Question

【题目】 When we see babies or pets, we can't help gently touching them to show our love. And they give us happy feelings back. But a recent study shows that it’s different for plants.

A study, published in The Plant Journal, shows that plants don’t like to be touched. That’s because touching changes their genes(基因) and, even worse, can slow their growth. Professor Jim Whelan in Australia gave an explanation. The lightest touch from a human, animal, insect, or even plants touching each other in the wind, leads to a huge gene change in the plant.

In order to test the theory, the scientists did an experiment on plants. They grew a number of plants to the age of four weeks. Then they touched them with a paintbrush every 12 hours over a 36-hour period. They found that as the result of the touch, the mitochondria(线粒体) in the plants had been partly destroyed. The mitochondria are the “power-house” of the cell(细胞). The mitochondria produce energy for the cells in both animals and plants. If this “power-house” is weakened, the plants will lose a large amount of energy that should have supported their growth.

Whelan further explained, “If the touching is repeated, then plant growth is reduced by 30 percent.” Although the touching does have a strong influence on plants, usually the plants can still be alive. Touching changes the plants, but it’s not always a bad change. Continually touching or moving plants will make them grow shorter than other ones. However, in some ways, this change could be helpful. It may help plants fight threats to their health such as insects and bad weather.

The new research findings have led to a deeper understanding of the plants. And the research might help with the growth of plants.

根据材料内容选出最佳答案。

【1】According to the article, what can get in the way of plants’ growth?

A.Love.B.Touch.C.Water.D.Weather.

【2】How do the mitochondria support the plants’ growth?

A.By providing energy for cells.B.By changing the plants’ genes.

C.By fighting against the insects.D.By reducing the amount of cells.

【3】Why did the scientists do the experiment?

A.To explain why pets love to be touched.

B.To find out why some plants grow more slowly.

C.To test if touching can change the genes of plants.

D.To show that plants’ and animals’ genes are different.

【4】What does the underlined word “threats” mean in Chinese?

A.因素B.改变C.威胁D.对手

【5】What can we learn from the text?

A.Touching can have a good influence on plants’ growth.

B.We’re not sure how to help plants grow by touching.

C.It’s necessary to avoid touching the plants all the time.

D.The changes of the plants by touching may be not bad.

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】B

【2】A

【3】C

【4】C

【5】D

【解析】

本文讲述了发表在《植物杂志》上的一项研究表明，植物不喜欢被碰。触摸确实对植物有很大的影响，但通常这些植物仍然是活着的。触摸会改变植物，但并不总是坏事。不断地接触或移动植物会使它们比其他植物长得短。然而，在某些方面，这种改变可能是有益的。

【1】细节理解题。根据“A study, published in The Plant Journal, shows that plants don’t like to be touched.”可知发表在《植物杂志》上的一项研究表明，植物不喜欢被碰，因此触摸会阻碍植物的生长，故选B。

【2】细节理解题。根据“The mitochondria produce energy for the cells in both animals and plants.”可知线粒体为动物和植物的细胞提供能量，故选A。

【3】推理判断题。根据“The lightest touch from a human, animal, insect, or even plants touching each other in the wind, leads to a huge gene change in the plant.In order to test the theory, the scientists did an experiment on plants.”可知人类、动物、昆虫，甚至是植物在风中最轻微的接触，都会导致植物基因的巨大变化。为了验证这个理论，科学家们在植物上做了一个实验，可推测出目的是测试触摸是否会改变植物的基因，故选C。

【4】词义猜测题。根据“such as insects and bad weather.”可知昆虫和恶劣天气等，可推测出该单词的意思是“威胁”，故选C。

【5】推理判断题。根据“Although the touching does have a strong influence on plants, usually the plants can still be alive. Touching changes the plants, but it’s not always a bad change.”可知虽然触摸确实对植物有很大的影响，但通常这些植物仍然是活着的。触摸会改变植物，但并不总是坏事，故选D。