Can plants develop a personality and learn 植物能发展个性和学习吗

陈帮林

Young trees dont just grow; they develop a personality and learn more about their environment and how they could best behave in it. They also help each other out whenever theres trouble.

Personality， just as among people， varies among trees. Some are anxious， some bold. On the authors land， there are three oak trees growing close together. One of the oak trees always starts to shed its leaves two weeks earlier than the others. Since they all experience the same temperature， the same soil and the same length of day， such variables cant be the explanation. So whats happening？ Well， this tree is simply more careful than the others. Whoever holds on to its leaves longer can do more photosynthesis （光合作用） and store more nutrients. However， the longer a tree keeps its leaves， the higher the risk of injury is.

Not only do trees make their own decisions， but they also learn from their mistakes. A tree， for example， keeping its leaves too long during one year will never make this mistake again. This leads to several other conclusions： trees must notice the temperature and the length of the day and be able to save their experience somewhere. Obviously， trees dont have brains， but it is thought that in the sensitive tips of their roots they keep track of information and experiences.

But trees arent only clever when it comes to caring for themselves， they also support each other whenever theres trouble by giving warnings and even taking care of sick and weak trees. For example， one time the author found a very old tree stump. Its insides had rotted a long time ago to topsoil. But the wood on the outside of the stump was still living. How was this possible？ Well， the stump was nourished by its neighbors with nutrients from the root system， and had been around for at least 400 years！

Why do trees do such a thing？ Its simple： its better together. Trees need the forest; it protects them from storms， provides the right microclimate and warns them of attacks.

[Reading][Check]

1. Why does the author mention the three oak trees？

A. To illustrate trees can learn from experiences.

B. To show trees can make independent decisions.

C. To explain trees are quite supportive to each other.

D. To prove trees have the same personalities as humans.

2. Which of the following best describes general features of trees according to the text？

A. Anxious and bold. B. Aggressive and adventurous.

C. Helpful and well?behaved.  D. Smart and supportive.

3. What does the underlined phrase “do such a thing” mean？

A. Giving warnings.            B. Offering assistance.

C. Depending on others.          D. Escaping storms.

4. Where does this text most probably come from？

A. A public lecture.          B. A science book.

C. An experiment report.      D. A travel journal.

[Language][Study]

Text?centered sentence patterns

1. not only放在句首时，引起部分倒装

Not only do trees make their own decisions， but they also learn from their mistakes. 树不仅会自己做决定，它们也会从错误中吸取教训。

2. it be thought that... 有人认为……

类似的句型还有“it be reported/said/estimated/believed that...”，意为“据报道/据说/据估计/人们相信……”。

Obviously， trees dont have brains， but it is thought that in the sensitive tips of their roots they keep track of information and experiences. 显然，树木没有大脑，但人们认为，它们根系的敏感尖端会跟踪信息和它们的生长经历。

3. when it comes to... 当谈到/涉及……时

But trees arent only clever when it comes to caring for themselves， they also support each other whenever theres trouble by giving warnings and even taking care of sick and weak trees. 但是，树木不仅在照顾自己方面很聪明，在遇到困难时，它们也会通过发出警告，甚至照顾生病和虚弱的树木来互相支持。