It was not until the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries that exploration of the botanical world began on a large scale. European middle classes took great interest in collecting new plants. This attraction to exotic plants grew as European nations moved into other parts of the world such as Asia and Australia. Brave young men took the opportunity of going on botanical expeditions even though they were to be faced with deadly disease, near-starvation, severe environments and conflicts with the local people.

Sir Joseph Banks was among the brave. In 1760, he collected vast quantities of plants in what is now known as Australia. None of these plants had been recorded by Europeans before. However, Banks was not able to bring those plants back to Europe and let them grow in his homeland because keeping plants alive during long land or sea voyages was a great challenge at that time. Large numbers of seeds failed to grow after long sea voyage or trips across land far away from Europe.

In 1833 the invention of the Wardian case, a tightly sealed portable glass container, made it possible for two cases of British plants to survive the six-month journey to Australia. And the return trip in 1835 with Australian species lasted eight months at sea, all the species successfully arriving in London.

China was a land the earliest European plant collectors would explore from time to time. . Not only did Europeans collect large numbers of plants to grow in Western gardens, but also they were very excited with the knowledge that China had a vast variety of plants. A British man called Robert Fortune developed his fluency in Chinese and was disguised as a Chinese man so that he could travel around China unnoticed. He managed to ship 20,000 tea plants from Shanghai to India, where a successful tea industry was established.

56．What in the first sentence does the underlined word botanical mean?

       A．of interest.           B．of value.              C．of science．      D．of plant.

57．Which of the following are not mentioned when people went on botanical expeditions?

       A．They were likely to fall ill.

       B．They would probably go hungry.

      C．They might fight with the natives.

       D．They could not resist animals’ attack

58．What was the major problem Sir Joseph Banks had transporting plants to his country?

       A．The plants did not survive the long journey．

B．There were not good ships to carry the plants.

       C．Only seeds of the plants could be preserved．   

D．Transportation by land was not accessible.

59．What contribution did Robert Fortune made on his many trips to the world?

       A．He invented a tightly sealed portable glass container.               

B．He traveled extensively around China on his own.

       C．More than 20,000 tea plants were transported to Europe.

D．A successful tea industry was established in India．

It was not until the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries that exploration of the botanical world began on a large scale. European middle classes took great interest in collecting new plants. This attraction to exotic plants grew as European nations moved into other parts of the world such as Asia and Australia. Brave young men took the opportunity of going on botanical expeditions even though they were to be faced with deadly disease, near-starvation, severe environments and conflicts with the local people.

Sir Joseph Banks was among the brave. In 1760, he collected vast quantities of plants in what is now known as Australia. None of these plants had been recorded by Europeans before. However, Banks was not able to bring those plants back to Europe and let them grow in his homeland because keeping plants alive during long land or sea voyages was a great challenge at that time. Large numbers of seeds failed to grow after long sea voyage or trips across land far away from Europe.

In 1833 the invention of the Wardian case, a tightly sealed portable glass container, made it possible for two cases of British plants to survive the six-month journey to Australia. And the return trip in 1835 with Australian species lasted eight months at sea, all the species successfully arriving in London.

China was a land the earliest European plant collectors would explore from time to time. . Not only did Europeans collect large numbers of plants to grow in Western gardens, but also they were very excited with the knowledge that China had a vast variety of plants. A British man called Robert Fortune developed his fluency in Chinese and was disguised as a Chinese man so that he could travel around China unnoticed. He managed to ship 20,000 tea plants from Shanghai to India, where a successful tea industry was established.

1．What in the first sentence does the underlined word botanical mean?

       A．of interest.           B．of value.              C．of science．      D．of plant.

2．Which of the following are not mentioned when people went on botanical expeditions?

       A．They were likely to fall ill.

       B．They would probably go hungry.

      C．They might fight with the natives.

       D．They could not resist animals’ attack

3．What was the major problem Sir Joseph Banks had transporting plants to his country?

       A．The plants did not survive the long journey．

B．There were not good ships to carry the plants.

       C．Only seeds of the plants could be preserved．   

D．Transportation by land was not accessible.

4．What contribution did Robert Fortune made on his many trips to the world?

       A．He invented a tightly sealed portable glass container.               

B．He traveled extensively around China on his own.

       C．More than 20,000 tea plants were transported to Europe.

D．A successful tea industry was established in India．

           the exploration of the botanical world            on a large scale.

       A．It was not until the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries that; had begun

       B．It was not until the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries when; began

       C．Not until the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries did; begin

       D．Until the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries; began

_______ the exploration of the botanical world ______ on a large scale．

A．It was not until the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries that; had begun

B．It was not until the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries when; began

C．Not until the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries did; begin

D．Until the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries; began