"If you talk to the plants, they will grow faster and the effect is even better if you"re a
woman." Researchers at Royal Horticultural Society carried out an experiment to find
that the voice of a woman gardener makes plants grow faster.
The experiment lasted a month and by the end of the study scientists managed to
discover that tomato plants grew up two inches taller when women gardeners talked to
them instead of male.
Sarah Darwin was the one making the plants registered the best growth. Her voice
was the most "inspiring" for plants than those of nine other gardeners when reading a
passage from The Origin of Species. The great-great-granddaughter of the famous
botanist Charles Darwin found that her plant grew about two inches taller than the plant
of the best male gardener.
Colin Crosbie, Garden Superintendent at RHS, said that the finding cannot yet be
explained. He assumes that women have a greater range of pitch and tone which might
have a certain effect on the sound w
aves that reach the plant. "Sound waves are an
environmental effect just like rain or light ,"said Mr Grosbie.
The study began in April at RHS Garden Wisley in Survey. Scientists started with
open auditions(听力) for the people who were asked to record passages from John
Wyndham"s The Day of the Triffids, Sha
kespeare"s A Midsummer"s Night Dream and
Darwin"s The Origin of Species.
Afterwards researchers selected a number of different voices and played them to
10 tomato plants during a period of a month. Each plant had headphones connected to
it. Through the headphones the sound waves could hit the plants. It was discovered that
plants that "listened" to female voices on average grew taller by an inch in comparison to
plants that heard male voices.
Miss Darwin said, "I think it is an honor to have a voice that can make tomatoes
grow, and especially fitting because for a number of years I have been studying wild
tomatoes from the Galapagos Island at the Natural History Museum in London."
B. A botanical experiment in a museum.
C. Voice"s influence on plant growing.
D. Strange phenomenon at Royal Horticultural Society.
B. Sound is basic for the plant to grow.
C. Sound has a good effect as rain or light does.
D. Plants c
an"t live without sound, rain or light.B. gardener
C. astronomer
D. environmentalist
B. Scientist can explain the findings clearly.
C. Plants enjoy listening to the passages from masterpieces.
D. The findings are of great importance to human beings.
Personality types are linked with structural differences in the brain, which could explain why one
child grows up to be impulsive (冲动的) and outgoing while another becomes diligent and introspective.
Structural differences between the brains of 85 people have been measured and linked with the
four main categories of personality types, which were classified as“novelty seeking”， characterized
by impulsive actions; “harm avoidance”， marked by pessimism and shyness; “reward dependence”，
with an addictive personality; and “persistence”， who are people tending to be diligent, hardworking
and perfectionists.
The researchers said the brain differences are structural and can be measured in the size of specific
regions of the brain that appear to be linked with each of the four personality types. For instance, people
defined as noveltyseeking personalities had a structurally bigger area in the brain while people with
harmavoidance personalities had significantly smaller volumes of tissue in brain regions.
The fact that characteristics are reflected in specific structural differences is useful to know, for
instance, when it comes to understanding a child"s behavior and choosing the right approach so that
somebody who is, for example, particularly timid, might be helped through education and development.
There is no point shou
ting at a child who is very shy and telling them off, because it does not come
naturally to them to put themselves forward. But actually knowing there is a biological basis for this
helps educators or parents to use the right approach to help a child to compensate.
People who have a rewarddependence personality could, for example, be helped at an early age
because they are at risk of turning to drink, drugs or food if they do not get the family support and
encouragement they need.
“This study shows that personality characteristics are something you are born with, but their full
expression can be adjusted during development with the right approach.” said Professor Venneri, who
carried out the study with colleagues from the University of Parma in Italy and Washington University
in St Louis.
If you know it"s not something you do but something you are, you can change the environment
to reduce the risk. Knowing that someone has such a predisposition (体质)could help them adopt
preventive strategies and avoid situations where they might seek rewards which could be potentially
harmful.
A. “Novelty seeking”.
B. “Reward dependence”．
C. “Harm avoidance”.
D. “Persis
tence”．A. They are often shouted at and scolded.
B. They can naturally put themselves forwa
rd.C. They structurally have a smaller brain region.
D. They are too timid to be educated and helped.
A. People have chances to change their personality types.
B. Scientists have identified four different personality types.
C. Structural differences in
the brain have effects on education.D. Personality types are related to structural differences in the brain.
A. present a fact
B. argue a claim
C. support a research
D. introduce an approach
staying in hotels and eating in restaurants.
The Tall Persons Club Great Britain (TPCGB), which was formed six months ago to campaign(发起运动) for the needs of th
e tall, has turned its attention to hotels and restaurants.Beds that are too small，shower heads that are too low, and restaurant tables with hardly any legroom all make life difficult for those of abov
e average height, it says.But it is not just the extratall whose needs are not being met.The average height of the population
has been increasing yet the standard size of beds, doorways, and chairs has remained unchanged.
“The bedding industry says a bed should be six inches larger than the person using it, so even a
kingsize bed at 6′6?′′(6 feet and 6 inches) is falling short for 25% of men while the standard 6′3′′ bed caters for(满足需要) less than half of the male(男性) population.” said TPCGB president Phil Heinricy，
“Sevenfoot beds would work fine.”
Similarly, restaurant tables can cause no end of problems.Small tables, which mean the longlegged
have to sit a foot or so away from them, are enough to make tall customers go elsewhere.
Some have already taken note, however.At Queens Moat Houses" Caledonian Hotel in Edinburgh,
6′6′′ beds are now put in as standard after requests for longer beds from taller visitors，particularly
Americans.
A．To provide better services.
B．To rebuild hotels and restaurants.
C．To draw public attention to the needs of the tall.
D．To attract more people to become its members.
e a bed of proper length according to Phi
l Heinricy?A．7′2′′.
B．7′.
C．6′6′′.
D．
6′3′′.A．They may lose some customers.
B．They may start businesses elsewhere.
C．They have to find easy chairs to match the tables.
D．They have to provide enough space for the longlegged.
A．Tall people pay more for larger beds.
B．6′6′′ beds have taken the place of 6′3′′ beds.
C．Special rooms are kept for Americans.
D．Guest rooms are standardized.
what other road users will do and get ready to react to something unexpected.When alcohol is consumed, itenters your bloodstream and acts as a depressant (抑制药), damaging eyesight, judgement and
coordination (协调), slowing down reaction time and greatly increasing the risk of accidents.Even below
the drink driving limit, driving will be affected.
Alcohol may take a few minutes to be absorbed into the bloodstream and start action on the brain.
Absorption rate is increased when drinking on an empty stomach or when consuming drinks mixed with
fruit juice.To get rid of alcohol from the body is a very slow process and it is not possible to speed it up
with any measures like taking a shower or having a cup of tea or coffee.
The present Road Traffic Ordinance states clearly that the limit of alcohol concentration is:
●50 milligrams of alcohol per 100ml of blood; or
●22 micrograms of alcohol per 100ml of breath; or
●67 milligrams of alcohol per 100ml of urine(尿液).
Drivers who cause traffic accidents, or who commit a moving traffic offence or are being suspected of drink driving will be tested.
Any driver found drinking beyond the limit will be charged.The driver declared guilty may be fined a
maximum of HK $25,000 and be sentenced to up to 3 years in prison and punished for 10 drivingoffence points; or temporarily banned from driving.
The same punishment applies to failing to provide specimens (样本) for breath, blood or urine tests
without good excuse.
Drink driving is a criminal offence.Be a responsible driver, think before you drink.For the safety of yourself and other road users, never drive after consuming alcohol.
1. The first paragraph is mainly about________.
A. the introduction of driving skills
B. the damage of drinking to your body
C. the effect of drinking on driving
D. the process of alcohol being absorbed
2. The underlined word "it" in the second paragraph refers to "________".
A. alcohol
B. absorption
C. blood
D. process
3. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?
A. Drinking below the drink driving limit has no effect on driving.
B. Alcohol is taken in more quickly when drunk with fruit juice.
C. Having a cup of tea helps to get rid of alcohol from the body.
D. 50 milligrams of alcohol per 100ml of breath is below the drink driving limit.
4. A driver suspected of drink driving ________.
A. should provide specimens for testing
B. will be forbidden to drive for 3 years
C. will be punished for 10 drivingoffence points
D. should pay a maximum fine of HK $25,000
Violence and traffic accidents can leave people with terrible physical and emotional scars. Often they
relive these experiences in nightmares.
Now American researchers think they are close to developing a pill, which will help people forget bad memories. The pill is designed to be taken immediately after a frightening experience. They hope it might
reduce, or possibly erase(抹去), the effect of painful memories.
In November, experts tested a drug on people in the US and France. The drug stops the body
releasing chemicals that fix memories in the brain. So far the research has suggested that only the emotional effects of memories may be reduced, not that the memories are erased.
The research has caused a great deal of argument. Some think it is a bad idea, while others support it.
Supporters say it could lead to pills that prevent or treat soldiers" troubling memories after war. They
say that there are many people who suffer from terrible memories.
"Some memories can ruin people"s lives. They come back to you when you don"t want to have them in a daydream or nightmare. They usually come with very painful emotions," said Roger Pitman, a professor
of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. "This could relieve a lot of that suffering."
But those who are against the research say that changing memories is very dangerous because
memories give us our identity(特质).They also help us all avoid the mistakes of the past.
"All of us can think of bad events in our lives that were horrible at the time but make us who we are, I"m not sure we want to wipe those memories out," said Rebecca Dresser, a medical ethicist.
B. a new research on the pill
C. a way of erasing painful memories
D. an argument about the research on the pill
B. stop people remembering bad experiences
C. prevent body producing certain chemicals
D. erase the emotional effects of memories
3. We can infer from the passage that ____________.
B. the pill will stop people"s bad experiences
C. taking the pill will do harm to people"s health
D. the pill has probably been produced in America
B. People want to get rid of bad memories
C. Experiencing bad events makes us different from others
D. The pill will reduce people"s sufferings from bad memories
Over the summer, 18－years－old Roberto Mancera of Chandler wasn"t looking forward to dances,
football games or even his last year in high school.He was more excited about building a robot that will
compete in the sixth annual FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC)Arizona Regional.
FIRST stands for For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology, a nonprofit
organization that believes the heroes of today"s youth should be engineers, not sports or pop stars.They
aim to change the culture by hosting athleticlike competitions for robots，with cheering fans, mascots (吉祥物) and music.
Mancera and a team of about 14 of his schoolmates will compete this year against 44 other high
school teams from all over Arizona，California and New Mexico at the Arizona Veterans Memorial
Coliseum in Phoenix.Finalists will move on to the FRC 2009 Championship in Atlanta to face teams from
48 states and seven other countries.
For the 40 regional events worldwide, a similar“ kit (工具包) of parts” is given to each of the 1,680
teams from around the globe every January.The robot functions are different every year, and after a
sixweek building season, robots are boxed up and shipped off to the competition"s destination.
The competition has a minimum $6,000 entrance fee, and students are sponsored and mentored by
adult professionals and experts，like computer science teacher Sam Alexander, 39, at Chan
dler High.“I
try to give the kids the challenge and they try to figure it out，” he said.“They work through the entire
scientific method without me giving them the answers.”
FIRST students are also eligible(有资格的)to apply for $9.7 million in college scholarships,
something that Alexander"s students have taken advantage of.
“You learn skills that your average student isn"t learning.” Mancera said.“It"s really amazing, and I"ve
been able to meet a lot of interesting people.” Mancera said that he found himself when he joined the
robot ics team.He now has set a career goal and has learned valuable leadership skills.
B．choose heroes for today"s youth
C．develop the interest of young people in sports
D．create a culture of valuing technology
B．decorated similarly
C．a teammade product
D．a copy of famous robots
B．Controlled．
C．Judged．
D．Replaced
B．He has become the hero for his classmates．
C．It has helped him to decide his future career．
D．It has allowed him to make a lot of friends with the same interest．
- 1阅读理解。(4分)谦虚小议①在十九世纪六十年代，法朗士等一批青年，为了让自己办的刊物引起人们的关注，他们就写信给大文豪雨
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- 1生产十公斤纱锭所需要的时间读上图，请运用《经济学常识》中马克思的劳动价值论知识，说明纱锭越转越快的经济学原因？_____
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- 6已知a为锐角，且sin（a-10°）=，则a等于[ ]A.50° B.60° C.70° D.80°
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- 91939年8月，《苏德互不侵犯条约》签订后，德国***说：“让我们把这一条约看做是确保我们后方的东西吧。”“至于苏联，这
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