C

Like people, plants experience stress. And also, like people, the response to that stress

can determine success.

Bad environmental conditions, such as drought, flood, heat and other stresses, affect

yields(产量 ) more than crop pests and diseases. We are trying to find a way to equip plants

with the ability to tolerate environmental stress and maintain high yields, said Stephen

Howell, a professor of genetics and cell biology.

Plant cells produce proteins (蛋白质) and ship them to different parts of the cell. Under

normal conditions, these proteins are folded into their normal, healthy structures as they are

produced. When a plant is under stress, its cells produce poorly folded or unfolded proteins.

Then a built-in system senses this and "sets off an alarm in the cell," said Howell.

In response to the alarm, another protein (IRE1) starts working and creates a different

process which activates (激活) the stress response genes whose products bring about defensive

measures that help the plant survive.

"As it turns out, responses that are activated under stress conditions actually inhibit the

growth of plants," said Howell. "This allows them to preserve their energy to survive the

stress conditions. "

For plants in the wild, this response is a help for survival, he said. In production of

agriculture crops, however, this response reduces yields.

"You don't want crop plants to stop growing," Howell said. "You want them to continue

to grow and produce even though they are under stress. "

With the new understanding of this stress response, the next step may be to silence the

alarm system, said Howell. "What may be important is to disable some of these stress

responses.  That may make the plant more productive under stress conditions. "

28. According to the text, an alarm in the plant cells is caused by

A. the folded proteins

B. the changed proteins

C. the defensive measures

D. the stress response genes

29. The energy preserved in the plants under stress conditions            .

A. helps the plants to survive

B. helps to maintain high yields

C. keeps the plants growing

D. helps to produce proteins

30. The underlined word "inhibit" in Paragraph 5 can be replaced by "_.       ".

A. prevent          B. start              C. continue               D. promote

31. How does Howell intend to make crop plants maintain high yields under stress conditions?

A. By making crop plants keep more energy.

B. By making crop plants stop growing.

C. By making the alarm system stop working.

D. By making the alarm system respond quickly.

D

Sometimes ideas do not appear when you are concentrating your attention and

mysteriously appear when you are not.  Modern science recognizes this as a result of incubating

(酝酿) the problem in your subconscious(潜意识) yet can't account for why it occurs.

When you quit thinking about a subject and decide to forget it, your subconscious mind doesn't

quit working. Your thoughts keep making associations. This is why you've experienced suddenly

remembering names, getting solutions to problems you've forgotten about, and ideas out of the blue

when you are relaxing and not thinking about any particular thing.

You may try solving a problem with your subconscious mind by writing a letter to it.

Now let go of the problem.  Don't work on it.  Forget it.  Do something else.  This is the

incubation stage when much of what goes on occurs outside your focused awareness, in your

unconscious. Open the letter in two days. The answer might magically pop into your mind.

An advertising agency was under pressure to come up with a marketing campaign. Bert,

the creative director, wrote the following letter which he addressed to his subconscious mind.

Secret Expert,

I need to come up with a new marketing program to introduce a new season of television

shows.  I'm interested in some kind of campaign that will capture the audience's attention more

than one time. Is there something people need that we can advertise on? What kind of

products, foods and services should we investigate? I need your idea about a fresh approach to

advertising.

Thanks, Bert

Bert mailed the letter to himself and when he read what he had written, he got his

brainstorm, which was to advertise on "eggs". Somehow an association between "foods",

"need" and "fresh approach" inspired the thought of using "fresh eggs to advertise. " He

arranged to put the ad for the television shows on eggs-some thirty million.

The consumers look at a single egg at least a few times, when they buy the eggs at the

store, when they transfer them to the refrigerator, and when they crack them open. It's

unlike any other ad medium in the world, because you're looking at it while you are using it.

32. You remember names though you are not thinking about them because your subconscious

mind       .

A. stops working

B. is still working

C. is full of names

D. improves your memory

33. During the incubation stage, your focused awareness

A. doesn't work

B. controls your thoughts

C. waits for an answer

D. helps your unconscious

34. Which of the following was included in Bert's letter to his subconscious mind?

A. What he wanted it to do.

B. When he would need its help.

C. What product could be advertised.

D. How the solution could be found.

35. In what way did the ad put on eggs help?

A. It greatly increased the sales of eggs.

B. It helped Bert to get a brainstorm.

C. It made sure that consumers could get fresh eggs.

D. It made the TV shows known to people repeatedly.