1 . Why wouldn’t scientists want to try and save the world’s largest flower, especially when it, Rafflesia, is their country’s national flower? However, when you add to the fact that the world’s largest flower is also the world’s smelliest, then suddenly the “panda of the plant world” begins to look more like a headache.

Sofi Mursidawati, a PhD in agriculture at the Bogor Botanical Gardens on the island of Java, is one of the world’s leading experts on this strange flower, and her efforts to build a body of knowledge that will allow for the creation of the flower into the future could save it from extinction. Rafflesia has no leaves, roots, or stems, but rather only one giant, one-meter-long, 20-pound bloom that smells like rotting meat. Found only in the rainforests of Sumatra and Borneo, its artificial creation in the face of habitat loss is a problem.

With seeds the size of grains, pollinated flowers infect a kind of vines(葬本植物) called Tetrastygma, before slowly growing over many months into an enormous cabbage一sized bulb. The curiosities don’t end there. In fact, it barely qualifies as a plant. It branched away from having genetics that code for photosynthesis(光合作用) millions of years ago, and relies entirely upon its host —the vines for energy.

Just as it’s difficult to get pandas to breed, Rafflesia is a pain in the neck, as the blooms last only a week. After collecting Rafflesia seeds, and a variety of Tetrastygma vines, it took Mursidawati four years to welcome the first smelly flower into the Bogor Botanical Gardens. A decade later, the work was still slow going. However, the creation is doing one thing very well：creating specimens(样本) to send to botanic gardens around the world, creating what will likely be the strange flower’s greatest chance for survival.

1. What does the author think of creating Rafflesia?

A．Meaningless.

B．Simple.

C．Attractive.

D．Challenging.

2. What can we learn from paragraph 2?

A．Rafflesia is different from common plants.

B．It’s a problem for Rafflesin to live in the rainforests.

C．Rafflesia has already been saved from extinction.

D．Soli Mursidawati has created Rafflesia successfully.

3. Where does Rafflesia get its energy?

A．From the sun.

B．From its host.

C．From the earth.

D．From the air.

4. Which of the following is a suitable title for the text?

A．The World’s Largest Flower Is Endangered.

B．Raflesin Becomes World’s Largest Flower.

C．Woman Scientist Creates Various Flowers.

D．Woman Scientist Races to Save World’s Largest and Smelliest Flower.