1 . 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.

2 . 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.

3 . 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

4 . Yellow flower carpeted fields are a sure sign of summer. In Denmark alone, more than 200,000 hectares of rapeseed (油菜籽) are planted every year. But until now, the plant has only been used for oil and animal food, as it is both bitter and unsafe for human consumption.

To protect themselves, the rapeseed plants produce a group of substances (物质) called glucosinolates (硫苷), which give the plants a strong and bitter taste that scares off insects and disease. As a result rapeseed is unhealthy to eat and the rapeseed cake, which is the remains of the seeds after the oil has been squeezed out, has only been used as feed for pigs and chickens, despite its 30 — 40 percent protein content.

Now, researchers from the University of Copenhagen have discovered the three proteins that help to store the bitter substances in seeds of thale cress (阿拉伯芥), a plant closely related to the rapeseed. The new knowledge makes it possible to prevent the accumulation (积聚) of these substances in the seed by removing the proteins through “transport engineering” technology. In doing so, the defensive substances remain in all other parts of the plant, allowing it to continue to defend itself.

So far, the researchers have shown that their method works in thale cress. “The next task is to apply our method to the closely related rapeseed plant, which we are now working on,” says Professor Halkier, leader of the research.

“Half of plant proteins in the EU come from rapeseed. The climate crisis demands that we reduce meat consumption and eat more plants, which is where rapeseed has great potential as a new source of plant protein. Our latest research results bring us a step closer to making full use of rapeseed,” says Professor Halkier.

1. What is the function of paragraph 2?

A．To state the reason.	B．To offer the solution.
C．To give an example.	D．To introduce the topic.

2. According to the research, how did scientists rid thale cress of its bitter taste?

A．By selecting better seeds.	B．By removing the three proteins.
C．By increasing sweet tastes.	D．By storing defensive substances.

3. What do Halkier’s words focus on?

A．Researchers’ efforts to better the taste.

B．Researchers’ progress in their experiment.

C．Rapeseed’s role in relieving climate crisis.

D．Rapeseed’s potential as a new protein source.

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

A．Harmful proteins discovered in rapeseed

B．Rapeseed widely used as oil and animal food

C．Researchers closer to making rapeseed safe food

D．New plant protein in rapeseed finally uncovered

5 . “A beautiful field of flowers can be a rather noisy place. It’s just that we can’t hear the sounds.” Scientists at Tel Aviv University have conducted a six-year experiment, proving that plants make noise in certain stressful situations.

Plants produce a high frequency (频率) clicking sound, and when short of water, or damaged, the clicks become far more regular. They also made different sounds, depending on whether they were thirsty or injured. “Each plant and each type of stress is related to a specific sound,” said Professor Lilach Hadany, who led the research study.

Focusing particularly on tomatoes, wheat and corn, the plants were placed in a soundproof(隔音的)room and recorded by microphones. Some plants were starved of water, others cut, and a control group was left undamaged. The researchers used an algorithm (算法) to separate the noises, suecessfully telling the difference between the sounds depending on whether they were dry or cut. The algorithm did this in a greenhouse setting which included far more surrounding sounds, but it was still able to recognize the particular cries for help of the plants.

On average, the human ear can hear sounds up to around 20kHz, while the sounds produced by plants are in the 40-80kHz region, far beyond our hearing. “The sounds made by plants can’t be heard by humans but can probably be heard by various animals, such as bats, mice and insects,” Hadany tells us. Though this has yet to be proven, it’s possible that these creatures use this information to choose which plants to eat.

A study led by Reda Hassanien of China Agriculural University in Beijing years ago, also proved that plants reacted to sound waves, with some plants greatly increasing their yield. While evidence shows that plants can react to sounds, there’s no evidence today that they can actually hear them.

1. What can we know from the six-year experiment?

A．Plants of different types make the sound of the same frequeney.

B．Plants produce more regular sound in certain stressful situations.

C．Plants make sounds with a much lower frequency when stressed.

D．Plants make the sound of the same frequeney whatever the situation.

2. What is the algorithm used for in the research?

A．To record the sounds.	B．To control the sounds.
C．To produce the sounds.	D．To identify the sounds.

3. What has been proven by scientists according to the passage?

A．Plants can hear each other’s cry for help.

B．Animals can hear the sounds made by plants.

C．Plants can make sounds and respond to sound waves.

D．Animals decide what to eat based on the sounds plants make.

4. Which of the following is the best title of the text?

A．Sounds That We Can’t Hear

B．Beautiful Songs from Plants

C．Plants React to Different Types of Stress

D．Plants Talk, Especially When Stressed

6 . 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.

7 . During the holidays, many people hang mistletoe (槲寄生) over doorways. People share kisses under this evergreen plant. It is a popular Christmas tradition. But don’t let the image of romantic plant used during the happy times of the holidays fool you. In the forests they’re from, mistletoe plants can do some real damage. Let’s take a look at how and why.

The mistletoe plant is evergreen. This means it has leaves that remain green throughout the year. It is also poisonous and has white berries (浆果) and small, yellow flowers. The mistletoe lives on other plants, taking water and nutrients from them. For this reason, mistletoe plants are considered parasites (寄生植物).

The white berries of mistletoe plants contain seeds. Some birds and mammals like to feed on these berries. When they do, the seeds may stick to the animal eating the berries. The animal may carry the seeds to another part of the tree of bush. They may also carry the seeds to another plant altogether. The seeds start to grow roots that dig through the bark of the tree or bush. The roots grow into the tissues of the plant they’ve taken over. That’s how mistletoe plants take nutrients and water away from the host plants. Mistletoe can be hard to remove once it infects (感染) a plant. The best way to fight off a mistletoe infection is to cut off the infected branch completely. If the mistletoe takes over more parts of the plant, it can start to weaken the plant and make it harder for it to grow.

As mistletoe plants grow in the trees, they become a thick mix of branches and roots. This big mass is sometimes called a “witch’s broom.” Some animals nest in these witches’ brooms.

1. What is the effect of the mistletoe on host plants?

A．It makes the plants turn green.

B．It makes the plants attacked by pests more frequently.

C．It affects the growth of the plants.

D．It stops the plants producing nutrients and water.

2. What do we know about the mistletoe from the passage?

A．It provides water and nutrients for other plants.

B．It is a poisonous evergreen plant.

C．It stands for peace during the Christmas holidays.

D．It has some magic power like a witch’s broom.

3. What is the best title for the text?

A．An Unlikely Parasite: Mistletoe	B．A Widespread Plant: Mistletoe
C．A Witch’s Broom: Mistletoe	D．A Popular Gift: Mistletoe

8 . There are many theories that suggest different ways of improving memory or thinking more clearly. One of those is the idea that adding rosemary (迷迭香) to your food or water, or even breathing in its fragrance, can give your brain a boost.

First, it’s important to understand what rosemary is.     1     It’s a perennial, meaning that once you plant it, it should re-grow every year when the weather is warm enough for it to do so. It’s native to Asia and the Mediterranean.     2    

Rosemary is related to the mint (薄荷) family of plants. When it blooms, its flowers are white, purple, pink or deep blue. It is often used as a flavor in food, including soups, meat, fish and other Mediterranean food. And it has a somewhat bitter flavor. Some people also enjoy tea flavored with rosemary.     3    

One study that involved 28 older adults found that consumption of a small amount of dried rosemary powder was associated with statistically significantly improved memory speed.     4     Researchers found that their memory of images and numbers improved when the essential oil of rosemary was sprayed in the room.

    5     But one theory is that rosemary appears to have some antioxidant (抗氧剂) properties that may offer some healing for the damage in our bodies. Another idea is that rosemary appears to lower anxiety, which in turn, may increase the ability to concentrate.

While rosemary shows some promise for boosting our brain power, it’s important to check with your doctor before you begin having it.

A．But it is grown in the United States, as well.

B．Rosemary is a herb with needle-like leaves.

C．Here’s what research has found about rosemary.

D．It is unknown if those benefits would hold true for humans.

E．It’s not known for sure why there may be a benefit from rosemary.

F．Rosemary is also used as a perfume and added to shampoo and soap.

G．Another study was performed with 53 students between 13 and 15 years old.

9 . Over the years, farmers and scientists have discovered ways to grow crops stronger, bigger, and faster. This has greatly increased in the amount of food we produce.

These huge increases in food have allowed the world’s population to grow. As the population grows, so does the amount of space that we need to feed people. In the coming decades, feeding a growing population will become more difficult. Greenhouse gases from agriculture are heating the Earth, which makes growing food more difficult.

Modern agriculture is also partly responsible for its own problems. Farmers of ten use too many of the Earth’s natural resources and harm ecosystems (生态系统).

There are many ways agriculture harms ecosystems. Three main ways are irrigation, animal grazing (放牧) and chemical fertilizers (化肥).

Irrigation

70 percent of the freshwater that people use goes to agriculture, much of which is used for irrigation, the process of watering crops through pipes.

Irrigation has consequences for the environment, one of which is draining water out of rivers and underground water systems. In areas where water has been drained, the soil can become too salty. This also harms plant growth. Besides, studies have shown that irrigation can change rainfall thousands of miles away from the irrigated areas.

Animal Grazing

Farm animals are responsible for a large part of greenhouse gas emissions. Greenhouse gases trap heat in Earth’s atmosphere. Methane and carbon dioxide are two major greenhouse gases. Cows and their manure (牛粪) are responsible for releasing huge amounts of methane.

Chemical Fertilizers

Modern agriculture depends on chemical fertilizers, which farmers spread over crop fields or into dirt. They contain nutrients that plants need to grow, such as nitrogen and phosphorus.

Chemical fertilizers have helped double how much food we can produce. But they have also increased nitrogen and phosphorus levels in the environment. About half the nitrogen in chemical fertilizers escapes from crop fields. Therefore, ecosystems become loaded with too many nutrients, which causes water plants to grow in water bodies. When the plants decay (腐败), they use up the oxygen in the water.

As the population continues to grow, it might become more difficult to feed people. We will likely have to find more sustainable ways of farming.

1. What is the function of Para. 7?

A．It provides examples of some of the most dangerous types of greenhouse gases.

B．It describes the increase in agricultural production because of animal grazing.

C．It explains how overgrazing contributes to climate change.

D．It illustrates advantages and disadvantages of animal grazing.

2. How do fertilizers affect ecosystem health according to the article?

A．They overload ecosystems with nutrients harmful to other life.

B．They contribute to the worsening of the global freshwater supply.

C．They allow farmers to double their output.

D．They release powerful greenhouse gases.

3. Which will the author be likely to support?

A．Many current technologies are harmful to ecological sustainability.

B．Modern agricultural technologies have also increased our ecological sustainability.

C．Food system’s ecological sustainability increases with the increase of agricultural productivity.

D．To increase agricultural productivity, we will need to be less conscious of ecological sustainability.

4. Which is the main idea of the article?

A．Population explosion has been enabled by revolutionary agricultural technologies.

B．Irrigation overuse in many areas is now threatening soil quality and weather patterns.

C．Current global agricultural system relies completely on the use of chemical fertilizers.

D．Overusing agricultural technologies causes climate change and threatens future agricultural health.

10 . 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.

2. Which of the following can bring a sweeter treat for pollinators?

A．Flowers like primroses	B．Sounds like those of bees.
C．Visits from other pollinators.	D．Exposure to different sounds

3. What can be concluded from the study?

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.

4. How did Hadany feel about their discovery described in paragraph 5 at first?

A．It was doubtful.

B．It was unexpected.

C．It was acceptable

D．It was satisfactory.