1 . 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。

With high yield and superior quality, Chinese hybrid rice varieties have been introduced around the world,     1     (benefit) more people. The export of China’s hybrid rice technology started many years ago. In 1979, China provided hybrid rice seeds to another country for the first time, and 40 years later, in     2     (real), China’s hybrid rice has been planted in dozens of countries in the world.

In the past 40 years, Chinese scientists     3     (devote) to providing assistance to many other countries. China has trained more than 14,000 hybrid rice professionals for more than 80 developing countries through international training courses. This technology has spread     4     more and more places in the world so far.

Yuan Longping,     5     cultivated the world’s first high-yield hybrid rice strain not only earned respect from Chinese people but also the global community. His hybrid rice research has been     6     (entire) saving millions of people from hunger. Yuan’s dream was     7     (solve) the global food shortage and promote hybrid rice around the world. China has achieved     8     great wonder, feeding nearly one fifth of the world’s population with less than nine percent of the world’s total land. And China is     9     (will) to contribute to global food security and calls for joint efforts to end global hunger and poverty.

It     10     (believe) that Yuan’s dream will come true one day.

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.

2. What can we learn about seed tubers?

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.

3. What helps potatoes grow in the long term?

A．Frost.

B．Plastic.

C．Ridges.

D．Slugs.

4. What’s the text mainly about?

A．How to cook potatoes.	B．How to grow potatoes.
C．How to harvest potatoes.	D．How to preserve potatoes.

3 . When scientists talk about recent extinctions, birds and mammals (哺乳动物) get most of the attention. But the first global analysis of its kind finds it is twice as many plants that have disappeared as birds, mammals, and amphibians (两栖动物) combined.

Researchers reviewed published research, international databases, and museum specimens such as grasses from Madagascar, finding that 571 plants species have gone extinct in the past 250 years. One reason why the total is higher than that of the well-studied animals is that there are simply more species of plants. Looking at percentages, the situation is worse for mammals and birds. An estimated 5% of those species have gone extinct, compared with 0.2% of plants.

The loss includes the Chile sandalwood tree in the South Pacific, which was cut down for its fragrant (芳香的) wood. It was last seen on Robinson Crusoe Island in 1908. The extinction rates among plants have been highest for trees and shrubs on islands, which often have species that occur nowhere else, and in regions with rich diversity, especially the tropics and in Mediterranean climates.

Just a few years later, the world lost the banded Trinity (Thismia americana), a leafless plant that grew entirely underground except for its flowers. Most species of this kind of plant grow in rainforests, but this plant was first described in 1912 in a sandy wetland in Chicago, Illinois, and was wiped out by development.

According to the team’s report in Nature Ecology & Evolution, the total of 571 extinct plant species is four times higher than the official listing kept by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Even so, it is probably still an underestimate (低估), as less is known about the status of plants in Africa and South America than on other continents. Many of these species may disappear, too. A major review of the status of global biodiversity recently estimated that more than a million species, including 14% of plant and animal diversity, are threatened with extinction.

1. What caused the extinction of the Chile sandalwood tree?

A．Climate change.	B．The market demand.
C．Environmental pollution.	D．The decline of the habitat.

2. What do we know about the banded trinity?

A．It flowered without bearing seeds.

B．It disappeared during the 19th century.

C．It was a flowering plant without leaves.

D．It was a rare plant growing underground.

3. What can we infer about the plant species from the text?

A．Their current situation is more worrying.

B．About one plant species dies out every year.

C．More plant species will keep alive in the reserve.

D．They would be replaced by other new species soon.

4. In which section of the newspaper can we find the text?

A．Sports.

B．Nature.

C．Entertainment.

D．Figures.

4 . In a tiny, lab-grown garden, the first seeds ever sown in lunar dirt have come up. This small crop, planted in samples (样本) returned by Apollo tasks, offers hope that astronauts could someday grow their own food on the moon.

But plants planted in lunar dirt grew more slowly and were thinner than others grown in volcanic(火山的) material from Earth, researchers report 12 May in Communications Biology. That finding suggests that farming on the moon would take a lot more than a gardening skills.

“Ah! It’s so cool!” says a botanist (植物学家) Richard Barker. “Ever since these samples came, back, there’s been botanists that wanted to know what would happen if you grew plants in them,” says Barker, who wasn’t involved in the study. “But everyone knows those precious samples are priceless, and so you can understand why NASA was unwilling to publish them.”

The team planted seeds in tiny pots that each held about a gram of dirt. Four pots were filled with samples returned by Apollo 11, another four with Apollo 12 samples and a final four with dirt from Apollo 17. Another 16 pots were filled with earthly volcanic material used in past experiments to copy moon dirt. All were grown under LED lights in the lab and watered with nutrients.

“Nothing really compared to when we first saw the seedlings as they were coming up in the lunar dirt,” says Anna-Lisa Paul, a plant biologist. “That was a moving experience. We could not speak when we watched the very first plants growing in unique materials.”

Plants grew in all the pots of lunar dirt, but none grew as well as those planted in earthly material. “The healthiest ones were just smaller,” Paul says. The moon-grown plants were tiny. Faced with that, explorers need to do more research to let plants grow strongly on the moon. I believe we will succeed in time.

1. What does the research on plants grown in the lunar dirt show?

A．Growing foods on the moon is necessary.

B．Skills are the key to farming on the moon.

C．Farming’ on the moon needs many factors.

D．Astronauts want to grow food on their own.

2. What can we learn from what Barker said?

A．Some plants need planting in special soils.

B．Botanists are interested in studying new things.

C．It is a selfish action for NASA to keep the secret.

D．The samples brought from the moon are valuable.

3. What does the author think of planting on the moon?

A．It is practical.	B．It is hopeful.
C．It only attracts astronauts.	D．It challenges most experts.

4. What is the best title for this text?

A．The First Plant Has Been Grown in Moon Dirt

B．Astronauts Have Brought Things Worth Spreading

C．Botanists Have Found a New Kind of Plant Lately

D．Farming on the Moon Has Been Accepted by People

5 . A native plant of China, bamboo mainly grows in regions south of the Yangtze River. In traditional Chinese culture, bamboo is a symbol of moral honesty, loyalty, flexibility and modesty, making it a frequent theme of Chinese poetry and paintings.

The bamboo forest creates unique prospect (风景) around Anji, a county in Zhejiang Province. As the Kingdom of Bamboo, the city is the filming location of the Oscar-winning movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The bamboo scenery, along with other bamboo-related attractions, including a bamboo museum, has created unique tourism resources.

Bamboo is not only pretty and elegant, and Xie Zhiguang, a 48-year-old local bamboo dealer for over 10 years, explained that it is used for much more than just as an alternative to wood. It is the main food for giant pandas, and bamboo shoots are regularly consumed by humans. Also, the stem of the plant can be made into various products, including chopsticks, furniture, tissue and paper.

What makes all the functions even more valuable is the speed at which bamboo grows. “During peak times, bamboo can grow one meter a day and over 20 meters within weeks,” he said. “It takes years to grow wood, while the growth cycle of bamboo is much shorter.” This advantage allows farmers to make money faster by growing bamboo than by growing wood. In the battle against extreme poverty in China, bamboo has played a supporting role.

The county introduced processing factories for bamboo shoots and developed a series of products. Bamboo weaving techniques, some of which are listed as intangible cultural heritage (非物质文化遗产), also contributed to poverty reduction. A number of bamboo-weaving skill training centers were set up in poor areas to teach rural people, especially women, to transform bamboo into delicate items. With such items going to domestic and overseas markets, the bamboo weaving business has even become the mainstay industry for some of these regions.

“Bamboo is a sustainable, green resource,” said Wang Jingxin, a professor at Zhejiang University. “Such measures will help to speed up China’s economy and ecology.”

1. Why do poets and painters often use bamboo as the theme of their works?

A．Its various functions.	B．Its particular habitats.
C．Its commercial value.	D．Its symbolic meaning.

2. What does Xie Zhiguang say about bamboo?

A．Bamboo has a wide range of uses.	B．Bamboo can end the world poverty.
C．Bamboo has the fastest growth speed.	D．Bamboo can contribute to the environment.

3. What can be inferred about Anji County?

A．It is well known for bamboo carving techniques.

B．It is the filming location of many famous movies.

C．It sets up a lot of big factories for wood products.

D．It takes many steps to develop bamboo industries.

4. What is the attitude of Wang Jingxin towards bamboo industry?

A．Intolerant.

B．Doubtful.

C．Favorable.

D．Unclear.

6 . Vertical (垂直的) farming involves using vertically piled layers and other innovative resources to help your crops grow.     1     You get to grow your plants while using the small space at home. Below are some benefits of vertical farming for small house owners.

Reduce water usage. Watering a vertical garden is easy, simple, and uses less water. If your plants are grown in a traditional way, you’ll need lots of water to keep up with your plants’ growth.     2    

Save space. As a small, house owner, space is a big concern. However, vertical farming ensures that you can create a garden in your home and fully enjoy the experience.     3     So, if you aim to save space in your home and still have a garden, vertical farming is perfect.

    4     Vertical farming is mainly done indoors and entirely depends on you to provide the best conditions. With commitment, you can continuously ensure consistent food production despite the seasons.

Cut down on chemicals and pesticides. Vertical gardens will not require you to invest in pesticides and chemical fertilizers to keep your plants alive. In addition, insects will not have easy access to your plants since you’ll be gardening in a controlled environment.     5    

A．Increase food production.

B．Produce food consistently.

C．Having a garden means you need to work with the space available.

D．It comes in handy without causing any inconvenience to your living arrangements.

E．However, if you invest in vertical farming, your water usage will dramatically drop.

F．So the food grown is organic and safe for consumption making it an excellent choice.

G．It enables you to take full advantage of walls and spaces that would otherwise stay useless.

7 . How to Save Money Watering Your Garden

Jessica Damiano writes about gardening. In her latest story, she talks about cost-saving ways to keep your garden watered during the hot months of summer. Let’s look at some of Damiano’s recommendations.

Know when and how to water

    1    . This lets the water go deeply into the soil before the weather gets too hot. If you water later in the day, the water will just evaporate(蒸发)from the surface. If you water in the evening, the plants stay too wet overnight.

How you water is just as important as when you water. If you water quickly every day, it does not help the roots, which can extend over 30 centimeters into the soil.     2    .

Catch and reuse water

You can recycle water from boiling vegetables or eggs. Just make sure the water does not have salt in it.     3    . Redirect a pipe that collects rainwater to fill a large container, then use the container to refill watering cans or connect a hose(软管)to a hole at the bottom of the container.

    4    

Most gardeners just think about which plants look good and the plants’ sunlight needs. But watering needs should be considered, too. Drought-resistant plants should not be overwatered. It is best to use plants that are native to the area where you live. These plants tend to be resistant to drought. They just need regular watering in their first two years.     5    .

A．Choose native plants

B．Instead, water the soil less often, but deeply

C．The best time to water plants is in the morning

D．It is also good practice to catch and use rainwater

E．This helps make the cities greener and improve air quality

F．Give some thought to how many plants there are in your garden

G．After that, they can live on just rainwater except during heat waves

8 . Thirsty or stressed plants do not suffer in silence. Instead, they make high-pitched(尖锐的) sounds, according to a study published in the journal Cell.

The reason why you have probably never heard the plants’ sounds is that most humans are only able to hear sounds as high as 20 kilohertz (kHz), but the plants made sounds mostly between 40 and 80 kHz, Lilach Hadany, a co-author of the study at Tel Aviv University, tells Business Insider’s Marianne Guenot.

Plants, obviously, do not have organs to make sounds. Lilach says, the present popular theory on how they make noises centers on plants’ xylem(木质部), the tubes that transport water from their roots to their stems(根茎) and leaves. In the process of transporting, when an air bubble(气泡) forms or breaks in the xylem, it might make a little noise; bubbles are more likely to form when a plant is suffering from drought. But the exact process requires further study, Lilach explains.

To listen in to plants, Lilach and her co-workers placed tobacco and tomato plants in small boxes equipped with microphones. First, they stopped providing water to some plants in the boxes and cut the stems of others. Then, the microphones were used to pick up any noises made by the plants even though they couldn’t hear them. Researchers found that the sounds did show the specific types of stresses plants were experiencing. Thirsty tomato and tobacco plants made an average of about 35 and 11 sounds per hour, individually, while cut tomato and tobacco plants made 25 and 15 noises per hour.

In theory, these recorded sounds could help farmers know about which crops are most in need of water. “When more and more areas are exposed to drought due to climate change, efficient water use becomes even more important, for both food security and ecology,” Lilach with her co-workers write.

1. Why do humans fail to hear the sounds of plants?

A．The sounds are stressful.

B．The sounds are beyond human’s hearing range.

C．The sounds are low-pitched.

D．The sounds are between 20kHz and 40kHz.

2. What might cause thirsty plants to produce sounds?

A．Suffering from lack of air.

B．Stems and leaves transporting water.

C．More air bubbles gathering in the roots.

D．Air bubbles’ forming or breaking in the xylem.

3. What did Lilach and her co-workers find in the study?

A．Noises can be picked up by microphones.	B．Plants make more sounds in small boxes.
C．Cut plants suffer the same as thirsty ones.	D．Different sounds indicate plants’ stress types.

4. What’s the potential use of the sound recordings?

A．To harvest the crops.	B．To solve the food problem.
C．To locate the thirsty crops.	D．To prevent climate change.

9 . There are not only strange animals in the world; there are also some crazy plants.

Cactuses grow in places that have very little rain. These plants don’t have leaves because plants lose water through their leaves. Cactuses want to keep water inside their bodies. If you are ever stuck in a desert, you can get water by cutting a cactus. The water is not very nice because it tastes bitter. Sharp thorns protect cactuses. This is why desert animals won’t eat them. Their roots are spread out very close to the top of the sand.

Venus flytraps got their name because they trap and digest small insects in their leaves. They grow in wet places where the soil does not have the right food for the plants, so the plants have to catch their own food. Venus flytraps are small plants that have little white flowers.

Mangrove trees are trees that are able to grow in salty water. As a mangrove gets taller, it grows roots from its branches. When it is fully grown, hundreds of roots hold the leaves above the salty water. Mangroves grow mainly in the shallow water of rivers, close to where the river runs into the sea. Trees do not need much salt and mangroves have special ways of releasing excess salt, to stop it damaging the tree. Other mangroves send the salt to be stored in the oldest leaves on the tree, so that when they drop off, the tree gets rid of all unwanted salt.

Plants are able to change so that they can live in certain environments.

1. What’s the tone of the article?

A．Terrifying.

B．Thrilling.

C．Serious.

D．Frightening.

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

A．Poisonous.

B．Costly.

C．Extra.

D．Bitter.

3. Where can the text be found?

A．In a science fiction.

B．In a biology book.

C．In a fashion magazine.

D．In a novel.

4. What’s the title of the article?

A．Unique plants.

B．Wet plants.

C．Shallow plants.

D．Salty plants.

10 . 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。

In Rawalpindi, Pakistan, the China Flower House offers a wide range of lifelike artificial flowers and plants     1    (import) from China, enticing everyone entering the shop with their appealing colors, designs and diversity.

“Pakistani people love to decorate their houses, offices, gardens, wedding parties and other events     2     these beautiful Chinese flowers and plants made from polyester.     3    (literal), no one can tell whether these are real or fake from their shape and texture,” said Muhammad Abbas.

“Besides     4    (they) attractive appearance, these products, made from high-quality material,     5     (be) easy to maintain without any trouble and cost-effective. There is no fading of colors, and they look fresh and pretty all the time. These are basic     6    (feature) that home and event decorators are in love with,” he said.

Abbas said, “I     7    (involve) in the business for the last 20 years, and never witnessed a decrease in demand and sales of Chinese flowers and plants,     8    (add) that Chinese manufacturers’ abilities in upgrading the quality and designs to meet the demand of local customers are exceptional.”

Naseem Zadi said, “I have come to buy flowers for my newly-built house,     9     I wishes to decorate. Many people do not have enough time on their busy schedules to take care of real flowers or plants and the artificial ones look lovely     10     attractive.”