“Think about all the things that your dad does that makes him special,” she said loudly as she came up to the last table. “You can write a poem or short story that makes your dad special. The written part of this activity should be completed before you start to decorate your card.”

Andrew looked at the blank page. He had never met, spoken to, or been hugged by his dad, so how could he write about him? Once when he was looking in his grandma’s photo box, he had seen an old black and white photo but it was badly creased (弄皱) and difficult to recognize any clear features（特点）. Grandma had quickly taken it from him and buried it deeply among the rest, never to be found again. After thinking for a while, he wrote: Dear Dad,

You are a person I do not know and would probably not recognize as I only saw an old photo of you a long time ago. I think and wonder about you often, especially when I have no one to talk to. One day when I grow up I will do an Internet search to find you, but I am not sure whether I will be successful as several efforts by the Child Support Agency have not been successful.

Happy Father’s Day, Dad.

Love, Andrew

24. Miss Dalrymple asks her students to _______.

A. make a special card for their fathers B. hand out the paper and the art materials

C. carry out a school activity on this weekend

D. try a celebration plan for the coming Father’s Day

25. Andrew had difficulty in finishing the task because _______. A. he and his grandma didn’t like his father B. he forgot all the things his father did

C. his father was not a real person D. he had never seen his father

26. What can we learn from Andrew’s letter?

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A. Andrew is eager to meet his father. B. Andrew’s father has been dead.

C. Andrew is sure of finding his father. D. Andrew’s father can’t recognize him.

C

Human, Don’t Come too Close

When we see babies or pets, we can’t help gently touching them to show our love. And they give us happy feelings back. But a recent study shows that it’s different for plants.

A study, published in The Plant Journal, shows that plants don’t “like” to be touched. That’s because touching changes their genes (基因) and, even worse, can slow their growth. Professor Jim Whelan of the La Trobe Institute in Australia gave an explanation. “The lightest touch from a human, animal, insect, or even plants touching each other in the wind, leads to a huge gene change in the plant,” Science Daily reported.

Frequent touching from humans may change plants’ genes and slow their growth. In order to test the theory, the scientists did an experiment on plants. They grew a number of plants to the age of four weeks. Then they touched them with a paintbrush every 12 hours over a 36-hour period.

They found that as a response to the touch, the mitochondria (线粒体) in the plants had been partly destroyed. The mitochondria, as Science Alert noted, are the “powerhouse of the cell (细胞)”. The mitochondria produce energy for the rest of the cell in both animals and plants.

If this “powerhouse” is weakened, the plants will lose a large amount of energy that should have supported their growth. Whelan further explained to Science Daily, “If the touching is repeated, then plant growth is reduced by up to 30 percent.” Although the process does have a strong effect on plants, usually the plants survive. Touching changes the plants, but it’s not necessarily a bad change.

According to Science Alert, frequent touching or moving plants will make them grow shorter than other ones. The researchers believe this change, in some way, could be helpful. It may help plants fight threats to their health such as insects and bad weather.

The new research findings have led to a deeper understanding of the plants’ response to touching. And the research might “open up new ways to reduce sensitivity (敏感性) and improve growth in the future”, Science Alert reported.

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27. Why did the scientists do the experiment?

A. To test if touching can change the genes of plants. B. To show that plants’ and animals’ genes are different. C. To tell when touching has effect on plants and animals. D. To find out why some plants grow more slowly than others. 28. What did the scientists find in their experiment?

A. Repeated touching shortened the plants’ life by four weeks. B. Touching slowed down plant growth by reducing energy for growth. C. Repeated touching made plants die sooner than they were expected to. D. Mitochondria in the plants couldn’t produce energy because of touching. 29. What do the scientists think of the fact that touch makes plants become shorter?

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A. The plants will be more likely to be attracted by insects. B. The plants will be more easily harmed by bad weather. C. The plants will be less sensitive to being touched. D. The plants will be better at fighting dangers.

D

Books Bring Success

According to German novelist Heinrich Mann, a house without books is like a room without windows. Mann simply stated the value of books, but some researchers have found evidence that people with books in their homes really do gain a window on the world.

A new study in the journal Social Science

Research, published in October, suggests that people who grow up with more books are more likely to have educational advantages, and to achieve more in life, than people who grow up without them.

People growing with more books are more likely to be successful.

In the study, over 160,000 adults from 31

countries and regions were asked about the number of books there were in their

homes when they were 16 years old. They were then given tests in literacy (读写能力), numeracy (计算能力) and information communication technology.

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The research shows that the number of books for each household varies greatly from country to country. For example, the number of books is 27 in Turkey, 143 in the UK and 218 in Estonia. But “the total effects of home library size on literacy are large everywhere”.

The researchers found that people who had only lower levels of secondary education but had a large number of books at home got a similar score as university graduates who grew up with only a few books.

The Guardian newspaper commented that “bookish adolescence makes for a good deal of educational advantage.”

“Adolescent exposure to books can compensate for shortcomings not only in adult literacy but also numeracy: its impacts are equal to additional years of education,” Sikora told Science Alert.

Apart from the educational benefits, growing up with more books also plays an important role in adult success.

Through analyzing their personal information, researchers found that people surrounded by books in adolescence are on average more successful in adulthood than those who had only few books at a younger age.

“Early exposure to books in the parental home matters because books are an basic part of routines and practices that enrich lifelong cognitive competencies (认知能力)”, Sikora told Science Alert. These competencies are important to future development.

Without doubt, the fact that we are moving toward a digital era could weaken the importance of printed books. For now, however, “they still seem to maintain quite a large positive benefit, which shows no sign of abating (减弱)”, researchers wrote in the paper.

30. What’s the study mainly about?

A. Reading habits of different countries.

B. The benefits of growing up with more books.

C. How reading books brings educational advantages. D. The impacts of books on people of different ages.

31. How many books do an average British family own, according to the study? A. 27. B. 32. C. 143. D. 218.

32. The underlined phrase “compensate for” probably means ______.

A. make up for B. result in C. prepare for D. draw attention to 33. According to the study, people who read more books in adolescence are likely to ______.

a. have better literacy b. achieve more in adulthood c. have better communication skills

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