Question

A towering South American plant that is believed to kill animals with its spikes(尖刺) and use their rotting bodies as fertilizer is about to bloom(開花) in England. A rare Puya chilensis was planted at a greenhouse in Surrey, a county in the southeast of England about 15 years ago. However, despite its frightening description, the tall, spiked plant is considered a threatened species.

The Royal Horticultural Society has been feeding the plant a diet of liquid fertilizer. “In its natural habitat in the Andes it uses its razor sharp spikes to snare and trap sheep and other animals, which slowly starve to death and rot at the base of the plant, providing it with a bag of fertilizer,” reads a description on the RHS website, which adds that the plant gives off a “gruesome scent.”

But does the plant actually trap and eat sheep? Other sources have simply said it is “believed” that the plant traps small animals with its spikes. After the animals die of starvation, the plant is "believed" to then use their rotting bodies as fertilizer to feed itself.

"I'm really pleased that we've finally persuaded our Puya chilensis into producing flower," horticulturalist Cara Smith said in a press release on the RHS site. Regardless of whether it actually traps sheep, the plant does have sharp spikes that can grow up to 12 feet high and 5 feet wide. However, it’s not all death and danger for this plant. Its flowery blooms reportedly provide nectar(花蜜) for bees and birds.

The Puya chilensis blooms annually in its native land of Chile, but this is the first time it has done so after more than a decade of cultivation efforts from the RHS. "We keep it well fed with liquid fertilizer as feeding it on its natural diet might prove a bit problematic,” Smith said. "It's growing in the dry section of our glasshouse with its deadly spines well out of reach of both children and sheep alike."

1.From the passage we learn that in England the Puya chilensis _____.

A. feeds on man-made liquid fertilizer

B. often kills sheep and other animals

C. has once bloomed 15 years before

D. uses animals' rotting bodies as fertilizer

2.The underlined word “snare” in the second paragraph probably means“_________”.

A. catch                      B. stop                        C. fight                        D. kill

3.We can infer from the passage that _____.

A. it's dangerous to feed the plant

B. it's certain that the plant kills sheep

C. it's difficult for the plant to bloom in England

D. it's rare for the plant to bloom in South American

4.What does the writer mainly tell us?

A. A new plant is discovered in Chile.

B. How a rare plant is fed in England.

C.  A rare plant is going to bloom in England.

D. How a plant traps animals in South America.

 

Answer 1

【答案】

 

1.A

2.A

3.C

4.C

【解析】

試題分析：

 本文介紹一種原產(chǎn)南美智利的一種植物在移植英國15年后首度開花的情況。據(jù)信，該植物可以捕捉小型動物、并以小型動物被捕捉后餓死的腐尸作為養(yǎng)料。但在英國喂養(yǎng)液體肥料15年后終于開花。

1.由最后一段We keep it well fed with liquid fertilizer可知，該種植物靠液體肥料維持養(yǎng)分。下一句說明在英國該植物被種植在暖房里，遠離兒童和羊群，排除B,D兩項。前一句說明這是該種植物在英國首次開花，排除C項。故選擇A項。

2.… it uses its razor sharp spikes to snare and trap …一段文字中，trap意為“使……不能逃脫”，后文說小動物慢慢餓死而腐爛。可知snare為“抓住”的意思。故A項正確。

3.喂養(yǎng)了十多年才開花，說明其在英國開花不易。從第三段及第四段Regardless of whether it actually traps sheep 一句可知，該植物是否真的捕捉小動物并不確定，排除B項。從最后一段The Puya chilensis blooms annually in its native land of Chile 一句可知該植物在智利每年開花，排除D項。A項文中無依據(jù)。故選擇C項。

4.從全文看看，文章說的是RHS的努力有了結果。故選擇C項。

考點：新聞報道。