I believe that animals possess greater intelligence than most people think. But plants? I've never considered the possibility of plant intelligence. The idea seems absurd.
Yet I've had friends argue that plant intelligence might exist. "What are the differences between plants and animals?" they ask, and then they argue about certain species that seem to share the intelligence of both plants and animals.
New research suggests that plants communicate via "networks". Plant communication is not a new idea, and cannot indicate that its is a kind of intelligence, but it is still interesting.
Recent research from Vidi researcher Josef Stuefer at the Radboud University Nijmegen shows that plants have their own chat systems that they can use to warn each other. Therefore plants are not boring and passive organisms that just stand there waiting to be cut down or eaten up. Many plants form internal communication networks and are able to exchange information networks and are able to exchange information efficiently.
Many herbal plants such as strawberries and clovers (三叶草)naturally form networks.
Individual plants remain connected with each other for a certain period of time by means of runners (plant stems that grow along the ground and put down roots to form new plants). These connections enable the plants to share information with each other via internal channels. They are therefore very similar to computer networks. But what do plants chat to each other about?
Recently Stuefer and his colleagues were the first to prove that clover plants warn each other via the network links if danger is nearby . If one of the plants is attacked by caterpillars (毛虫)，the other members of the network are warned via an internal signal. Once warned, the intact (完好无损的)plants strengthen their chemical and mechanical (机体的)resistance so that they are less attractive to advancing caterpillars. Thanks to this early warning system, the plants can stay one step ahead of their attackers. The research has shown that this significantly limits the damage to the plants.
Again, I don't believe this reflects intelligence, but it's is certainly fascinating.
1.The author thinks that the plant communication___________. .
A. is absolutely a new idea B. is a sign of plant intelligence
C. is related to animal communication D. is interesting and fascinating
2.Which of the following statements about the research is NOT true?
A. Most plants have no chat system and are passive organisms.
B. Individual plants can also remain connected with each other.
C. The communication between clover plants can protect them from damage.
D. The research is the first to show how clover plants warn each other.
3.The author's attitude towards plant intelligence is _______________.
A. unconcerned B. doubtful C. positive D. hopeful
4.What's the best title for the passage?
A. Does Plant Communication Really Exist?
B. Some Discoveries About Clover Plant
C. Does Plant Communication Imply Intelligence?
D. A New Study on Plant Communication
The combined sales of the 100 largest foreign investing companies in the U.S. increased by 40% in the two years between 1987 and 1989, and the number has continued to increase steadily. In 1990, South Africa proved to be the largest financial investor in the U.S., controlling about $19.2 billion in sales. The Netherlands and the U.K. follow as second largest investors—and Germany next. New of the list of the top 100 foreign investors are 12 banking and finance and insurance companies—the largest, the Hong Kong-Shanghai Banking Corp from Hong Kong. The number of Latin American companies engaged in business here is growing steadily, often through third country holding companies.
Why are so many firms coming to the U.S.? There are many reasons. One of the greatest attractions, of course, is a market of over 200 million consumers with a high average per capital income. In addition, with the devalued dollar the cost of American labor has declined markedly, relative to many foreign labor costs. Some firms seeking to avoid bureaucratic and/or political pressures at home find the U.S. a politically stable environment in which to work. Many hope they may be able to continue selling to the American market even if the U.S. Government restricts imports further, or if major price changes occur due to currency fluctuations (波动). Many foreigners are attracted by U.S. technology, its modern management methods, its labor saving and mass production techniques.All the following statements are mentioned in the passage except ______.
| A．South Africa controlled about $19.2 billion in sales in 1990 |
| B．in 1989 Hong Kong was the largest foreign investor in the U.S. |
| C．more and more Latin American companies were engaged in business in the U.S. |
| D．the combined sales of the top 100 foreign investing companies increased steadily |
The most important reason why so many companies come to the U.S. is that _______.
| A．the U.S. technology is advanced |
| B．the environment is politically stable |
| C．the labor cost there has been reduced |
| D．the market in the U.S. is very attractive |
Which of the following reasons for many firms coming to the U.S. is not mentioned in the passage?
| A．Skillful labor force in the U.S. |
| B．Modern management method. |
| C．Mass production techniques. |
| D．Rich American consumers. |
The best title for this passage would probably be________.
| A．Foreign Investors in the U.S. |
| B．Why Foreign Investors Like the U.S. |
| C．Foreign Business Is Growing in the U.S. |
| D．The 100 Top Largest Companies in the U.S. |
Australia has passed regulations that will enable more international students to further their education in the country.
The new measures were released by the Australian Department of Tertiary Education, Skills, Jobs and Workplace Relations in September and will take effect in mid-2012.
As a result, the student visa application process for overseas students has been simplified, and the deposit (押金) required to study in Australia has been reduced. Language requirements for overseas students have also been eased.
Also, overseas students receiving a higher education in Australia will be granted a working visa lasting from two to four years after graduation, as long as they meet the basic IELTS requirement.
"This change will definitely make Australia a more attractive destination for Chinese students planning to study overseas," says Wang Lan, a consultant from Education International Cooperation Group (EIC), a Beijing-based company that provides services to students wishing to study overseas.
However, in the past few years, many of Wang's student clients could not start studies in Australia because they did not meet the language requirements, visa processing took a long time and deposit regulations were tough. The change in policy is good news for the parents of students wishing to study in Australia, Wang says.
A 22-year-old female student surnamed Li, in Beijing, who is planning to do her postgraduate studies in Australia, learned about the policy change several weeks ago.
"According to the previous deposit requirement for my student visa, my family was required to put down 550,000 yuan ($86,850). Now we only need to prepare 410,000 yuan. This is a relief for my parents," Li says.
She also says that the two to four years working visa makes her feel much clearer about her study plans.
"I believe several years of working experience abroad will strengthen my competitiveness when I return to China," she says.
Gaining a competitive advantage is the major reason for Chinese students to study abroad, according to the report by EIC.What's the main idea of the passage?
| A．Language requirement for overseas students have been eased in Australia. |
| B．Australia is a most attractive place for students in China. |
| C．More students will work in Australia after their graduation. |
| D．Australia widens window of opportunity for international students. |
Which of the following is NOT the content of the new regulations?
| A．Language requirements for overseas students have been more difficult. |
| B．The deposit required to study in Australia has been reduced. |
| C．The student visa application process for overseas students has been simplified. |
| D．After graduation, some overseas students can get a working visa in Australia. |
After the new regulations are passed, _______ .
| A．more students will come to Australia to work |
| B．more Chinese students will choose to live in Australia. |
| C．the opportunities to work in Australia decrease for overseas students |
| D．more Chinese students will choose to further their education in Australia |
Why do many students want to work in Australia after their graduation?
| A．They can earn more money in Australia. |
| B．The working experience abroad will strengthen their competitiveness. |
| C．Their working experience can make them stay in Australia forever. |
| D．They have to do so according to the new regulations. |
Just as the world’s most respected scientific bodies have confirmed that the world is getting hotter, they have also stated that there is strong evidence that humans are driving the warming. Countless recent reports from the world’s leading scientific bodies have said the same thing. For example, a 2010 summary of climate science by the Royal Society stated that: “There is strong evidence that the warming of the Earth over the last half-century has been caused largely by human activity.”
The idea that humans could change the planet’s climate may be counter-intuitive, but the basic science is well understood. Each year, human activity causes billions of tons of greenhouse gases to be released into the atmosphere. As scientists have known for years, these gases hold heat that would otherwise escape to space, wrapping the planet in an invisible blanket.
Of course, the planet’s climate has always been changing thanks to “natural” factors such as changes in solar or volcanic activity, or cycles relating the Earth’s going around the sun. According to the scientific literature, however, the warming recorded to date matches the pattern of warming we would expect from a build-up of greenhouse gas in the atmosphere – not the warming we would expect from other possible causes.
Even if scientists did discover another reasonable explanation for the warming observed so far, that would beg a difficult question. As Robert Henson puts it in The Rough Guide to Climate Change, “If some newly discovered factor can account for the climate change, then why aren’t carbon dioxide and the other greenhouse gases producing the warming that basic physics tells us they should be?”
The only way to prove with 100% certainty that humans are responsible for global warming would be to run an experiment with two identical Earths –one with human influence and one without. That obviously isn’t possible, and so most scientists are careful not to state human influence as an absolute certainty. In most scientists’ opinion, the global warming is mainly caused by ________.
| A．human activity |
| B．volcanic activity |
| C．the Earth’s going around the sun |
| D．solar activity |
The text is developed by ________.
| A．giving typical examples |
| B．following the order of space |
| C．comparing and finding differences |
| D．analyzing a theory and arguing it |
The underline word “identical” means ________.
| A．totally different |
| B．exactly the same |
| C．extremely important |
| D．relatively independent |
Which of the following can be the best title?
| A．Are All the Scientists Really Scientific? |
| B．Where Is Global Warming Leading Us to? |
| C．Are Humans Definitely Causing Global Warming? |
| D．What’s Relation of Global Warming and Greenhouse Gases? |
Driving to a friend’s house on a recent evening, I was attracted by the sight of the full moon rising just above my friend’s rooftop. I stopped to watch it for a few moments, thinking about what a pity it is that most city people — myself included — usually miss sights like this because we spend most of our lives indoors.
My friend had also seen it. He grew up living in a forest in Europe, and the moon meant a lot to him then. It had touched much of his life.
I know the feeling. Last December I took my seven-year-old daughter to the mountainous jungle of northern India with some friends. We stayed in a forest rest house with no electricity or running hot water. Our group had campfires outside every night, and indoors when it was too cold outside. The moon grew to its fullest during our trip. Between me and the high mountains lay three or four valleys. Not a light shone in them and not a sound could be heard. It was one of the quietest places I have ever known, a bottomless well of silence. And above me was the full moon, which struck me deeply.
Today our lives are filled with glass, metal, plastic and fiber-glass. We have television, cell phones, electricity, heaters and ovens and air-conditioners, cars, computers.
Struggling through traffic that evening at the end of a tiring day, most of it spent indoors, I thought, “Before long, I would like to live in a small cottage. There I will grow vegetables and read books and walk in the mountains. And perhaps write, but not in anger. I may become an old man there, and wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled and measure out my life in coffee spoons. But I will be able to walk outside on a cold silent night and touched the moon.”The best title for the passage would be _________.
| A．Break away from the Reality |
| B．A Bottomless well of Silence |
| C．Touched by the Moon |
| D．The Pleasures of Modern Life |
The writer felt sorry for himself because __________.
| A．he failed to see the fullest moon. |
| B．there were too many accidents on the road. |
| C．he didn’t adapt to modern inventions |
| D．there was too much pollution. |
Modern things are mentioned mainly to ___________.
| A．show that the writer likes city life very much. |
| B．show that we can also enjoy nature at home through them. |
| C．tell us that people greatly benefit from modern life. |
| D．explain that people have less chances to enjoy nature. |
For many years, I was convinced that my suffering was due to my size. I believed that when the weight disappeared, it would take old wounds, hurts and rejections with it.
Many weight-conscious people also mistakenly believe that changing our bodies will fix everything. Perhaps our worst mistake is believing that being thin equals being loved, being special, and being cherished. We fantasize about what it will be like when we reach the long-awaited goal. We work very hard to realize this dream. Then, at last, we find ourselves there.
But we often gain back what we have lost. Even so, we continue to believe that next time it will be different. Next time, we will keep it off. Next time, being thin will finally fulfill its promise of everlasting happiness, self-worth, and, of course, love.
It took me a long while to realize that there was something more for me to learn about beauty. Beauty standards vary with culture. In Samoa a woman is not considered attractive unless she weighs more than 200 pounds. More importantly, if it’s happiness that we want, why not put our energy there rather than on the size of our body? Why not look inside? Many of us strive hard to change our body, but in vain. We have to find a way to live comfortably inside our body and make friends with and cherish ourselves. When we change our attitudes toward ourselves, the whole world changes.What does the underlined word “everything” in Paragraph 2 mean?
| A．All the problems. | B．All the properties. |
| C．The whole world. | D．The absolute truth. |
What can be inferred about the author?
| A．The author has been troubled by her weight. |
| B．The author succeeded losing weight. |
| C．The author is a Samoan. |
| D．The author probably got wounded in an accident. |
According to the text, those who have lost weight first and gained it back later feel _______.
| A．angry about the regained weight |
| B．indifferent to the regained weight |
| C．they should give up their future plans on weight control |
| D．optimistic about future plans on weight control |
The text tries to stress the importance of ____________.
| A．body size | B．attitudes toward life |
| C．culture difference | D．different beauty standards |