1 . “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

2 . 听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1. What has happened in the park?

A．Some flowers are dying because of the dry weather.

B．Lots of flowers are opening up.

C．Some flowers have been planted in the park.

2. For what reason does Death Valley National Park have a world record?

A．It is the hottest place in the world.

B．It is the driest place in the world.

C．It is the smallest park in the world.

3. When did the “super bloom” happen before?

A．In 2005 and 1998.

B．In 2004 and 1998.

C．In 2000 and 2005.

3 . Indoor plants might look as if they just sit around not doing much, but in many ways they are the unsung heroes of the home.     1    , but studies have shown that they can promote people’s wellbeing by improving their mood (心情), reducing stress and helping their memory. What’s more, indoor plants are easy to look after and are not very expensive.

What are indoor plants?

Indoor plants, also known as houseplants or pot plants, are plants that like to grow indoors. Many of these species (物种) are not ideally suited to growing outside in the UK, especially in the winter.     2    .

Why are indoor plants good for you?

Will Spoelstra, who works at the Royal Botanic Gardens, says, “    3    . I find during the winter months, plants around the house can really lift your mood.” Several studies have backed this up and found that indoor plants can improve creativity, focus and memory. There is also research showing that pot plants can clean the air around them by removing harmful gases, such as carbon dioxide. They also remove some harmful chemicals from paints or cooking.     4    .

Which plants can you grow?

Aloe vera, peace lilies and spider plants are some of the species that are easy to grow indoors. You can buy plants from supermarkets, garden centres or online. Younger plants are often cheaper than fully grown ones, and you get to care for them as they mature — which is part of the joy of owning plants. “    5    ,” Spoelstra says. “It can bring a new interest and focus into people’s lives and help to make the link between home and nature.”

A．All plants are different

B．Not only do they look beautiful

C．There are many benefits to growing plants indoors

D．Instead, they grow better inside, where it is warmer

E．Plants like peace lilies and devil’s ivy are among the best

F．Changing the pot of your plant from time to time will also help

G．Learning about the requirements of each plant can be very rewarding

4 . When all those May flowers start to show their heads out to say hello, you may see some familiar faces in your backyard. Many plants live and die within one growing season, so gardeners must replant them each spring. But others have developed to live year after year, so they can blossom again.

Many flowers are what we call annuals. Their entire life cycle—from seed to death—takes just one year. They might leave behind sleeping seeds, but the roots and leaves all fade away as-soon as the season is done. Then there are perennials, which can survive for years. Scientists believe these types of plants came first. They do no need to be replanted each season, but save some energy in themselves so that they can show again in the following season.

James Boyer, the vice president for children’s education at the New York Botanical Garden, says that annuals probably can survive in areas where there is little water. “Annuals are putting all of their chances into the reproduction basket,” Boyer explains. “All of the energy to make roots and shoots is just enough to create a big bloom. They will create enough seeds to continue the species. Perennials hide important parts inside protective buds to keep cells fresh until it’s time to bloom again. They devote a lot more of their fuel to keeping themselves alive than annuals do. Roots and leaves are repaired and regrow each year. Many eventually produce flowers, but it can sometimes take years. And in most cases, they’ll save enough energy to flower again in the following season.”

Whether a plant is a perennial or an annual can depend on where you plant it. Plants sold in cold areas that are named as annuals actually could be perennials in hot areas; in warm weather they can live for years, but a single cold winter will wrack them.

Boyer says that researchers are trying to study them. “If we could change corn into a perennial, we wouldn’t need to replant it every year, which destroys the soil and its ecosystem,” Boyer says. “It could change our agricultural system.”

1. How can perennials survive into the following season?

A．By producing sleeping seeds.	B．By setting aside some energy.
C．By adapting to climate change.	D．By preserving their roots and leave.

2. Which of the following may James Boyer agree with?

A．Their findings are out of expectation.

B．It is easy for perennials to survive with little water.

C．Annuals spend most energy in blossoming and reproducing.

D．Both annuals and perennials prefer warmer growing conditions.

3. What does the underlined word “wrack” in Paragraph 4 mean?

A．Protect.

B．Kееp.

C．Change.

D．Destroy.

4. How does the text mainly develop?

A．By giving explanation.	B．By offering examples.
C．By drawing conclusions.	D．By making comparisons.

5 . 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

Housed in a small container and measuring just 0.5cm long, the weevil (象鼻虫) doesn’t look very     1    (frighten). Yet this species is the UK’s latest hope in a new wave of biological ways       2     (control) invasive species rather than using chemical and mechanical methods. The South American creature’s target is a floating plant     3     blocks rivers, cutting water oxygen levels and outcompeting native plants. As well as     4     (potential) threatening biodiversity, the invasive species have a big economic impact on Great Britain,     5     (estimate) ￡1.7 billion a year. Those are the reasons why the weevil is at the forefront of a new wave of biological agents used in the UK after many relative tests have been carried out.

The weevil I saw in     6     lab near London belonging to the Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International will eat the invasive plant’s     7    (leaf) and its larvae (幼虫) will eat the stalks (茎) from the inside out.

The weevils were first used in the wild in the UK last winter. Now more will       8    (release) in various areas this year to deal     9     the invasive species. The next problems will be whether the weevils can establish       10    (them) in the wild and be effective against the plant.

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。

Huangshan Maofeng is a kind of green tea. It is produced throughout the Huangshan region of Anhui Province. This region    1    (have)a temperate climate and receives plenty of rainfall. The soil is deeply layered and made up of the yellow earth typically found in mountainous regions,    2    makes this area suitable for the growth of tea trees.

Huangshan Maofeng    3    (create) by a teahouse in Anhui Province in the Guangxu Period of the Qing Dynasty. Later, each year, during the Qingming period,    4    (picker)would climb high mountains in the Huangshan region     5    (collect) fat leaves and bud points, which were then fried and baked. They named the tea made from this practice Huangshan Maofeng.

Huangshan Maofeng must be picked    6    (careful). The picking standard for top-grade Huangshan Maofeng is to pick one bud and one leaf just before it’s about to unfold. After    7    (pick), the fresh leaves will be separated to ensure that all of the leaves are of high quality and    8    all of the buds are similar in size. Then they will be spread to dry out.

In order to ensure the quality and keep the    9    (fresh)of the tea, it is recommended that the tea leaves should be picked in the morning and processed in the afternoon,    10    picked in the afternoon and processed at night.

7 . A study finds that urban trees can survive increased heat and insect pests fairly well — unless they are thirsty. Lack of water not only harms trees, but allows other problems to have an extra effect on trees in urban environments.

“We would see some vibrant urban trees covered in scale insects (甲壳虫),” says Emily Meineke, a researcher at Harvard and first author of a paper on the study. “We wanted to know what allowed these trees to deal with these pests so much more successfully.”

The researchers collected detailed data on 40 urban willow oaks over the course of two years. The data included temperature, how water-stressed the trees were, and the density (密度) of scale insects which are well-known tree pests.

They also conducted laboratory experiments using willow oak seedlings. In these experiments, the researchers controlled the temperature, water and the presence of scale insects. They found that higher temperatures could actually have a positive effect on tree growth, as long as the trees had adequate water. And scale insects had little or no bad effect on the trees if the trees were not water-stressed. They also found that water stress limited tree growth all by itself. But the presence of increased heat and/or scale insects, when combined with water stress, had a multiplier effect — limiting growth far more than water stress or scale insects alone.

“This tells us that management strategies aimed at increasing tree hydration (水合作用) in cities may reduce the bad effects of all three of these key stressors,” says Meineke. “And that is likely to become increasingly important as water availability, temperature and pest abundance are affected by further urbanization and climate change. ”

“For example, urban planners should design urban landscapes that keep storm water in vegetation; invest in hydration strategies, such as appropriate soil quality and soil volume; and plant drought-tolerant tree species in the hottest parts of their cities,” says Frank, an associate professor of entomology.

1. What does the underlined word “vibrant” in paragraph 2 probably mean?

A．Weak.

B．Broken.

C．Full of years.

D．Full of life.

2. What does paragraph 4 mainly talk about?

A．Threats to urban trees.	B．The researchers’ findings.
C．The effects of water on cities.	D．The protection of urban trees.

3. How can we help urban trees grow well according to Meineke?

A．By controlling insects.	B．By stopping city expanding.
C．By lowering the temperature.	D．By increasing tree hydration.

4. What is the purpose of this study?

A．To reduce pollution in big cities.	B．To offer advice to urban planners.
C．To promote common knowledge.	D．To find effective ways of planting.

8 . Scientists have discovered what they believe is the world’s largest plant, an underwater field of sea grass that stretches for 1.12 miles off the west coast of Australia. This huge meadow (草地) has spread widely all through Shark Bay. The sea grass plant is believed to be around 4, 500 years old.

Many plants create new plants by growing flowers and spreading seeds. The DNA of the plants that grow from these seeds is slightly different from the DNA of the plants that the seeds came from. By comparing the DNA from their samples, the scientists hoped to get an idea of how many different sea grass plants there were in the meadow.

What they learned shocked them — all of the grass samples had almost exactly the same DNA. That meant that they were all just one plant, one big sea grass plant spreading out over 77 square miles. This makes it the largest known plant in the world by far.

So how has the Shark Bay sea grass grown so large? Instead of spreading with flowers arid seeds, it spreads by cloning (克隆) itself. As its roots spread out under the sea floor, new plants shoot up from those roots.

The sea grass in Shark Bay is also unusual in another way. It’s a “polyploid”. Usually, an organism (有机体) has two parents, and gets half of its DNA from each. But polyploid organisms have all of the DNA from both parents, meaning they have twice as much DNA. The scientists think the extra DNA may make it easier for the sea grass to survive in difficult conditions.

The Shark Bay sea grass generally grows and spreads about 14 inches a year. Because of the history of Shark Bay and the rate of growth, the scientists believe that the plant is about 4, 500 years old.

1. Why do scientists compare the DNA of the sea plants?

A．To find ways to protect sea plants.

B．To discover the diversity of sea plants.

C．To identify the oldest plants in the sea.

D．To explore the unknown ocean resources.

2. What can we learn about the sea grass in Shark Bay?

A．Its DNA cannot be cloned.

B．It blooms and bears many seeds.

C．Its roots are a connected whole.

D．It is the fastest growing grass in the world.

3. What is one of the advantages of polyploid organisms?

A．Gaining the ability to grow bigger.

B．Getting parts of the parents’ DNA.

C．Having an advantage over every sea plant.

D．Being more adaptable to tough conditions.

4. What is the best title for this text?

A．Genetic Changes in Sea Grass	B．Ecological Status of the Sea Floor
C．Scientists Found World’s Largest Plant	D．New Underwater Grass Is Discovered

9 . Indoor plants are a beautiful way to brighten up your home, especially in the gray months of winter. But there can be a dark side to houseplants if you have children or if children visit your home. I’s important that you know which plants are poisonous to them.

Gardening expert Jessica Damiano often points out houseplants in friends’ homes should be kept out of children’s mouths. “I don’t mind ruining friends’ hopes of a beautiful indoor jungle if it means preventing harm,” Damiano said.

America’s Poison Centers in Arlington, Virginia get an average of 33,000 calls a year from people whose kids put different plants in their mouths. The cases usually involve children under 3 because they would explore their environment and put everything in their mouths. Most accidental exposures aren’t serious. But in some cases a child’s breathing, skin and eyes can be badly harmed.

Damiano recently visited her cousin’s home and saw a dieffenbachia plant in the kitchen. Her cousin told her that her young son, who had just begun crawling (爬), had shown interest in the leaves. Damiano had to explain to her cousin that eating a small amount of the plant’s stem (茎) can cause temporary but severe pain. The plant parts can cause throat and mouth swelling. The plant’s sap (树液) can cause nose, skin and eye pain. Other plants that can cause similar reactions include: caladium, flamingo flower, Swiss cheese plant, peace lily and pothos.

Damiano said that parents should teach their young children not to put non-food plant parts into their mouths. Besides, she urges parents to research whether the plants in their homes are safe to grow around children. She also suggests learning the official botanical names of houseplants so that they’re able to provide that information quickly to a poison control expert, if needed.

Not all houseplants are problematic, of course. Spider plants are nontoxic (无毒的) and are also among the easiest indoor plants to grow. African violets, Boston ferns and Christmas cactus are other safe choices.

1. Why are children under 3 more likely to become victims of houseplants?

A．They have easier access to houseplants.

B．They enjoy tasting anything out of curiosity.

C．They tend to mistake houseplants for candies.

D．They are more sensitive to poison of any kind.

2. What can we learn about the dieffenbachia plant according to the text?

A．Its sap can lead to pain in the skin.

B．Its stem can cause long lasting pain,

C．It harms health only when eaten a lot.

D．It looks like the peace lily in appearance.

3. What is Damiano’s suggestion for parents with young children?

A．They should avoid growing houseplants.

B．They should ask their children not to touch plants.

C．They should teach themselves knowledge about houseplants.

D．They should keep in close touch with poison control experts.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．How to Choose Safe Houseplants’

B．How to Decorate Houses with Plants

C．Keep Young Children Away from Houseplants

D．Watch Young Children around Some Houseplants

10 . Trees naturally absorbed CO₂ through photosynthesis(光合作用), releasing oxygen, storing carbon for decades, or even centuries. Biotechnology firm Living Carbon says lab trials of its genetically-changed poplar trees take up more carbon and grow 1.5 times faster than unchanged ones. The team added genes from pumpkin to the poplars, which makes their photosynthesis more efficient, turning more carbon dioxide into sugars to create wood biomass(生物量).

Though the firm’s lab results are promising, biologists warn that high growth rates are not guaranteed in the wild as the poplars compete for sunlight with other plants and trees. Genetically-modified (GM)supertrees may also need much watering and fertilizer to keep their rapid growth.

The results are important given the rate of climate change and climbing CO₂ levels in the atmosphere. But critics say there are risks to planting GM trees in the wild if they reproduce with other trees, or negatively affect other plant and animal species. Living Carbon says trees are a hybrid that can only reproduce from cuttings, so cannot cross-pollinate(授粉) with wild trees.

If the field trials are successful then it will still take time to get approval from the government. One sixth, around 135, tree species in the US may face extinction due to climate change, foreign insect species, or disease. And even though field trials of a GM chestnut tree have shown its ability to resist some foreign disease that wiped out billions of American chestnuts, it still has not been approved for planting.

If CO₂ storage is the aim then there are species that already fit the bill. California’s Redwood trees store more carbon than any other species. Redwoods are not suitable for every forestry plot, so creating climate adaptable trees through reproducing programs that fit into local ecosystems is the goal. But in the rush to fix the climate crisis, increase CO₂ uptake, and carbon storage, GM supertrees may be part of that solution.

1. How was the poplars’ carbon capacity improved?

A．By absorbing carbon dioxide.	B．By producing wood biomass.
C．By speeding up photosynthesis.	D．By engineering their genes.

2. What is the potential disadvantage of the GM trees?

A．They reproduced with other plants.	B．It is impossible to get approval.
C．It is hard to grow fast in the wild.	D．They are not competitive enough.

3. What does the underlined phrase “fit the bill” in the last paragraph mean?

A．Be unusual.

B．Be available.

C．Be unsuitable.

D．Be valuable.

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

A．Supertrees Could be Climate Fix.	B．Supertrees Take up More Carbon.
C．Change of Genes Reduce CO₂.	D．Changes of Genes Brings Efficiency.