For most of history scientists and mankind in general considered plants to be passive organisms just with no reason or means of communicating with one another. But new research has revealed that many plants actually ‘chat’ quite a bit over their own networks, which may also indicate that your aunt isn’t quite as crazy as you thought. You know, the one that talks to her petunias (矮牵牛花) and expects an answer.
    In fact, many plants form internal (内部的) communication networks and are able to exchange information efficiently. These connections enable the plants to share information via internal channels in a manner very similar to computer networks. So what kind of things do plants tell each other?
    Researcher Josef Stuefer found that one purpose for plants having their own “chat systems” is to warn each other. He and his colleagues were the first to prove that clover (三叶草) plants do indeed warn each other via these network links if enemies are nearby. For example, if one of the plants is attacked by caterpillars (毛虫), it will warn the other members of the network via an internal signal. After receiving a warning, the other plants will strengthen their protective chemical and mechanical resistance so that they are less attractive to advancing caterpillars. This early warning system allows the plants to stay one step ahead of their enemies. Experimental research has revealed that this communication significantly limits the damage to the plants.
    It is also known that plants have “family values”, with new research revealing they have the ability to recognize close relatives in order to help each other survive. Research found plants from the same species of beach-dwelling wildflowers, for example, grew aggressively (侵略地) alongside unrelated neighbors but were less competitive when they shared soil with their siblings. Some researchers think that plants must communicate through their roots, identifying themselves using tiny chemical signatures specific to each plant’s family.

The research shows that our current concept of plants is probably a poor reflection of reality. Scientists are eager to discover in what ways, and to what extent, plants communicate with each other.

64. “Your aunt” is mentioned in the first paragraph to indicate that ______.

A. plants are very important to people  

B. plants have the ability to communicate

C. people can communicate with plants   

D. plants are considered to be passive organisms

665. We can infer from the passage that clover plants that receive a warning protect themselves against enemies ______.

A. by fighting enemies together          

B. by hiding themselves from enemies

C. by attacking enemies with chemicals    

D. by making themselves taste unpleasant

66. The underlined word “siblings” in Paragraph 4 refers to ______.

A. unrelated neighbors                   B. family values

C. close relatives                           D. wildflowers

67. Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?

A. Many plants are connected by internal channels.

B. Different plants form a communication network.

C. Plants tend to look for information they need.

D. All plants share information with each other.

68. The best title for this passage may be ______.

A. Existence in the Green Kingdom        

B. Competition in the Green Kingdom

C. Communication with Green Plants       

D. Communication of the Green Kingdom

For most people, shopping is still a matter of wandering down the street or loading a cart in a shopping mall. Soon, that will change. Electronic commerce is growing fast and will soon bring people more choices. There will, however, be a cost: protecting the consumer from fraud will be harder. Many governments therefore want to extend high street regulations to the electronic world. But politicians would be wiser to see cyberspace as a basis for a new era of corporate self-regulation.

　　Consumers in rich countries have grown used to the idea that the government takes responsibility for everything from the stability of the banks to the safety of the drugs, or their rights to refund when goods are faulty. But governments cannot enforce national laws on businesses whose only presence in their country is on the screen. Other countries have regulators, but the rules of consumer protection differ, as does enforcement. Even where a clear right to compensation exists, the online catalogue customer in Tokyo, say, can hardly go to New York to extract a refund for a dud purchase.

　　One answer is for governments to cooperate more: to recognize each other’s rules. But that requires years of work and volumes of detailed rules. And plenty of countries have rules too fanciful for sober states to accept. There is, however, an alternative. Let the electronic businesses do the “regulation” themselves. They do, after all, have a self-interest in doing so.

　　In electronic commerce, a reputation for honest dealing will be a valuable competitive asset. Governments, too, may compete to be trusted. For instance, customers ordering medicines online may prefer to buy from the United States because they trust the rigorous screening of the Food and Drug Administration; or they may decide that the FDA’s rules are too strict, and buy from Switzerland instead.

Consumers will need to use their judgment. But precisely because the technology is new, electronic shoppers are likely for a while to be a lot more cautious than consumers of the normal sort---and the new technology will also make it easier for them to complain noisily when a company lets them down. In this way, at least, the advent of cyberspace may argue for fewer consumer protection laws, not more.

According to the author, what will be the best policy for electronic commerce?

       A．Self – regulation by the business.   B．Strict consumer protection laws.

       C．Close international cooperation.     D．Government protection.

In case an electronic shopper bought faulty goods from a foreign country, what could he do?

       A．Refuse to pay for the purchase.      B．Go to the seller and ask for a refund.

       C．Appeal to consumer protection law.       D．Complain about it on the Internet.

In the author’s view, businesses would place a high emphasis on honest dealing because in the electronic world         .

       A．international cooperation would be much more frequent

       B．consumers could easily seek government protection

       C．a good reputation is a great advantage in competition

       D．it would be easy for consumers to complain

We can infer from the passage that in licensing new drugs the FDA in the United States is    .

       A．very quick       B．very cautious    C．very slow  D．rather careless

If a customer buys something that does not meet his expectation, what is the advantage of dealing through electronic commerce over the present normal one?

       A．It will be easier for him to return the goods he is not satisfied with.

       B．It will be easier for him to attain the refund from the seller.

C．It will be easier for him to get his complaints heard by other consumers.

D．It will be easier for him to complain about this to the government.

For most people, shopping is still a matter of wandering down the street or loading a cart in a shopping mall. Soon, that will change. Electronic commerce is growing fast and will soon bring people more choices. There will, however, be a cost: protecting the consumer from fraud will be harder. Many governments therefore want to extend high street regulations to the electronic world. But politicians would be wiser to see cyberspace as a basis for a new era of corporate self-regulation.
　　Consumers in rich countries have grown used to the idea that the government takes responsibility for everything from the stability of the banks to the safety of the drugs, or their rights to refund when goods are faulty. But governments cannot enforce national laws on businesses whose only presence in their country is on the screen. Other countries have regulators, but the rules of consumer protection differ, as does enforcement. Even where a clear right to compensation exists, the online catalogue customer in Tokyo, say, can hardly go to New York to extract a refund for a dud purchase.
　　One answer is for governments to cooperate more: to recognize each other’s rules. But that requires years of work and volumes of detailed rules. And plenty of countries have rules too fanciful for sober states to accept. There is, however, an alternative. Let the electronic businesses do the “regulation” themselves. They do, after all, have a self-interest in doing so.
　　In electronic commerce, a reputation for honest dealing will be a valuable competitive asset. Governments, too, may compete to be trusted. For instance, customers ordering medicines online may prefer to buy from the United States because they trust the rigorous screening of the Food and Drug Administration; or they may decide that the FDA’s rules are too strict, and buy from Switzerland instead.
Consumers will need to use their judgment. But precisely because the technology is new, electronic shoppers are likely for a while to be a lot more cautious than consumers of the normal sort---and the new technology will also make it easier for them to complain noisily when a company lets them down. In this way, at least, the advent of cyberspace may argue for fewer consumer protection laws, not more.
【小题1】According to the author, what will be the best policy for electronic commerce?

For most people, shopping is still a matter of wandering down the street or loading a cart in a shopping mall．Soon, that will change．Electronic commerce （trade） is growing fast and will soon bring people more choices．There will, however, be a cost: protecting the consumer from being cheated will be harder．Many governments therefore want to apply street regulations to the electronic world．But politicians would be wiser to see cyberspace as a basis for a new era of corporate self-regulation．
Consumers in rich countries have grown used to the idea that the government takes responsibility for everything for the stability of the banks to the safety of the drugs or their rights to refund when goods are faulty．But governments cannot enforce national laws on businesses whose only presence is on the screen．Even in a country where a clear right to compensation exists, the on-line customer in Tokyo, say, can hardly go to New York to get a refund for a clothes purchase．
One answer is for government to cooperate more: to recognize each other’s  rules．But that requires years of work and volumes of detailed rules．And plenty of countries have rules too fanciful for sober countries to accept．There is, however, another choice．Let the electronic businesses do the regulation themselves．They do, after all, have a self-interest in doing so．
In electronic commerce, a reputation for honest dealing will be a valuable competitive asset．Governments, too, may compete to be trusted．For instance, customers ordering medicines on-line may prefer to buy from the United States because they trust the rigorous screening of the Food and Drug Administration; or they may decide that the FDA’s rules are too strict, and buy from Switzerland instead．
Customers will still need to use their judgment．But precisely because the technology is new, electronic shoppers are likely for a while to be a lot more cautious than customers of the normal sort．And the new technology will also make it easier for them to complain when a company lets them down．In this way, at least, the advent of cyberspace may argue for fewer consumer protection laws, not more．

1. 1.

   According to the author, what will be the best policy for electronic commerce?

   1. A.
      Self-regulation by the business．
   2. B.
      Strict consumer protection laws．
   3. C.
      Close international cooperation．
   4. D.
      Government protection．
2. 2.

   In case an electronic shopper bought faulty goods from a foreign country, what could he do?

   1. A.
      Refuse to pay for the purchase．
   2. B.
      Go to the seller and ask for a refund．
   3. C.
      Appeal to consumer protection law．
   4. D.
      Complain about it on the Internet．
3. 3.

   In the author’s view, businesses would place a high emphasis on honest dealing because in the electronic world ______.

   1. A.
      international cooperation would be much more frequent
   2. B.
      consumers could easily seek government protection
   3. C.
      a good reputation is a great advantage in competition
   4. D.
      it would be easy for consumers to complain
4. 4.

   We can infer from the passage that in licensing new drugs the FDA in the United States is ______.

   1. A.
      very quick
   2. B.
      very cautious
   3. C.
      very slow
   4. D.
      rather careless
5. 5.

   If a customer buys something that does not meet his expectation, what is the advantage of dealing through electronic commerce over the present normal one?

   1. A.
      It will be easier for him to return the goods he is not satisfied with．
   2. B.
      It will be easier for him to attain the refund from the seller．
   3. C.
      It will be easier for him to get his complaints heard by other consumers．
   4. D.
      It will be easier for him to complain about this to the government．

For most people, shopping is still a matter of wandering down the street or loading a cart in a shopping mall．Soon, that will change．Electronic commerce（trade） is growing fast and will soon bring people more choices．There will, however, be a cost: protecting the consumer from being cheated will be harder．Many governments therefore want to apply street regulations to the electronic world．But politicians would be wiser to see cyberspace as a basis for a new era of corporate self-regulation．

Consumers in rich countries have grown used to the idea that the government takes responsibility for everything for the stability of the banks to the safety of the drugs or their rights to refund when goods are faulty．But governments cannot enforce national laws on businesses whose only presence is on the screen．Even in a country where a clear right to compensation exists, the on-line customer in Tokyo, say, can hardly go to New York to get a refund for a clothes purchase．

One answer is for government to cooperate more: to recognize each other’s rules．But that requires years of work and volumes of detailed rules．And plenty of countries have rules too fanciful for sober countries to accept．There is, however, another choice．Let the electronic businesses do the regulation themselves．They do, after all, have a self-interest in doing so．

In electronic commerce, a reputation for honest dealing will be a valuable competitive asset．Governments, too, may compete to be trusted．For instance, customers ordering medicines on-line may prefer to buy from the United States because they trust the rigorous screening of the Food and Drug Administration; or they may decide that the FDA’s rules are too strict, and buy from Switzerland instead．

Customers will still need to use their judgment．But precisely because the technology is new, electronic shoppers are likely for a while to be a lot more cautious than customers of the normal sort．And the new technology will also make it easier for them to complain when a company lets them down．In this way, at least, the advent of cyberspace may argue for fewer consumer protection laws, not more．

1．According to the author, what will be the best policy for electronic commerce?

       A．Self-regulation by the business．

       B．Strict consumer protection laws．

       C．Close international cooperation．

       D．Government protection．

2．In case an electronic shopper bought faulty goods from a foreign country, what could he do?

       A．Refuse to pay for the purchase．          B．Go to the seller and ask for a refund．

       C．Appeal to consumer protection law．    D．Complain about it on the Internet．

3．In the author’s view, businesses would place a high emphasis on honest dealing because in the electronic world ________．

       A．international cooperation would be much more frequent

       B．consumers could easily seek government protection

       C．a good reputation is a great advantage in competition

       D．it would be easy for consumers to complain

4．We can infer from the passage that in licensing new drugs the FDA in the United States is ________．

       A．very quick           B．very cautious       C．very slow            D．rather careless

5．If a customer buys something that does not meet his expectation, what is the advantage of dealing through electronic commerce over the present normal one?

       A．It will be easier for him to return the goods he is not satisfied with．

       B．It will be easier for him to attain the refund from the seller．

       C．It will be easier for him to get his complaints heard by other consumers．

       D．It will be easier for him to complain about this to the government．