"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 waves 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, Shakespeare"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."

        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 shouting 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.