Question

    People have known for a long time that plants can hear, see, smell and communicate with each other. Now, they have been recorded making sounds when stressed.

In a study, Itzhak Khait and his team found that tomato  and tobacco plants can make ultrasonic( 超声的 ) noises. The plant “cry out” due to lack of water, or when they are cut. The sound is just too high for human to hear.

Microphones were placed 10 centimeters away from the plants and picked up sounds in the range of 20 to 100,000 hertz( 赫兹). Human hearing usually ranges from 20 to 20,000 hertz. On average, “thirsty” tomato plants made 35 sounds an hour, while tobacco plants made 11. When plant was cut, tomato plants made an average of 25 sounds in the following hour, and tobacco plants 15.

Perhaps most interestingly, different types of stress led to different sounds. The researchers used a special machine to separate the plants’ sounds from those of wind, rain and other noises of the greenhouses. In most cases, it correctly told whether the stress was caused by dryness or a cut. Water-hungry tobacco made louder sounds than cut tobacco, for example. Although Khait and his team only looked at tomato and tobacco plants, they thought other plants also made sounds when stressed. Khait’s report also suggested that insects could hear the sound up to 5 meters away and respond.

The team said if farmers could hear these sounds, they could give plants the water they need. As climate change causes more droughts(干旱), they said this would be important information for farmers, for the sound that drought-stressed plants made could be used in agriculture.

If plants are screaming for fear of their survival, should we be thankful we can’t hear them?

1.Which did Khait and his team find from their research?

A.Only tomato plants could make ultrasonic noises.

B.Humans can hear plants crying while cutting them.

C.Plants were able to produce sounds when stressed.

D.Plants made ultrasonic noises to communicate with each other.

2.How did tomato and tobacco plants react to different stresses according to the text?

A.Cut tobacco plants made weaker sounds than drought-stressed ones.

B.Tomato plants reacted to different stresses with the same sound.

C.Cut tomato plants produced more sounds than water-hungry ones.

D.Tobacco plants made louder sounds than tomato plants when short of water.

3.What’s the main idea of Paragraph 5?

A.Farmers imagine what the future agriculture will be like.

B.Farmers have contributed a lot to the research.

C.Farmers can apply the result of the research to agriculture.

D.Farmers will face lots of challenges in the future.

4.Where is this text most likely from?

A.A nature magazine. B.A novel. C.A diary. D.A guidebook.

Answer

1.C

2.A

3.C

4.A

【解析】

这是一篇说明文。文章主要讲了在一项研究中，Itzhak Khait和他的团队发现，番茄和烟草植物可以发出超声波噪音。植物会因为缺水或被砍掉而“哭喊”。只不过声音太高了，人听不见。

1.

细节理解题。根据第一段Now, they have been recorded making sounds when stressed.（现在，研究人员记录了它们在受到压力时发出的声音）和第二段The plant “cry out” due to lack of water, or when they are cut.（植物会因为缺水或被砍掉而“哭喊”）由此可知，Khait和他的团队从他们的研究中发现了植物在受到压力时能够发出声音。故选C。

2.

细节理解题。根据第四段Water-hungry tobacco made louder sounds than cut tobacco（缺水的烟草发出的声音比被切割的烟草发出的声音更响）由此可知，被切割的烟草比受干旱威胁的烟草发出的声音更弱。故选A。

3.

主旨大意题。根据第五段The team said if farmers could hear these sounds, they could give plants the water they need. As climate change causes more droughts(干旱), they said this would be important information for farmers, for the sound that drought-stressed plants made could be used in agriculture.（研究小组表示，如果农民能听到这些声音，他们就能给植物提供所需的水。他们说，由于气候变化导致更多的干旱，这对农民来说将是重要的信息，因为干旱威胁植物发出的声音可以用于农业）可知这一段主要讲了农民可以将研究结果应用于农业。故选C。

4.

推理判断题。根据第二段In a study, Itzhak Khait and his team found that tomato and tobacco plants can make ultrasonic( 超声的 ) noises. The plant “cry out” due to lack of water, or when they are cut. The sound is just too high for human to hear.（在一项研究中，Itzhak Khait和他的团队发现，番茄和烟草植物可以发出超声波噪音。植物会因为缺水或被砍掉而“哭喊”。只不过声音太高了，人听不见）以及结合全文内容，可知这篇文章主要介绍了一项关于植物的新的发现，属于科普类文章，所以这篇文章最可能来自一本自然杂志。故选A。