When a leafy plant is under attack, it doesn’t sit quietly. Back in 1983, two scientists, Jack Schultz and Ian Baldwin, reported that young maple trees getting bitten by insects send out a particular smell that neighboring plants can get. These chemicals come from the injured parts of the plant and seem to be an alarm. What the plants pump through the air is a mixture of chemicals known as volatile organic compounds, VOCs for short.
Scientists have found that all kinds of plants give out VOCs when being attacked .It’s a plant’s way of crying out. But is anyone listening? Apparently. Because we can watch the neighbours react.
Some plants pump out smelly chemicals to keep insects away. But others do double duty. They pump out perfumes designed to attract different insects who are natural enemies to the attackers. Once they arrive, the tables are turned. The attacker who was lunching now becomes lunch.
In study after study, it appears that these chemical conversations help the neighbors .The damage is usually more serious on the first plant, but the neighbors, relatively speaking, stay safer because they heard the alarm and knew what to do.
Does this mean that plants talk to each other? Scientists don’t know. Maybe the first plant just made a cry of pain or was sending a message to its own branches, and so, in effect, was talking to itself. Perhaps the neighbors just happened to “overhear” the cry. So information was exchanged, but it wasn’t a true, intentional back and forth. Charles Darwin, over 150 years ago, imagined a world far busier, noisier and more intimate(亲密的) than the world we can see and hear. Our senses are weak. There’s a whole lot going on.
1.What does a plant do when it is under attack?
A.It makes noises. B.It gets help from other plants.
C.It stands quietly D.It sends out certain chemicals.
2.What does the author mean by “the tables are turned” in paragraph 3?
A.The attackers get attacked.
B.The insects gather under the table.
C.The plants get ready to fight back.
D.The perfumes attract natural enemies.
3.Scientists find from their studies that plants can ________.
A.predict natural disasters
B.protect themselves against insects
C.talk to one another intentionally
D.help their neighbors when necessary
4.What can we infer from the last paragraph?
A.The world is changing faster than ever.
B.People have stronger senses than before
C.The world is more complex than it seems
D.People in Darwin’s time were imaginative.
When I was a boy, our extended, immigrant family would sometimes gather at my aunt’s tiny house over the summer. Relatives from all over the country would come in to visit. The adults would crowd together in the living room to talk and catch up on each other' s lives. And the kids would be sent out into the front yard to play when dinner was slowly cooked for all of us.
Those were the days before video games, smart phones, and motorized toys, so we often ended up playing an old game. I remember one of those moments especially. As I was the youngest and smallest of all the kids there, I got caught first and couldn't catch anyone else. My brothers and cousins were all too fast for me, and I grew more and more frustrated. I finally fell my face first into the dirt. I got up with tears forming in my eyes. Then I saw one of my female cousins Susan standing there. She started to run but was going much slower than before. I easily caught up and seized her. Then she turned to me, smiled, and said, I'm it! You d better run! Iran off laughing with glee while she turned and started to chase others.
Now I see how her act of kindness that day saved me from sadness and returned me to joy. It didn't matter that we hardly ever saw each other. I know we are family and she loves me.
In her wonderful book: Box of Butterflies, Roma Downey writes, "We are all one, we all belong to each other, and we are one big. beautiful family." Perhaps it is time that we all started to treat each other that way. Perhaps it is time that we shared our love, our kindness, our laughter, and our joy with everyone without fear. Perhaps it is time to finally and forever bring this world together in one big family reunion.
1.When the adults were chatting, the kids would__________.
A.play video games B.sit in the front yard
C.learn to cook dinner D.play traditional games
2.The author was able to catch Susan because________.
A.the others ran too fast B.the author was good at running
C.Susan gave her a chance D.Susan wanted to chase others
3.What can be inferred from the passage?
A.The author is grateful for hat Susan did to her.
B.The author cant meet Susan any more.
C.The author urges others to love their family.
D.The author believes the world will become a big family
4.What could be the best title of the passage?
A.A memory of my childhood. B.Sharing of goodness unites us.
C.Kindness brightens our life. D.A good deed is invaluable.
Have you ever wanted to feel like you were in a western film? Or maybe you wanted to feel like you were a pioneer traveling the west? It is possible to experience such things during a Wild West vacation! Here are four of the best Wild West vacation locations available:
Walk the Lewis and Clark Trail
Walk some or all of the 3,700 miles trail that was traversed by Mariwether Lewis and William Clark, two of the world's greatest explorers. Though not all the trails are marked, there are various stops that have been preserved by various historic societies. There is also a coach (长途客车)that makes a 16-day trek following the trail. This begins in St. Louis, Missouri, and ends in Astoria, Oregon.
Venture Route 66
Take a tour or go to see it yourself-ride on the famous Route 66. The road is nearly 2, 500 miles long. Harley Davidson offers motorcycle tours that last two weeks. Route 66 will provide an experience that may only be found on the open road. The historic road is still well taken care of.
Visit the Grand Canyon
Visit the most immense (巨大的)canyon in the world, located in Northern Arizona. Raft down the Colorado River, or hike the various trails that run throughout the canyon. If walking is not your thing, there are donkey and horse riding adventures available. In addition, there are motorized boats that float down through the canyon in a week's time.
Visit Deadwood
Located in South Dakota, Deadwood is a historic landmark. It is the kind of town that comes to mind when one thinks of an old western film. Actors who act as gunslingers (杀手）will often be seen in the streets playing their roles. Winter activities are popular in this old town, and there is always something to do.
1.What do we know from the passage?
A.None of the trails in the west are marked.
B.A number of historic stops aren't preserved well.
C.Western films are the most popular among Americans.
D.William Clark was a pioneer who explored the west.
2.The underlined word "trek" in Paragraph 2 can be replaced by" .
A.long and hard journey B.traveling information
C.beautiful scenery D.pleasant holiday
3.Which of the following riding adventures can tourists take on Route 66?
A.A horse riding adventure.
B.A coach riding adventure.
C.A motorcycle riding adventure.
D.A donkey riding adventure.
阅读下面短文，根据其内容写一篇60词左右的内容概要。
Environmental problems are becoming more and more serious all over the world. For example, cars have made the air unhealthy for people to breathe and poisonous gas is given off by factories. Trees on the hills have been cut down and waste water is being poured continuously into rivers. Furthermore, wherever we go today, we can find rubbish carelessly disposed(处理)．
There are different kinds of pollutants, each of which comes from different sources. It is necessary to identify the source of pollution, in order to make a policy to get rid of them. Different products, processes and activities of our industrialized world together form the major source of pollution.
The forms of pollution can be mainly divided into three kinds—solids，liquid and gas. These pollutants have greatly damaged our planet and continue to do so. In fact，pollution is threatening our existence. The whole ecological balance of the earth is changing. Massive destruction of environment has brought about negative effects and even posed a great threat to man’s existence.
We must face the situation that exists and take action to solve our environmental problems. For instance, new laws must be passed to place strict control over industrial pollution; the public must receive the education about the danger of pollution and raise their awareness of protecting the environment and so on.
The earth is our home and we have the duty to take care of it for ourselves and our later generations. Fortunately, more and more people have realized these problems. Measures have been taken to deal with these situations by the government. And laws have been passed to stop pollution, I hope the problems will be solved in the near future and our home will become better and better.
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假定你是李华，你校将为外国学生办一场中国文化夏令营，请给你的英国朋友 Tom 发一封邮件，邀请他来参加这次活动，内容包括：
1. 时间和地点；
2. 夏令营内容（餐桌礼仪、身势语文化、参访等）；
3. 报名方式和截止日期。
注意：1. 词数80左右；2. 可以适当增加细节，以使行文连贯。
参考词汇：中国文化夏令营 Summer Camp of Chinese Culture
Dear Tom,
Here comes a piece of good news._______________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Looking forward to your early reply.
Yours，
Li Hua
要想学好英语就要怕丢脸。
Don’t be afraid of _______ ________ if you want to learn English well.
