Many gardeners believe that “talking” to their plants helps them grow---it turns out that they may not be crazy after all. According to the scientists from the University of Exeter, plants may keep communicating with each other through a secret “unseen” language.
For their experiment, the scientists picked a cabbage plant that is known to send out a gas when its surface is cut. In order to get video evidence of the communication, they changed the cabbage gene by adding the protein---luciderase(虫荧光素酶), which is what makes fireflies(萤火虫) glow in the dark.
When the changed cabbage plant was in full bloom, they cut a leaf off with a pair of scissors, and almost immediately, thanks to the luciderase, they could see the plant sending out “methyl jasmonate(茉莉酸甲酯)”.
While this was a known fact, what was surprising was the fact that the minute this gas began to give out, the nearby cabbage plants seemed to sense some kind of danger and started to send out a gas that they normally have to keep predators(捕食者) like caterpillars(毛虫) away.
What the scientists are not sure is whether the plants are trying to warn the other leaves or the near plants about the danger---something that will require further research However, the team, which is led by Professor Nick Smirnoff, is quite excited about the findings because this is the first time it has been proved that plants do not live a passive life, but actually move, sense and even communicate with each other.
However, before you get all concerned, they are quite sure that plants do not feel the pain when they are cut, since they do not have nerves---so go ahead and bite into that juicy carrot!
1.What’s the best title of the passage?
A. Plants Can Send Some Gas
B. Plants Can Communicate with Each Other
C. The “Unseen” Language of Plants
D. Plants Can’t Feel Pain
2.What does the underlined word “they” in Paragraph 1 mean?
A. Gardeners B. Plants
C. Scientists D. Fireflies
3.When the plant sent out methyl jasmonate, which of the following statements is NOT TRUE?
A. The nearby cabbage plants seemed to sense some kind of danger.
B. The nearby cabbage plants started to send out a gas.
C. The nearby cabbage plants tried to warn the near plants.
D. The nearby cabbage plants communicated through a secret language.
4.According to the experiment, plants ________________.
A. don’t live a passive life
B. can feel pain when they are cut
C. can warn the other leaves about danger
D. can talk with each other
Why are so many people afraid to fail? Quite simply because we forget that failure is part of the human life and that every person has the right to fail. Every person is able to fight failure and finally succeed.
Most parents work hard at preventing failure or protecting their children from the knowledge that they have failed. One way is to lower standards(标准). When a child finishes making a table, the mother describes it as “perfect” even though it doesn’t stand still. Another way is to blame others. If John fails in science, his teacher is unfair or stupid.
There’s a problem with the two ways. It makes a child unprepared for life in the real world. Young children need to learn that no one can be best at everything, no one can win all the time, and that it’s possible to enjoy a game even when you don’t win. A child often feels terrible, of course, when he is not invited to a birthday party, or is not chosen into a football team. But parents should not say “It doesn’t matter.” quickly. The young should be allowed to experience failure and be helped to come out of it.
Failure never gives people pleasure. It hurts both adults and children. But it can be really good to your life when you learn to use it. You must learn to ask “Why did I fail?” Don’t blame anyone else. Ask yourself what you did wrong and how you can improve. If someone else can help, don’t be shy about asking them. Success just repeats what has been done. It is not as good a teacher as failure. You can learn how to give a good party from an unsuccessful one.
1.How do most parents prevent their children from failure?
A. They give them some presents.
B. They don’t tell them that they have failed.
C. They don’t blame others.
D. They help them to come out of failure.
2.Which of the following does a person need to learn when he fails?
A. It’s impossible to enjoy a game if he misses it.
B. He is the worst of all.
C. It’s natural not to win a game and no one can win all the time.
D. His teammates are not good enough.
3.Which would be the best title for the passage?
A. Learning from Failure
B. Ways of Preventing Failure
C. Reasons of Failure
D. Getting Pleasure from Failure
Now many young people are traveling around the world on their own, not because they have no one to travel with, but because they prefer to go alone.
Kristina Wegscheider from California first traveled alone when she was at college and believes that it is something everyone should do at least once in their life. “It opens up your mind to new things and pushes you out of your comfort zone.” Wegscheider has visited 46 countries covering all seven continents.
In foreign countries, with no one to help you read a map, look after you if you get ill, or lend you money if your wallet is stolen, it is challenging. This is what drives young people to travel alone. It is seen as character building and a chance to prove that they can make it on their own.
Chris Richardson decided to leave his sales job in Australia to go traveling last year. He set up a website, The Aussie Nomad, to document his adventures. He says he wished he had traveled alone earlier. “The people you meet, the places you visit, or the things you do, everything is up to you and it forces you to grow as a person,” said the 30-year-old man.
Richardson describes traveling alone like “a shot in the arm”, which “makes you a more confident person that is ready to deal with anything”. He said, “The feeling of having overcome something on my own is a major part of what drives me each day when I’m dealing with a difficult task. I walk around with my head up because I know deep down inside that nothing is impossible if you try.”
The great 19th century explorer John Muir once said, “Only by going alone in silence can one truly get into the heart of the wilderness.”
1.Which of the following will Kristina Wegscheider agree with?
A. Traveling alone is a necessary experience for everyone.
B. It is more meaningful to travel in foreign countries.
C. It is comfortable to travel around without a friend.
D. Traveling abroad helps people to find new things.
2.Traveling alone is challenging because ________.
A. you have to make things on your own
B. it is hard for you to prove yourself to others
C. you can only depend on yourself whatever happens
D. it will finally build your character
3.What can we infer about Chris Richardson?
A. He started traveling alone at an early age.
B. He was once shot in the arm.
C. He used to work as a salesman.
D. His website inspires others a lot.
4.What is the best title for the passage?
A. Travel Abroad B. Travel Alone
C. Travel Light D. Travel Wide and Far
Do you like chocolate? Maybe most people do. A box of it can be a great gift. Buy one for a friend and give it as a surprise. See how happy that person gets.
Say you just got a box of chocolate. Which piece do you pick first? A man has studied people’s choices. He says they tell something about the person. Did you choose a round piece? You are a person who likes to party. Did you choose an oval shape? You are a person who likes to make things. Picking a square shape shows something else. The person is honest and truthful. You can depend on him or her.
What kind of chocolate do you pick? Maybe you like milk chocolate. This shows you have warm feelings about the past. Dark chocolate means something else. A person who chooses it looks toward the future. What about white chocolate? Would you choose it? If so, you may find it hard to make up your mind. Some people like chocolate with nuts. These are people who like to help others.
Do you believe these ideas? Can candy tell all these things? It doesn’t really matter. There is one sure thing about eaters of chocolate. They eat it because they like it.
1.This passage mainly tells us ______.
A．why people like chocolate
B．almost everyone likes chocolate
C．about different kinds of chocolate
D．different choices may show different characters
2.Picking a round shape of chocolate shows that a person ______.
A．likes singing, dancing and drinking
B．likes to do something for others
C．is good at making things
D．can be depended on
3.From this passage we can see that a helpful man may choose chocolate ______.
A．in oval shape B．in square shape
C．with nuts D．with coffee
4.The last paragraph suggests that the writer ______.
A．believes all the information about chocolate
B．does not believe the information about candy
C．is trying to get you to believe false information
D．doesn’t think it important whether you believe the ideas
高中学习生活是最为繁忙的, 在高中三年中,学生们面临着沉重的升学压力。因此,很多学生课间也坐在教室里用功,但学习效率和成绩并不理想。因此你想告诉他们:适当的休息是很有必要的。现在就请你以“A Ten-minute Break”为题,按下列要点写一篇短文,让这些同学从中有所启发。要点如下:
1.十分钟的课间休息很有必要;
2.要注意适当的休息方式;
3.你是怎样利用这十分钟的。
注意:1.词数100左右;
2.可以适当增加细节,以使行文连贯;
3.开头语已为你写好。
A Ten-minute Break
As a Senior school student, time seems much limited. __________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
短文改错
假定英语课上老师要求同桌之间交换修改作文,请你修改你同桌写的以下作文。文中共有10处语言错误,每句中最多有两处。每处错误仅涉及一个单词的增加、删除或修改。
增加:在缺词处加一个漏字符号(∧),并在其下面写出该加的词。
删除:把多余的词用斜线(\)划掉。
修改:在错的词下划一横线,并在该词下面写出修改后的词。
注意:1.每处错误及其修改均仅限一词;
2.只允许修改10处,多者(从第11处起)不计分。
This morning I went to the shoes shop to buy a pair of new shoes. When I got there, I noticed a foreign lady talk to a salesgirl. But the salesgirl didn’t understand that the foreigner was saying. They both looked worrying. I went up to help them. The lady is Australian. She wanted to buy a pair of traveling shoes. So I told it to the salesgirl. The lady was very much glad when she took it. She sings high praise for my spoken English. All of them expressed their thanks to me. I felt happy that I expressed myself free in English.
