves are cut.
There's also evidence that plants can hear themselves being eaten. Researches show that plants understand and respond to chewing sounds made by caterpillars dining on them. As soon as the plants hear the noises, they respond with several defense mechanisms.
For some researchers, evidence of these complex communication systems — giving out noises via gas when in pain — signals that plants feel pain. Others argue that there cannot be pain without a brain to register the feeling. Still more scientists infer that plants can exhibit intelligent behavior without possessing a brain or conscious awareness.
As they grow, plants can change their paths to avoid obstacles or reach for support with their tendrils (卷须). This activity comes from a complex biological network distributed through the plants' roots, leaves and stems. This network helps plants reproduce, grow and survive.
1. What does the smell of freshly cut grass signal?| A．Warmer weather. | B．Being poisonous. |
| C．Cry for help. | D．The need of services. |
| A．By giving out gases. | B．By changing the color of their leaves. |
| C．By producing audible sound waves. | D．By sharing it through the root systems. |
| A．Their tendrils. | B．Their biological network. |
| C．Their communication systems. | D．Their conscious awareness. |
| A．Do plants feel pain? | B．How plants protect themselves? |
| C．Do plants communicate? | D．How plants grow and reproduce? |
8 . Our world is full of sounds. Sound is so essential to life and survival that it made Tel Aviv University researcher Lilach Hadany ask: What if it wasn't just animals that could sense sound—what if plants could, too?
“Sounds are a natural resource-one that plants would be wasting if they didn’t take advantage of it as animals do,”said Hadany. If plants had a way of hearing and responding to sound, she figured, it could help them survive and reproduce.
Hadany's team started their study by investigating flowers. Evening primrose（夜来香）, which grows wild on the beaches and in parks around Tel Aviv, emerged as a good candidate, since it has a long bloom time and produces measurable quantities of nectar（花蜜）.
To test the primroses in the lab, Hadany's team exposed plants to five sound treatments: silence, recordings of a honeybee from four inches away, and computer generated sounds in low, intermediate（中等的）, and high frequencies. Plants given the silent treatment had no significant increase in nectar sugar concentration. The same went for plants exposed to high-frequency（158 to 160 kilohertz）and intermediate-frequency（34 to 35 kilohertz）sounds.
But for plants exposed to playbacks of bee sounds（0.2 to 0.5 kilohertz）and similarly low-frequency sounds（0.05 to 1 kilohertz）, the final analysis revealed an unmistakable response. Within three minutes of exposure to these recordings, nectar sugar concentration in the plants increased by 20 percent.
A sweeter treat for pollinators（传粉者）, their theory goes, may draw in more insects, potentially increasing the chances of successful cross-pollination. Indeed, in field observations, researchers found that pollinators were more than nine times more common around plants another pollinator had visited within the previous six minutes.
“We were quite surprised when we found out that it actually worked.” said Hadany.“But after repeating it in other situations, in different seasons, and with plants grown both indoors and outdoors, we feel very confident in the result.”
1. Why did Hadany's team expose plants to sound treatments?| A．To see if they would respond to sound. |
| B．To develop their ability to receive sound. |
| C．To help them benefit from different sounds. |
| D．To detect the difference between plants and animals. |
| A．Flowers like primroses | B．Sounds like those of bees. |
| C．Visits from other pollinators. | D．Exposure to different sounds |
| A．Plants can identify different sounds. | B．Sound attracts more pollinators to flowers. |
| C．Plants produce nectar when pollinators come. | D．Sound plays an important role in insects’ survival. |
| A．It was doubtful. | B．It was unexpected. | C．It was acceptable | D．It was satisfactory. |
