1 . With no special equipment, no fences and no watering, two abandoned agricultural fields in the UK have been rewilded (重新野化), in large part due to the efforts of jays, which actually “engineered” these new woodlands. Researchers now hope that rewilding projects can take a more natural and hands-off approach and that jays can shed some of their bad reputations.

The two fields, which researchers have called the New Wilderness and the Old Wilderness, had been abandoned in 1996 and 1961 respectively. The former was a bare field, while the latter was grassland—both lay next to ancient woodlands. Researchers had suspected that the fields would gradually return to wilderness, but it was impressive to see just how quickly this happened, and how much of it was owed to birds.

Using aerial data, the researchers monitored the two sites. After just 24 years, the New Wilderness had grown into a young, healthy wood with 132 live trees per hectare, over half of which (57%) were oaks. Meanwhile, the Old Wilderness resembled a mature woodland after 39 years, with 390 trees per hectare.

“This native woodland restoration was approaching the structure (but not the species composition) of long-established woodlands within six decades,” the researchers explained in the study.

Part of this reforestation was done by the wind, and researchers suspect that previous ground disturbance may have aided the woodland establishment—which is good news, as it would suggest that agricultural areas may be reforested faster than anticipated. However, animals—Eurasian jays, thrushes, wood mice, and squirrels—also played an important role in helping the forests take shape. This handful of species provided much of the natural regeneration needed for the forest to develop. Jays, in particular, seem to have done a lot of heavy lifting.

1. What does the underlined word “shed” in Paragraph 1 refer to?

A．Be opposed to.

B．Be ashamed of.

C．Get used to.

D．Get rid of.

2. Which aspect of the changes in the two fields impressed the researchers?

A．The scale of the woodlands.

B．The diversity of the fields.

C．The rate of the changes.

D．The frequency of the wilderness.

3. What does the author want to tell us by providing some data in Paragragh 3?

A．The woodland restoration was approaching the structure of long-established ones.

B．Much of the wilderness of the fields was owed to birds.

C．Previous ground disturbance aided the woodland establishment.

D．How quickly the fields returned to wilderness over time.

4. What does the last paragraph mainly talk about?

A．The essential role of humans in the reforestation.

B．The factors that contribute to the reforestation.

C．The importance of woodland establishment.

D．The threats faced by a handful of wild animals.

2 . Plants don’t have ears or a central nervous system, but new research out of the University of Missouri has demonstrated that they might still have the ability to “hear”. More specifically, plants have been shown to exhibit an immune (免疫) response to the mere sound of a hungry insect.

For the study, researchers played the sound of a caterpillar chewing to a group of plants, which caused slight vibrations (振动) on the plants’ leaves. The plants were able to recognize these vibration patterns as danger, and responded by mounting the appropriate immune response. In other words, it appears that plants can “hear” themselves being chewed on.

Researchers assume that plants achieve this remarkable ability thanks to proteins that respond to pressure found within their cell membranes. Vibrations cause pressure changes within the cell, which can change the behavior of the proteins; however, additional study will be required to confirm or deny this theory.

Once researchers identify the exact mechanisms at play in this process, it could lead to advances in crop protection. Farmers could potentially learn to use sound to cause a plant’s natural chemical defenses against insect threats, rather than turning to poisonous chemicals.

“We can imagine applications of this where plants could be treated with sound or genetically engineered to respond to certain sounds that would be useful for agriculture,” said study author Heidi Appel.

The study adds to the growing list of ways that plants have been shown to sense their environments. They are not the boring organisms that many people assume they are. For instance, some plants are able to communicate with each other and signal upcoming danger to their neighbors by releasing chemicals into the air. Plants can respond to light (think about sunflowers) and temperature. Some can even respond to touch, such as the Venus flytrap (捕蝇草), which snaps shut when an insect stimulates its hairs.

1. Why did researchers carry out the study?

A．To find out if plants can react to sounds.

B．To learn how plants recognize dangers.

C．To discover if plants can shake their leaves.

D．To see how plants improve immune systems.

2. What’s the potential use of researchers’ discovery?

A．To remove insects.	B．To protect crops.
C．To treat plant diseases.	D．To produce chemicals.

3. What does the author intend to tell us in the last paragraph?

A．There are more plants than we know.

B．Plants are more active than we think.

C．Plants fit in well with their environments.

D．Lots of secrets about plants remain unclear.

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

A．Can plants “talk” with each other?

B．How do plants make use of sounds?

C．Can plants “hear” themselves being eaten?

D．How do plants defend themselves against attacks?

3 . 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.

4 . Lichens (地衣)

Lichens look like splashes of paint left behind by a careless painter. Unlike many plants, they do not require soil to grow. They grow on trunk of trees in steaming tropical rain forests, on farmers’ fenceposts, on the bricks of big-city buildings, and on old gravestones. Lichens can tolerate extremes of climate. They grow on rocks in hot springs, on wind-swept mountaintops, and on stones in the driest deserts. In the Arctic, lichens are the principal source of food for reindeer. Whole mountainsides in Antarctica appear green and orange because of the presence of lichens; they are one of the few plants that can survive there. They are among the oldest of known plants. Recently, scientists discovered lichen fossils on a rock in a mine in southwest China that date back 600 million years.

When conditions become harsh, lichens become dormant (休眠). If there is not enough moisture, they simply dry up, but a short rain or even a heavy dew gives them new life. When growing on rock surfaces, lichens produce acids that dissolve (溶解) the minerals, contributing to the process of weathering by which rocks are slowly turned to soil. This property enables lichens to be pioneers. They appear on barren rock rubbed clean by glaciers, fires, lava flows, or floods, beginning the process of soil formation that allows mosses (苔藓) and other plants to later take root. But, despite their hardiness, lichens are extremely sensitive to airborne particles(颗粒). That’s why they serve as an early warning system for air pollution.

It is the acids lichens produce that give them their distinctive colors. Lichens are often spoken of in the same breath as mosses, and some lichens are even called mosses, but true mosses are all distinctively green, whereas lichens appear in many vivid colors. At one time, acids from lichens were used to make dyes, such as the purple dye, the blue dye, and the red dye, and they are sometimes still used that way today. Some lichens, such as oakmoss, contain oils that produce fragrant odors used in scented soaps, cosmetics and perfumes. Some lichens are also known to have antibiotic properties to kill bacteria.

So definite are the form, color, and characteristics of these organisms that for hundreds of years lichens were constantly under scientists’ microscope.

1. What characteristic of lichens is mainly talked about in paragraph 1?

A．They grow only on rock surfaces.

B．They live primarily in cold places.

C．They have adapted to a wide variety of environments.

D．They live in remote locations far from human communities.

2. The author refer to lichens as pioneers in paragraph 2 because they __________.

A．have their primitive structure

B．grow in areas before other plants do

C．are found in remote parts of the world

D．develop so early in the history of the planet

3. According to paragraph 3, humans use lichens in the following ways EXCEPT __________.

A．as a means of coloring clothing

B．as a type of medicine

C．as a source of food

D．as an ingredient in perfume

4. Which of the following cases would be probably dealt with in the next paragraph?

A．Lichens are important in Canada because of their abundance in the north.

B．Extracts of lichens were sold as herbal medicines to facilitate hair growth.

C．Glacier Park’s vast array of lichens indicate relatively good air quality.

D．A German botanist first found lichens are composed of two life forms.

5 . Have you imagined making an attractive garden which will be the reason for your neighbors’ envy?

    1     But not every one of them has the talent for making it happen. However, if there’s one thing they DO know, it’s how to make a simple cup of tea. As for the used teabags, most of them find they’re on the landfill site, but no longer! Your used teabag can work wonders in your garden by your simply burying it.     2     Continue to read what it does.

If you have ever tried to grow some seedlings (幼苗), then you know that this can be quite challenging. Not all seeds can grow into seedlings, even though you have tried so hard. But don’t worry. Here is good news.     3     And what you need just involves a used teabag.

By burying a teabag in your garden, you will provide nutrition to the soil, offering necessary food to the plants. In this way, your plants will be healthier and grow quicker. This is because tea works as a natural fertilizer (肥料) for the soil. The teabag itself is usually made from fibres from the abaca plant, which is a type of banana plant. The bag breaks down with its contents.     4    

If you bury a teabag close to the roots of your plants, it will help store water in the soil. If there’s one thing important for plants, it’s water! What’s more, weeds are not wanted in your garden.     5     By burying a used teabag in the earth, you’ll make it a lot harder for the weeds to grow alongside your healthy plants.

A．A teabag is a great answer.

B．It does work though it sounds strange.

C．Making a beautiful garden requires efforts.

D．A beautiful garden is something most people enjoy.

E．There is one way to help your seedlings grow better.

F．A simple teabag is likely to do wonders for your seeds.

G．That will create a healthy environment for plants to grow in.

6 . Covered in lush fur, the thickest in the animal kingdom, sea otters (海獭) can live their entire lives in the ocean, feeding heavily upon seafloor animals such as shellfish. They are often seen to eat clams(蛤), which bury themselves in meadows of eelgrass (大叶藻场),   a wide-ranging plant species growing in water. Eelgrass meadows where sea otters dig for clams become partly bare, which is commonly a concern for ecologists.

As it turns out, the meadows with otters are healthier, with more eelgrass, according to a new study published in Science. That's because by gently disturbing the seabed, the otters make the plants flower and produce seeds. What's more, their digging provides more space and sunlight for seeds to settle and grow. The enhanced genetic diversity caused by sea otters could make eelgrass more adaptable to present and future threats.

The finding is a powerful example of how animals such as otters influence their ecosystems beyond predation (捕食), often in unseen and little-known ways, says study leader Erin Foster, a research associate at the Hakai Institute. It also means sea otters, an endangered species, are vital to their environments and give eelgrass, which is in danger worldwide, a better chance at staying healthy and surviving.

Seagrass habitats are also important for many fish, providing food for animals, absorbing, and filtering harmful pollution and bacteria from the water. "Genetic diversity typically strengthens the adaptability of species, and considering the challenges we're facing…this will be important for eelgrass meadows, and from this aspect, the impact the otters are having deserves our lasting concern," says Foster.

1. What do we know about sea otters?

A．They live part of their lives underwater.	B．They mainly feed on sea animals like fish.
C．They eat clams beneath eelgrass meadows.	D．They become a new concern for ecologists.

2. How does the author develop paragraph 2?

A．By giving opinions.	B．By presenting reasons.
C．By clarifying concepts.	D．By comparing results.

3. Why does the author mention the endangered condition of eelgrass?

A．To provide examples of sea otters' predation.

B．To show the urgency to protect the environment.

C．To highlight the role of otters in their ecosystems.

D．To warn against the potential risk of climate change.

4. What does Foster think of the impact otters have on underwater meadows?

A．Overestimated.

B．Noteworthy.

C．Temporary.

D．Unpredictable.

7 . For many people, catching a smell of freshly cut grass is a pleasant sign that warmer weather is here to stay. For the grass, however, this scent signals an entirely different story.

The smell we associate with freshly cut grass is actually a chemical SOS, one used by plants to beg nearby creatures to save them from attack. After all, when danger strikes —whether it's gardening equipment or a hungry caterpillar — plants can't lift their roots and run. They must fight where they stand. To protect themselves, plants employ a string of molecular (分子) responses. These chemical communications can be used to poison an enemy, warn surrounding plants of dangers or attract helpful insects to perform needed services.

Clearly, plants can communicate. But does that mean they can feel pain? According to some researchers, plants release gases that are the equivalent of crying out in pain. Using a laser-powered microphone, researchers have picked up sound waves produced by plants releasing gases when cut or injured. Although not audible to the human ear, the secret voices of plants have revealed that cucumbers scream when they are sick, and flowers cry when their leaves are cut.

There's also evidence that plants can hear themselves being eaten. Researches show that plants understand and respond to chewing sounds made by caterpillars dining on them. As soon as the plants hear the noises, they respond with several defense mechanisms.

For some researchers, evidence of these complex communication systems — giving out noises via gas when in pain — signals that plants feel pain. Others argue that there cannot be pain without a brain to register the feeling. Still more scientists infer that plants can exhibit intelligent behavior without possessing a brain or conscious awareness.

As they grow, plants can change their paths to avoid obstacles or reach for support with their tendrils (卷须). This activity comes from a complex biological network distributed through the plants' roots, leaves and stems. This network helps plants reproduce, grow and survive.

1. What does the smell of freshly cut grass signal?

A．Warmer weather.	B．Being poisonous.
C．Cry for help.	D．The need of services.

2. How do plants convey their pain?

A．By giving out gases.	B．By changing the color of their leaves.
C．By producing audible sound waves.	D．By sharing it through the root systems.

3. What makes plants' intelligent behavior possible?

A．Their tendrils.	B．Their biological network.
C．Their communication systems.	D．Their conscious awareness.

4. What is the best title for the text?

A．Do plants feel pain?	B．How plants protect themselves?
C．Do plants communicate?	D．How plants grow and reproduce?

8 . 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。

Picking tea leaves is     1     important spring activity in South China. Ancient Chinese     2     (agriculture) production has long been guided by solar terms, and so has tea production. Tea leaves are ready to pick before Qingming; tea     3     (pick) at that time is called Mingqian tea. Because of the small output and good quality, Mingqian tea     4     (consider) quite valuable.

China has been a big tea producing country since ancient times. According to official data, China’s tea planting area     5     (grow) in recent years, with an increase of more than 1.81 million hectares in 16 years since 2000 and     6     (it) yearly tea production has ranked first in the world for several years in a row.

In spring, local hillsides are often filled with tea pickers as well as farmers     7     (plant) on their land. The beautiful scenery of tea farms in the countryside has also contributed     8     an increase in tourism in these places. Many families take their children to experience the fun of picking tea leaves during spring outings with     9     (laugh) ringing in the mountains. Picking tea leaves reflects hard work of Chinese people,     10     is one of the traditional virtues (美德).

9 . 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.

10 . The rapid pace of global warming and its effects on habitats raise the question of whether species are able to keep up so that they remain in suitable living conditions. Some animals can move fast to adjust to a swiftly changing climate. Plants, being less mobile, rely on means such as seed dispersal(传播) by animals, wind or water to move to new areas, but this redistribution typically occurs within one kilometre of the original plant.

When the climate in a plant’s usual range becomes hotter than it can tolerate, it must find new, cooler areas that might lie many kilometres away. One explanation for long-distance seed dispersal is through transport by migratory (迁徙的) birds. Such birds swallow seeds when eating fruit and can move them tens or hundreds of kilometres outside the range of a plant species.

Gonzáiez-Vary and colleagues report how plants might be able to keep pace with rapid climate change with the help of migratory birds. The authors analysed the fruiting times of plants, patterns of bird migration and the interactions between fruit-eating birds and fleshy-fruited plants across Europe. Plants with fleshy fruits were chosen for this study because most of their seed transport is by migratory birds, and because fleshy-fruited plants are an important part of the woody-plant community in Europe. The common approach until now has been to predict plant dispersal using models fitted to abiotic (非生物的) factors such as the current climate. Gonzáiez-Vary instead analysed an impressive data set of 949 different seed-dispersal interactions between bird and plant communities, together with data on entire fruiting times and migratory patterns of birds across Europe. The researchers also analysed DNA traces from bird wastes to identify the plants and birds responsible for seed dispersal.

1. How do species adapt to climate changes when it’s too hot?

A．All animals will move away across great distanced.

B．Some plants depend on migratory birds to carry seeds.

C．Some plants depend on animals, wind or water to move.

D．Plants’ seeds disperse to cooler places of several kilometres away.

2. Why did researchers mainly study fleshy-fruited plants?

A．Most of these can’t fit rapid climate change

B．Migratory birds like making nests in them

C．Migratory birds transport their seeds.

D．They are favoured by most birds.

3. Why does the author mention “fleshy fruits” and “fruiting times” in paragraph 3?

A．To explain relations between fruit plants and migratory birds.

B．To clarify the reason why birds migrate in fruiting times.

C．To present a fact that migratory bird eats flesh fruits.

D．To show that fruits depend on migratory birds.

4. What is the text mainly about?

A．The advantage of fruit plants.

B．The destination of the bird migration.

C．The adaptation of fruit plants to the climate change.

D．The influence of climate change on plants and animals.