Question

Can trees talk? Yes, not in words. Scientists have reasons to believe that trees do communicate 1. each other.

Not long ago, researchers 2.(learn) some surprising things. First a willow tree 3.(attack) in the woods by caterpillars(毛虫) changed the chemistry of its leaves and made them taste so terrible that they got tired of the leaves 4.(gradual) and stopped eating them. Then even more 5.(astonish), the tree sent out a special smell—a signal causing 6. neighbors to change the chemistry of their own leaves and make them less tasty.

Communication, of course, doesn’t need to be in words. We can talk to each other by smiling, raiding our shoulders and moving our hands. 7. we know is that birds and animals use a whole vocabulary of songs, sounds, and movements. Bees dance their signals. 8.(fly) in certain patterns that tell other bees where 9. (find) nectar(花蜜) for honey. So why shouldn’t trees have 10.(way) of sending messages?

Answer

1.with

2.learned

3.attacked

4.gradually

5.astonishing

6.its

7.What

8.flying

9.to find

10.ways

【解析】本篇科普文章讲述了柳树通过发出一种特别的气味来同邻居进行交流。作者认为就像人类微笑，鸟儿唱歌，蜜蜂跳舞一样，树也有传送信息的方式。

1.with考查固定搭配。科学家们有理由相信树木确实互相交流。communicate with…与……交流。

2.learned考查谓语动词。研究人员了解到了一些令人惊讶的东西。根据前面的Not long ago可知，要用一般过去时。

3.attacked考查过去分词作定语。被毛毛虫攻击的柳树改变自己树叶的化学成分，让虫子不再吃了。a willow tree ___3___(attack) in the woods by caterpillars(毛虫) changed the chemistry of its leaves，本句中tree是主语。谓语动词是changed，attacked …by caterpillars是过去分词，修饰主语tree。Tree与attack是逻辑上的被动关系。树是被攻击。

4.gradually考查副词。柳树改变了自己树叶的化学成分，它们的味道变得非常糟糕，所以渐渐地（gradually）毛虫厌倦了树叶，不再吃它们。副词修饰句子故用gradually。

5.astonishing考查形容词作状语。句意：更令人惊讶的（astonishing）是，树散发出一种特殊的气味。有些形容词在某些固定结构中可用作独立成分，起承上启下的作用（也可视为一种状语）。如：More important, he’s got a steady job. 更重要的是他得到了一个稳定的工作。

【名师点睛】形容词用作状语

1、形容词的主要功能是用作定语和表语，但有时也可用作状语（有人也称之为主语补足语，因为它们是补充说明主语的）。如：

He lay in bed, awake. 他躺在床上，没有睡着。（表伴随）

He arrived home, hungry and tired. 他回到家里，又饿又累。（表结果）

形容词用作状语的特点是，该形容词的逻辑主语就是句子主语，并且通常可以用并列句或主从复合句来改写。如以上各句可改写为：

He lay in bed and he was awake.

He arrived home and he was hungry and tired.

2. 形容词或形容词短语可以在句首作状语，表示说话人的态度。这种状语在句中的位置比较灵活。

Worse still, the lion could even carry off the baby it its mouth. 更糟糕的是，狮子甚至能把婴儿叼走

Strange to say, he did pass his exam after all. 说也奇怪，他竟然通过了考试。

For a moment she just stood there, unable to believe what had just happened. 她在那儿呆呆地站了一会儿，不敢相信刚才发生的事情。

比如第5小题，The even more astonishing, the tree sent out a special vapor更令人惊讶的是，树散发出一种特殊的气味。(表示出乎人的意料。)

6.its

考查形容词性物主代词。一种信号，使它的（its）邻居改变自己的叶子的化学成分，让它们不那么可口。

7.What

考查名词从句。__7___ we know is that birds and animals use a whole vocabulary of songs, sounds, and movements。本句中__7___ we know是主语从句。know 缺宾语，要用what。

8.flying

考查非谓语作伴随状语。蜜蜂发出信号，以特定的方式飞行，告诉其他蜜蜂在哪里能找到花蜜。Bees dance their signals, flying in certain patterns，本句主语是bees，谓语是dance, fly是伴随状语，与蜜蜂是主动关系，dance和fly是同时发生的。所以要用动词的现在分词作状语。

9.to find

考查动词不定式与where一起构成宾语。疑问词+动词不定式在句子中可作主语，宾语，表语等。

10.ways

考查名词复数。那么为什么树木不应该有发送信息的方式呢？方式要用复数。