Plants can't communicate by moving or making sounds, as most animals do．Instead, plants produce volatile compounds(挥发性化合物)——chemicals that easily change from a liquid to a gas．A flower's sweet smell, for example, comes from such volatile compounds to attract insects such as bugs and bees．
Plants can also discover volatile compounds produced by other plants．A tree under attack by hungry insets, for instance, may give off these chemicals in order to let other trees know about the attack．In response, the other trees may send off their chemicals to keep the bugs away——or even chemicals that will attract the bugs’ natural enemies．
Now scientists have created a quick way to understand what plants are saying： a chemical sensor(传感器)called an “electronic nose”．The “e-nose” can tell such compounds as plants make．When plants are attacked, scientists say, the e-nose could help quickly decide whether plants are being eaten by insects．But today, the only way to spot such insects is to inspect individual plants by observing them．This is a challenging task for managers of greenhouses, including those that can house thousands of plants．The research team is working with an e-nose that can recognize volatile compounds．Inside the device, 13 sensors chemically react with volatile compounds based on the interactions(相互作用), and then the e-nose will give off electronic signals that the scientists can analyze by using computer software．
To test the e-nose, the team presented it with healthy leaves from cucumber, pepper and tomato plants, all being common greenhouse crops．Then scientists collected samples of the air around damaged leaves from each type of crop．These plants had been damaged either by insects or by scientists who made holes in the leaves with a hole punch(打孔器)．
The e-nose, it turns out, can identify healthy cucumber, pepper and tomato plants based on the volatile compounds they produce．It could also identify tomato leaves that had been damaged．But even more impressive, the device could tell which type of damage——by insects or with a hole punch——had been done to the tomato leaves．
With some fine-tuning(微调), a device like the e-nose can one day be used in greenhouses to quickly spot harmful bugs, the researchers say．A device like this can also be used to identify fruits that are perfectly ripe and ready to pick and eat, says Natalia Dudareva, a biochemist at Purdue University in West Lafayette, India, who studies smells of flowers and plants．Hopefully, scientists believe, the device can bring large benefits to greenhouse managers in the near future．
(1)
We learn from the text that plants communicate with each other by ________．
[ ]
A．
making some sounds
B．
waving their leaves
C．
producing some chemicals
D．
sending out electronic signals
(2)
What did the scientists do to find out if the e-nose worked?
[ ]
A．
They fixed 13 sensors inside the device．
B．
They presented it with all common crops．
C．
They collected different damaged leaves．
D．
They do tests on damaged and healthy leaves．
(3)
According to the writer, the most amazing thing about the e-nose is that it can ________．
[ ]
A．
pick out ripe fruits quite expertly
B．
spot the insects in a very quick way
C．
tell different damages to leaves
D．
recognize unhealthy tomato leaves
(4)
We can infer from the last paragraph that the e-nose ________．
Beijing(Xinhua)－Blind Chinese pianist Sun Yan, 23, will give a concert at the People’s Liberation Army(PLA)Theatre in downtown Beijing．
Sun, a student at the well-known China Central Conservatory of Music, was born with cataracts(白内障), which caused him to become blind．He started learning to play the piano when he was three years old and immediately gained acclaim(喝彩)as a piano virtuoso at the age of six．
Guo Shulan, head of the CCCM, said Sun was the first blind student the school had ever received in its half-century history．The well-known piano teacher, Yang Jun, taught Sun personally and found him to be greatly talented and strongly determined．
At his concert, Sun will play a dozen masterpieces by composers, such as Bach, Beethoven and Chopin．
“Common piano players may have a look at these long and difficult musical pieces while playing, but Sun would have to spend a much, much longer time to fully memorize a piece of music．” Yan said．“He plays the piano for at least six hours every day．”
With painstaking effort for the past few years．Sun achieved very good grades at school and also gained an audience worldwide．He was invited to visit dozens of countries and regions and even performed at top theatres such as Caregie Hall in the United States．
Top fashion brand Mark Fairwhale and piano manufacturer Bosendorfrr will offer Sun a financial support fund and the use of piano, respectively．The PLA Theatre will also provide him technical support and a stage setting design free of charge．Three schoolmates of Sun’s who were also pianists, for winning top prizes in international competitions, will be guest performers at the concert．
Expecting to graduate with a bachelor degree in paino next year, Sun has applied to study for a master’s degree．
“Music changes people’s lives．I hope I can continue to study the piano for the rest of my life,” Sun said．
(1)
Which of the following may be the best title of the passage?
[ ]
A．
Sun Yan’s achievements in music．
B．
Blind Chinese pianist gives concert in Beijing．
C．
Sun Yan, successful blind pianist in China．
D．
Blind pianist gains international fame．
(2)
The underlined word “virtuoso” in the second paragraph most probably means ________．
[ ]
A．
excellent teacher
B．
excellent student
C．
excellent producer
D．
excellent player
(3)
The CCCM has a history of ________．
[ ]
A．
about 23 years
B．
about 50 years
C．
about 10 years
D．
about 150 years
(4)
What does Sun Yan benefit most from on his way to being a well-known pianist besides his born talent?
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