1 . It’s breathtaking to watch the delicate spring wildflowers come out from their blanket of leaves, bloom, develop and disperse (传播) fruit, all in a matter of a few short days or weeks.

Although they look fragile, these are tough little plants, each focusing its efforts on spreading its species. They have evolved to have a wide range of flower structures and colors, some with fragrances, attracting many different insect species to assist them in pollination (授粉).

There is one strategy (策略) that a surprising number of spring blooming native plants have evolved in common: seed dispersal by ants. As many as thirty percent of the spring flowering plant species in the forests of eastern North America have evolved to take advantage of this situation to benefit themselves. These species have evolved to provide food attached to their seeds to encourage ants to disperse those seeds. This food, called an elaiosome, is a specialized fat body whose chemical composition more closely matches that of the insects that ants prefer than it does that of a seed.

When a fruit opens to disperse its seeds, the elaiosomes are an instant attraction for ants. They take the seed with its attached elaiosome back to their nests for consumption there, but they just eat the elaiosome, their preferred food, and dispose of the seed on their trash pile. This tends to be an environment that is rich in nutrients, and will benefit the growth of the new plant. Just to make sure the ants don’t eat the seeds in addition to the elaiosome, some plant species have hard seed coatings that ants can’t really bite through.

This evolutionary adaptation is somewhat similar to the strategy of plants that have evolved to surround their seeds with fleshy fruits to attract birds to assist them with seed dispersal. Given the fact that there are fewer birds available in early spring to help with seed dispersal, it makes sense that the early blooming plants evolved to partner instead with the ants for this service.

Did you ever wonder how your Spring Beauty managed to pop up in new locations in your lawn or garden? Thank an ant!

1. How many methods do wildflowers have to attract animals according to the text?

A．Two.

B．Three.

C．Four.

D．Five.

2. What can be inferred about elaiosome?

A．It’s hard to digest.	B．It’s impossible for ants to resist.
C．It makes the earth rich in nutrients.	D．It’s often thrown into the trash pile.

3. Why do the early wildflowers prefer ants to birds to disperse according to the text?

A．Ants are creative and hardworking.

B．Ants are better at dispersing than birds.

C．The birds in the early year are not enough.

D．The birds are not interested in their fleshy fruits.

4. What can the best title of the text?

A．Thank Ants for Wildflowers

B．Wildflowers Discover Their Treasures

C．New Species of Wildflowers are Found

D．Ants Are Superheroes Protecting Environment

2 . 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

3 . We all love gardens with beautiful flowers and leafy plants, choosing colourful species to plant in and around our homes. Plant scientists, however, may have fallen for the same trick in what they choose to research.

The research, published in Nature Plants, found there’s a clear bias (偏好) among scientists toward visually striking plants. This means they’re more likely chosen for scientific study and conservation efforts, regardless of their ecological or evolutionary significance. White, red and pink flowers were more likely to feature in research literature than those with dull, or green and brown flowers. Plants with tall stems also stood out. Plants with blue flowers — the rarest colour in nature — received most research attention. But interestingly, a plant’s rarity didn’t significantly influence research attention. The team had expected to find more endangered species among those most studied, it did not either.

This bias may direct conservation efforts away from less visually pleasing plants that are more important to the health of the overall ecosystem or in need of urgent conservation. A bias toward colorful plants could mean we may be missing species that could be in rapid decline toward extinction, and we don’t have even basic information on seed banking for conservation. This is not a tragedy, but something to consider when planning future work.

We often don’t know how important a species is until it’s thoroughly researched. In Australia, for example, milkweeds are an important food source for butterflies, while dull-flowered mat rushes are now known to be the home for rare native sun moths. From habitats to food, these plants provide foundational ecological services, yet many milkweed and mat rush species are rare, and largely neglected in conservation research.

The study shows the need to take biases into consideration in science and in the choice of species studied, for the best conservation and ecological outcomes. People should be more alert in all parts of the conservation process, from the science to listing species for protection.

1. Which of the following plants are highly researched?

A．Plants which are rare.	B．Plants with blue flowers.
C．Plants with brown flowers.	D．Plants which are endangered.

2. What is the third paragraph mainly about?

A．The efforts to save endangered species.	B．The ways to conserve dull plants.
C．The reasons for plants’ extinction.	D．The consequences of plant bias.

3. What can we know about the “milkweeds” and “mat rushes” in paragraph 4?

A．They deserve thorough research.

B．They are closely connected with each other.

C．They have received the least research attention.

D．They are more important than beautiful flowers.

4. Which of the following is the best title for the passage?

A．Are beautiful plants the most useful?	B．How can we save less attractive plants?
C．Which plant species need our help?	D．Are attractive plants researched more?

4 . Huge crowds are forming on Monday at the US Botanic Garden in Washington, DC. Usually, it’s a place to see flowers that look pretty, smell fantastic and bloom (开花) annually. But today, the so-called “corpse plants” on show are the opposite in all aspects.

Native to the rain forests of Sumatra, Indonesia, the corpse plants don’t bloom on a regular cycle -- the length of time between blooms ranges from a few years to a few decades and they are ugly and smelly.

“Last night it started out like a good French cheese, stinky but delightful. Then it moved on to a lazy boy’s socks. At last, it was junior high school gym followed by full-on rotten fish. Finally, it moved all the way to a rotting meat smell that was so thick and heavy that I experienced a sore throat, burning eyes and had a bitter taste in my mouth.” said John Clements, one of the garden employees,

“It smells bad to us, but it smells great to flies. It makes them think there’s rotten meat somewhere to lay their eggs, and that helps the corpse plant to get pollinated (授粉),” says Rob Raguso, a professor at Cornell University. “Since it takes a lot of energy for the plant to produce the smell, it puts it on reserve during the day, and will put it out in full strength from 9 pm to 3 am when the air is still and the smell can travel more easily.”

The smell comes from a number of chemicals that smell differently on their own, and that together draw flies to the plant’s cup-like flower. One of these, timethylamine, smells like rotting fish. Another, isovaleric acid, is responsible for the terrible smell of sweaty gym socks.

“It also heats up. The flower actually reaches human body temperature, making it all the more convincing to flesh-loving insects,”adds Rob Raguso.

1. What does John Clements mainly talk about?

A．Lazy boys’ socks.	B．Delightful French cheese.
C．The smell of a flower.	D．The taste of corpse plants.

2. When should visitors go to the US Botanic Garden to experience the strongest smell?

A．At noon

B．At dusk.

C．In the afternoon.

D．After midnight.

3. Why does the temperature of corpse plants’ flowers go up?

A．To reserve energy.	B．To attract pollinators.
C．To heat the environment	D．To send the smell further.

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

A．What Makes Corpse Plants Smell So Bad?

B．How Do Corpse Plants Appeal to Insects?

C．When Do Corpse Plants Bloom in Full Strength?

D．Why Can Flies Find Corpse Plants in the Darkness?

5 . 听下面一段独白，回答以下小题。
1. Why is it suggested not to buy from wholesalers?

A．They only sell seeds.

B．They don’t have good soil.

C．They don’t take good care of plants.

2. What is good soil?

A．Wet soil.

B．Hard soil.

C．Smelly soil.

3. How many suggestions are given?

A．2.

B．3.

C．4.

6 . Plants have been essential to humans since the beginning of time. Their beauty inspires joy and many have healing functions. Now, a recent study has identified a super plant that cleans polluted air.

Noting that car pollution is a global concern, researchers set out to study how effective plants are at catching roadside particulates (颗粒), which cause many health problems. The scientists at the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) in the UK chose the city of Reading to study how effective plants are at catching them. Since previous research has shown that trees help remove air pollution, researchers decided to explore the effectiveness of hedges (树篱). This study looked at three species: hawthorn, western red cedar, and franchet’s cotoneaster (栒子).

Researchers discovered that cotoneaster was the most effective after comparing particulates on leaves of these three plants. This is due to the plant’s hairy, complex leaf structure. Researchers also found that thick hedges over six feet high were best in reducing the concentration of particles. In the most heavily trafficked areas, cotoneaster took in 20 percent more pollution than the other shrubs, according to The Guardian.

Dr Tijana Blanusa, co-author of the study, told The Guardian, “We know that in just seven days a l-metre length of well-managed dense hedge will clean up the same amount of pollution that a car emits over a 500-mile drive.” Blanusa highly recommends planting cotoneasters along busy roads.

This is great news for urban planners, as well as gardeners. Although many people are affected by roadside pollution, an RHS survey shows that only six percent of gardeners choose specific plants that may improve air quality.

Originally from China, cotoneaster is a hardy evergreen that can tolerate cold. In addition to growing healthy in the UK, it can grow strong in areas from California up to the Pacific Northwest, into British Columbia and around the Great Lakes.

Thanks to this recent study, cotoneaster has proved to be extremely beneficial, enabling gardeners and landscapers to make a positive difference to the environment. The hope is that once these super plants are grown in urban gardens and on streets, they will clean the air plus provide intense beauty along the way.

1. What is paragraph 2 mainly about?

A．What plants bring people.

B．Why researchers did the study.

C．How serious air pollution is.

D．What progress scientists have made.

2. Why is cotoneaster better at absorbing roadside particulates?

A．Its leaves are made of many different parts.

B．It can keep green in bad weather conditions.

C．It has a suitable height for reducing pollution.

D．Its leaves are thick in places with heavy traffic.

3. What’s Tijana Blanusa’s attitude towards the effect of cotoneaster?

A．Positive.

B．Surprised.

C．Concerned.

D．Doubtful.

4. What can we learn about cotoneaster?

A．It requires a lot of care in urban areas.

B．It will affect the growth of other species.

C．It will help improve air quality once planted.

D．It can make people feel energetic all day long.

7 . The flower doesn’t use verbs or adjectives to tell a pollinator (传粉昆虫) that it looks pretty when the pollinator flies by, at least not as far as we know. But plants do respond to the sound of bees buzzing through the air, greeting them with more sweet nectar (花蜜) in hopes of attracting them to land. It is a poetic and practical language that increases everyone’s chances of survival. Scientists increasingly believe that animals and plants communicate with each other. Thanks to a new study on “natural language”, now there’s additional evidence that measures how evening primroses (月见草) respond to sound.

The research team played sounds like that of bees’ wings beating to evening primroses. The flowers vibrated (振动) when they heard the sounds. It’s as if they were listening. Other sounds, played at different frequencies, didn’t lead to the same result. The flowers vibrated, but didn’t increase the sweetness of their nectar production. The average sugar concentration was 20% higher in flowers exposed to pollinator-like frequencies, but remained stable at the sound of higher frequency recordings and silence.

These findings led the researchers to argue that flowers function as a plant’s ears, informing the plant as a whole of what’s going on nearby and when it’s time to attract a pollinator. Plants have to be sensitive to the sound of pollinators because they have an interdependent relationship with one another. The plants rely on the pollinators for reproduction, so they produce a sweeter nectar as a kind of seduction. And the bees eat the nectar, which means they’ll be adjusted to what the flowers are doing and drawn to the sweeter food. It pays for flowers to be able to distinguish between the sound of bats as compared to bees, for example, and for the pollinators, it’s worthwhile to find the best food in the least amount of time.

While this study is just a first step in understanding how plants respond to sound, and studies on other species must be done next to better understand how flowers listen.

1. How did the researchers do the experiment?

A．By vibrating the flowers.	B．By exposing plants to pollinators.
C．By imitating the sound of insects.	D．By increasing the sweetness of nectar.

2. What does the underlined word “seduction” mean in paragraph 3?

A．Production.

B．Attraction.

C．Value.

D．Adjustment.

3. In which aspect do plants benefit from listening?

A．Saving resources.	B．Providing more food.
C．Knowing different species.	D．Promoting the reproduction.

4. What does the study mainly focus on?

A．How certain plants react to sound.	B．How to interact with plants.
C．The languages used in nature.	D．The methods of survival for plants.

8 . Wildflower meadows are beautiful; so beautiful in fact that a village in Britain has found they act as natural speed traps from motorists slowing down to look at them.

The village of Long Newnton in Gloucestershire has a problem with fast-moving traffic between nearby towns. Almost all drivers moving through areas they frequent will break posted speed limits, and neither a 30 mile per hour limit, nor warning signs made any difference.

Officials first planted flowers along the roadside during the pandemic to help improve biodiversity. But they noticed that as well as attracting more wildlife, motorists also slowed down when they passed the flowers. The village, between Tetbury and Malmesbury, has traffic regularly travelling between them, and the small parish council(教区行政机构) receives limited funds from the government for traffic control measures.

Putting two and two together, the village is now relying on its flowers to do the work that the road signs could not, paying for the blooms with crowdfunding(众筹) in the village.

Why exactly people slow down isn’t entirely clear. “Evidence has shown that if you introduce things like wildflowers, drivers will slow down because they feel like they’re coming into somewhere that’s looked after,” said Jenny Forde, cabinet member for health and wellbeing at Cotswold District Council. A crowdfunding campaign has raised almost £8,000 for traffic-calming measures, which will be used to fund a three-year care program for the wildflowers.

A sign that flashes and records data when people are breaking the 30 mph(48 kmph) speed limit was also fixed by the council. According to the data, 90% of motorists drive below the speed limit. It goes to show that something the homeschooling revolution in America is getting right applies elsewhere too, and that rewards for good behavior will always outperform(胜过) punishment for bad behavior.

1. What problem are villagers in Long Newnton facing?

A．Drivers often overspeed through the village.

B．Warning signs are unserviceable inside the village.

C．Traffic accidents often happen between the towns.

D．Large numbers of people are pouring to visit the village.

2. For what did officials plant flowers along the roadside initially?

A．Acting as traffic signals.	B．Attracting more tourists.
C．Increasing plant diversity.	D．Advising drivers to slow down.

3. What can be inferred from the text?

A．The longest journey begins with the first step.

B．Rewards outweigh punishment in some way.

C．Nothing is impossible to a willing heart.

D．A good beginning is half of success.

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

A．Pay for Flowers with Crowdfunding	B．Natural Traps Found in Long Newnton
C．More Measures Taken to Regulate Traffic	D．Handle Speeding with Wildflowers’ Help

9 . How to Start Gardening

If you are feeling the itch(渴望) to get a green thumb and start gardening, we cannot blame you.    1    So, let’s get you on the way to starting your own gardening that is right for you!

The first step is to come up with an idea of what you want to grow. If you are going to grow a crop, make sure it is something you will eat. You also need to make sure your area has the right climate, and that you are planting at the right time. Most plants will require planting in spring, but sometime planting in the fall,so make sure you know the life cycle of a plant and when you should plant it.    2    

After you have chosen what you want to grow, picture your garden or even draw up a plan. Look at what will go where depending on how much sun it needs.     3    Think about walls and fences and how they will impact the suns’ placement in your garden. You should also think about access for watering, picking and nurturing your plants.

Testing your soil is necessary.     4    A majority of crops in your garden will need neutral pH 7 soil. If the soil is not nutritious enough, consider fertilizer on a more regular basis. Always find out what kind of soil the plant needs first and then supply the correct soil to the correct plant.

    5    You should always make sure that you choose the right seeds before you start planting. It is wise to learn which plants will grow best when directly seeded in the garden and which plants are better as transplanted plants. Then it is time to get planting.

A．Choose the right seeds and then plant them.

B．It has so many benefits and it is hard to resist.

C．You should also look up a seeding calendar as well.

D．Consider the sun in the sky above your garden as well.

E．And keep the kids’ play area away from the planting areas.

F．Many green hands to the gardening scene do not know this.

G．It is also worth looking into what grows well in your local area and what doesn’t.

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。

This scene at the opening ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics amazed the world. Fireworks     1     the shape of the “Guest-Greeting Pine“ made the world feel the enthusiasm of an open China. The “Guest-Greeting Pine”, named after its shape like a person    2    (wave) to welcome visitors, is one of the landmarks on Mount Huangshan, which     3    (sit) in the south of Anhui Province.

As a UNESCO natural and cultural heritage site, Mount Huangshan is also a global geopark characterized by a Mesozoic granite landscape. This     4    (drama) landscape includes formations of natural stone pillars, strangely-shaped rocks, waterfalls, caves, lakes and hot springs, formed by    5    (it) complex geological history. Its magnificent natural scenery of massive granitic stones and ancient pine trees is often    6    (far) enhanced by cloud and mist effects.

Mount Huangshan boasts 72 peaks, among    7     Lianhua Peak, Guangmingding Peak and Tiandu Peak are the three main peaks, with    8     altitude(海拔) of over 1, 800 meters. In Mount Huangshan, there are more than 200 cloudy days in a year. When the water vapor rises or the fog does not disappear after the rain, it     9    (form) a sea of clouds, presenting a fairyland landscape.

As a famous traditional mountain in China, Mount Huangshan bears profound historical and cultural     10    (mean) with ancient buildings, ancient pedals, cliff stone carvings, etc. , and has bred the “Huangshan Painting School” of Chinese landscape painting.