We all know that the world of plants is silent and plants don’t have organs (器官) to speak. However, scientists have reasons to believe that trees do communicate with each other, but not in words. Not long ago, researchers learned some surprising things. First, a willow tree that was attacked in the woods by caterpillars (毛虫) changed the chemistry of its leaves and made them taste so terrible that caterpillars got tired of the leaves and stopped eating them. Then even more surprising, the tree sent out a special smell—a signal (信号) that reminded its neighbors to change the chemistry of their leaves and make them less tasty.
Communication. of course, doesn’t always need to be in words. Humans can talk to each other not only by speaking but also by smiling, raising our shoulders and moving our hands. While birds and animals use a whole vocabulary of songs, sounds, and movements to communicate with partners. For example, bees dance their signals, flying in certain patterns that tell other bees where to find nectar (花蜜) for honey. Since plants and animals have their own ways of sending messages, why not look forward to communicating with them one day by ourselves?
【小题1】According to the passage, caterpillars do not like leaves that ______.
| A．are lying on the ground | B．have a terrible taste | C．bees don’t like | D．have a strange shape |
【小题2】The willow tree protected itself by the way of ______.
| A．growing more leaves | B．communicating with birds and bees |
| C．changing its leaf chemistry | D．shaking caterpillars off |
【小题3】The writer thought the willow tree could communicate with other trees through ______.
| A．talking to each other | B．producing a special smell |
| C．dropping its leaves | D．changing the color of its leaves |
【小题4】We can learn from the passage that bees can ______ to communicate with other bees.
| A．fly in certain patterns | B．touch each other | C．smell each other | D．make unusual sound |
