1 . 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.

2 . Our world is full of sounds. Sound is so essential to life and survival that it made Tel Aviv University researcher Lilach Hadany ask: What if it wasn't just animals that could sense sound—what if plants could, too?

“Sounds are a natural resource-one that plants would be wasting if they didn’t take advantage of it as animals do,”said Hadany. If plants had a way of hearing and responding to sound, she figured, it could help them survive and reproduce.

Hadany's team started their study by investigating flowers. Evening primrose（夜来香）, which grows wild on the beaches and in parks around Tel Aviv, emerged as a good candidate, since it has a long bloom time and produces measurable quantities of nectar（花蜜）.

To test the primroses in the lab, Hadany's team exposed plants to five sound treatments: silence, recordings of a honeybee from four inches away, and computer generated sounds in low, intermediate（中等的）, and high frequencies. Plants given the silent treatment had no significant increase in nectar sugar concentration. The same went for plants exposed to high-frequency（158 to 160 kilohertz）and intermediate-frequency（34 to 35 kilohertz）sounds.

But for plants exposed to playbacks of bee sounds（0.2 to 0.5 kilohertz）and similarly low-frequency sounds（0.05 to 1 kilohertz）, the final analysis revealed an unmistakable response. Within three minutes of exposure to these recordings, nectar sugar concentration in the plants increased by 20 percent.

A sweeter treat for pollinators（传粉者）, their theory goes, may draw in more insects, potentially increasing the chances of successful cross-pollination. Indeed, in field observations, researchers found that pollinators were more than nine times more common around plants another pollinator had visited within the previous six minutes.

“We were quite surprised when we found out that it actually worked.” said Hadany.“But after repeating it in other situations, in different seasons, and with plants grown both indoors and outdoors, we feel very confident in the result.”

1. Why did Hadany's team expose plants to sound treatments?

A．To see if they would respond to sound.

B．To develop their ability to receive sound.

C．To help them benefit from different sounds.

D．To detect the difference between plants and animals.

2. Which of the following can bring a sweeter treat for pollinators?

A．Flowers like primroses	B．Sounds like those of bees.
C．Visits from other pollinators.	D．Exposure to different sounds

3. What can be concluded from the study?

A．Plants can identify different sounds.	B．Sound attracts more pollinators to flowers.
C．Plants produce nectar when pollinators come.	D．Sound plays an important role in insects’ survival.

4. How did Hadany feel about their discovery described in paragraph 5 at first?

A．It was doubtful.

B．It was unexpected.

C．It was acceptable

D．It was satisfactory.