Question

Plants have family values, too; it seems, with new research suggesting they can recognize close relatives in order to work together.

An ability to tell family from strangers is well known in animals, allowing them to cooperate and share resources, but plants may possess similar social skills, scientists believe.

Susan Dudley and Amanda File of McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, report they have demonstrated for the first time that plants can recognize their kin.

This suggests that plants, though lacking recognition and memory, are capable of complex social interactions.

“Plants have this kind of hidden but complicated social life，” Dudley said.

The study found plants from the same species of beach­-dwelling wildflower grew aggressively alongside unrelated neighbors but were less competitive when they shared soil with their families.

Sea rocket, a North American species, showed stronger and healthier root growth when planted in pots with strangers than when raised with relatives from the same maternal(母系的) family, the study found.

This is an example of kin selection, a behavior common in animals in which closely related individuals take a group approach to succeeding in their environment, the researchers said.

Kin selection also applies to competition, because if family members compete less with each other, the group will do better overall. “Everywhere you look, plants are growing right up next to other plants，” Dudley said，“ Usually it’s a case of each plant for itself. But sometimes those plants are related, and there are benefits to not wasting resources on being competitive, and there is not really a cost to not being competitive as long as your neighbor is also not being competitive.”

Learning and memory appear to be important for kin recognition in animals, but this isn’t an option for plants, she noted.

Some researchers speculate(猜測) that plants communicate through their roots, identifying themselves using tiny chemical signatures specific to each plant’s family.

1.What’s the main idea of the message?

A．Studies find plants can recognize, communicate with relatives.

B．Kin selection is important for plants.

C．Animals can recognize and memorize their relatives.

D．Competition asks plants to recognize their relatives.

2.Which of the following is NOT right about animals’ social skill?

A．Animals can recognize and memorize their relatives.

B．Animals’ social skill is to cooperate and share resources.

C．Animals’ social skill can recognize close relatives in order to work together.

D．Animals’ social skill is no use at all.

3.Plants’ kin selection is to ________.

A．grow well                             B．compete with other kinds of plants

C．strengthen the relationship among siblings    D．find which one is the best

4.From the passage，we learn that ________.

A．sea rocket is a South American species

B．sea rocket grows aggressively alongside unrelated neighbors

C．sea rocket grows aggressively alongside its siblings

D．sea rocket is a kind of bush without flowers

5.How can the plants communicate with each other according to experts’ suppose?

A．Plants communicate by using tiny chemical signatures specific to each plant’s family.

B．Plants communicate with each other through their roots.

C．Plants communicate with each other by their leaves.

D．Plants communicate with each other with their flowers.

 

Answer 1

【答案】

1.A

2.D

3.B

4.B

5.B

【解析】

試題分析：這篇文章主要講了研究表明植物也可以識別并且與它們的親屬交流。

1.根據Plants have family values, too; it seems, with new research suggesting they can recognize close relatives in order to work together. An ability to tell family from strangers is well known in animals, allowing them to cooperate and share resources, but plants may possess similar social skills, scientists believe.故選A。

2.根據Learning and memory appear to be important for kin recognition in animals, but this isn’t an option for plants, she noted.故答案應為D。

3.根據The study found plants from the same species of beach­-dwelling wildflower grew aggressively alongside unrelated neighbors but were less competitive when they shared soil with their families.故選B。

4.根據The study found plants from the same species of beach­-dwelling wildflower grew aggressively alongside unrelated neighbors but were less competitive when they shared soil with their families.故選B。

5.根據Some researchers speculate(猜測) that plants communicate through their roots, identifying themselves using tiny chemical signatures specific to each plant’s family.故選B。

考點：科普類短文閱讀理解

點評：本題型考查了對文章段落或某一板塊的理解概括能力。先閱讀問題，然后帶著問題，再讀全文，找出答題所需要的依據，完成閱讀。在詞義與句義理解的基礎上，結合上下文總結歸納某一段或幾段的大意，對于把握文章主旨，分析全文結構都是至關重要的。縱觀歷年高考試題，閱讀理解試題一般有以下幾種題型：一是直接回答who, whom, which, what, where, when, why, how等疑問詞引起的細節問題；二是猜測詞義題；三是推理判斷題；四是綜合概括題。在做閱讀理解題時，一定要仔細看完，看清楚試題要求再作答，特別要注意NOT，TRUE，EXCEPT等詞。有時，要先看題，后閱讀文章，帶著問題去讀短文，可縮短閱讀時間，效果也許會更好。