Pieter Hoff used to export lilies and tulips from the Netherlands. He retired from the flower export business seven years ago. Now, he is trying to help people grow trees and plants in the desert -- and save water. In many places, much of the freshwater supply is used for irrigation. Yet most of that water may be lost through evaporation into the air. So Pieter Hoff has invented a simple plastic device (设备)called the Groasis Waterboxx. He says he got the idea from nature.

Mr. Hoff says the trick is that nature does not dig a hole like we humans do to plant seeds. Nature plants the seeds through birds or animals on top of the soil. Their waste then acts as a cover. It prevents the humidity in the soil from evaporating(蒸发).

The Dutch inventor says he is simply copying that system. The Waterboxx is a round device about the size of a motorcycle tire. It sits flat on the ground with the bottom open to the earth. Seeds or a young planting grow out of a hole in the center.

Some people call the Waterboxx a water battery because of its ability to collect and store water.

The cover has deep ridges. These collect rainwater. But the device is designed to collect water even when there is no rain. The cover gets cold during the night and creates condensation.

The water is collected through two holes and in the holes there is a siphon to carry it to the soil. Pieter Hoff says the nice thing about the siphons is that, once collected, the water is not able to evaporate anymore.

The roots of the plant may have to grow several meters deep to reach groundwater. Once growth is established, the box can be removed and used to start another planting. The company also makes a version for one-time use.

Researchers at Mohammed the First University in Oujda, Morocco, tested the Waterboxx for three years in the Sahara. They said close to ninety percent of the trees planted with the device survived. Without it, they said, only about ten percent survived.

There was great interest when a big hole mysteriously appeared in the middle of a field. Engineers were called in to explain how it had got there. They offered various explanations but were not at all sure how the hole had been caused, it was thought that a large bomb which came suddenly exploded, but it was not possible to prove this. A simple, but highly improbable explanation was offered by a man who declares to know well about “flying saucers”; the strange objects which are round in shape and are said to visit the earth from outer space. The man’s explanation may have been nonsense (胡说八道), but at least it was imaginative. At any rate, it was far more interesting than the one given by the army.
After examining the ground carefully the man declared to have seen special marks on the soil quite near the hole, these, he said, could only have been caused by a flying saucer. Moreover the leaves on some bushes nearby had turned yellow because of a strange hot gas which had come from the saucer just before it landed. Even a small tree some way off appeared to have been burnt slightly. A small piece of metal found in the hole itself gave further proof that a strange object had been there. According to the man, it was quite clear that people from another world had been going around the earth trying to pick up information, when something had gone wrong. Because of this they had been forced to land in a field so that the damage could be repaired. The hole had been caused when the saucer struck the earth, while the strange marks nearby were made when it took off again. This, said the man, was the simplest explanation of how the hole had appeared. Judging from the interest the public took in the matter, there must be quite a few people who secretly believe or hope that this simple explanation is the true one.
【小题1】What aroused public interest?

There was great interest when a big hole mysteriously appeared in the middle of a field. Engineers were called in to explain how it had got there. They offered various explanations but were not at all sure how the hole had been caused, it was thought that a large bomb which came suddenly exploded, but it was not possible to prove this. A simple, but highly improbable explanation was offered by a man who declares to know well about “flying saucers”; the strange objects which are round in shape and are said to visit the earth from outer space. The man’s explanation may have been nonsense (胡说八道), but at least it was imaginative. At any rate, it was far more interesting than the one given by the army.

   After examining the ground carefully the man declared to have seen special marks on the soil quite near the hole, these, he said, could only have been caused by a flying saucer. Moreover the leaves on some bushes nearby had turned yellow because of a strange hot gas which had come from the saucer just before it landed. Even a small tree some way off appeared to have been burnt slightly. A small piece of metal found in the hole itself gave further proof that a strange object had been there. According to the man, it was quite clear that people from another world had been going around the earth trying to pick up information, when something had gone wrong. Because of this they had been forced to land in a field so that the damage could be repaired. The hole had been caused when the saucer struck the earth, while the strange marks nearby were made when it took off again. This, said the man, was the simplest explanation of how the hole had appeared. Judging from the interest the public took in the matter, there must be quite a few people who secretly believe or hope that this simple explanation is the true one.

1.What aroused public interest?

 A. A mysterious hole in a field.              B. Various explanations offered by experts.

 C. A simple explanation given by a man.      D. The shape of the flying saucers.

2.The author thought the man’s explanation was________. 

 A. boring but imaginative                  B. reasonable and interesting

 C. meaningless but interesting              D. mysterious and unbelievable

3.The man found a lot of proofs except ____. 

 A. special marks on soil near the hole     B. yellow leaves on some bushes nearby

 C. a small piece of meal in the hole       D. the remains of the flying saucer

4.It’s said the outer-space people were circling the earth _______.

 A. to repair their saucer                 B. to strike the earth

 C. to. collect information              D. to make strange marks

There was great interest when a big hole mysteriously appeared in the middle of a field. Engineers were called in to explain how it had got there. They offered various explanations but were not at all sure how the hole had been caused, it was thought that a large bomb which came suddenly exploded, but it was not possible to prove this. A simple, but highly improbable explanation was offered by a man who declares to know well about “flying saucers”; the strange objects which are round in shape and are said to visit the earth from outer space. The man’s explanation may have been nonsense (胡说八道), but at least it was imaginative. At any rate, it was far more interesting than the one given by the army.
After examining the ground carefully the man declared to have seen special marks on the soil quite near the hole, these, he said, could only have been caused by a flying saucer. Moreover the leaves on some bushes nearby had turned yellow because of a strange hot gas which had come from the saucer just before it landed. Even a small tree some way off appeared to have been burnt slightly. A small piece of metal found in the hole itself gave further proof that a strange object had been there. According to the man, it was quite clear that people from another world had been going around the earth trying to pick up information, when something had gone wrong. Because of this they had been forced to land in a field so that the damage could be repaired. The hole had been caused when the saucer struck the earth, while the strange marks nearby were made when it took off again. This, said the man, was the simplest explanation of how the hole had appeared. Judging from the interest the public took in the matter, there must be quite a few people who secretly believe or hope that this simple explanation is the true one.

1. 1.

   What aroused public interest?

   1. A.
      A mysterious hole in a field.
   2. B.
      Various explanations offered by experts.
   3. C.
      A simple explanation given by a man.
   4. D.
      The shape of the flying saucers.
2. 2.

   The author thought the man’s explanation was________. 

   1. A.
      boring but imaginative
   2. B.
      reasonable and interesting
   3. C.
      meaningless but interesting
   4. D.
      mysterious and unbelievable
3. 3.

   The man found a lot of proofs except ____. 

   1. A.
      special marks on soil near the hole
   2. B.
      yellow leaves on some bushes nearby
   3. C.
      a small piece of meal in the hole
   4. D.
      the remains of the flying saucer
4. 4.

   It’s said the outer-space people were circling the earth _______.

   1. A.
      to repair their saucer
   2. B.
      to strike the earth
   3. C.
      to. collect information
   4. D.
      to make strange marks