Plants have family values, too; it seems, with new research suggesting they can recognize close relatives in order to work together.
An ability to tell family from strangers is well known in animals, allowing them to cooperate and share resources, but plants may possess similar social skills, scientists believe.
Susan Dudley and Amanda File of McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, report they have demonstrated for the first time that plants can recognize their kin.
This suggests that plants, though lacking recognition and memory, are capable of complex social interactions.
“Plants have this kind of hidden but complicated social life,” Dudley said.
The study found plants from the same species of beach­-dwelling wildflower grew aggressively alongside unrelated neighbors but were less competitive when they shared soil with their families.
Sea rocket, a North American species, showed stronger and healthier root growth when planted in pots with strangers than when raised with relatives from the same maternal(母系的) family, the study found.
This is an example of kin selection, a behavior common in animals in which closely related individuals take a group approach to succeeding in their environment, the researchers said.
Kin selection also applies to competition, because if family members compete less with each other, the group will do better overall. “Everywhere you look, plants are growing right up next to other plants,” Dudley said,“ Usually it’s a case of each plant for itself. But sometimes those plants are related, and there are benefits to not wasting resources on being competitive, and there is not really a cost to not being competitive as long as your neighbor is also not being competitive.”
Learning and memory appear to be important for kin recognition in animals, but this isn’t an option for plants, she noted.
Some researchers speculate(猜測) that plants communicate through their roots, identifying themselves using tiny chemical signatures specific to each plant’s family.
小題1:What’s the main idea of the message?
A.Studies find plants can recognize, communicate with relatives.
B.Kin selection is important for plants.
C.Animals can recognize and memorize their relatives.
D.Competition asks plants to recognize their relatives.
小題2:Which of the following is NOT right about animals’ social skill?
A.Animals can recognize and memorize their relatives.
B.Animals’ social skill is to cooperate and share resources.
C.Animals’ social skill can recognize close relatives in order to work together.
D.Animals’ social skill is no use at all.
小題3:Plants’ kin selection is to ________.
A.grow wellB.compete with other kinds of plants
C.strengthen the relationship among siblingsD.find which one is the best
小題4:From the passage,we learn that ________.
A.sea rocket is a South American species
B.sea rocket grows aggressively alongside unrelated neighbors
C.sea rocket grows aggressively alongside its siblings
D.sea rocket is a kind of bush without flowers
小題5:How can the plants communicate with each other according to experts’ suppose?
A.Plants communicate by using tiny chemical signatures specific to each plant’s family.
B.Plants communicate with each other through their roots.
C.Plants communicate with each other by their leaves.
D.Plants communicate with each other with their flowers.

小題1:A
小題2:D
小題3:B
小題4:B
小題5:B

試題分析:這篇文章主要講了研究表明植物也可以識別并且與它們的親屬交流。
小題1:根據(jù)Plants have family values, too; it seems, with new research suggesting they can recognize close relatives in order to work together. An ability to tell family from strangers is well known in animals, allowing them to cooperate and share resources, but plants may possess similar social skills, scientists believe.故選A。
小題2:根據(jù)Learning and memory appear to be important for kin recognition in animals, but this isn’t an option for plants, she noted.故答案應(yīng)為D。
小題3:根據(jù)The study found plants from the same species of beach­-dwelling wildflower grew aggressively alongside unrelated neighbors but were less competitive when they shared soil with their families.故選B。
小題4:根據(jù)The study found plants from the same species of beach­-dwelling wildflower grew aggressively alongside unrelated neighbors but were less competitive when they shared soil with their families.故選B。
小題5:根據(jù)Some researchers speculate(猜測) that plants communicate through their roots, identifying themselves using tiny chemical signatures specific to each plant’s family.故選B。
點(diǎn)評:本題型考查了對文章段落或某一板塊的理解概括能力。先閱讀問題,然后帶著問題,再讀全文,找出答題所需要的依據(jù),完成閱讀。在詞義與句義理解的基礎(chǔ)上,結(jié)合上下文總結(jié)歸納某一段或幾段的大意,對于把握文章主旨,分析全文結(jié)構(gòu)都是至關(guān)重要的。縱觀歷年高考試題,閱讀理解試題一般有以下幾種題型:一是直接回答who, whom, which, what, where, when, why, how等疑問詞引起的細(xì)節(jié)問題;二是猜測詞義題;三是推理判斷題;四是綜合概括題。在做閱讀理解題時(shí),一定要仔細(xì)看完,看清楚試題要求再作答,特別要注意NOT,TRUE,EXCEPT等詞。有時(shí),要先看題,后閱讀文章,帶著問題去讀短文,可縮短閱讀時(shí)間,效果也許會更好。 
練習(xí)冊系列答案
相關(guān)習(xí)題

科目:高中英語 來源:不詳 題型:閱讀理解

Exhausted and unhappy, you still have to squeeze a smile to your friends, or teachers. That’s just life, you may think. But new research suggests that putting on a fake smile can worsen people’s mood and even lower work efficiency.
Lead researcher Brent Scott with other researchers studied a group of bus drivers for two weeks. They tried to find out what happened when the drivers were involved in “surface acting” or fake smiling, and the opposite, “deep acting” which means people put on real smiles by recalling pleasant memories or thinking about their current situation more positively.
The results showed that on days when drivers were forced to smile, they felt depressed and didn’t want to work. On days when they smiled due to positive thoughts, their mood improved a lot as well as their work efficiency.
The research goes against the popular belief among companies that employees should be cheerful to customers at all times. They include employees of shops, banks, call center workers and others who have face-to-face contact with members of the public. “Smiling for the sake of(為了) smiling can lead to emotional exhaustion and coldness, and that’s bad for the organization,” Scott told the Daily Mail.
The study also showed that women were harmed more by fake smiling than men. Their mood and work performance both worsened more. But they were helped more by deep acting — their mood became better and they worked more efficiently.
However, while deep acting seemed to improve mood in the short term, Scott says it’s not a long-term solution for unhappiness.
“There have been some suggestions that if you do this over a long period that you start to feel inauthentic(不真實(shí)的),” Scott said. “You may be trying to cultivate positive emotions, but at the end of the day you may not feel like yourself anymore.”
小題1:Brent Scott and others’ experiments on bus drivers suggest that ______.
A.depression among bus drivers is common
B.thinking in a positive way helps with work efficiency
C.bus drivers with pleasant memories tend to be less efficient
D.the bus drivers’ work efficiency is determined by their mood
小題2:According to the article, which of the following statements about “fake smiling” is TRUE?
A.It is good for the business but bad for the employees.
B.It doesn’t work on people who are emotionally expressive.
C.It is a widely accepted cultural practice in the US.
D.It causes more harm to women than men.
小題3:We can conclude from the article that the researchers think that ______.
A.people should be true to their feelings
B.smiling helps to put people in a good mood and become more efficient
C.it is unnecessary to cultivate positive emotions
D.deep acting can improve mood in the long run
小題4:The article is mainly about ______.
A.the importance of smiling during face-to-face contact
B.a(chǎn) new study on fake smiling and its influence on people
C.suggestions on improving work efficiency
D.how to cheer up when you are exhausted

查看答案和解析>>

科目:高中英語 來源:不詳 題型:閱讀理解

The baby is just one day old and has not yet left hospital. She is quiet but alert (警覺). Twenty centimeters from her face researchers have placed a white card with two black spots on it. She stares at it carefully. A researcher removes the card and replaces it by another, this time with the spots differently spaced. As the cards change from one to the other, her gaze(凝視) starts to lose its focus - until a third, with three black spots, is presented. Her gaze returns; she looks at it for twice as long as she did at the previous card. Can she tell that the number two is different from three, just 24 hours after coming into the world?
Or do newborns simply prefer more to fewer? The same experiment, but with three spots shown before two, shows the same return of interest when the number of spots changes. Perhaps it is just the newness? When slightly older babies were shown cards with pictures of objects(a comb, a key, an orange and so on), changing the number of objects had an effect separate from changing the objects themselves. Could it be the pattern that two things make, as opposed to three? No again. Babies paid more attention to squares moving randomly on a screen when their number changed from two to three, or three to two. The effect even crosses between senses. Babies who were repeatedly shown two spots became more excited when they then heard three drumbeats than when they heard just two; likewise(同樣地) when the researchers started with drumbeats and moved to spots.
小題1:The experiment described in Paragraph 1 is related to the baby’s ______.
A.sense of hearing.
B.sense of sight.
C.sense of touch.
D.sense of smell.
小題2:Babies are sensitive to the change in ______.
A.the size of cards.
B.the colour of pictures.
C.the shape of patterns.
D.the number of objects.
小題3:Why did the researchers test the babies with drumbeats?
A.To reduce the difficulty of the experiment.
B.To see how babies recognize sounds.
C.To carry their experiment further.
D.To keep the babies’ interest.
小題4:Where does this text probably come from?
A.Science fiction.
B.Children’s literature.
C.An advertisement.
D.A science report.

查看答案和解析>>

科目:高中英語 來源:不詳 題型:閱讀理解

Where on Earth are you? Navigators (導(dǎo)航員) use lines of latitude and lines of longitude to locate places. Lines of latitude run east and west around Earth. On a map or globe, these lines appear as running sideways or horizontally. Lines of longitude run north and south around Earth. These lines go up and down or vertically on a map or globe. These lines create an imaginary graph paper on the Earth. They make it possible to find an absolute, or exact, location on Earth. They even allow us to give an absolute location to a place out in the middle of the ocean.
Lines of latitude tell us how far north or south of the Equator we are. Sailors have used primitive navigation tools, like astrolabes, since ancient times. The astrolabe uses the sun and stars to find an approximate location. Using such tools, they have been able to approximate their distance from the equator. Although their instruments may not have been the high quality we have now, they were incredibly accurate (精確) for their time.
Lines of longitude tell us how far east or west of the prime meridian (本初子午線) we are. Sailors constantly looked for new ways to increase their navigation skills. Still, it wasn’t until the 18th century that they were able to measure degrees of longitude. They would have been very envious of the technology available to us today.
When we use lines of latitude and longitude together, we can get a very precise location. If we want to identify the absolute location of a point, we look where the latitude and longitude lines cross nearest to that point. We use the coordinates (坐標(biāo)) for that point as its address. Many maps today include degrees of latitude and longitude.
小題1:______ make it possible for people to find an exact place on Earth.
A.LatitudesB.LongitudesC.NavigatorsD.Sailors
小題2:The second paragraph mainly talks about _______.
A.the function of latitudeB.the use of the equator
C.the invention of astrolabeD.the high quality instruments
小題3: Why do maps include degrees of latitude and longitude?
A.To help trade expeditions.B.To locate a precise place.
C.To cross the lines of the nearest point.D.To identify how far a place is.
小題4:The best title for this passage is ____________.
A.The map and the globeB.Latitude and longitude
C.The equator and the prime meridianD.Absolute coordinates

查看答案和解析>>

科目:高中英語 來源:不詳 題型:閱讀理解

根據(jù)短文內(nèi)容,從下面A-F選項(xiàng)中選出能概括每一段主題的最佳選項(xiàng),并在答題卡上將該選項(xiàng)涂黑。選項(xiàng)中有一項(xiàng)為多余選項(xiàng)。
A. The spreading of tea
B. The history of tea growing
C. Changes of tastes for drinks
D. Reducing cancer risks
E. The plant Camellia sinensis
F. A woman’s opinion of tea
小題1:________________
Americans are far more knowledgeable about drinks than they were 20 years ago. Witness the Starbucks revolution and you’ll know where the trend goes. Now, encouraged by recent studies suggesting that it can cut the risk of cancer and heart disease and slow the aging process, tea is enjoying a similar change. Enough fashionable tea houses are springing up to make even longtime coffee drinkers consider switching drinks.
小題2:________________
Tea is available in more places than ever. The Tea Association of the United States reports that from 1990 to 1999, annual sales of the drink grew to $4.6 billion from $1.8 billion. “Green tea is seen by consumers as a ‘functional food’” — delivering health benefits beyond food itself, says Vierhile.
小題3:_______________
Recently published studies point out that only teas that come from the leaves of the plant Camellia sinensis have been shown to contain health benefits. Other herbal teas may taste good, yet they do little more than warm up the drinker. But for Camellia sinensis, the evidence is powerful. In a 1998 study, Harvard University researchers found that drinking one cup of black tea a day lowered the risk of heart attack by as much as 44 percent compared with non-tea drinkers, and other studies have suggested that the antioxidants (抗氧化劑) in these so-called real teas can also prevent cancer.
小題4:________________
One such antioxidant in green tea is ECGC, a compound 20 times as powerful as vitamin E and 200 times as powerful as vitamin C. “When people ask me for something good and cheap they can do to reduce their cancer risk, I tell them to drink real tea,” says Mitchell Gaynor, director of medical oncology at New York City’s Strang-Cornell Cancer Prevention Center.
小題5:________________
Among those inspired to become a green-tea drinker is Tess Ghilaga, a New York writer who took it up after seeking advice from a nutritionist six years ago. “I’ve never been a coffee drinker,” says Ghilaga, 33. “She told me to start drinking green tea for the antioxidant qualities.” Now Ghilaga and her husband habitually make tea — they order theirs from InPursuitofTea.com, an Internet tea company. And although tea contains about half the amount of caffeine in a cup of coffee, “you still get such a kick from it,” says Ghilaga.

查看答案和解析>>

科目:高中英語 來源:不詳 題型:閱讀理解

It’s a common belief that over time, pet owners start to look like their animals, and vice versa. Now conies the terrifying news that cats look up to their owners as role models and copy their behavior.
Next time you reach for your fridge, think twice. If Kitty is watching, she is likely to overeat as well.
What is your cat’s IQ?
In a new study from the University of Messina, it turns out that indoor cats who live closely to their owners “mirror” the lives of their caregivers. They sleep at the same time, eat at the same time,  and can even become more or less social depending on the behavior of their owners.
“Cats are intelligent animals with a long memory, ”Jane Brunt, the executive director of the CATalyst Council, told Discovery News. “They watch and learn from us, noting the patterns of our actions. as evidenced by knowing where their food is kept and what time to expect to be fed, how to open the cupboard door that’s been improperly closed, and where their feeding and toileting areas fife. ”Because cats copy our habits, if you spend a lot of time raiding(搜刮)the fridge, your cat will return to its food bowl for that midnight snack, too. According to the study, this explains why “human and cat overweight rates often seem to match. ”So. if you felt guilty about leaving your precious kitty at home while you go to work, now you call feel even worse:You fife making your cat fat!
There’s no word if drinking green tea and making sure you go to Yoga will benefit your cat, but based on the study. it sounds like sticking to a healthy eating and sleeping schedule is best for both of you.
There’s a lot we can learn from our cats in return. “When they sit on our laps softly purring with rhythmic breathing and half-closed eyes. the sense of peace and calm that comes over us is like a private 1esson in inner meditation. ”Brant said. Sure. But cats don’t have to sit in rush hour traffic for an hour a day or worry about their in-laws. They’re probably pretty good at remaining calm.
So, according to science。even though we assumed that cats were not close to us all these years, it turns out they fife in fact learning from us and looking up to us. Scary, huh?
小題1:According to the passage. which of the following is NOT true?
A.Cats can copy humans’ schedule.B.Humans can learn from cats in some way.
C.Cats are smart and have fl long memory D.Green tea and Yoga can benefit cats.
小題2:What does the underlined word “this” in Paragraph 5 refer to?
A.Humans’ keeping searching the fridge.
B.Cats’ going to their owners for food.
C.Cats’ copying humans’ habit of looking for food.
D.Humans’ leaving cats home while working.
小題3:What can we learn from our cats?
A.To remain calm.B.To be able to copy. C.To stay proud.D.To look up to friends.
小題4:The best title for the passage could be ________.
A.Your Cat Can Bring You PleasureB.You Are Copying Your Cat
C.You Can Make Your Cat SocialD.Your Cat Is Copying Your Habit

查看答案和解析>>

科目:高中英語 來源:不詳 題型:閱讀理解

It is easy for us to tell our friends from our enemies. But can other animals do the same? Elephants can! They can use their sense of vision and smell to tell the difference between people who pose a threat and those who do not.
In Kenya, researchers found that elephants react differently to clothing worn by men of the Maasai and Kamba ethnic groups. Young Maasai men spear animals and thus pose a threat to elephants; Kamba men are mainly farmers and are not a danger to elephants.
In an experiment conducted by animal scientists, elephants were first presented with clean clothing or clothing that had been worn for five days by either a Maasai or a Kamba man. When the elephants detected(察覺)the smell of clothing worn by a Maasai man, they moved away from the smell faster and took longer to relax than when they detected the smells of either clothing worn by Kamba men or clothing that had not been worn at all.
Clothing color also plays a role, though in a different way. In the same study, when the elephants saw red clothing not worn before, they reacted angrily, as red is typically worn by Maasai men. Rather than running away as they did with the smell, the elephants acted aggressively toward the red clothing.
The researchers believe that the elephants’ emotional reactions are due to their different interpretations of the smells and the sights. Smelling a potential danger means that a threat is nearby and the best thing to do is run away and hide. Seeing a potential threat without its smell means that risk is low. Therefore, instead of showing fear and running away, the elephants express their anger and become aggressive.
小題1:According to the passage, which of the following statements is TRUE about Kamba and Maasai people?
A.Maasai people are a threat to elephants.
B.Kamba people raise elephants for farming.
C.Both Kamba and Maasai people are elephant hunters.
D.Both Kamba and Maasai people traditionally wear red clothing.
小題2: How did the elephants react to smell in the study?
A.They attacked a man with the smell of new clothing.
B.They needed time to relax when smelling something unfamiliar.
C.They became anxious when they smelled Kamba-scented(有…氣味的) clothing.
D.They were frightened and ran away when they smelled their enemies.
小題3: What is the main idea of this passage?
A.Elephants use sight and smell to detect danger.
B.Elephants attack people who wear red clothing.
C.Scientists are now able to control elephants’ emotions.
D.Some Kenyan tribes understand elephants’ emotions very well.
小題4:What can be inferred about the elephants’ behavior from this passage?
A.Elephants learn from their experience.
B.Elephants have sharper sense of smell than sight.
C.Elephants are more intelligent than other animals.
D.Elephants tend to attack rather than escape when in danger.

查看答案和解析>>

科目:高中英語 來源:不詳 題型:閱讀理解

Scholarship Application Tips in 2013 for college students
·Before you apply
1. Work hard to get good grades. Don’t sweat about one bad grade, but always strive(力求)to do your best.
2. Get involved, and stay involved, in extracurricular(課外的)activities. Sports, clubs, drama, bands and orchestras-these often count toward a student’s overall scholarship application evaluation. The same goes for paid (or unpaid) work experience.
3. Begin your scholarship research early-by your sophomore(大學(xué)二年級)or junior year of high school, if possible. Make special note of application deadlines, as they can vary from late summer to late spring.
4. Apply for as many scholarships as you are eligible(符合條件的)for-several smaller scholarships can add up to a lot of money.
·During the application process
1. Read the supplementary materials that come with scholarship application forms to better understand the program’s focus (community service, subject interest). Try to answer the questions with the focus area in mind.
2. Answer questions as they are asked. Don’t got off topic.
3. If there is a financial component to the application, make sure you get accurate and complete information from all appropriate sources to ensure your eligibility.
4. Take your time. Write down everything you can think of for each question, then set the application aside for a day so you can look everything over again before you send it off.
5. Don’t wait until the last minute to complete your application, especially if you are applying online. Computer systems can get clogged(阻塞的)with the large volume of applicants hoping to submit their qualifications during the last few days and hours before a deadline.
6. If a third party has to complete part of your application, such as providing a letter of recommendation, make sure you ask them early on and remind them as often as necessary to ensure they provide you with the necessary materials.
7. Last but not least, review your application with your parents to make sure you haven’t left out any important details.
Good luck to the students applying for the 2013 scholarship programs!
小題1:Before you apply for a scholarship, it’s best to       .
A.pay more attention to grades than to extracurricular activities
B.focus on only one scholarship application
C.get as much work experience as possible
D.begin your preparation as early as possible
小題2: When answering questions on the application form, you should       .
A.focus on the subject you are interested in
B.a(chǎn)nswer to the point
C.list your advantages
D.prove your abilities
小題3:The author suggests that applicants should      .
A.submit the application in the few days
B.double-check their application with their parents
C.complete and submit the application in one day
D.a(chǎn)void submitting the application online

查看答案和解析>>

同步練習(xí)冊答案