1 . Plants and exposure to greenery have been found to have multiple mental health benefits, such as lowering stress, decreasing feelings of depression, increasing sociability, restoring focus, improving cognitive performance, improving mood, and increasing self-esteem.
Gardening and care for plants can help to turn people away from negative thoughts or emotions. So with all that, what do these experts recommend as the best plant?
Snake plant. It’s very easy to care for, thrives in spaces with low sunlight, has visual appeal, and cleans the air, and they are drought resistant if you forget to water them.
Spider plants. Spider plants, with plenty of light-green leaves, are another low-maintenance selection.When a spider plant thrives, it will grow new offshoots that can be clipped and potted as a new plant.
Aloe Vera. Drought-resistant and easy to grow. Aloe Vera is low-maintenance, you can just water it monthly, and it helps clean the airspace and is helpful for burns, cuts, and scrapes to help injuries heal faster or soothe pain.
Lavender is well-known for its relaxing scent, and it has a calming effect, aids in reducing stress, promotes sleep.This means it’s great both in the garden, or clipped and dried in a bowl inside your space .
Basil is a summertime herb that loves the sun. Not only is it delicious in meals, but eating basil has health benefits, too. It has properties which help to relieve stress and anxiety.
Lemon balm. This fragrant green herb is part of the mint family and is simple to cultivate. Known for its calming properties, it has a light lemony scent that can be wonderfully intensified by rubbing the leaves between your fingers. It has been used to improve sleep, reduce stress and anxiety, improve appetite, and help with indigestion.
1. What can we know from the passage?| A．Spider plants will still survive if you forget to water them. |
| B．Lavender is recognized for its mint scent and calming effects. |
| C．Snake plants grow well in spaces without enough sunlight. |
| D．Basil is not edible but has some valuable properties. |
| A．They need little water. | B．They appeal to the eye. |
| C．They help us calm down. | D．They enhance health. |
| A．Two | B．Three | C．Four | D．Five |
1. What is the main topic of the talk?
| A．Crop harvest. | B．Hot weather. | C．Food quality. |
| A．The same as last year. |
| B．Twice as much as last year. |
| C．Three times as much as last year. |
| A．Apples. | B．Peaches. | C．Oranges. |
| A．Profits are lower. |
| B．Quality is lower. |
| C．Prices are lower. |
3 . Trees are able to defend themselves against diseases. They have both protective structures and protective processes. Thanks in large part to research done by Dr. Alex Shigo, we now know a great deal more about the way trees protect themselves than we did 50 years ago.
Just as our skin keeps harmful bacteria on the outside, bark (树皮) keeps out tree diseases. Since they can’t move around to avoid dangers, trees need thicker “skin” than we do. Living and non-living tissues protect tree trunks, roots, and branches from mechanical injury, drying out, and diseases.
But when something destroys this first line of defense — tears through the bark — what happens internally is interesting. When an injury occurs, a tree will transform some of its stored sugars to make masses of defensive chemicals, which are then distributed in a specific pattern internally around the wound. Dr. Shigo was the first to document this pattern, which he called CODIT — Compartmentalization (分室化) of Decay (腐烂) in Trees.
In making these CODIT compartments, trees form chemical walls to protect themselves from infection. The success of this walling-off process depends a lot on the species. Hard maple, for instance, can generate a strong CODIT response while species like soft maple achieve only an average level. Some, on the other hand, barely manage to form any chemical walls.
Overall tree vitality is another important factor. Even a hard maple may not be able to form strong chemical walls if it’s in a weak state. By definition, landscape trees are stressed as compared to their forest-living cousins. A street tree is worse off, faced with limited root space, air pollution, and more. The size of the injury also makes a difference. Even a healthy tree can have its defenses destroyed by a large wound.
Humans can help maximize trees’ defense capability by watering during dry seasons, keeping things out of the root zone, etc. In return, trees will help keep us in good health by offering shade, beauty, and companionship.
1. What will happen first if diseases come close to trees?| A．Infection will occur internally. | B．Bark will provide protection |
| C．Chemical walls will take effect. | D．Defense chemicals will be formed. |
| A．Groundbreaking. | B．Conservative. | C．Ambiguous. | D．Straightforward. |
| A．Trees can form chemical walls |
| B．The size of the injury affects CODIT. |
| C．Trees cannot protect themselves if weakened. |
| D．The effectiveness of CODIT varies among species. |
| A．The gift of the trees. | B．The magic of CODIT. |
| C．The function of the bark. | D．The self-preservation of the trees. |
4 . Plenty of studies have investigated how climate change could be harmful to the production of coffee bean crops, with research released in 2019 suggesting that 60 percent of known coffee species could be in danger of going extinct. But a new scientific review has attempted to focus specifically on how global warming might affect the taste and smell of coffee. Bad news is that not only could the coffee of the future be harder to come by, it could taste bad, too.
“A low-quality cup of coffee has economic influences as well as sensory(感官的)ones,” Sean Cash, professor at Tults’ Friedman Nutrition Science explained. “If we can understand the science of these changes, we might help farmers better manage coffee production in the face of this and future challenges.”
Specifically, researchers identified two factors that had the most consistent association with quality: higher altitude produced coffee with better taste and smell; and too much sunlight led to decreased quality.
That first factor could be significantly affected by global warming. “Higher altitudes are connected with cooler temperatures. It results in slower ripening(成熟), long-time fruit-fill, and higher accumulation(积累)of taste and smell,” the paper states. “What may happen to coffee quality at higher altitudes with increased temperature linked to climate change? And we need to know climate adaptation is needed for coffee agricultural systems at all altitudes.
On the other hand, reducing sunlight exposure(暴露)is easier to deal with. “While light exposure is shifting with climate change, this can be controlled in coffee agricultural systems. Through shade management including developing shade-grown coffee systems with best levels of coverage, the paper continued. Shade management is a relatively easily reached climate adaptation strategy compared to relocating farms.”
Still, the study's biggest takeaway was the more work needs to be done to ensure our coffee tastes. “This systematic review highlights that coffee quality is sensitive to climate change and climate adaptation,” the conclusion stated. “Given the sensitivity of coffee quality to environmental change, evidence-based innovations are called for to enhance the sustainable development of the coffee industry in the context of global change.”
1. What is the purpose of the new study?| A．To find ways to stop the global warming. | B．To prevent the coffee from going extinct. |
| C．To help farmers increase the products of coffee. | D．To help farmers improve the quality of coffee crop. |
| A．It helps the coffee grow fast. | B．It offers coffee enough sunlight. |
| C．It offers coffee enough time to ripe. | D．It is easier for farmers to take care of coffee crop. |
| A．To relocate coffee farms. | B．To develop effective shade systems. |
| C．To grow coffee crops in higher altitude farms. | D．To make the coffee adapt to the climate change. |
| A．The future of coffee crops. | B．What affects coffee production |
| C．Climate change affects coffee quality | D．The challenges coffee crops are facing |
5 . In south Africa’s Limpopo province, a baobab tree (猴面包树) once grew so large and stood so strong that its human neighbors decided to build a pub inside the living tree’s thousand-year-old hollow trunk(树干). For 20 years, “The Big Baobab Pub” attracted tourists all over the world. But in August 2016, one of “the walls” broke. Eight months later, another huge piece broke, too. Now, five of the giant stems have collapsed and died, leaving only half of the tree standing.
Though it could sound like a result of human visitation, it's part of an alarming trend: many of the oldest, largest baobab trees in Africa have died within the last 12 years.
Stephan Woodbourne, an African scientist, said: “Of the oldest trees that we’ve looked at in Southern Africa, the three trees that are older than 2,000 years have all died in the past 10 years. Of the 11 trees that are 1,000 to 2,000 years old, six of them have died.”
A report published in the journal Nature Plants claims scores of the ancient baobab trees, some of which are up to 3,000 years old, are now dying because of rising global temperatures.
Researchers believe it is impossible that such a high number of old baobab trees die in such a short time due to natural causes. They think it may be associated with huge change of climate conditions that affect southern Africa in particular.
1. What has happened to The Big Baobab Pub?| A．The pub has largely been destroyed. |
| B．More tourists from the world visit it. |
| C．The pub has a long history of 2,000 years. |
| D．The Baobab Tree grows larger and stronger. |
| A．all the oldest baobab trees have been dead |
| B．the oldest baobab trees will die out soon |
| C．ancient baobab trees are in the face of danger |
| D．Human’s visits lead to ancient baobab trees’ deaths |
| A．Many pubs’ foundation. | B．Global climate changes. |
| C．Human visitation. | D．Natural causes. |
| A．Research on Baobab Tree. | B．Facts about Baobab Tree. |
| C．Baobab Tree in Africa. | D．Tree of Life is Dying. |
6 . The Bridegroom's Oak, a 500-year-old tree just outside of Eutin, in Germany, has its own postal address and receives around 40 letters every day. They're sent by love seekers from around the world, in the hope that someone will read them and write back.
With so many dating apps and services available nowadays, sending letters to a tree hardly sounds like the best way to find love. However, there's something charming about sending a letter and allowing fate (命运) to work its magic, so the Bridegroom's Oak remains popular even now.
In 1890, a local girl named Minna fell in love with a young chocolate maker named Wilhelm, but her father didn't allow her to see the boy. Instead of giving up on each other, the two started exchanging love letters secretly, by leaving them in a knothole (节孔) of an oak tree. After about one year, Minna's father found out about their continued relationship, but instead of punishing them, he gave them permission to marry. The two lovers got married on June 2, 1891, under the oak tree that helped keep their romance (罗曼史) alive.
The couple's story spread around Eutin, and soon, people unable to find love started writing romantic letters and leaving them in the tree's knothole. By 1927, it was already known as Bridegroom's Oak and was so popular that it had its own address and postal code, allowing people from all over Germany and even abroad to send in their letters.
Love seekers visiting the Bridegroom's Oak need respect only one simple rule. They can check all the letters in its knothole, and take with them the one they wish to reply to, but they have to put the others back for other people to find.
So far the Bridegroom's Oak has been responsible for at least 100 marriages and many other romantic relationships.
1. What's the Bridegroom's Oak popular for?| A．Its long life. |
| B．Its special function. |
| C．Its good position. |
| D．Its rare species. |
| A．The best way to find love a century ago. |
| B．What sufferings the two lovers experienced. |
| C．How the two lovers kept their romance alive. |
| D．The love story behind the Bridegroom's Oak. |
| A．Reply to all the letters in its knothole. |
| B．Read each letter in its knothole. |
| C．Put their name at the top of each letter. |
| D．Take as many letters away as they like. |
| A．Writing to the Bridegroom's Oak does work. |
| B．Germany needs dating apps and services. |
| C．Germans hold a firm belief in fate. |
| D．Foreigners have little idea of the Bridegroom's Oak. |
