Question

    For people, many other animals, family matters. Consider how many jobs go to relatives. Or how an ant will cruelly attack intruder(入侵的)ants but rescue injured, closely related nest-mates. There are good evolutionary reasons to aid relatives, after all. Now, it seems, family feelings may stir in plants as well.

A Canadian biologist planted the seed of the idea more than a decade ago, but many plant biologists regarded it as heretical—plants lack the nervous systems that enable animals to recognize kin(家族), so how can they know their relatives? But with a series of recent findings, the belief that plants really do care for their most genetically close peers—in a quiet, planty way—is taking root. Some species control how far their roots spread, others change how many flowers they produce, and a few tilt(倾斜)or shift their leaves to minimize shading of neighboring plants, favoring related individuals.

“We need to recognize that plants not only sense whether it’s light or dark or if they’ve been touched, but also whom they are interacting with,” says Susan Dudley, a plant evolutionary ecologist, whose early plant kin recognition studies sparked the interest of many scientists.

Beyond broadening views of plant behavior, the new work may have a practical side. In September 2018, a team in China reported that rice planted with kin grows better, a finding that suggested family ties can be used to improve crop yields. “It seems anytime anyone looks for it, they find a kin effect,” says Andre Kessler, a chemical ecologist at Cornell University.

1.Why are ants mentioned in the first paragraph?

A. To show how cruel ants are to their enemies.

B. To lay foundation for the idea of plants’ family feelings.

C. To introduce the topic of how family matters to animals.

D. To explain why people usually give more jobs to their relatives.

2.Which of the following words has the closest meaning to the underlined word “heretical”?

A. Indescribable. B. Understandable. C. Impossible. D. Traditional.

3.What may be the plants’ way of expressing their care for relatives?

A. They stop producing flowers to avoid competition.

B. They spread their roots far so as to protect their peers.

C. They care for their injured peers by silently taking roots.

D. They move their leaves to share sunlight with their close peers.

4.What can be inferred from the text?

A. Different plants mustn’t be planted together.

B. Corn planted with corn can produce more than that with rice.

C. China has put the idea into wide practice and achieved great success.

D. The closer rice is planted with their relatives the more they will produce.

Answer

1.B

2.C

3.D

4.B

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。根据随着最近一系列研究发现，和蚂蚁类似，植物也存在家庭情感。这一发现的实际价值是可以用来提高作物产量。

1.推理判断题。第一段最后一、二句There are good evolutionary reasons to aid relatives, after all. Now, it seems, family feelings may stir in plants as well. 可知进化的原因是要帮助亲属，现在看来，家庭情感可能也会在植物中产生影响。可知第一段提到蚂蚁的目的是为下文提到植物家庭情感做铺垫，故选B。

2.词义猜测题。根据后文植物缺乏能让动物识别亲缘关系的神经系统，所以它们怎么能认识自己的亲戚呢?因此可推测上文中提到的许多植物生物学家认为植物有家庭情感的想法是“不可能的；荒谬的”，故选C。

3.细节理解题。第二段最后一句Some species control how far their roots spread, others change how many flowers they produce, and a few tilt(倾斜)or shift their leaves to minimize shading of neighboring plants, favoring related individuals.可知一些物种控制着它们的根系伸展的距离，另一些则改变着它们开出的花的数量，还有一些则倾斜或移动它们的叶子，以尽量减少邻近植物的阴影，从而有利于相关的个体。即植物对亲属表现关心的方式为他们移动树叶与亲密的同伴分享阳光。故选D。

4.细节理解题。最后一段第二句a team in China reported that rice planted with kin grows better, a finding that suggested family ties can be used to improve crop yields可知中国的一个研究小组报告说，近亲种植的水稻生长得更好，这一发现表明，家庭关系可以用来提高作物产量。即可推测玉米和玉米种在一起比和大米种在一起的产量高。故选B。