China produces and uses so much bamboo that the country is sometimes referred to     1     the Bamboo Kingdom. 40% of all known bamboo species in the world are grown in China, so it’s not     2    (astonish) that China grows more bamboo than any other country in the world. Today, roughly one fifth of the global supply of bamboo is grown in China, with Sichuan and Fujian     3    (be) the provinces with the largest total area of bamboo cultivation.

Bamboo is one of     4     fastest-growing plants on earth. Although some types of bamboo can grow to be almost 35 meters in height, you may be surprised to learn that bamboo is     5    (actual) a type of grass rather than a tree.

In traditional Chinese culture, bamboo, plum blossoms, orchids (兰), and chrysanthemums (菊) form a group     6     is called the Four Gentlemen. Each member of the group is used     7     (represent) some aspect of the character of an ideal person. In the case of the bamboo, it serves as an emblem (象征) of modesty and mental     8    (strong).

Along with the pine and plum blossom, bamboo also sometimes     9    (appear) as part of the Three Friends of Winter. Each of these three plants     10    (admire) for its ability to remain firm and fresh when the weather turns cold.

2 . 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。

Plant lovers believe that talking to plants helps them grow. Scientists have discovered there could be real     1     (true) in this belief. Researchers have discovered that plants give off sounds when they are stressed. The sounds are quite similar     2     a human cry. Unfortunately, plant sounds are at too high a frequency for the human ear     3     (pick) up. Humans can only hear frequencies of up to 16 kilohertz (赫兹). Using special Al technology, scientists can now pick up sounds     4     (send) out by plants that are up to 250 kilohertz. The Al can also tell differences between different types of plant sounds.

The research     5     (do) in a greenhouse at Israel’s Tel Aviy University. Lead researcher Professor Lilach Hadany said: “Plants usually give off sounds when they     6     (be) under stress. Each plant and each type of stress is connected with     7     specific sound.” She suggested that crop fields could be quite     8     (noise), saying “While unable to be picked up by the human ear, the sounds given off by plants can be heard by bats,     9     (mouse) and insects. Understanding these sounds could help us know when crops need watering,     10     means farmers could water their crops more efficiently and thus save water and money.

Food from the air

Everyone has seen plants growing, but have you ever thought     1     they get their food? In the seventeenth century, a European scientist     2     (call) Van Helmot asked this question. Like most people, he thought that plants must get their food from soil. However, Van Helmot decided       3     (test) the theory with experiments.

First, he dried some soil, put it into a pot and weighed it. Next, he weighed a small tree, planted it in the pot and added rain water. Then, he watered it     4     (regular) with rain water.

After five years, he removed the tree from the pot and weighed it again. He found that the tree had gained     5     huge amount of weight. When he weighed the soil, however, it was almost exactly the same as it had been five years    6    . So Van Helmot drew the    7    (conclude) that the tree grew by drinking water. Though it turned out to be wrong, he showed the importance of the use of scientific evidence to support ideas.

We now know that plants and trees make their own food. Their leaves, when exposed     8     the air and sun, are like factories    9     can change the energy from the sun into chemical energy. During this process (过程), oxygen and sugar     10     (produce). The oxygen is released back into the air, and the sugar is used by the plant as food.

Nature’s Lungs

We know that trees are nature’s purifier (净化器): They absorb carbon emissions (碳排放)and release oxygen. But their     1       (able) to do that changes as they age. According to Newsweek, trees     2       are at least 20 years old can absorb carbon better than younger ones and older ones. And a recent study by researchers from South Korea’s Forest Research Institute     3       (find) exactly how much carbon that each 25-year-old cherry tree can absorb: 20 pounds (9.1 kilograms) each year.

According to the study, there are     4       (current) about 1.5 million cherry trees in South Korea, which means they can take in as much as 13,650 tons of carbon each year.

This may sound like a lot,     5       it’s only the annual emissions of 6,000 cars. And it’s pretty     6       (shock) if you think about it: The annual emissions of a single-car requires 250 mature cherry trees to absorb     7       carbon.

Yet, planting trees is still considered the most effective way     8       (reduce) global warming, according to Professor Tom Crowther of the Swiss university ETH Zurich. “Forest restoration isn’t just one of our climate change     9       (solution), it’s the top one,” he told the Guardian. “What blows my mind is the scale. I thought restoration would be in the top 10, but it is much    10     (powerful) than all of the other climate change solutions proposed.”

From “pocket parks” between communities to forest parks in the outer cities, local governments are     1     (ambition) to make China’s cities greener. That’s     2     there are more parks in cities these days.

From 2021 to 2022, Shanghai transformed 62 woodlands into leisure spaces. These leisure spaces open up forests,     3     allows visitors to enjoy natural beauty as well as wildlife. In urban     4     (area), more companies and universities are sharing their greenery. For instance, the Shanghai Research Institute of Sports Science opened its 1,000-square-meter green space to the public.     5     (join) by historical buildings in the area, the park can provide more space for tourists to rest.

Apart from meeting people’s needs, parks can also do good to the environment. Take Beijing’s Central Green Forest Park     6     an example. Since it was opened in 2020, the park     7     (reach)carbon neutrality (碳中和). It means although the park’s facilities produce carbon dioxide, more can be     8     (take) in by the plants there. The park also fully reuses rainwater and creates green energy     9     (supply) the park. As cities in China become greener, “park cities” are becoming a reality. The concept of a park city was     10     (initial) put forward in 2018. It is a concept that takes the form of an improved natural environment in all aspects, noted China Daily.

Like China’s Kunming Institute of Botany, the Millennium Seed Bank(MSB)shines brightly for plant preservation. Located at the Wakehurst wild botanic garden in West Sussex, England, the Millennium Seed Bank (MSB), the world’s     1     (large)seed bank, has announced that it now holds more than 40, 000 wild plant species.     2     the aim of preserving rare, threatened and important wild plants, MSB     3     (create)by researchers from London’s Kew Gardens more than 20 years ago. Now around 2. 4 billion individual seeds from 190 countries are stored in     4     (it) underground rooms. Any seeds that arrive at MSB are dried, cleaned     5     then stored at-20℃. Scientists remove the seeds every 10 years     6     (see) if they can still grow into plants, and to develop new ways of       7     (help) wild plants survive. One of the most remarkable     8     (strong) of MSB is that it serves as a global backup for plant variety. Seeds in the bank include the world’s smallest water lily, a rare Australian pea and Antarctic hair grass, one of two flowering plants     9     grow in Antarctica. The bank ensures that if plants in the wild become extinct, they can be regrown from MSB seeds. There is no doubt that the MSB plays an     10     (extreme) important role in protecting the varieties of plant species on Earth.

Camellias (山茶花) are available in a great range     1     colors — red, pink, white and mixed colors. For the longest time, the golden camellias lived in a valley     2     was unknown to the outside world.

In the 1960s, Chinese scientists announced their discovery of the golden camellias. It was an     3     (amaze) announcement for the international gardening community. Also, the discovery made     4     achievable to create yellow camellias, though creating a new kind of golden camellia was not very easy.

Unfortunately, in the past, golden camellias were cut down in large numbers because     5     (local) needed the limited land space for farming. In 1986, a nature reserve (自然保护区)     6     (build) in a mountain valley from 200 to 500 meters above sea level, so the camellias could be well protected. Years ago, Huang Zainian and his brothers took up the work. In the past 10 years, the Huang brothers have made a great     7     (contribute) in protecting the camellias. Even in hard times they didn’t cut down any golden camellias.

Year after year, the Huang brothers spent much time working     8     eventually made their hard work pay off. Now the golden camellia is     9     city flower of Fangchenggang. And life for the Huang brothers is greatly improved by     10     (plant) golden camellias.

It’s been nearly seven years since a group of volunteers grew flowers at What Cheer Flower Farm in Rhode Island, with a simple goal: get flowers into the hands of anyone in need. Best of all, each one of the tens of thousands of flowers that What Cheer grows and     1    (delivery) are completely free of charge.

What Cheer was founded by two gardeners     2    often gave away flowers from their own gardens and wanted the idea to grow. What Cheer     3     (regular)brings joy to people at local hospitals, wishing them a quick     4    (recover). “Seeing the     5    (satisfy)smiles on people’s faces who weren’t expecting it is great,” says Stephen Hogan Jr. from the farm.

What Cheer’s flower beds lie in an industrial neighborhood that once     6    (house)a knife factory. In May, the nonprofit was awarded     7    $500, 000 prize from the Environmental Protection Agency for its continued efforts     8    (bring)life to the once polluted land.

“Not only do we give this space back to the neighborhood,” says Achen, “but we are also an eco-friendly spot with the ability to help local insect and bird     9    (population), and that’ll only make people’s lives better.” What cheer indeed can cheer people     10    !What’s good about a flower is that it doesn’t need anything else. Your only job when someone gives you flowers is to enjoy them.

Scientists in Florida have     1     (successful) grown plants in moon soil collected during NASA’s Apollo missions (任务) in the 1960s and 1970s.

    2     NASA-supported study at the University of Florida used soil collected by astronauts    3     (grow) Thale Cress 2 (拟南芥). To compare results, plants were also grown in Earth soil    4     was made to be similar to moon soil. The researchers     5     (add) water and then seeds to the soil, as well as daily nutrients (营养物). After just two days, their growth started.

According to Professor Anna-Lisa Paul, all the plants looked the same     6     the sixth day. After the sixth day,     7    , it was clear that the plants growing in moon soil were not as healthy as those growing in Earth soil.

DNA testing showed that those Thale Cress 2     8     (plant) in the moon soil were under stress. It was also found that the plants grew in different ways in soil from different parts of the moon. The soil collected during the Apollo 11 mission had been on the moon’s surface several billion years     9     (long) than the other soil, and the plants grown in it were the weakest.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson believes this research will help future space missions and that resources on the moon and Mars     10     (need) to develop food for astronauts living and working in space.

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.”