1 . In 1986, when he was only a prince. King Charles told a television interviewer that it was important to talk to plants. He was widely laughed at. But his wisdom seems to have been ahead of its time, for there is now plenty of evidence that plants can detect (察觉) sound, react to it, and even perhaps produce it.

Scientists have been experimenting with playing sounds to plants since at least the 1960s, during which time they have been exposed to everything from Beethoven to Michael Jackson. Over the years, evidence that this sort of thing can have an effect has been growing. One paper, published in 2018, announced that an Asian plant grew much larger leaves when exposed to 56 days of Buddhist chants — but not if it was exposed to Western pop music, or silence. Another, published last year, found that plants exposed to the noise of traffic from a busy motorway suffered slow growth, and produced a range of stress compounds (成分).

Another research reports that certain frequencies (频率), played in some environments like greenhouses, can affect seed growth and even improve crop production. And plants can make noises, too. Earlier this year a group of researchers at Tel Aviv University published an article in Cell Press, reporting that several plants gave out different noises in response to different stresses — although not at the sorts of frequencies that humans can hear. Humans can only hear frequencies of up to 16 kilohertz. Scientists discovered sounds given out by plants were up to 250 kilohertz.

If all that sounds strange, perhaps it should not. After all, sound carries useful information.

From an evolutionary point of view, there is no reason to expect that information to be applied only by animals.

1. What was most people’s attitude to Charles’ opinion?

A．Unclear.

B．Positive.

C．Cautious.

D．Negative.

2. What can we learn from paragraph 2?

A．Different sounds have different effects on plants.

B．Buddhist chants don’t make a difference to plants.

C．Western pop music does good to plants’ growth.

D．The noise of traffic produces stress compounds.

3. Why can’t humans hear sounds given out by plants?

A．The sounds are strange.	B．The plants grow in greenhouses.
C．The plants are under great stress.	D．The sounds are at high frequencies.

4. What’s the main idea of the text?

A．It’s the important to talk to plants.

B．Sounds make a difference to plants.

C．Plants can discover and even make sound.

D．Humans can’t hear sounds produced by plants.

2 . The World Full of Eye-catching Things

The following flowers and plants might not be so eye-pleasing, but are certainly eye-catching, since they all look like some objects.

Lady’s Slipper

The lady’s slipper orchid is considered to be the rarest type of wild orchid. Now Lancashire in England is the only place where this plant can be found.The flower was so unique that people picked almost all of them. A single cutting of this plant is sold for US $5,000. Fortunately, strict protection policies have been established to protect it since 1917 when this endangered plant was once declared extinct in England.

Hot Lips

When you see a plant like this in reality, don’t get confused! No. They are not a woman’s lips! You can find these plants in countries with tropical rain forests, such as Colombia, Costa Rica and Panama. Due to the cutting down of trees, these unique and rare plants have become endangered. This plant bears a bright red flower which is similar to the lips of a woman with red lipstick.

Black Bat Flower

The black bat flower is an unusual flower that grows in the wild and tropical forests of Yunnan Province in China. It is famous for its bat-shaped black flowers. This flowering plant is often confused with a flying bat. The flower may also appear in white and brown shades. It needs specific environmental conditions to grow. This is the reason why it is an endangered species.

All the plants mentioned above are becoming nearly extinct. Hopefully, there are other unique and rare flowers left undiscovered. This proves the world is full of surprising things!

1. Where can the Lady’s Slipper be discovered currently?

A．In Panama.	B．In Colombia.
C．In Lancashire in England.	D．In Yunnan Province in China.

2. Why are Hot Lips becoming nearly extinct?

A．Forest destruction.	B．Human picking.
C．Lack of awareness.	D．Specific locations.

3. What is unique about the Black Bat Flower?

A．Its red flowers.	B．Its bat-shaped flowers.
C．Its slipper-shaped flowers.	D．Its white and brown flowers.

3 . The world loves a cup of tea. It only takes a few grams to make a cup of tea and millions of tons of tea are consumed every year. Tea can be good for you because it contains some things that help lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Tea also contains caffeine(咖啡因), which improves not only mental alertness but can also increase anxiety and cause other problems.

What would be agreeable is a tea plant that provides all the taste and goodness but with little or none of caffeine. Chen Liang and Jin Jiqiang in the Tea Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences think they have found just such a plant, growing wild in a remote area in southern China’s Fujian Province. Known locally as hongyacha, the discovered plant grows only between 700 meters and 1,000 meters above sea level around a handful of Chinese villages. As they report in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, not only is the tea plant naturally caffeine-free but it also contains a number of unique medicinal compounds that, the locals believe, offer considerable health benefits.

The researchers are now exploring methods to protect hongyacha in its natural habitat while further studies are carried out. It can take time—and sometimes it does not work—for new plant varieties to be bred for commercial use. A pair of naturally caffeine-free coffee plants were discovered in 2003, but little progress has been reported. Tea lovers will be watching hongyacha with interest. And others will wonder what else is out there.

1. What’s the disadvantage of drinking tea according to paragraph 1?

A．It can make people hard to sleep.	B．It can make people feel anxious.
C．It can get people addicted.	D．It can take people much time.

2. What can we learn about hongyacha in paragraph 2?

A．It is nothing but just medicine.	B．It can only survive in greenhouses.
C．It is a good pick for caffeine lovers.	D．It has a good taste and little caffeine.

3. What might the follow-up study focus on about hongyacha?

A．Its future location.	B．Its natural habitats.
C．Its future market.	D．Its production process.

4. Where is the text probably taken from?

A．A health magazine.	B．An advertising brochure.
C．A travel guidebook.	D．A newspaper.

4 . 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。

Like China’s Kunming Institute of Botany, the Millennium Seed Bank(MSB)shines brightly for plant preservation. Located at the Wakehurst wild botanic garden in West Sussex, England, the Millennium Seed Bank (MSB), the world’s     1     (large)seed bank, has announced that it now holds more than 40, 000 wild plant species.     2     the aim of preserving rare, threatened and important wild plants, MSB     3     (create)by researchers from London’s Kew Gardens more than 20 years ago. Now around 2. 4 billion individual seeds from 190 countries are stored in     4     (it) underground rooms. Any seeds that arrive at MSB are dried, cleaned     5     then stored at-20℃. Scientists remove the seeds every 10 years     6     (see) if they can still grow into plants, and to develop new ways of       7     (help) wild plants survive. One of the most remarkable     8     (strong) of MSB is that it serves as a global backup for plant variety. Seeds in the bank include the world’s smallest water lily, a rare Australian pea and Antarctic hair grass, one of two flowering plants     9     grow in Antarctica. The bank ensures that if plants in the wild become extinct, they can be regrown from MSB seeds. There is no doubt that the MSB plays an     10     (extreme) important role in protecting the varieties of plant species on Earth.

5 . Kongeegen

Kongeegen is a large oak tree located (位于) in the north of Denmark. Kongeegen’s real age is unknown. The tree went through a scientific study in 1965, through which Kongeegen was confirmed to be between 1,500 and 2,000 years of age. This would make it the oldest living oak in the northern part of Europe.

Granit Oak

The Granit Oak measures 2.38 meters in diameter (直径) and 23.4 meters in height. The head of the tree measures about 1,017 square meters, which covers nearly 11,000 square feet. Back in 1967, the Bulgarian government announced this oak was a protected tree and it has been under protection ever since.

Stelmuze Oak

Not all of the tree’s branches are still alive, but it continues to be considered a living tree. This makes it the oldest living tree in all of Lithuania. Stelmuze Oak was made a natural monument (纪念碑) in 1960. Ever since then, it has been on the Lithuanian list of protected monuments, and it is well looked after.

Major Oak

Local legends (传说) say that this is the tree where Robin Hood’s shelter was located. According to the tales, Robin and his merry men slept in this very tree. Back in 2003 in Dorset, England, 260 acorn saplings (橡子树苗) from the Major Oak were used to start an oak plantation.

	Kongeegen	Granit Oak	Stelmuze Oak	Major Oak
Estimated age	1, 500-2, 000yeas	1,700 years	1, 500-2, 000 years	800-1,000 years
Status	Alive	Dead	Alive	Alive
Location	Denmark	Bulgaria	Lithuania	England
Oak species(物种)	Quercus robur	Quercus robur	Quercus robur	Quercus robur

1. When was Kongeegen’s age announced?

A．In 1960.

B．In 1965.

C．In 1967.

D．In 2003.

2. Which is the youngest tree mentioned in the text?

A．Kongeegen.

B．Granit Oak

C．Stelmuze Oak.

D．Major Oak.

3. What do the four trees have in common?

A．They are of the same species.	B．There are beautiful stories about them.
C．Some of their branches aren’t alive now.	D．They are under good protection.

6 . Keeping a bit of the outdoors inside is nothing new, but houseplant collections have become a popular social media trend — which means that more people than ever are discovering the comfort and beauty that caring for plants brings.

    1     Exposure to greenery, whether you have indoor plants, take walks outside or tend to a garden, has been found to have multiple mental-health benefits, such as lowering stress, decreasing feelings of depression, increasing sociability, restoring focus, improving cognitive performance, improving mood and increasing self-esteem.

“One study showed that patients at a hospital who had plants in their room reported less pain, lower blood pressure, less fatigue and less anxiety than patients without plants in their rooms,” says Jenny Seham, a New York-based psychologist. She explains: “Cortisol, the stress hormone, has been shown to lower with plant interaction, reducing fatigue, irritability (易怒) and blood pressure.”

Research has also shown that having plants and gardening increase productivity and levels of serotonin, the neurotransmitter responsible for lifting our mood.     2     And it is also opposed to dwelling on the past or worrying about the future.

Before you fill your space with greenery, consider how you’ll interact with your plants.     3     Can you care for them daily?

If you have a small space or aren’t sure how much time you’re willing to invest in “plant parenting.” Start slow. “    4     It can engage you by its smell or colour, creating a positive mood response with every interaction,” says Seham.

A．For instance, is there enough space for plants in areas where you spend a lot of time?

B．Half the fun of gardening is that you never know exactly what’s going to come up.

C．It’s a feel-good hobby that’s supported by science.

D．While indoor gardening can boost your feelings of wellbeing, help reduce stress and promote relaxation, it’s not, of course, a substitute for a trained mental health professional.

E．The theory is that plant care helps us focus on the present moment and provides a feeling of accomplishment.

F．Just one plant can make a difference.

7 . 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。

Scientists in Florida have     1     (successful) grown plants in moon soil collected during NASA’s Apollo missions (任务) in the 1960s and 1970s.

    2     NASA-supported study at the University of Florida used soil collected by astronauts    3     (grow) Thale Cress 2 (拟南芥). To compare results, plants were also grown in Earth soil    4     was made to be similar to moon soil. The researchers     5     (add) water and then seeds to the soil, as well as daily nutrients (营养物). After just two days, their growth started.

According to Professor Anna-Lisa Paul, all the plants looked the same     6     the sixth day. After the sixth day,     7    , it was clear that the plants growing in moon soil were not as healthy as those growing in Earth soil.

DNA testing showed that those Thale Cress 2     8     (plant) in the moon soil were under stress. It was also found that the plants grew in different ways in soil from different parts of the moon. The soil collected during the Apollo 11 mission had been on the moon’s surface several billion years     9     (long) than the other soil, and the plants grown in it were the weakest.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson believes this research will help future space missions and that resources on the moon and Mars     10     (need) to develop food for astronauts living and working in space.

8 . Kew Gardens is not only a popular tourist destination in London, but also a botanic garden and a research center that has the largest collection of living plants at a single site. So, let’s explore the Royal Botanic Gardens with CGTN’s reporter Robyn Dwyer.

Palm House

The first stop is the Palm House, a giant indoor rainforest with a wide range of plants. Visitors can enjoy these exotic plants while researchers can study the secrets of these flora. Eatable plants such as cocoa tree and African oil palm are all preserved here to keep the diversity of food resources. At the same time, it houses many medical use plants, including some that are used to treat cancer.

Temperate House

Known as the world’s largest Victorian glasshouse, the Temperate House is home to1,500 species of plants from temperate regions of the world. Some of the species kept here have gone extinct in the wild, such as Encephalartos woodii, a cycad from South Africa. And some are already extinct like Saint Helena olive, but the Kew has stored its DNA.

Mediterranean Garden

In the Mediterranean Garden, one can see plants from the Southern Europe, such as rosemary, olives and cork oak. Walking in the garden, one can feel the non-indoor vibe (氛围) of the Mediterranean and learn about the economic as well as scientific uses of these plants.

On International Day for Biological Diversity this year, join CGTN to travel around the world’s national parks and reserves across seven continents. Our next program is to visit penguins and seals in the Antarctic Ice Aquarium Norway. Please stay tuned!

1. What do the three stops have in common?

A．They store plants for medical use.

B．They have plants of economic value.

C．They house plants of seven continents.

D．They own plants for scientific research.

2. Which one suits a visitor preferring outdoor sites?

A．Palm House.	B．Temperate House.
C．Antarctic Ice Aquarium.	D．Mediterranean Garden.

3. Where is the text most probably taken from?

A．A botanic dictionary.	B．A TV travel series.
C．A trip advertisement.	D．A biodiversity essay.

9 . “A beautiful field of flowers can be a rather noisy place. It’s just that we can’t hear the sounds.” Scientists at Tel Aviv University have conducted a six-year experiment, proving that plants make noise in certain stressful situations.

Plants produce a high frequency (频率) clicking sound, and when short of water, or damaged, the clicks become far more regular. They also made different sounds, depending on whether they were thirsty or injured. “Each plant and each type of stress is related to a specific sound,” said Professor Lilach Hadany, who led the research study.

Focusing particularly on tomatoes, wheat and corn, the plants were placed in a soundproof(隔音的)room and recorded by microphones. Some plants were starved of water, others cut, and a control group was left undamaged. The researchers used an algorithm (算法) to separate the noises, suecessfully telling the difference between the sounds depending on whether they were dry or cut. The algorithm did this in a greenhouse setting which included far more surrounding sounds, but it was still able to recognize the particular cries for help of the plants.

On average, the human ear can hear sounds up to around 20kHz, while the sounds produced by plants are in the 40-80kHz region, far beyond our hearing. “The sounds made by plants can’t be heard by humans but can probably be heard by various animals, such as bats, mice and insects,” Hadany tells us. Though this has yet to be proven, it’s possible that these creatures use this information to choose which plants to eat.

A study led by Reda Hassanien of China Agriculural University in Beijing years ago, also proved that plants reacted to sound waves, with some plants greatly increasing their yield. While evidence shows that plants can react to sounds, there’s no evidence today that they can actually hear them.

1. What can we know from the six-year experiment?

A．Plants of different types make the sound of the same frequeney.

B．Plants produce more regular sound in certain stressful situations.

C．Plants make sounds with a much lower frequency when stressed.

D．Plants make the sound of the same frequeney whatever the situation.

2. What is the algorithm used for in the research?

A．To record the sounds.	B．To control the sounds.
C．To produce the sounds.	D．To identify the sounds.

3. What has been proven by scientists according to the passage?

A．Plants can hear each other’s cry for help.

B．Animals can hear the sounds made by plants.

C．Plants can make sounds and respond to sound waves.

D．Animals decide what to eat based on the sounds plants make.

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

A．Sounds That We Can’t Hear

B．Beautiful Songs from Plants

C．Plants React to Different Types of Stress

D．Plants Talk, Especially When Stressed

10 . Welcome to Science on Sundays

Science on Sundays is a programme of free monthly science talks which always brings the latest discoveries in plant science, as well as research linked to the plant collection at the Botanic Garden, to the visitors in a 30-minute short period of time. The programme in April is about tulips(郁金香).

Introduction

Time: 2:30 pm on Sundays

Title: In Search of Wild Tulips

Objects: adults and children aged 12+

Speaker: Brett Wilson at University of Cambridge

Background Information

The planted tulips are a common sight in spring gardens around the world, but have you ever considered where wild tulips grow? The wild ancestors of our much-loved gardening varieties can mostly be found in the mountains and valleys of Central Asia, far from the Netherlands, where most tulips are grown and bred. At the Botanic Garden, we have a National Tulip Collection where we grow many wild species including plenty of species from Central Asia. Over the last four years, Brett Wilson has been using something learned from books and combining with fieldwork to understand the diversity of tulips, with a view of identifying which species are most at risk of extinction.

Come and listen to Brett speak about the research and the adventures that have occurred in our search to find and protect wild tulips in this remote corner of the world. These will be live face-to-face talks taking place in the Botanic Garden Classroom for those visitors with interest.

1. What do we know about Science on Sundays?

A．It focuses on plants.

B．It is a paid programme.

C．It appeals only to children.

D．It is a live broadcast on weekdays.

2. How does Brett Wilson understand tulips’ diversity?

A．By making assumptions.

B．By picking and collecting tulips.

C．By growing tulips in greenhouses.

D．By combining theory and practice.

3. What is the main purpose of the last paragraph?

A．To ask visitors to plant more tulips.

B．To call on visitors to listen to the talks.

C．To push visitors to take more botany classes.

D．To advise visitors to take adventure in remote areas.