Passage 2
Do Plants Talk to Each Other?
1
When a leafy plant is under attack, it doesn’t sit quietly. 2 Back in 1983, two scientists,
Jack Schultz and Ian Baldwin, reported that young maple trees getting bitten by insects send out a particular smell that neighboring plants can get. 3 These chemicals come from the injured parts of the plant and seem to be an alarm. 4 What the plants pump through the air is a mixture of chemicals known as volatile organic compounds, VOCs for short.
5 Scientists have found that all kinds of plants give out VOCs when being attacked. 6 It’s a plant’s way of crying out. 7 But is
anyone listening？Apparently. 8 Because we can watch the neighbors react.
9 Some plants pump out smelly chemicals to keep insects away. 10 But others do double duty. 11 They pump out perfumes
designed to attract different insects who are natural enemies to the attackers. 12 Once they arrive, the tables are turned. 13 The attacker who was lunching now becomes lunch.
14 In study after study, it appears that these chemical conversations help the neighbors. 15 The damage is usually more serious
on the first plant, but the neighbors, relatively speaking, stay safer because they heard the alarm and knew what to do.
16 Does this mean that plants talk to each other？
Scientists don’t know. 17 Maybe the first plant just made a cry of pain or was
sending a message to its own branches, and so, in effect, was talking to itself. 18 Perhaps the neighbors just happened to “overhear” the cry. 19 So information was exchanged, but it wasn’t a true, intentional back and forth.
20 Charles Darwin, over 150 years ago, imagined a world far busier, noisier and more intimate than the world we can see and
hear. 21 Our senses are weak. 22 There’s a whole lot going on. 一． 单词和短语Words and expressions * leafy /?li?f?/ adj.叶茂盛的；多叶的； for short简称；缩写
* perfume /?p??fju?m/ n. 香水；香味 vt. 洒香水于…；使…带香味
in effect 实际上
* overhear /??v??h??/ vt. & vi.无意中听到 intentional /?n?ten?n?l/ adj.存心的；故意的
* intimate /??nt?m?t/ adj.亲密的；关系紧密的vt.暗示；透露 intentionally /?n?t?n??n?l?/ adv. 有意地；故意地 * a whole lot 许多
二．参考译文Translation
植物会互相交流吗？
1
当一株绿叶植物受到攻击时，它不会坐以待毙。2早在1983年，杰克.舒尔茨和伊恩.包德恩两位科学
家就曾在报道中指出，被昆虫咬伤的小枫树会散发出邻近植物可以感知到的特殊气味。3 这些化学物质来自
4植物在空气中发散出的是一种被称为挥发性有机化合物的化学混合物，植物受伤的部位，似乎是一种警报。
简称VOCs。
5科学家发现，所有植物在受到攻击时都会释放出挥发性有机化合物。6这是植物的一种哭泣。7但有人
在听吗？显然是的。8因为我们可以观察到周边植物作出了反应。
9
一些植物发出难闻的化学物质以阻止昆虫靠近。10但另有一些植物却能执行双重任务。11它们发出一
些香气，旨在吸引各种攻击者的天敌。12 它们一到达，形势就会发生扭转。13本来想饱餐一顿的攻击者反倒变成了美味的午餐。
14 一次次的研究表明，利用化学物质的交流能够帮助周边的植物。15第一个被攻击的植物遭受的伤害往
往更严重，但是周边的植物，通常说来，会更安全，因为它们能 “听”到警告并且知道该怎么做。
17也许第一株受攻击的植物只是由于疼痛而 16这就意味着植物之间会相互交流吗？科学家们也不知道。
大声呼喊或者是给自己的分枝发出信息。因此，实际上，这是自言自语。18也许周边植物无意中听到了呼喊声。19所以信息自此交流，但这并不是真正有意识的信息互通。
20 150
21 我们多年前，查尔斯·达尔文想象出一个比我们所能看到和听到的世界更加复杂和亲密的世界。
的器官无法感知这些事情。22有很多事情正在发生。 三． 理解Comprehension
1. What does a plant do when it is under attack？
A. It makes noises. B. It gets help from other plants. C. It stands quietly D. It sends out certain chemicals. 2. What does the author mean by “the tables are turned” in paragraph 3？ A. The attackers get attacked. B. The insects gather under the table. C. The plants get ready to fight back. D. The perfumes attract natural enemies. 3. Scientists find from their studies that plants can__________.
A. predict natural disasters B. protect themselves against insects C. talk to one another intentionally D. help their neighbors when necessary 4. What can we infer from the last paragraph？
A. The world is changing faster than ever. B. People have stronger senses than before. C. The world is more complex than it seems. D. People in Darwin’s time were imaginative.
四．用另一个单词或短语替换以下摘自本文的单词或短语。Replace the following words or phrases in the passage with another word or phrase.
1 sit quietly 2 insects, neighboring plants can get 3 injured, an alarm 4 pump through 5attacked
7 Apparently 8 react 9 pump out 11 perfumes 12 the tables are turned 14 appears 16 talk to each other 17 sending a message, in effect 19 intentional, back and forth
_______________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________ 五．概要写作Summary writing (in about 60 words) 参考答案 Passage 2 三．DABC
四． 1 sit still/ sit around 2 bugs, surrounding plants can detect 3 damaged, an alert/a warning signal 4 release into 5
eaten/ bitten 7 Obviously/ Evidently 8 respond 9 give out/ send out/ produce/ give off/ release 11 scents/ fragrances 12 the situation is reversed 14 seems 16 communicate with each other 17 conveying a message, in fact
19 intended, interaction/communication
五．Scientists find that plants under attack produce volatile organic compounds to drive bugs away or even
chemicals that attract the bugs’ natural enemies. Besides, they also find that the neighbors usually suffer less damage than the first plant thanks to the chemical warning. Scientists still don’t know whether the communication among plants is intentional.
高考英语阅读理解长难句精读与概要写作专练2
