Plants have family values, too; it seems, with new research suggesting they can recognize close relatives in order to work together.
An ability to tell family from strangers is well known in animals, allowing them to cooperate and share resources, but plants may possess similar social skills, scientists believe.
Susan Dudley and Amanda File of McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, report they have demonstrated for the first time that plants can recognize their kin.
This suggests that plants, though lacking recognition and memory, are capable of complex social interactions.
“Plants have this kind of hidden but complicated social life，” Dudley said.
The study found plants from the same species of beach-dwelling wildflower grew aggressively alongside unrelated neighbors but were less competitive when they shared soil with their families.
Sea rocket, a North American species, showed stronger and healthier root growth when planted in pots with strangers than when raised with relatives from the same maternal(母系的) family, the study found.
This is an example of kin selection, a behavior common in animals in which closely related individuals take a group approach to succeeding in their environment, the researchers said.
Kin selection also applies to competition, because if family members compete less with each other, the group will do better overall. “Everywhere you look, plants are growing right up next to other plants，” Dudley said，“ Usually it’s a case of each plant for itself. But sometimes those plants are related, and there are benefits to not wasting resources on being competitive, and there is not really a cost to not being competitive as long as your neighbor is also not being competitive.”
Learning and memory appear to be important for kin recognition in animals, but this isn’t an option for plants, she noted.
Some researchers speculate(猜测) that plants communicate through their roots, identifying themselves using tiny chemical signatures specific to each plant’s family.What’s the main idea of the message?
| A．Studies find plants can recognize, communicate with relatives. |
| B．Kin selection is important for plants. |
| C．Animals can recognize and memorize their relatives. |
| D．Competition asks plants to recognize their relatives. |
Which of the following is NOT right about animals’ social skill?
| A．Animals can recognize and memorize their relatives. |
| B．Animals’ social skill is to cooperate and share resources. |
| C．Animals’ social skill can recognize close relatives in order to work together. |
| D．Animals’ social skill is no use at all. |
Plants’ kin selection is to ________.
| A．grow well | B．compete with other kinds of plants |
| C．strengthen the relationship among siblings | D．find which one is the best |
From the passage，we learn that ________.
| A．sea rocket is a South American species |
| B．sea rocket grows aggressively alongside unrelated neighbors |
| C．sea rocket grows aggressively alongside its siblings |
| D．sea rocket is a kind of bush without flowers |
How can the plants communicate with each other according to experts’ suppose?
| A．Plants communicate by using tiny chemical signatures specific to each plant’s family. |
| B．Plants communicate with each other through their roots. |
| C．Plants communicate with each other by their leaves. |
| D．Plants communicate with each other with their flowers. |
B
had just gone to bed after a very hard day when the phone rang．It was a strange farmer．I had never met him before although I had often heard people talk about him．He sounded quite nervous and he had been talking for a minute or so before I understood anything．Even then all I could make out was that someone called Milly had had a very bad accident．I really didn’t know who she was but I had to go．
It had been snowing heavily that day and I didn’t know the way．I had been driving for at least an hour when I finally found his place．He was standing there, waiting for me．It seemed that Milly had died．“She meant more to me than anyone even my own wife!” he said．I could see that he had been crying．I thought something terrible had taken place, a possible scandal（丑闻）．I was even more surprised when he told me he had put her in the barn（厩）．“I couldn’t leave her in the cold!” he said．Milly had clearly been a secret lover of his．I was about to tell him he could not expect me to cover anything up when he opened the barn door．He lifted his candle and I saw a dark figure on the ground．
“She was such a good cow! I wouldn’t let anyone except a doctor touch her!” he said and cried again．
60．The farmer wished that the writer might．
A．look into the matter
B．bring Milly back to life
C．free him from a scandal
D．keep the whole thing a secret[
61．The underlined phrase in the first paragraph means “ ”．
A．expect B．understand C．see clearly D．hear clearly
62．Before he arrived at the farmer’s house, the writer expected to see Milly lying．
A．on the ground of a barn B．on the floor of a room
C．in bed in a room D．in bed in a barn
63．What do we know about Milly for the story?
A．She had met with an accident． B．She had caused a scandal．
C．She was seriously ill． D．She was hidden somewhere．
64．The person who told the story is probably a．
A．farme B．policeman C．country doctor D．newspaper re5-6porter
D
Festival Activities Program
TIME AND PLACE
October 24 ~ 30
Oct．24 ~ 30: 9:00 a．m ~ 4:00p．m
Oct．25 ~ 29: 12:00 p．m ~ 9:00p．m
at Kerry Center Hotel
Classroom area
（1）English Taster Lesson（2）Food health-keeping method presentation
Computer area
（3）E-photography and Techno-Music（4）Education Software Demonstration
Internet Training area
SINA and Capital On-line will provide Internet Training for the public．The focus（焦点） will be on browsing the Internet; how to find useful information on the web; and how to design an elementary web page．
Foyer Activity area
（5）The students from Beijing TV University for the aged will provide a calligraphy （handwriting） demonstration．
（6）Children activities
69．A 70-year-old teacher wants to see how to use writing brush well, he should go to．
A．Classroom area
B．Computer area
C．Internet Training area
D．Foyer Activity area
70．The programs will last for．
A．a week B．a month C．five days D．two days
71．The word “browsing” in the passage probabl
y means．
A．seeing everywhere
B．going here and there
C．staring everywhere
D．reading here and there in books, etc．
Ⅳ．阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）
A
At one time or another most farmers have problems with mice．This is especially true for grain farmers．Mice eat a lot of grain．They also carry diseases（疾病）, which people can get from eating or touching grain the mice have made dirty．Farmers can use special grain storage building or they can kill the mice．However, both methods can be costly．Farmers must buy materials to build the special grain storage buildings or chemical poisons to kill the mice．
Here is a way to kill mice without spending a lot of money．It is a simple but effective king of mouse trap．The method is first used by some farmers in the west African country of Mali．An agricultural expert in Mali reported about the Mali mouse trap in a magazine．The expert reported that his gardener caught 150 mice in just one night．The gardener used four traps．The trap is easy to make．First, remove the top from a 20 liter metal or plastic container（容器）．Put it 
n a hole in the ground．The top edge of the container should be the level with the surface of the 
ground．Fill the container with water to within eight centimeters of the top．Add tiny pieces of grain wastes．They should float on the water．Also put some wastes on the ground near the trap．During the night, mice will come out to eat the grain wastes．They will fall into the container and drown．Replace the food in the trap every night．
56．According to the passage, used the mouse trap first．
A．an agricultural expert in the west Africa
B．farmers in the United States
C．an American gardener
D．farmers in Mali
57．What does the passage mainly tell us?
A．A simple and effective method used by farmers to kill mice．
B．Methods used by farmers to kill mice．
C．Farmers have problems with mice．
D．How to kill mice．
58．is not needed in making the mouse trap．
A．Water B．A container C．chemical poison D．Food
59．Which of the following can’t protect grain from being eaten by mice?
A．A special grain storage building． B．Chemical poisons．
C．A mouse trap． D．A hole in the ground．
D
The regular use of text messages and e-mails can lower the IQ more than twice as much as smoking marijuana(大麻). That is the claim of psychologists who have found that tapping away on a mobile phone or computer keypad or checking them for electronic messages temporarily knocks up to ten points off the user’s IQ.
This rate of decline in intelligence compares unfavorably with the four-point drop in IQ associated with smoking marijuana, according to British researchers, who have labeled(贴标签于，指……为，分类) the fleeting phenomenon of enhanced stupidity as “infomania”.
The noticeable drop in IQ is believed to be the result of the constant distraction of “always on” technology when employees should be concentrating on what they are paid to do. Infomania means that they lose concentration as their minds remain fixed in an almost permanent state of readiness to react to technology instead of focusing on the tasks in hand.
The brain also finds it hard to deal with keeping lots of tasks in motion at once, reducing its overall effectiveness. While modern technology can have huge benefits, excessive(过度的) use can be damaging not only to a person’s mind, but to his or her social life.
Eighty volunteers took part in clinical (临床的)trials on IQ damage and 1,100 adults were interviewed.
More than six in ten people polled admitted that they were addicted to checking their e-mails and text messages so that they examined work-related ones even when at home or on holiday. Half said that they always responded immediately to an e-mail and one in five would interrupt a meeting to do so.
Furthermore, Informania is having a negative effect on work colleagues, increasing stress and disagreeing feelings. Nine out of ten polled thought that colleagues who answered e-mails or messages during a face-to-face meeting were extremely rude. Yet one in three Britons believed that it was not only acceptable, but actually diligent and efficient to do so.
67. What does the underlined part mean?
A. A person’s IQ drops ten points if he or she always checks electronic messages.
B. The person who has a higher IQ enjoys checking electronic messages.
C. The person who has a lower IQ enjoys checking electronic messages.
D. A person’s IQ is ten points higher if he or she always checks electronic messages.
68. What happens to people with infomania?
A. People with infomania can only concentrate on their tasks in hand.
B. People with infomania are addicted to smoking marijuana.
C. People with infomania can’t respond to technology immediately.
D. People with infomania can’t concentrate on their tasks in hand.
69. From the passage, we can learn that.
A. about 550 interviewees responded to an e-mail immediately
B. about 670 interviewees responded to an e-mail immediately
C. about 40 taking part in clinical trials on IQ were addicted to checking e-mail
D. about 16 taking part in clinical trials on IQ refused to answer e-mails immediately
70. What is the main idea of this passage?
A. The regular use of text messages and e-mails can be compared to smoking marijuana.
B. Modern technology can damage a person’s mind.
C. The regular use of text messages and e-mails can harm your IQ.
D. Electronic messages can have effects on the user’s life.
C
If you’re in charge of a project, the key to success is getting everyone to want to help you. As a director, I suggest, I gently push the actors in the direction I want them to go.
In the 1986 movie Nothing in Common, Jackie Gleason’s character, Max Basner, gets fired from his job as a clothing salesman. The scene, shot on a boat, shows Max’s hopelessness about being out of work. I was looking for some ways that would allow Max to show his feelings.
Jackie had far more experience at everything than I did, and at first I was frightened. What could I possibly tell “The Great One” about acting? Out of fear I decided to direct by suggestion, and I sat down with Gleason to talk about the scene.
“So Max is sad, right?” I said.
Gleason nodded.
“And he’s probably still carrying his pens with his name on them－the ones he used to hand out to his customers, right?”
Gleason nodded.
“So what would you want to do with the pens after you were fired?”
He was silent for a moment. “Why don’t I throw them overboard?”
I stood up and turned toward the crew. “Hey, everybody, Jackie has a wonderful idea. Let’s shoot it.”
After filming the scene, Gleason called me over and said with a smile, “Garry, what kind of wonderful idea am I going to have tomorrow?”
You and your team can discover the answers to problems tighter. When there are no prizes or gold stars for those who get the solution first, you’ll all benefit when everything turns out right.
63. The writer tells us that, to succeed in the project you are in charge of, you should _______.
A. make everyone work for you
B. get everyone willing to help you
C. let people know you have the final say
D. keep giving orders to everyone
64. From the passage we can know _________.
A. Jackie Gleason is the director of the film Nothing in Common
B. Jackie Gleason is very angry when he is fired from his job
C. Max, a character in the film, is in very low spirits when he loses his job
D. Jackie Gleason writes the play of the film Nothing in Common
65. The underlined part “The Great One” (in Paragraph 3) refers to __________.
A. Gleason B. the director himself C. Max D. Max’s boss
66. Why did Gleason call the director over and smile at him?
A. Gleason thought his wonderful idea was accepted by the director.
B. Gleason succeeded in hitting upon a wonderful idea.
C. Gleason was confident about his work the next day.
D. Gleason appreciated the director’s way of directing films.