Question

A towering South American plant that is believed to kill animals with its spikes(尖刺) and use their rotting bodies as fertilizer is about to bloom(开花) in England. A rare Puya chilensis was planted at a greenhouse in Surrey, a county in the southeast of England about 15 years ago. However, despite its frightening description, the tall, spiked plant is considered a threatened species.

The Royal Horticultural Society has been feeding the plant a diet of liquid fertilizer. “In its natural habitat in the Andes it uses its razor sharp spikes to snare and trap sheep and other animals, which slowly starve to death and rot at the base of the plant, providing it with a bag of fertilizer,” reads a description on the RHS website, which adds that the plant gives off a “gruesome scent.”

But does the plant actually trap and eat sheep? Other sources have simply said it is “believed” that the plant traps small animals with its spikes. After the animals die of starvation, the plant is "believed" to then use their rotting bodies as fertilizer to feed itself.

"I'm really pleased that we've finally persuaded our Puya chilensis into producing flower," horticulturalist Cara Smith said in a press release on the RHS site. Regardless of whether it actually traps sheep, the plant does have sharp spikes that can grow up to 12 feet high and 5 feet wide. However, it’s not all death and danger for this plant. Its flowery blooms reportedly provide nectar(花蜜) for bees and birds.

The Puya chilensis blooms annually in its native land of Chile, but this is the first time it has done so after more than a decade of cultivation efforts from the RHS. "We keep it well fed with liquid fertilizer as feeding it on its natural diet might prove a bit problematic,” Smith said. "It's growing in the dry section of our glasshouse with its deadly spines well out of reach of both children and sheep alike."

1.From the passage we learn that in England the Puya chilensis _____.

A. feeds on man-made liquid fertilizer

B. often kills sheep and other animals

C. has once bloomed 15 years before

D. uses animals' rotting bodies as fertilizer

2.The underlined word “snare” in the second paragraph probably means“_________”.

A. catch                      B. stop                        C. fight                        D. kill

3.We can infer from the passage that _____.

A. it's dangerous to feed the plant

B. it's certain that the plant kills sheep

C. it's difficult for the plant to bloom in England

D. it's rare for the plant to bloom in South American

4.What does the writer mainly tell us?

A. A new plant is discovered in Chile.

B. How a rare plant is fed in England.

C.  A rare plant is going to bloom in England.

D. How a plant traps animals in South America.

Answer

1.A

2.A

3.C

4.C

【解析】

试题分析：

 本文介绍一种原产南美智利的一种植物在移植英国15年后首度开花的情况。据信，该植物可以捕捉小型动物、并以小型动物被捕捉后饿死的腐尸作为养料。但在英国喂养液体肥料15年后终于开花。

1.由最后一段We keep it well fed with liquid fertilizer可知，该种植物靠液体肥料维持养分。下一句说明在英国该植物被种植在暖房里，远离儿童和羊群，排除B,D两项。前一句说明这是该种植物在英国首次开花，排除C项。故选择A项。

2.… it uses its razor sharp spikes to snare and trap …一段文字中，trap意为“使……不能逃脱”，后文说小动物慢慢饿死而腐烂。可知snare为“抓住”的意思。故A项正确。

3.喂养了十多年才开花，说明其在英国开花不易。从第三段及第四段Regardless of whether it actually traps sheep 一句可知，该植物是否真的捕捉小动物并不确定，排除B项。从最后一段The Puya chilensis blooms annually in its native land of Chile 一句可知该植物在智利每年开花，排除D项。A项文中无依据。故选择C项。

4.从全文看看，文章说的是RHS的努力有了结果。故选择C项。

考点：新闻报道。