1 . Last year, brilliant’ botanists from Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, discovered, identified and named 114 spectacular new species of plants and fungi (真菌) from around the world. Let’s find out more about some of Kew’s most wonderful new finds.

ROYAL MUSHROOM

NAME: Queen’s hedgehog fungus

FROM: Surrey, England

Named after the late Queen Elizabeth II, this rare fungus was found in an ancient forest in White Down, Surrey. According to the scientists who discovered it, the soft, white needles under the fungus’15cm-wide cap look like hedgehogs’ needles — giving it the second part of its name. Cool!

WORLD’S STRANGEST DAFFODIL

NAME: Sternbergia mishustinii

FROM: Turkey

The flowers of this rare species are bright yellow, but they’re only 2cm long and don't open up into a visible flower. Just 300 of these plants have been discovered, secret to hide them from illegal plant collectors.

RECORD-BREAKING WATERLILY

NAME: Giant Bolivian waterlily

FROM: Bolivia. South America

Check out this huge waterlily — its 3m wide leaves are big enough for a kid to float on! The big species has just won three Guinness World Records for largest waterlily, largest waterlily leaf and largest undivided leaf. And get this — although the giant plant was only named last year, a dried sample has been kept in Kew’s own Herbarium since 1845! Botanists had thought it was a similar, related species. Thankfully, the case of mistaken identity is all cleared up now. Unbe-leaf-able!

1. What’s Queen’s hedgehog fungus like?

A．It has yellow flowers.	B．It’s native to England.
C．It looks like hedgehogs.	D．It’s critically endangered.

2. What Guinness record does Giant Bolivian waterlily hold?

A．The oldest fungi.	B．The biggest leaves.
C．The fastest growing plant.	D．The largest waterlily species

3. Where is the passage most likely to have been taken from?

A．A botanical magazine.	B．A geographic textbook.
C．A historical document.	D．Guinness World Records.

2 . The world loves a cup of tea. It only takes a few grams to make a cup of tea and millions of tons of tea are consumed every year. Tea can be good for you because it contains some things that help lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Tea also contains caffeine(咖啡因), which improves not only mental alertness but can also increase anxiety and cause other problems.

What would be agreeable is a tea plant that provides all the taste and goodness but with little or none of caffeine. Chen Liang and Jin Jiqiang in the Tea Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences think they have found just such a plant, growing wild in a remote area in southern China’s Fujian Province. Known locally as hongyacha, the discovered plant grows only between 700 meters and 1,000 meters above sea level around a handful of Chinese villages. As they report in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, not only is the tea plant naturally caffeine-free but it also contains a number of unique medicinal compounds that, the locals believe, offer considerable health benefits.

The researchers are now exploring methods to protect hongyacha in its natural habitat while further studies are carried out. It can take time—and sometimes it does not work—for new plant varieties to be bred for commercial use. A pair of naturally caffeine-free coffee plants were discovered in 2003, but little progress has been reported. Tea lovers will be watching hongyacha with interest. And others will wonder what else is out there.

1. What’s the disadvantage of drinking tea according to paragraph 1?

A．It can make people hard to sleep.	B．It can make people feel anxious.
C．It can get people addicted.	D．It can take people much time.

2. What can we learn about hongyacha in paragraph 2?

A．It is nothing but just medicine.	B．It can only survive in greenhouses.
C．It is a good pick for caffeine lovers.	D．It has a good taste and little caffeine.

3. What might the follow-up study focus on about hongyacha?

A．Its future location.	B．Its natural habitats.
C．Its future market.	D．Its production process.

4. Where is the text probably taken from?

A．A health magazine.	B．An advertising brochure.
C．A travel guidebook.	D．A newspaper.

3 . With spring around the corner, stores are offering gardeners many choices for seeds. Starting a garden from seeds, rather than buying young plants, is a low-cost way to enjoy many kinds of flowers and food crops.

    1     Everything the plant needs to start growing is in the seed. All you have to do is put it into soil that is a little wet and not let the soil dry out while the seed does its own job. If there are any special requirements, they are usually printed in the simple directions on the back of every seed container.

Planting big seeds is simple.     2     Put the tip of a pencil in water and then use it to pick up each seed. It will hold one seed as you put it into its starting container.

When choosing containers to start plants, you can use any old plastic containers, newspapers or cardboards.     3     But remember to put drainage (排水) holes in each one. If you do not add holes, water can build up in the bottom and cause the seeds to rot.

Gardeners are reminded to be aware that it would be a shame to grow something in a container and then forget what it is called.     4    

And it is never too early to think about the next growing season. Once you have established plants in your garden, consider letting some “go to seed.”     5     That way you will have your own seeds for next year’s garden, and you will not have to buy them at all.

A．As a matter of fact, starting seeds is easy.

B．In fact, choosing the right seeds is important.

C．You can also use egg containers or anything that is available.

D．You can keep the containers inside your house or under a shelter.

E．This means you are growing them for their seeds, not for crops.

F．But very small seeds, like celery seeds, need a little equipment.

G．Write the names of the seeds on the containers to help you remember.

4 . In recent years, scientists have discovered that mushrooms are much more than just a tasty addition to your favorite dish. In fact, they are the “Internet of trees” — a vast network of underground mycorrhizal (菌根的) fungi (真菌) that connects trees and other plants in a similar way to how the Internet connects people.

The mycorrhizal network is made up of hyphae (菌丝),which connect the roots of different plants and trees. These hyphae act like an underground internet, allowing plants to exchange nutrients, water, and even hormones (激素). For example, if one tree is under stress due to drought or disease, it can send out hormones to warn other nearby trees of the danger. The other trees can then prepare themselves for the coming threat.

Human beings can help trees and mushrooms by practicing “mycorestoration” in regenerative projects. With the Global Tree Initiative working towards reforestation and preserving natural habitats, it is important to share how mycorestoration can supply innovative ways to mitigate the impact of human activities.

Fungi are natural decomposers (分解器) that break down complex organic matter, like dead trees, into simpler compounds that can be absorbed by plants. This decomposition process is crucial for the health of our forests, as it contributes to nutrient cycling, soil formation, and carbon sequestration. By introducing native fungi species into areas where deforestation has occurred, we can help regenerate soil and support the growth of new trees. Fungi form symbiotic (共生的) relationships with tree roots, improving their ability to absorb water and nutrients. This increased access to resources accelerates tree growth and improves their resilience to stress, such as drought or disease.

Fostering sustainable communities through mycorestoration can be conducted through global partnerships that promote ecology within Ecovillage Design Education. The Global Ecovillage Network’s presence in five continents and in over 8,000 communities around the planet, helps the regenerative approach to community building and preservation of existing forests. By promoting sustainable land management practices and reducing our reliance on extractive industries, ecovillages can help prevent deforestation and protect the habitats of countless plant and animal species.

1. The “Internet of trees” can function as ________.

A．A linker of hormones.	B．A warning of danger.
C．A detector of diseases.	D．A destroyer of nutrients.

2. What does the underlined word “mitigate” mean?

A．Assess.

B．Increase.

C．Relieve.

D．Underestimate.

3. How do fungi help restore deforestation?

A．They produce more water and nutrients.

B．They help form complex plant-friendly compounds.

C．They accelerate the process of carbon sequestration.

D．They help with soil regeneration and tree growth.

4. What can be achieved through the Global Ecovillage Network?

A．Promoting ecological education.

B．Preserving existing forests.

C．Building independent communities.

D．Reducing reliance on industries.

5 . High-resolution (高分辨率) satellite imagery has been used to map every single tree in Africa, showing a technique that could help improve the monitoring of deforestation (森林砍伐) across the world. Florian Reiner at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, and his colleagues used images from sate lies to map canopy (树冠) across the entire African continent.

Modern sate lies usually catch tree canopies at a resolution of 30 meters — fine for measuring the size of forests, but less good at mapping individual trees. The satellite data Reiner and his colleagues used had a resolution of 3 meters, enabling the study to map all trees, including those not part of a forest.

The results suggest that 30 percent of all trees in Africa aren’t in a forest and instead are across farmland, savannah and urban areas. “Many countries in Africa lack thick forests, but have a lot of trees.” says Reiner. “These trees are extremely important to the local ecosystems, the people and the economy. By tracking every single tree, researchers can start to monitor how these trees are coping with climate change or whether they are sensitive to deforestation.” It could also improve the monitoring of reforestation efforts, which are growing in popularity as a way of removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

“At a local level, being able to consistently monitor when and where trees are disappearing or reappearing can lead to more actionable insights,” says John Francis at the Alan Turing Institute in London.

“The study is a proof of concept rather than a map ready for immediate commercial use,” says Reiner. “It’s research work. It’s showing what could be done,” he says. But he is already working with colleagues to scale up the tracking approach to cover the entire global canopy: “We’re hoping that this will be seen as a way forward in monitoring tree resources.”

1. Why is high-resolution satellite imagery used to map every single tree?

A．To know the exact height of the tree.

B．To have a clear picture of the canopy.

C．To help monitor the deforestation.

D．To improve the satellite technology.

2. What is John Francis’ attitude towards the map?

A．Doubtful.

B．Disapproving.

C．Indifferent.

D．Favorable.

3. What do Reiner and his colleagues expect to do?

A．Protect the trees only in Africa.

B．Put the map into commercial use.

C．Track the entire global canopy.

D．Improve the imagery technology.

4. What is probably the best title?

A．Ways to Measure the Size of Forests in Africa

B．Coping with Climate Change by Tracking Every Single Tree

C．A Map from the Satellite Ready for Immediate Commercial Use

D．High-resolution Satellite Imagery Used in Monitoring Deforestation

6 . It has long been known that plants communicate when they are stressed. You need only observe a houseplant to realize that a plant wilts (枯萎) when it needs water. Some plants may also emit a terrible taste to prevent some insects from hurting them.

Now, a new study that was conducted by researchers at Tel Aviv University, shows that not only do plants express themselves in the above ways when stressed, they also make sounds, like talking.

According to the researchers, plants make sounds at frequencies (频率) between 40 to 80 KHZ — out of the range of human ears — but within the range of some animals. “Bats make sounds in these ranges all the time, and mice, dogs and cats can partially hear within it,” Dr. Lilach Hadany, a Professor at Tel Aviv University, and one of the authors of the study said.

One of the primary breakthroughs (突破) of Hadany’s study is that the researchers have managed to understand and classify the sounds that plants make for the first time. Plants that are not stressed make about one noise per hour, but plants that are stressed or injured make many hundreds of sounds per hour. And each of these sounds seemed to be specific to the type of stress the plant was under.

This type of information could be important for agriculture. Knowing what sounds their plants are making could help farmers determine whether their crops are in danger of drought or disease and allow them to make the necessary changes to help their plants.

Amazingly enough, the researchers are not actually sure how the plants make sounds. But anyway, the discovery 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.

1. What does the underlined word “emit” in Paragraph 1 probably mean?

A．Give off.	B．Add to.
C．Clear up.	D．Take in.

2. Which of the following is most likely to hear plants talk?

A．Humans.	B．Bats.
C．Mice.	D．Dogs.

3. What is the breakthrough of Hadany’s study?

A．They’ve found plants can communicate with each other.

B．They’ve used plants’ sounds to improve agriculture.

C．They can understand and classify plants’ sounds.

D．They’ve discovered how plants make sounds.

4. What can be a best title for the text?

A．Scientists Discover the Language of Plants

B．Animals Understand Plants’ Language

C．Plants Communicate in Various Ways

D．Stress Makes Plants Talk

7 . 阅读下面短文, 在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

The ginkgo (银杏) tree is thought to be one of the oldest living trees,     1     (date) back to more than 290 million years ago. It is native     2     China, Japan and Korea, but it is also now grown in Europe and the United States. The earliest records of ginkgoes are found in Chinese herbology literature such as Compendium of Materia Medica.

Ginkgoes are large trees,     3     (normal) reaching a height of 20 — 35 meters, with some in China being over 50 meters. The adult tree has a large crown and long branches, and it is usually deep-rooted and resistant to wind and snow damage. With a combination of     4     (resistant) to diseases and insects, some of the trees     5     (claim) to be more than 2,500 years old.

With fan-shaped leaves, ginkgoes are green both on the top and bottom. But during autumn, they turn bright yellow and then fall, which make up     6     beautiful scene. Ginkgoes come in two sexes, with some trees being female     7     others male. The fruit has a soft, fleshy and yellow-brown outer layer     8     is attractive in appearance.

Because ginkgoes     9     (be) around for so long, people have used them for many purposes. It’s commonly used for memory and thought problems, vision problems and many other conditions, but there is no good scientific evidence     10     (support) most of these uses.

8 . Gene-editing has created a generation of musical crops. It has been known for some time that plants can talk to one another.

Many communicate chemically, both through the air and via their root s— warning each other, for example, of the arrival of herbivorous (食草的) insects in order to co-ordinate their responses to these pests. Those responses are also often a form of communication, namely a further release of chemicals that recruit predators and parasites (捕食者和寄生虫) of said herbivores. These then solve their summoners’(召唤者) problems by having lunch.

Plants’ interactions with sound are less well understood, though it is known that flowers such as evening primroses (月见草) can detect the buzzing of bees and respond by producing sweeter nectar(蜜汁). Moreover, a paper published in this week's Cell, by Lilach Hadany of Tel-Aviv University and her colleagues, describes how plants make noises when they are stressed by drought or physical damage.

Dr Hadany and her team do not yet know whether other plants are listening, but suspect that they might be. None of this is news, however, to Paolo Fril, CEO and chief scientist of the Gene Duplication Corporation (GeneDupe), a biotechnology firm in San Melito, California. Observing that gardeners and greenhouse owners, from Britain’s new king, Charles III, downwards, often talk to their plants, and sometimes even play them music, he and his team have been investigating plants’ aural (听觉) and oral activities for several years, and are now adjusting them using crispr-Cas9 gene-editing technology.

The plan is to create a range of products which Dr Fril hopes will please his firm’s shareholders — which he needs to do after an awkward run-in the company had a few years ago with some animal-rights activists over its previous product, Print-a-pet.

1. How do plants convey information?

A．Through their leaves.

B．Through their branches.

C．Through the soil.

D．Through the chemicals they release.

2. Which statement is true?

A．The release of the chemicals can also help to protect the plants themselves.

B．The example of evening primroses proves crops’ hearing has been well understood

C．Herbivores can be killed directly by the chemicals

D．Lilach Hadany wrote a paper alone.

3. From paragraph 4 we can learn that___________.

A．Dr Hadany has known that all the plants can hear

B．Britain's new king, Charles III, joined in the research

C．that plants can sense sound is not a new story for Dr Fril

D．Dr Hadany is considering using crispr-Cas9 gene-editing technology

4. Why did Dr Fril decide to do the research?

A．To set up his reputation as a scientist.

B．To make the company’s shareholders happy.

C．To produce a special product to make money.

D．To help Tel-Aviv University research the hearing of the plants.

9 . Wildfire season has begun in many places around the world. The dangerous smoke wildfires produce can spread far and wide. It blocks sunlight, poisons the air and damages the health of people and other living things.

Some of those living things could be the plants in gardens, says gardening expert Jessica Damiano, who writes gardening stories for the Associated Press. Damiano lives in New York City and recently experienced several days of very smoky air. Wildfires in eastern Canada were the source.

Damiano, like other people, limited the time she spent outdoors when the air quality was poor. She also wore a face covering when she had to go outside.

But the plants in her garden had no such escape. They had to breathe the poisoned air through the extremely small holes in their leaves.

Pollutants in smoke landing on plants can block sunlight, which is essential for photosynthesis (光合作用). Reduced photosynthesis results in reduced energy. That means slower growth. Additionally, smoke can also affect a plant’s ability to take in nutrients(营养物质).

Brooke Edmunds, a plant scientist and community horticulturalist with Oregon State University Extension, said plants that are affected by smoke for a short amount of time will usually recover quickly. “It depends on how close they are,” she said. “There could also be a localized effect, where one garden is covered in ash(灰烬), and a half-mile away, there’s nothing because that’s the way the wind was moving things around.”

The best thing home gardeners can do is keep an eye on plants. Edmunds suggests giving plants some extra love and care. “Wash the plants gently to remove pollutants left by smoke. Then give them a long, slow drink of water. Most will pull through,” Edmunds said. However, people should not use leaf blower machines to remove ashes from plants because they will risk breathing in what is blowing around.

1. What happened to Jessica Damiano?

A．She had her house burned in a fire.

B．She couldn’t afford face coverings.

C．She suffered from health problems.

D．She had to deal with poor air quality.

2. What is paragraph 5 mainly about?

A．The bad effects of smoke on plants.

B．The benefits of growing plants.

C．The role of plants in the environment.

D．The importance of water to plants.

3. What can we learn from Brooke Edmunds’s words?

A．Wind has little effect on plants.

B．Plants can sometimes make a quick recovery.

C．Ashes can spread more than half a mile.

D．Plants close to smoke usually grow well.

4. How should people protect plants affected by smoke?

A．By pulling them out of the ground.

B．By using leaf blower machines.

C．By washing them with great care.

D．By giving them a fast drink of water.

10 . One New Year’s Day, ecologist Rob Wolton came up with an unusual resolution—to spend the next 12 months studying a hedge(树篱) 40 metres from his house in the middle of Devon. He wanted to make a list of every plant, animal and fungus(真菌)that used it. After a year of observations he had found 2, 000 species—far more than he imagined. Wolton says he enjoyed it hugely and his findings contribute to the growing body of evidence that hedges should not be overlooked.

“There is increasing recognition that much of the wildlife finds shelter in the hedges. But they’re much more than just wildlife passages—they are really important as habitats in their own right,” he says. The European commission’s Joint Research Centre recently argued that as the climate crisis worsens, hedges are expected to play more roles as they move in response to environmental change. Their deep roots help sequester carbon(固碳), and they also reduce the likelihood of flooding downstream, suck nutrients and pollutants out of water, and prevent soil loss. Alongside these functions, there is a cultural benefit to hedges too—I think lots of us who live in England think of the hedge landscape as being quite typical, says Wolton.

After the Second World War many hedges were removed to create more productive land. Only about one in three hedges in England are in good condition, according to the most recent research done in 2017.

The main issues are hedges being cut too severely and too frequently, which leads to loss of wildlife and gaps. A squirrel, for example, will turnaround if there is a gap of five metres. New hedges are being planted with single species, instead of many, which decrease the wildlife they can support.

It’s hard to say if interest in hedges will translate into action on a national scale，and much depends on what landscape features Environmental Land Management scheme.

1. What is the significance of Wolton’s study of the hedge?

A．It makes Wolton’s resolution come true.

B．It shows Wolton’s fondness of the hedge.

C．It indicates the important role of the hedge.

D．It points out the number of animals and plants.

2. What does Paragraph 2 mainly talk about?

A．Hedges provide home for wildlife.

B．Hedges are used to fight climate crisis.

C．Hedges area typical symbol of England.

D．Hedges have advantages in different aspects.

3. Why does the author mention “A squirrel” in Paragraph 4?

A．To show the diversity of wildlife in hedges.

B．To explain the bad effect of gaps in hedges.

C．To call for more species of plants in hedges.

D．To present what the loss of wildlife is like.

4. What can we infer from the last paragraph?

A．The favorable policy on hedges is undecided.

B．Public attention in hedges will be intensified.

C．A national scale protection is soon underway.

D．Environmental Land Management will fund hedges.