Yunnan is the hometown of tea. It provides the ideal climate and the ecological environment for large-leaf tea trees, which are located in the
Other
Yunnan has diverse resources of tea trees. The regulation also advocates proper research and
2 . Fig trees are native to Europe around the Mediterranean Sea, Asia and Arica, but they can grow in much cooler climates.
Once big enough, fig trees can accept temperatures even a few degrees below freezing. Some kinds of fig trees do better in such environments than others.
Depending on the weather and pruning (修剪), a fig can grow into a bush or a tee. Bushes with several stems (茎) growing from the ground do best if covered for the winter.
One popular method for burying trees for their protection involves digging a narrow, shallow area.
Next, push a shovel (铲子) into the soil about a half-meter from the trunk (树干) on the side opposite the hole. Lift that side of the tree’s root ball out of the ground. Then, gently push the tree toward the hole.
Pack soil around the exposed side of the roots, and around the length of the tree. Load soil over the tree. Make it at least 30 centimeters deep. You will need more soil than you removed from digging.
| A．And in this area the tree can be laid. |
| B．All kinds of the trees could use protection. |
| C．You can also cover, or wrap, the tree instead. |
| D．And bend it around the bottom part of the tree. |
| E．When it is lying fat, cover the tree with plastic. |
| F．Trees with a single trunk can be buried or covered. |
| G．Remove the cover on the tee on a cloudy day in early spring. |
The ginkgo (银杏) tree is thought to be one of the oldest living trees,
Ginkgoes are large trees,
With fan-shaped leaves, ginkgoes are green both on the top and bottom. But during autumn, they turn bright yellow and then fall, which make up
Because ginkgoes
4 . When micro-plastics end up in farm fields, the pollution can damage plant growth. But two young researchers now report that combining fungi (真菌) with certain farm wastes can partly overcome that problem.
May Shin, 20, and Jiwon Choi, 18, met in a research design class at the Fryeburg Academy, a high school in Maine. May had desired to explore how micro-plastics might affect the ecosystem. Jiwon was crazy about plants and fungi. The young scientists cooperated to test how long-lived plastics might affect farm crops.
Scientists have shown certain fungi can aid root growth and a plant’s nutrient uptake. Those organisms are named arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). Certain farm wastes, like straw, can provide nutrients to plants and help stabilize their roots. Such wastes are also known as mushroom substrate (基质) and people often grow mushrooms in them.
May and Jiwon planted over 2,000 scallion (大葱) seeds in pots of soil. Half the seeds got soil polluted with micro-plastics. The rest grew in plastic-free soil. The plants then were further divided into four groups. The young scientists added AMF to the soil in one group. Another group had a top layer of mushroom substrate. A third group got both treatments. The last group got none. For three weeks, the pair tracked how many scallions sprouted (发芽) in each group and measured the plants’ height once each week.
About twice as many scallions sprouted in clean soil compared to that containing plastic bits. But among plants surviving in the polluted soil, a combination of AMF and mushroom substrate helped them out. Those getting both treatments grew 5.4 centimeters per week. That was faster than either of the treatments alone or those getting none.
Jiwon and May then looked at the plant roots with a microscope. Where AMF had been added, it grew into those roots. That increased the scallion roots’ surface area, May said, which should promote their uptake of nutrients. So “I see this project as coming up with a sustainable solution for plant growth in polluted soils,” said May.
1. Why did May and Jiwon work together?| A．To see the effects of long-lived plastics on farm crops. |
| B．To find the relationship between plants and fungi. |
| C．To design a research on the growth of plants. |
| D．To explore the way that the ecosystem works. |
| A．To prove the existence of micro-plastics. | B．To compare fungi with farm wastes. |
| C．To tell the advantages of farm wastes. | D．To provide some related information. |
| A．Its purpose. | B．Its design. | C．Its findings. | D．Its reasons. |
| A．By keeping the plants more resistant to pollution. | B．By allowing the plants’ deep area more freedom. |
| C．By making nutrients more available to the plants. | D．By exposing the roots to a larger surface area. |
5 . Environmental conditions experienced by parent plants can influence offspring performance through parental effects induced(感应的) by DNA. The offspring can also be influenced by environmental conditions experienced by their parents via soil legacy(遗产) effects due to changes in the composition of soil.
We conducted a two-phase experiment with five genotypes(基因型) of a clonal plant. In the first phase, we grew parent plants of each genotype under two light conditions and two DNA treatments. We then collected soils and clonal offspring for each genotype from each of these four treatments and measured soil properties. In the second phase, we grew the offspring from each of the four treatments in the four different soils, under the two light conditions.
When grown under environmental light condition and in soil from environmental parents, offspring produced by environmental parents grew larger than offspring produced by shaded parents when the parents were treated with water. This difference was smaller when the parents were treated with 5-7°C, and disappeared when the offspring were grown in soil from shaded parents. The growth difference was also observed when the offspring were grown under shaded condition and in soil from shaded parents. However, this difference was greater when the parents were treated with 5-7°C, and disappeared when the offspring were grown in soil from environmental parents.
Our results show that light condition experienced by parents can influence offspring responses to light through both parental effects and soil legacies. The parental effects were mediated(调节) by changes in DNA and the soil legacies. These impacts may eventually influence the ecological and evolutionary track of clonal plant populations.
1. What is the text mainly about?| A．Environmental conditions are important to offspring performance. |
| B．Offspring performance can be controlled by DNA and the soil legacies. |
| C．Environmental conditions experienced by parent plants can influence offspring. |
| D．Light condition experienced by parents can influence offspring responses to light. |
| A．They carried out a survey. |
| B．They conducted an experiment. |
| C．They analyzed existing data. |
| D．They collected information from others. |
| A．Growth difference only happens under environmental light condition. |
| B．Offspring of environmental parents grow smaller than offspring of shaded parents. |
| C．No growth difference appears when offspring are grown in soil from shaded parents. |
| D．Growth difference varies when parents are treated with 5-7°C under different conditions. |
| A．A diary. | B．A magazine. | C．A novel. | D．A notebook. |
China’s State Council recently approved a plan to establish a national botanical garden in Beijing,
As one of the countries with the
For a long time, botanical gardens
Top scientists and high-end scientific research platforms
Beijing enjoys geographical
7 . How to create an indoor garden
If you’re looking for a way to brighten up your home, consider creating an indoor garden.
Deciding is probably the hardest part when it comes to creating an indoor garden because there are just so many plants to choose from. Start by thinking about what type of plants you want.
Now that you know what type of plants you want, it’s time to get the right potting soil and containers. Make sure to get a potting mix that is specifically designed for indoor plants.
Choose a bright location Once you have your plants and pots, it’s time to choose a location for your indoor garden.
In addition to watering, you’ll also need to add substance to your plants about once a month. This will help them grow and stay healthy. Just be sure to follow the instructions on the package. Don’t overdo it.
| A．Give fertiliser monthly. |
| B．How exactly can we make one? |
| C．Follow the instruction correctly. |
| D．But don’t worry, we’re here to help. |
| E．This will help your plants grow strong. |
| F．Do you want something that will blossom? |
| G．Look for a spot in your home that gets a lot of natural light. |
8 . Recent research confirms what our farming ancestors have known for centuries about hedges (树篱). They conserve precious soil by acting as windbreaks and absorbing rainwater that would otherwise wash it from the fields. And hedges store carbon, putting them in the front line of our bi d to tackle the climate crisis.
However, hedges have had a tough time in the poor countryside, with farmers encouraged to tear them down in pursuit of maximum production and larger field s to accommodate ever-larger machinery. What’s more, some hedges have been ignored. If left to their own devices, they’ll eventually become a line of trees. Some hedges each year lose their structures and fail to fulfil the primary duty as a barrier. Around a half of the nation’s hedges have disappeared in the past century.
There are signs that “the tide is turning”. The search for net zero has aroused many organizations’ interest in the humble hedge’s role as a carbon sink. The Climate Change Committee is recommending a 40 percent increase in hedges: an additional 200,000 km. Such recommendations are starting to drive policy. Cash-pressed farmers will be encouraged to create new hedges and improve their management of existing ones under the new Environmental Land Management Schemes, which will replace many of the existing agricultural support payments in coming years. Meanwhile, initiatives such as Close the Gap, led by the Tree Council, is providing funding and support to plug the gaps in existing hedges with new planting. There’s even an app to help time-pressed farmers do a quick survey to spot where their hedges need some help.
This is a good time for hedges. Take some of the most pressing challenges facing the countryside, and indeed, the world as a whole — the climate crisis, soil erosion (侵蚀), insect attack and wider biodiversity loss — and hedges are part of the solution.
1. What does recent research show about hedges?| A．They are unique landscapes in the rain. |
| B．They act as dividing lines between fields. |
| C．They have long been helpful to agriculture. |
| D．They are frequently washed away from the fields. |
| A．Their suffering. | B．Their production. |
| C．Their duties. | D．Their structures. |
| A．Puzzled. | B．Concerned. | C．Humble. | D．Indifferent. |
| A．Hedges: Ancient Resources |
| B．Hedges: Official Recommendations |
| C．Restoring Hedges: Bringing Benefits to the Environment |
| D．Researching Hedges: Originating from Farmers’ Request |
9 . While the idea of warmer, shorter winters might sound appealing to farmers eager to tap into longer growing seasons those engaged in Georgia’s massive peach industry are finding the trend alarming. Since 1960, the average winter temperature in Georgia, has risen by 5°F. For farmers who depend on cold weather to help peaches grow, the state’s diminishing winters are a warning to adapt or else.
One of the keys to growing the perfect Georgia peach is something called “chill (寒冷的) hours.” Nut and fruit trees require a certain number of chill hours below 45°F to regulate their growth. Without the needed amount, flower buds may be delayed or unpredictable in spring and fruit set and fruit quality will be poor. In Georgia, home to nearly 12,000 acres of peaches, the average peach tree requires anywhere from 650 to 850 chill hours each season.
The impact from a loss of chill hours was felt most recently in 2017, when farms across the state averaged less than 400 hours and 85% of the peach crop was lost. “It was so bad that we didn’t care about the blooms anymore.” Chavez said, “We wondered if the plants would survive.”
While planting new varieties of peaches that require fewer chill hours is part of the solution, it’s not the only characteristic that’s necessary. Despite warmer, shorter winters, Georgia still experiences a consistent frost in early March. Peach varieties with fewer chill hours often bloom earlier, making them easy victims to this freezing spring temperatures.
In response, the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) is experimenting with hybrid varieties that achieve that delicate balance. The days of planting 1,000+ chill hour varieties in Georgia may be gone, but the hope is that continued research into global warming-tolerant varieties may keep the state’s official fruit firmly in the sweet spot of American produce.
“We’ve got to keep changing as the environment changes,” Georgia farmer Lawton Pearson said. “But it’s not something that scares us in the slightest about the future of growing peaches. It’s just something you’ve got to deal with.”
1. What does the underlined word “diminishing” in Paragraph 1 mean?| A．Shortened. | B．Freezing. |
| C．Disappearing. | D．Delayed. |
| A．To explain reasons for chill-hours loss. |
| B．To prove 2017 is the worst year in history. |
| C．To confirm peach farmers suffered the most. |
| D．To show the serious consequence of chill-hours loss. |
| A．Improvement of sweetness of peaches. |
| B．Achievement of the shortest chill hours. |
| C．Avoidance of peaches’ much delayed flowering, |
| D．Balance between low chill and normal flowering. |
| A．Curious. | B．Skeptical. |
| C．Positive. | D．Ambiguous. |
10 . Greenhouse gas emissions would rise if all farms in England and Wales went organic. Though the emissions of each farm would go down, much more food would have to be imported, as the amount they would produce would decrease greatly.
“The key message from my perspective is that you can't really have your cake and eat it,” says Laurence Smith, now at the Royal Agricultural University in the UK, who was part of the team that ran the numbers. Smith is a supporter of organic farming and says “there are a lot of merits of the organic approach”, but his analysis shows that organic farming has downsides too.
Farming and changes in land use, such as cutting down forests, are responsible for a third of all greenhouse gas emissions. That means reducing farming emissions and the land needed for farming is required to limit further global warming.
Smith and his colleagues found that emissions per unit of food are, on average, 20 per cent lower for organic crops and 4 per cent lower for organic animal products. However, organic harvests per hectare (公顷) are also lower on average. For wheat and barley, for instance, harvests are just half of those of conventional farms. This means 1.5 times as much land would be needed to grow the same amount of these foods.
The estimated increase in emissions varies greatly, depending on where the extra farmland comes from. If only half comes from turning grassland into farms, the increase could be as low as 20 per cent. If grassland that would otherwise have been reforested is turned into farmland, emissions could nearly double.
This doesn't necessarily mean people should stop eating organic produce, says Smith. People might choose organic food for other reasons, such as to reduce their pesticide exposure (though contrary to popular belief, organic farmers do use pesticides) or for the sake of wildlife.
Going 100 per cent organic could also harm global biodiversity. The extra land used for farming would mean the land available for wildlife would be smaller and more fragmented (碎片化的).
Smith says the best option may be to use some organic and conventional farming methods at the same time.
1. Why may greenhouse gas emissions increase if a country goes organic?| A．Organic farms take longer to build. |
| B．The agricultural output will increase greatly. |
| C．The emissions of each farm unit will increase. |
| D．Greater demand for imported food will be created. |
| A．Changes. | B．Challenges. | C．Advantages. | D．Differences. |
| A．Organic harvests per unit are greater than traditional harvests. |
| B．Organic farming needs more farmland to feed a country. |
| C．Global warming could be brought under control. |
| D．Land was not used in a responsible way. |
| A．Stopping using pesticides. |
| B．Eating less organic produce. |
| C．Going back to traditional farming. |
| D．Adopting mixed farming methods. |
