1 . Art museums are filled with centuries-old paintings with details of plants that today give us clues about evolution and breeding practices.
Exhibited at an art museum in New York City, The Harvesters created by Pieter Bruegel in 1565 shows farmers cutting wheat nearly as tall as they are. “Nowadays, if you walk through a wheat field, you basically see that wheat is about knee-height. The short wheat is essentially a consequence of breeding from the second half of the 20th century. ” said biologist Ive De Smet.
According to De Smet, wheat is just one example of how historical artwork can allow us to track the transformation of food crops over time. He teamed up with art historian David Vergauwen to seek similar kinds of artwork around the world.
Friends since childhood, their interest in plants in artwork began with a visit to a museum in Russia, where they noticed an odd-looking watermelon in an early-17th-century painting. A watermelon usually is believed to be dark red on the inside. But that one appeared to be pale and white. De Smet assumed the painter had done a poor job. But Vergauwen had a different idea. He says, “This is one of the best painters ever from that era. So, if he painted it like that, that’s the way it must have looked like. ”
Other paintings revealed that there were both red and white watermelons grown during the 17th century. The color is determined by a gene that controls the lycopene（番茄红素）. “There must have been some sort of genetic change preventing the accumulation of that color. Now, with all the genetic knowledge that we have from various plant species, we can look in more details how something comes about. ”
The team hopes to create an online research database of historical plant artwork. They call for contributions of art enthusiasts around the world via the social media. But they caution, the source paintings need to be realistic. “If you’re going to use, for example, Picasso’s paintings to try and understand how a pear looked like in the early 20th century, you might be misled. ” Indeed, such an attempt could be fruitless.
1. What can we learn about wheat from Paragraph 2?| A．It had no short variety before the 1950s. |
| B．It became shorter and shorter as it evolved. |
| C．It grew shorter as farmers’ heights changed. |
| D．It was about knee-height in the 17th century. |
| A．Their life-long friendship. | B．A white watermelon painting. |
| C．Their professional background. | D．An argument over the best painters. |
| A．To show the contributions of art enthusiasts. |
| B．To give an example of historical plant artwork. |
| C．To tell how a pear looked in the early 20th century. |
| D．To stress the importance of having realistic source painting. |
| A．Centuries-old paintings of plants. | B．Plants information revealed in old art. |
| C．The values of different works of art. | D．Popular objects in historic artworks. |
2 . Plants don't bleed red and scream the way antelopes (羚羊)do when lions bite them, but they often die all the same if they can't defend themselves. A study by researchers at Missouri and the University of British Columbia proves that plants not only know when they're being eaten,but that they can tell several different insects apart even when they cat at the same time.
Appel and her coauthors-Jack Schultz, a University of Missouri researcher who led the study, and Joerg Bohlmann, a University of British Columbia researcher who performed genetic (基因的) studies, along with six others-planted Arabidopsis seeds in a lab and allowed them to grow to a size that caterpillars (毛毛虫)and worms love. Then they let the insects eat the plants. Plants lose water and tissue and, worse, might get infected (感染)with some sort of bacteria, but generally they live to see another day.
The researchers found that the plants produced chemicals that gave them the unpleasant smells to drive the insects away. Moreover, there were different genetic responses to each worm, showing that the plant actually knew what was eating them.
The study, financed by the National Science Foundation and published in the journal Frontiersin Plant Science, wasn't carried out for charity. Arabidopsis is an important plant that can bring in a lot of money for farmers.
This could allow agriculturalists who grow and design cash crops to give them the skills to drive off farm pests (害虫).“If we want to grow plants that can keep insects away,” Appel said, we might as well find out how they respond to different insects that feed on them.
1. What is the best title of this text?| A．Plants can know which insects are eating them |
| B．New plants help farmers earn more money |
| C．Scientists found a new way to grow plants |
| D．Scientists found plants could protect themselves |
| A．By changing their genes. | B．By producing special chemicals. |
| C．By loosing water and tissue. | D．By telling who is eating them. |
| A．Plants have different genetic reactions. |
| B．Plants produce the same chemicals. |
| C．Plants have skills to drive off farm pests. |
| D．Plants can tell several different insects apart. |
| A．protect a rare plant from dying out | B．deal with pests |
| C．to design a new kind of insect | D．raise money for charity |
3 . When my friend offered me a spider plant sprout, I decided to try something I'd never done before: commit to becoming a plant person. After doing research and changing my perspective, I can proudly say I am succeeding.
Start with Easy Plants
Research
It might seem like a pain but doing a little research can be the difference between your plant surviving and thriving. Looking up how much sunlight the plant needs, how often to water it,
Too much water can drown the plant. Not watering your plant enough can cause it to dry out and die very quickly. You'd better make a watering schedule to make sure you don't over or under water your plants.
Cater to the Plant
Just after a few weeks, I noticed the plant leaves were losing their green color. I found spider plants don't do well with intense afternoon sunlight. So I completely rearranged all my plants in my living room to cater to their specific sunlight needs.
| A．Do It with Love |
| B．Plants Need Watering Every Day |
| C．Create a Watering Schedule |
| D．what temperature it does best in |
| E．Now my plants are thriving more than ever |
| F．Like taking on any major project, it's best to start simply |
| G．Here are some tips to take on house plants when you do not have a green thumb |
4 . Cherry blossoms in Kyoto, Japan, reached peak bloom on March 26 this year — the earliest the event has occurred in 1,200 years of records. Why so soon?
According to records previously collected by Professor Yasuyuki Aono, Kyoto’s cherry blossoms had consistently flowered around April 10 to 17 for over a thousand years. The Washington Post reports that Japan’s most famous flowers have been trending toward blooming earlier each spring, with scientists blaming the phenomenon on increasing global temperatures. And this year, the peak has shifted all the way into the previous month. “The Kyoto Cherry Blossom record is incredibly valuable for climate change research. Even a slight drop or rise of springtime temperatures can be recorded by it,” research scientist Benjamin Cook said, noting that warmer temperatures typically mean cherry blossoms bloom earlier.
Cherry blossoms are influenced so easily by temperature that trees in Tokyo even bloomed in autumn after typhoons caused warmer weather in 2018. Meanwhile, Aono estimated that Kyoto has warmed by 3.4 degrees Celsius since 1820.While this year’s cherry blossom peak was Kyoto’s earliest in 1,200 years, this isn’t the case in other parts of Japan Tokyo reached peak bloom on March 22, which is three days earlier than average and the earliest date since 1953.
However, the global trend seems to be slowly pushing cherry blossoms into full bloom to earlier in the year regardless of where they’re planted. In 2019, scientist Patrick Gonzalez noted that the trend of earlier blooming seen among cherry blossoms in Washington was “consistent with human-caused climate change.”
Cherry blossoms are considered in full or peak bloom when 80 percent of the flowers have bloomed, which usually occurs within a week of the first flowers opening. Elements other than climate change may also be involved in the early blooming. Gonzalez offered the warning that “no research has examined all of the factors, and it is a long way to go.”
1. How does the author introduce the topic?| A．By stating a fact. | B．By giving an example. |
| C．By describing a custom. | D．By sharing an experience. |
| A．Cherry trees will die in cold weather. | B．Springtime temperatures are falling. |
| C．Cherry is sensitive to temperature change. | D．Early blooming also appeared elsewhere. |
| A．The studies have covered all factors. | B．Further scientific study is still needed. |
| C．Climate change is the only influential factor. | D．Causes of early blooming have been identified. |
| A．Climate changes in Kyoto of Japan | B．Cherry blossoms and climate changes |
| C．Traditions of admiring cherry blossoms | D．The fascinating cherry blossoms in Kyoto |
Yuan Longping, Father of Hybrid Rice,
Yuan was a co-winner of the 2004 World Food Prize, the top international honor recognizing the deeds of
Yuan’s pioneering research has
Barbara Stinson, president of the WFP Foundation, said Yuan was credited not only for hybrid rice, but also for the ability
Yuan started hybrid rice research in 1964 and
“He’s made such
6 . Contrary to the long-held belief that plants in the natural world are always in competition, new research has found that in severe environments adult plants help smaller ones and grow well as a result.
The research, led by Dr Rocio, studied adult and seedling (幼苗)plants in the ecological desert in the south-east of Spain. Dr Rocio said, “If you're a seedling in a poor land — the top of a mountain or a sand hill, for example-and you’re lucky enough to end up underneath a big plant, your chances of survival are certainly better than if you landed somewhere on your own. What we have found, which was surprising, is an established large plant, called a ‘nurse’, protects a seedling; it also produces more flowers than the same plants of similar large size growing on their own.”
Other benefits of nurse-seedling partnerships include that more variety of plants growing together can have a positive effect on the environment. For example, vegetation areas with nurse plants with more flowers might be able to attract higher numbers of pollinators(传粉者)in an area, in turn supporting insect and soil life and even provide a greater range of different fruit types for birds and other animals.
“The biggest winner for this system of nursing a plant is biodiversity(生物多样性),” Dr Rocio said. “The more biodiverse an area, the greater number of species of plants, insect life, mammals and birds, and the better the chances of long-term healthy functioning of the environment and ecosystems. ” This system is win-win for adult and seedling plants in unfavorable environments.
The research is of value to those who manage and protect plants in tough environments. Most home gardeners and farmers plan to ensure their soil and conditions are the best they can be for plant growth, but the findings might be of value to those who garden in bare places.
1. What is a common understanding of plants?| A．They can help each other. | B．They can survive ill conditions. |
| C．They compete with each other. | D．They grow well on their own. |
| A．They will produce more flowers. | B．They will die owing to competition. |
| C．They will make adult plants larger. | D．They will get support from adult plants. |
| A．It leads to unfavorable environments. |
| B．It produces long-term healthy chances. |
| C．It attracts higher and larger pollinators. |
| D．It provides a more variety of plant types. |
| A．People studying organic farming. |
| B．People protecting plants on sand hills. |
| C．People wanting to change biodiversity. |
| D．People keeping more animals on the farm. |
7 . Many studies have suggested that playing music for plants may have a certain influence on their growth. So, can plants really hear sounds? Do they actually like music? Are these true or just another popular story?
Since 1962, an Indian scientist has done several experiments on music and plant growth. He found that certain plants grew an extra 20 percent in height and weight when “listening” to music regularly. Later, he played music through loudspeakers placed around the field, and he found similar results for agricultural crops, such as peanuts, rice, and com, which produced more products at harvest time.
A Colorado greenhouse owner experimented with several types of plants and various types of music. She discovered that plants “listening” to rock music became dry gradually as if they had been a lack of water and then went to their end within a couple of weeks, while plants grew well when “listening” to classical music.
When it comes to understanding the effects of music on plant growth, it appears that it isn’t so much about the “sounds” of the music, but more to do with the vibrations (震动) created by the sound waves. In simple terms, the vibrations produce movements in the plant cells which help plants produce more nutrients. When plants don’t respond well to rock music, it isn’t because they “like” classical music better, but the vibrations produced by loud rock music create greater pressure that isn’t beneficial to plant growth.
Researchers at the University of California weren’t so quick to jump to conclusions about the effects of music on plant growth. They said that so far there had been very limited scientific evidence that playing music for plants helps them grow, and that more scientific tests were needed with strict control over factors such as light, water, soil, and so on.
1. What did the Indian scientist discover about crops listening to music?| A．They were lack of water. |
| B．They became dry gradually. |
| C．They grew more productive. |
| D．They tasted better than before. |
| A．They may prefer quiet and soft music. |
| B．Vibrations from music can affect their growth. |
| C．Musical sounds help produce new plant cells. |
| D．They respond positively to different kinds of music. |
| A．Entertainment. | B．Music. |
| C．Social Activity. | D．Scientific Research. |
| A．Can plants really hear music? |
| B．Can music improve plant growth? |
| C．Some ways to help plants grow fast. |
| D．Some types of music good for plants. |
