Question

【題目】Talking plants might sound like characters in a fairy tale. But recent scientific studies have shown that plants communicate with each other and with other living things in a surprising number of ways. To understand them, scientists say, we just have to learn their language. Farmers are especially interested in what plants have to say.

“Plants are able to communicate with all sorts of organisms(有機體). They can communicate with giant bacteria, with other plants and with insects. They do this chemically, ”said Cahill, an Ecology Professor of the University of Alberta in Canada.

Plant scientists are just beginning to understand this chemical “l(fā)anguage”. Cahill says studies have shown, for example, that plants can evaluate conditions in their immediate environment and take appropriate actions. Plants have an ability, for example, to signal pain or discomfort caused by anything from temperature extremes to an insect attack. Jack Schultz, a professor of chemical ecology at the University of Missouri, says when a plant senses that it’S being eaten, it cannot walk away from trouble；on the contrary, it will release a chemical vapor that alerts other plants nearby.

“Their language is a chemical language, and it involves chemicals that move through the air, which are easily to be changed, and most of all are smells that we are familiar with, ” Schultz explained.

“All plants responded to the attack by changing their chemistry to defend themselves, ” Schultz recalled. “But we were quite surprised to find that nearby plants also changed their chemistry to defend themselves, even though they were not part of the experiment. ”

Studies have also shown that plants under attack release pleasant chemicals. Those chemicals attract friendly insects that attack the pests eating the plant.

In the end, plants’ability to communicate their needs－and our ability to understand them－could help farmers reduce the use of poisonous chemicals, cut operating costs and limit damage to the environment.

【1】The recent scientific studies have shown that plants can __________.

A. communicate with other living things in a chemical way

B. hardly react to any sudden change in temperature

C. use a very special chemical language which is familiar to us

D. respond to the attack by giving off poisonous chemicals

【2】When being eaten by a pest, the plant will ___________.

A. walk away from trouble

B. change its chemistry to kill the insect

C. release a chemicaI vapor to “ask” other plants for help

D. give off nice chemicals to attract friendly insects to a tack the pest

【3】The underlined word “alerts” most probably means “___________”.

A. warns B. protects

C. threatens D. allows

【4】Which would be the best title for the passage?

A. Communication between Plants

B. A Chemical “Language”

C. Plants Can Talk

D. How Plants Protect Themselves

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】A

【2】D

【3】A

【4】C

【解析】

試題分析：本文是一篇科普文，主要講述了“植物的特殊語言”及其功能以及這種特殊語言對農(nóng)業(yè)生產(chǎn)可能產(chǎn)生的指導(dǎo)意義。

【1】細節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)第二段“Plants are able to communicate with all sorts of organisms(有機體). They can communicate with giant bacteria, with other plants and with insects. They do this chemically,,”可知植物可以通過化學(xué)反應(yīng)來與所有有機體溝通交流。所以選A。

【2】細節(jié)理解題。根據(jù)第三節(jié)when a plant senses that it’s being eaten, it cannot walk away from trouble; on the contrary, it will release a chemical vapor…以及倒數(shù)第二段Those chemicals attract friendly insects that attack the pests eating the plant.可知當(dāng)植物被昆蟲吞食的時候，植物會釋放一種化學(xué)蒸汽，這種化學(xué)蒸汽能夠吸引有益的昆蟲來襲擊害蟲。 選D。

【3】猜測詞義題。根據(jù)前后文意可知，植物在遭受攻擊時會釋放一種化學(xué)物，這種物質(zhì)有兩種功能：“警示、提醒”危險的存在和發(fā)出“求助”的信息。由此可知此處的“alert”意為“警示，警惕”，即warn。選A。

【4】最佳標題。文章講述的主題是“植物的特殊語言”及其功能。因此選擇C 項及概括了文章主題同時又生動風(fēng)趣，尤其talk 一詞充滿了擬人化的幽默感。選C。