Talking to plants makes them grow, especially if you ‘re a woman ,according to an experiment by the Ryal  Horticultural Society(RHS皇家園藝學(xué)會(huì)).
Women gardeners’ voices speed up growth of tomato plants much more than men’s, it found.
In an experiment that ran over a month, they found that tomato plants grew up  two inches taller if they were serenaded by the sweet tones of a female rather tha a male.
Appropriately the most effective talk came from Sarah Darwin ,whose great-great grandfather was legendary botanist(植物學(xué)家)Charles Darwin, one of the founding fathers of the RHS’ Scientific Committee. She read a passage from On the Orgin of Species and beat nine other”voices”.
Her plant grew nearly two inches taller than the best performing male and half an inch higher than her nearest competitor.
The experment began in Apirl,2009 at RHS Garden Wisley in Surrey. A variety of recorded voices were picked to play to 10 taomato plants over a month. Every plant was played a voice through headphones connected to the plant pot, and the conditions for all the plants remained the same throughout the experiment. To ensure the experiment was fair, two control plants were also left to grow in silence.
The results showed that women on average saw their plants rise by an inch on their male competitors. Some men were so bad that their plants actually grew less than a plant that was left completely alone.
Colin Crosbie, the leader at RHS, said:”We’re not sure why the female voice is more effecitive, It could be that they have a greater range of pitch and tone that affects the sound waves that hit the plant. Sound waves are an emvironmental effect just like rain or light.”

  1. 1.

    What is the best title for the passage?

    1. A.
      Plants can’t grow faster without female voices
    2. B.
      Women’s voices are more useful than men’s
    3. C.
      Women’s voices make plants grow faster
    4. D.
      Voices have positive effects on the growth of plants
  2. 2.

    The underlined word”serenaded” in Paragraph 3 most probably means”________”.

    1. A.
      sung songs to
    2. B.
      spoken to
    3. C.
      talked about
    4. D.
      played music to
  3. 3.

    According to the passage, ten_________were used in the experiment.

    1. A.
      tomato plants
    2. B.
      headphones
    3. C.
      tape recorders
    4. D.
      plant pots
  4. 4.

    What can we know about the findings of the experiment from the passage?

    1. A.
      The women’s voices made the palnts grow faster by half an inch than the men’s.
    2. B.
      Sarah Darwin’s plant grew 2 inches taller than her neraest competitor’s.
    3. C.
      The plants which grew in silence did not necessarily grow the slowest
    4. D.
      The women’s plants grew 2 inches taller than the men’s on average.
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  There was one thing that I found rather strange on my first day to work at Monk’s House.The floors in the house were very thin.The bathroom was directly above the kitchen, and when Mrs.Wolf was having her bath before breakfast, I could hear her talking to herself.On and on she went, talked, talked, talked, asking questions and giving herself the answers.I thought there must have been two or three people up there with her.Later Mrs.Woolf explained that Mrs.Woolf always said the sentences out loud what she had written during the night.She needed to know if they sounded right and the bath was a place for trying them out.

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  Mrs.Woolf’s bedroom was outside the house in the garden.I used to think how inconvenient it must be to have to go out in the rain to go to bed.Her bedroom had been added on to the back of the house; the door faced the garden and a window at the side opened out on to a field.Because the writing room was small.Mr.Woolf had had a large one built for her at the end of the garden against the church wall.

  I can always remember her coming out of her writing room only for lunch each day.She used to walk down through the thin and very graceful, with large, deep set eyes.She wore long skirts in the fashion of the day, any silk jackets of the same color, which suited her well.I pressed her clothes and did any sewing that was necessary.

  Her cigarettes were made from a special tobacco called My Mixture.Mr.Woolf bought it for her in London, and in the evenings, they used to sit by the fire and make these cigarettes themselves.

(1)

At the time of this passage, the writer might have been ________.

[  ]

A.

a friend of Mrs.Woolf

B.

the assistant of Mr.Woolf

C.

a reporter who was writing about Mrs.Woolf’s life

D.

the housekeeper at Monk’s House

(2)

What was particularly unusual about Monk’s House?

[  ]

A.

The floors were very thin.

B.

The bathroom was directly above the kitchen.

C.

Mrs.Woolf’s bedroom was outside the house in the garden.

D.

The house was next to a church.

(3)

What was Mr.Woolf’s attitude towards his wife according to this passage?

[  ]

A.

He lived a separate life from his wife.

B.

He found her strange and difficult to get along with.

C.

He helped with her writings although he didn’t understand much.

D.

He tried his best to satisfy her needs.

(4)

According to this passage, Mrs.Woolf ________.

[  ]

A.

spent most of her time on her own work

B.

didn’t have a good taste of clothes

C.

didn’t do any housework herself

D.

was attractive but cold to others

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完形填空

  After finishing high school, Judy looked for a job at a store.Judy wanted to work as an assistant.The manager of the store   1   Judy,“We don't have any   2   for assistants now.But we have one job.Would you like to be a store detective?”Judy was very surprised,“But I'm   3   five feet two inches tall.And I only weigh 105 pounds.”The manager laughed.“You're just right for the job.You do look like a   4  .That's what we want.”He went on to explain,“If you see a customer steal something, wait until he is outside the store.Then stop him.We'll call the police.”

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  The manager of the store was   19   Judy.He said,“Good work, Judy.You are   20  .”

(1)

[  ]

A.

received

B.

refused

C.

rejected

D.

accepted

(2)

[  ]

A.

part

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seat

C.

openers

D.

openings

(3)

[  ]

A.

at least

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only

C.

already

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nearly

(4)

[  ]

A.

student

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manager

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salesgirl

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customer

(5)

[  ]

A.

to give up

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to change

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to offer

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to accept

(6)

[  ]

A.

watching

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seeing

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hearing

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talking to

(7)

[  ]

A.

poor

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in rags

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wearing hats

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well-dressed

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[  ]

A.

turned out

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turned away

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went

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came

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[  ]

A.

the man

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a thief

C.

someone

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no one

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[  ]

A.

Surely

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Before that

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After that

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fingers

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arm

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foot

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hand

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before

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as soon as

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when

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[  ]

A.

like

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will buy

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have worn

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[  ]

A.

early

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freely

C.

carefully

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quickly

(15)

[  ]

A.

was followed by

B.

followed

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saw

D.

sent

(16)

[  ]

A.

Help

B.

Oh

C.

No

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Stop

(17)

[  ]

A.

businessman

B.

way

C.

customer

D.

thief

(18)

[  ]

A.

car

B.

bus

C.

station

D.

bicycle

(19)

[  ]

A.

sorry

B.

proud of

C.

afraid of

D.

strict with

(20)

[  ]

A.

an excellent detective

B.

very interesting

C.

a good policewoman

D.

satisfied

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Kate said “Hello” to Mr Patel as she entered. She picked up a wire basket and walked towards the back of the store 1_____ the rice was kept. The room was quite large and divided by three long aisles(過(guò)道), with rows of shelves full of 2??_____. Besides her and Patel there were only two boys in the store. They were both wearing 3_____ overcoats. They looked rather 4_____ because the overcoats were too big for them. “5_____”, she heard one of them whisper to 6_____. She walked on to the next aisle and found the 7_____ she was looking for. Then she heard something else. It 8_____ like a box dropping on the floor. She looked through the small open space 9_____ goods on the shelf and saw one of the boys picking up a box. But 10_____ putting it in the basket, he dropped 11_____into the inside pocket of his overcoat. Kate looked back and 12_____ see Mr Patel at the door checking through a list. Then she looked through the 13______ in the shelf again. The boys still had their backs to her. They were putting something 14_____into their inside pockets and then one of them said, “Let’s get out of here.” They moved away from her.

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2.A.books           B. baskets        C. goods          D. magazines

3.A.dirty            B. long          C. grey           D. tight

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5.A.Look up         B. Listen to me   C. Watch out       D. Put it down

6.A.him             B. her          C. the boy         D. the other

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8.A.looked           B. heard        C. showed         D. sounded

9.A.between         B. of            C. around         D. at

10.A.instead of       B. before        C. without         D. as if

11.A.something       B. it            C. one            D. that

12.A.would          B. should        C. might          D. could

13.A.spot            B. space         C. goods         D. books

14.A.important       B. new          C. else            D. extra

15.A.looking at       B. talking to     C. in front of        D. behind

16.A.paying          B. looking       C. asking          D. reaching

17.A.hands           B. pockets       C. box            D. basket

18.A.thrown out       B. put on        C. buttoned        D. hidden

19.A.shouted         B. smiled        C. looked          D. laughed

20.A.leave           B. pay           C. speak           D. apologize

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—Was it under the tree ______ you went away talking to a friend?

—Sure. But when I got back there, the bike was gone.

A.that              B.when             C.where            D.while

 

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Students often want to practice their English outside class. One of the best ways to practice your English is to speak to a foreigner. You may ask, “Is it okay to try to talk to foreigners I see in the street?”

The answer is yes and no, but probably no! If you see a foreigner who looks lost, it is polite to ask him, “May I help you?” But, otherwise, you should probably let them get on with their business. Situations, however, do exist where it is quite all right to talk to foreigners. If a foreigner enters your school, classroom, office, shop or restaurant, for instance, feel free to ask him (for example):

— What is your name?

— Where do you come from?

— What do you think of Beijing?

— How long will you stay in Beijing?

There are also situations where it's okay to talk to foreigners in public places. If you see a foreigner alone in a restaurant, bar or coffee shop, it may be appropriate to ask him or her:

— Is this seat free?

— Do you mind if I talk to you in English?

You can probably help them if they are new in China and if they are alone, you may be able to make them feel more welcome.

After a few such questions, you should know whether this person wants to talk to you or not. If they ask you similar questions, or if they give long, informative answers, you're in luck. If not, then give them their privacy. Talking to strangers is fun if you choose the right time and place.

66. It is the best way to practice your spoken English with ______.

A. Japanese               B. Americans                      C. our classmates             D. French people

67. From the second paragraph we can get to know that ______.

A. it is polite to stop a foreigner to talk with him in the street

B. it is polite to interrupt foreigners in a conversation

C. it is impolite to interrupt a foreigner when he or she is on business

D. it is impolite to help a foreigner find his way

68. When you first meet a foreigner, you should say “_______”

A. Where are you going?                                      B. Have you ten your dinner?

C. Can you help me with my English?               D. Nice to meet you.

69. The writer suggests to us that we should ______.

A. follow the foreigners when we meet them in the street

B. talk with a foreigner in an accepted way

C. have a meal with foreigners in a restaurant

D. move to a place where a foreigner lives

70. This passage comes from a newspaper in column ________.

A. Sports                    B. Health                    C. Language                       D. Business

 

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