Although it has been revealed in recent years...

Although it has been revealed in recent years that plants are capable of seeing, hearing and smelling, they are still usually thought of as silent. But now, for the first time, they have been recorded making ultrasonic cries when stressed, which researchers say could open up a new field of precision agriculture where farmers listen for water-starved crops.

Itzhak Khait and his colleagues at Tel Aviv University in Israel found that tomato and tobacco plants made cries at frequencies humans cannot hear when stressed by a lack of water or when their stem is cut.

Microphones placed 10 centimetres from the plants picked up sounds in the ultrasonic range of 20 to 100 kilohertz, which the team says insects and some mammals would be capable of hearing and responding to from as far as 5 metres away. A moth may decide against laying eggs on a plant that sounds water-stressed, the researchers suggest. Plants could even hear that other plants are short of water and react accordingly, they speculate.

On average, drought-stressed tomato plants made 35 sounds an hour, while tobacco plants made 11. When plant stems were cut, tomato plants made an average of 25 sounds in the following hour, and tobacco plants 15. Unstressed plants produced fewer than one sound per hour, on average.

It is even possible to distinguish between the sounds to know what the stress is. The researchers trained a machine-learning model to discriminate between the plants’ sounds and the wind, rain and other noises of the greenhouse, correctly identifying in most cases whether the stress was caused by dryness or a cut, based on the sound’s intensity and frequency. Water-hungry tobacco appears to make louder sounds than cut tobacco, for example.

Enabling farmers to listen for water-stressed plants could “open a new direction in the field of precision agriculture”, the researchers suggest. They add that such an ability will be increasingly important as climate change exposes more areas to drought.

“The suggestion that the sounds that drought-stressed plants make could be used in precision agriculture seems feasible if it is not too costly to set up the recording in a field situation,” says Anne Visscher at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, in the UK.

She warns that the results can’t yet be broadened out to other stresses, such as salt or temperature, because these may not lead to sounds. In addition, there have been no experiments to show whether moths or any other animal can hear and respond to the sounds the plants make, so that idea remains speculative（推测的）for now, she says.

1.The experiment by researchers at Tel Aviv University shows that_______.

A.tobacco plants make louder sounds than tomato plants when hurt

B.water-hungry tomato plants are more sensible than tobacco plants

C.unstressed plants produced sounds of laughter when being watered

D.plants respond to the sounds the plants make and protect themselves

2.What is Anne Visscher’s attitude towards the finding of the experiment?

A.Appreciative B.Doubtful

C.Cautious D.Optimistic

3.It can be learnt from the research that ________.

A.greenhouse effects can be avoided

B.soil condition can be adjusted in time.

C.plant condition can be diagnosed faster.

D.insects can be detected and removed easily.

4.What is the best title for the article?

A.Plants Get Stressed Just Like Us

B.Plants Scream in Presence of Stress

C.Sounds of Plants Detected Far Away

D.Sounds of Plants Break Farmers’ Hearts

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

---In recent years, _____ problem of global warming has been very serious.

---That's right. People are facing ____ number of natural disasters now.

高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

It has been announced that all the students ____ put on masks before going to school in case they are infected with SARS virus.

A. shall     B. will   C. need     D. may

高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

China has recently been faced with serious issues of product safety. In Panama ,it is said that medicine made with a poisonous chemical sickened some people. A Chinese company had identified it as diethylamide glycol(乙二醇),a low-cost substitute commonly used in automobile antifreeze(防冻剂)．

Some countries have banned Chinese-made toothpaste containing diethylamide glycol. China has now told companies to discontinue its use, even though it says the toothpaste is safe. Another industrial chemical, melamine, was found in wheat flour used to make pet food in North America. Thousands of dogs and cats became sick.

The United States has restricted some imports of Chinese seafood because they contained banned substance. And questions have been raised about other products, including children's toys covered with lead paint.

Chinese officials promised to provide the European Union, the biggest trading partner, with detailed reports on enforcement efforts against unsafe goods.

Meglena Kuneva, commissioner(理事) for consumer protection of the European Union said China should have kept its promise.

China recently closed three companies linked to the Panama and the pet food scare. And it dismissed the former head of its food and drug administration. He was found guilty of corruption(腐败)for approving unsafe drugs. This week, a conference of the State Council approved a proposed special measure on the supervision of food safety. The Xinhua News Agency said it calls for stronger controls over producers, greater responsibilities for government and more serious punishment for illegal activities.

But Chinese officials have accused some foreign media of overstating problems with goods made in China. They say food imports from the United States also fail inspection sometimes. Next week, American and Chinese food safety officials are planning to hold 5 days of meetings in Beijing to discuss cooperation.

1.How many cases with safety problems are mentioned in the passage?

A. Six.　　　　　 B. Five.　　　　　　　 C. Four.　　　　　　 D. Three.

2.How was Panama case dealt with afterwards?

A. Three companies linked to it　 were closed down.

B. The former head of food and drug administration was removed from his position.

C. More serious punishment was conducted for leaders linked to it.

D. Both A and B.

3.It can be implied but not clearly stated that________.

A. Chinese-made toothpaste is safe

B. the safety of "Made in China" is doubted

C. there are safety problems with more Chinese products

D. stronger control over Chinese products is in need

4.The passage is mainly about________.

A. China is facing product safety problems

B. more controls are taken of Chinese goods

C. overstated problems with Chinese goods

D. China is losing its trade partners

5.What does “it” refer to in the last but one paragraph?

A. China　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　     B. The European Union

C. Chinese officials　　　　　　　　　　     D. The Chinese company

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

China has recently been faced with serious issues of product safety. In Panama, it is said that medicine made with a poisonous chemical sickened some people. A Chinese company had identified it as diethylamide glycol （[化]乙二醇）, a low – cost substitute commonly used in automobile antifreeze（防冻剂）.

Some countries have banned Chinese-made toothpaste containing diethylamide glycol. China has now told companies to discontinue its use, even though it says the toothpaste is safe. Another industrial chemical, melamine, was found in wheat flour used to make pet food in North America. Thousands of dogs and cats became sick.

The United States has restricted some imports of Chinese seafood because they contained banned substance. And questions have been raised about other products, including children’s toys covered with lead paint.

Chinese officials promised to provide the European Union, the biggest trading partner, with detailed reports on enforcement efforts against unsafe goods.

Meglena Kuneva, commissioner (理事) for consumer protection of the European Union said China should have kept its promise.

China recently closed three companies linked to the Panama and the pet food scare. And it dismissed the former head of its food and drug administration. He was found guilty of corruption (腐败) for approving unsafe drugs. This week, a conference of the State Council approved a proposed special measure on the supervision of food safety. The Xinhua News Agency said it calls for stronger controls over producers, greater responsibilities for government and more serious punishment for illegal activities.

But Chinese officials have accused some foreign media of overstating problems with goods made in China. They say food imports from the United States also fail inspection sometimes. Next Week, American and Chinese food safety officials are planning to hold 5 days of meetings in Beijing to discuss cooperation.

1.How many cases with safety problems are mentioned in the passage?

2.How was Panama case dealt with afterwards?

A．Three companies linked to it were closed down.

B．The former head of food and drug administration was removed from his position.

C．More serious punishment was conducted for leaders linked to it.

D．Both A and B.

3.It can be implied but not clearly stated that ________.

4.The passage is mainly about ________.

5.What does “it” refers to in the last but one paragraph?

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

Unemployment in Europe has recently hit record highs. Although Denmark has been protected from economic problems thanks to its low public debt, qualified (有资格的) professionals are still finding it tough to get a job. Danish marketing firm Reputation Copenhagen has come up with a way of helping academics get noticed -- putting them on display (展示) in storefront windows.

Many highly-trained professionals, ranging from former CEOs to lawyers and tax experts, are currently finding it increasingly difficult to find proper employment on the Danish job market. Some of them have been trying for years, leaving their resumes (简历) with dozens of companies, without ever hearing back from them, and are now at a point where they are willing to try anything, even putting themselves in display windows like goods, hoping to get noticed.

Alexander Peitersen, managing director of Reputation Copenhagen, came up with the idea of using his company's office as a storefront for the campaign (活动), as there are many businesses nearby that might be interested in the talents on display. So he set up a small desk, put up the “an available academic is sitting here” sign and asked the unemployed to just sit in the windows like goods. It seems like a pretty desperate measure, but at least it works. According to the agency's website, three of the jobseekers in their window display got a job in a day or two.

Peitersen says he came up with the idea after realizing human resource managers get hundreds of job applications every day, which look more or less the same, and that creative thinking is required in order to increase the chances of finding employment. Apart from companies interested in qualified job-seekers, the campaign has also attracted the attention of both local and international media.

1.Which of the following words can be used to describe Peitersen?

A. Independent.         B. Creative.             C. Sensitive.             D. Cautious.

2.Some job-seekers are willing to put themselves in the windows to display in that ______.

A. they think it is fashionable

B. their parents ask them to

C. it’s increasingly difficult to get hired

D. they find it’s interesting

3.It can be Inferred that ______.

A. no companies show interest in the qualified job-seekers in the windows

B. both local and international media don't agree with the campaign

C. human resource managers have to reply to hundreds of applicants

D. to some degree the window displays help people find jobs

4.What is the text mainly about?

A. Job-seekers are displayed in the windows hoping to get hired.

B. The rate of unemployment in Europe has recently become hitter.

C. It is hard for qualified professionals to get a job.

D. Denmark has avoided economic problems due to its low public debt.

高三英语阅读理解中等难度题查看答案及解析

.So often ______ in recent years that it has almost become a rule.

A. has this happened              B. this has happened

C. is this happening               D. for this to happen

高三英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析

Although chatting on line has exploded in popularity in recent years, there is no ________ for a face-to-face conversation.

A. privilege                B. affection                C. substitute         D. adjustment

高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

Although dishonesty seems so common in recent years, people still believe that honesty will not go out of 　　　　　 .

A. style　　　　　　 B. order

C. balance　　　　 D. shape

高三英语单项填空中等难度题查看答案及解析

Although dishonesty seems so common in recent years, people still believe that honesty will not go out of　　　　　 ．

A． style    B． order　　　　　　　 C． balance    D． shape

高三英语单项填空简单题查看答案及解析