Talking to plants makes them grow, especially if you ‘re a woman ,according to an experiment by the Ryal  Horticultural Society(RHS皇家园艺学会).

Women gardeners’ voices speed up growth of tomato plants much more than men’s, it found.

In an experiment that ran over a month, they found that tomato plants grew up  two inches taller if they were serenaded by the sweet tones of a female rather tha a male.

Appropriately the most effective talk came from Sarah Darwin ,whose great-great grandfather was legendary botanist(植物学家)Charles Darwin, one of the founding fathers of the RHS’ Scientific Committee. She read a passage from On the Orgin of Species and beat nine other”voices”.

Her plant grew nearly two inches taller than the best performing male and half an inch higher than her nearest competitor.

The experment began in Apirl,2009 at RHS Garden Wisley in Surrey. A variety of recorded voices were picked to play to 10 taomato plants over a month. Every plant was played a voice through headphones connected to the plant pot, and the conditions for all the plants remained the same throughout the experiment. To ensure the experiment was fair, two control plants were also left to grow in silence.

The results showed that women on average saw their plants rise by an inch on their male competitors. Some men were so bad that their plants actually grew less than a plant that was left completely alone.

Colin Crosbie, the leader at RHS, said:”We’re not sure why the female voice is more effecitive, It could be that they have a greater range of pitch and tone that affects the sound waves that hit the plant. Sound waves are an emvironmental effect just like rain or light.”

67.What is the best title for the passage?

A. Plants can’t grow faster without female voices

B. Women’s voices are more useful than men’s

C. Women’s voices make plants grow faster

D. Voices have positive effects on the growth of plants

68.The underlined word”serenaded” in Paragraph 3 most probably means”________”.

A.sung songs to

B.spoken to

C.talked about

D. played music to

69.According to the passage, ten_________were used in the experiment.

A.tomato plants

B.headphones

C. tape recorders

D.plant pots

70.What can we know about the findings of the experiment from the passage?

A. The women’s voices made the palnts grow faster by half an inch than the men’s.

B.Sarah Darwin’s plant grew 2 inches taller than her neraest competitor’s.

C. The plants which grew in silence did not necessarily grow the slowest

D. The women’s plants grew 2 inches taller than the men’s on average.

Talking to plants makes them grow, especially if you ‘re a woman ,according to an experiment by the Ryal  Horticultural Society(RHS皇家园艺学会).
Women gardeners’ voices speed up growth of tomato plants much more than men’s, it found.
In an experiment that ran over a month, they found that tomato plants grew up  two inches taller if they were serenaded by the sweet tones of a female rather tha a male.
Appropriately the most effective talk came from Sarah Darwin ,whose great-great grandfather was legendary botanist(植物学家)Charles Darwin, one of the founding fathers of the RHS’ Scientific Committee. She read a passage from On the Orgin of Species and beat nine other”voices”.
Her plant grew nearly two inches taller than the best performing male and half an inch higher than her nearest competitor.
The experment began in Apirl,2009 at RHS Garden Wisley in Surrey. A variety of recorded voices were picked to play to 10 taomato plants over a month. Every plant was played a voice through headphones connected to the plant pot, and the conditions for all the plants remained the same throughout the experiment. To ensure the experiment was fair, two control plants were also left to grow in silence.
The results showed that women on average saw their plants rise by an inch on their male competitors. Some men were so bad that their plants actually grew less than a plant that was left completely alone.
Colin Crosbie, the leader at RHS, said:”We’re not sure why the female voice is more effecitive, It could be that they have a greater range of pitch and tone that affects the sound waves that hit the plant. Sound waves are an emvironmental effect just like rain or light.”

1. 1.

   What is the best title for the passage?

   1. A.
      Plants can’t grow faster without female voices
   2. B.
      Women’s voices are more useful than men’s
   3. C.
      Women’s voices make plants grow faster
   4. D.
      Voices have positive effects on the growth of plants
2. 2.

   The underlined word”serenaded” in Paragraph 3 most probably means”________”.

   1. A.
      sung songs to
   2. B.
      spoken to
   3. C.
      talked about
   4. D.
      played music to
3. 3.

   According to the passage, ten_________were used in the experiment.

   1. A.
      tomato plants
   2. B.
      headphones
   3. C.
      tape recorders
   4. D.
      plant pots
4. 4.

   What can we know about the findings of the experiment from the passage?

   1. A.
      The women’s voices made the palnts grow faster by half an inch than the men’s.
   2. B.
      Sarah Darwin’s plant grew 2 inches taller than her neraest competitor’s.
   3. C.
      The plants which grew in silence did not necessarily grow the slowest
   4. D.
      The women’s plants grew 2 inches taller than the men’s on average.

According to legend, a young man while wandering the desert came across a spring of delicious crystal-clear water. The water was so sweet, he   21  his leather container so he could bring some   22  to a tribal elder who had been his teacher.

After a four-day journey he   23  the water to the old man who took a deep drink,   24  warmly and thanked his student lavishly for the sweet water. The young man returned to his village with a happy   25 .

Later, the teacher let another student   26  the water. He spat it   27 , saying it was awful. It   28  had been no longer fresh and   29  unpleasant to drink because of the old leather container.

The student challenged his teacher: “Master, the water was smelly. Why did you   30  to like it?”

The teacher replied, “You only tasted the water. I tasted the   31 . The water was simply the container for an act of loving-kindness and nothing could be   32 .”

I think we understand this lesson best when we receive   33  gifts of love from young children.   34  it’s a tray or a bracelet, the   35  and proper response is   36  and expressed thankfulness because we love the idea within the gift.

Gratitude doesn’t always come naturally.   37 , most children and many adults value only the thing given   38  the feeling embodied in it. We should remind ourselves and   39  our children about the beauty and purity of feelings and expressions of gratitude.   40 , gifts from the heart are really gifts of the heart.

1.                A．packed         B．filled           C．took D．carried

2.                A．in             B．away           C．back D．up

3.                A．presented      B．mailed          C．delivered D．showed

4.                A．said           B．laughed         C．smiled    D．nodded

5.                A．heart          B．mind           C．moment  D．occasion

6.                A．smell          B．watch          C．taste D．feel

7.                A．away           B．out            C．off  D．on

8.                A．apparently      B．still            C．sadly D．quickly

9.                A．however        B．instead         C．nevertheless   D．therefore

10.               A．change         B．pretend        C．determine D．agree

11.               A．sweat          B．sense          C．promise   D．gift

12.               A．clearer         B．fresher         C．sweeter   D．purer

13.               A．simple         B．innocent        C．worthless  D．meaningless

14.               A．Whether       B．If             C．Whatever  D．Whichever

15.               A．pretended      B．lovely          C．abnormal D．natural

16.               A．devotion       B．comfort        C．imagination     D．appreciation

17.               A．Unfortunately    B．Frankly         C．Strangely  D．Possibly

18.               A．other than      B．rather than      C．better than     D．more than

19.               A．persuade       B．teach          C．improve   D．advise

20.               A．In a word       B．Otherwise      C．Thus  D．After all

If you let pressure benefit ________upset you，much more can be accomplished than you thought possible.