题目内容
“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(植物学家) 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（音高） and tone（音调） 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（耳机） 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.”
1.What does the passage talk about?
A. Plants enjoy men’s voices than women’s.
B. A botanical experiment in a museum.
C. Voice’s influence on plant growing.
D. Strange phenomenon（现象） at Royal Horticultural Society.
2.What does the underlined sentence in paragraph 4 mean?
A. Plants need sound as well as rain and light.
B. Sound is basic for the plant to grow.
C. Sound has a good effect as rain or light does.
D. Plants can’t live without sound, rain or light.
3.Sarah Darwin is most likely a (an)_____.
A. botanist B. gardener C. astronomer D. environmentalist
4.What can we learn from the passage?
A. The experiment ended in May.
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.
1.C
2.C
3.A
4.A
【解析】
试题分析：本文是一个调查报告叙述了植物在听了妇女的声音比男士的声音后，结果发现听了女士的声音的植物比听男士的声音的植物要长得比较高，正如声音和光一样妇女的声音对植物也有影响。
1.细节理解题。根据纵观全文及短文的开头可知这篇文章主要叙述了妇女的声音对植物的生长是有利的，故选C。
2.句意理解题。根据He assumes that women have a greater range of pitch（音高） and tone（音调） which might have a certain effect on the sound waves that reach the plant.可推出正如声音和光一样妇女的声音对植物 也有的影响，故选C。
3.细节理解题。根据Sarah Darwin was the one making the plants registered the best growth 可以推出他可能是一个植物学家，故选A。
4.细节理解题。根据The study began in April at RHS Garden Wisley in Survey.及Afterwards researchers selected a number of different voices and played them to 10 tomato plants during a period of a month. 可知实验四月开始的经过一个月的时间所以应该到五月就结束了，故选A。
考点：考查调查报告类。
Saying “thank you” is probably the first thing most of us learn to do in a foreign language. After all, we’re brought up to be polite, and it is important to make a good impression upon other people — especially across national divides.
So, what exactly are you supposed to say when “thank you” is only the 20th most popular way to express gratitude? According to a recent survey, 19 other ways of expressing appreciation finished ahead of “thank you” in a poll of 3,000 people.
Pollsters(民测调查员) found almost half of those asked preferred the more informal “cheers”, while others liked to use such expressions as “ta”, “great” and “nice one”.
So, just what is the appropriate form of words to express your thanks?
Fortunately, the clue is in the language itself. “Cheers”, despite its popularity, is considered an informal way to say thank you — and this is a definite clue as to when you can best use it.
For instance, when going for a drink with friends, a smile and a “cheers” by way of thanks is not only appropriate to the situation, it is also culturally accurate.
“Ta”, originated from the Danish word “tak”, was the second-most popular expression of thanks, and is also commonly used in informal situations, along with phrases such as “nice one”, and “brilliant”. Interestingly, one word that didn’t make it into the top 20 was “thanks”, Thank you is shorter, more informal cousin.
“Thanks” can be useful, as it is able to bridge the divide between the formality of “thank you” and the downright relaxed “cheers”.
Certain words can double as an expression of thanks as well as delight. Again, the words themselves offer the clue as to when best to use them.
For example, words like “awesome”, “brilliant” and “you star” featured highly in the new poll and they can hint at both your pleasure at someone’s action, as well as serving to express your thanks. If you are on the receiving end of a “new” thank you, you can respond with a simple “no problem”, or “sure”.
Of course, in certain circumstances, a simple wave, nod or smile may be appropriate. For instance, if a car driver slows down to let you cross the road, simply raising your hand in acknowledgement is enough to show that you appreciate the driver’s consideration.
Sometimes, formality is necessary, and “thank you” is still the best choice in such situations. But students should not worry about when exactly to use certain expressions.
Many people in Western countries are worried that good manners are in decline. People are tired of seeing their acts of kindness and service pass without comment. So don’t think your “thank you” is clumsy or awkwardly formal. The chances are, if you said “thank you”, you made someone’s day. You star.
【小题1】We can tell from the results of the poll that __________.
| A．people are unconcerned about politeness nowadays. |
| B．“thank you” remains the best expression of gratitude. |
| C．there is a variety of expressions of appreciation. |
| D．there are more formal expressions than informal ones. |
| A．Thanks. | B．Sure. | C．Nice one. | D．Cheers. . |
| A．show their gratitude to others. | B．behave themselves well. |
| C．continue their acts of kindness. | D．stop worrying about bad manners. |
| A．How to Appear More Polite . | B．Ways to Show Gratitude. |
| C．Never hesitate to Say “Thank You”. | D．Good Manners in Decline! |
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