The interesting world of plantsThe interesting world of plants

Match the names and the photos

rice lotusbamboo

Questions Which of the plants above

a. is used for building?

b. produces grains?

c. is similar to the water lily?

1. In China, besides rice, what other plants do

people often eat?

----Wheat, corn, bamboo shoot, sweet potato,

soybean, barley ( 大麦 ), sorghum( 高粱 )

[  sɔ gəm  ]՝ ։

…

2. Do you know any other edible( 可食用的 ) flowers

besides lotus?

----Rose, jasmine, chrysanthemum ([ kri sænθ əməm  ]՝ 菊

花 ) , mint( 薄荷 ) , peach blossom,

honeysuckle([  hʌnɪsʌk[ə]l  ]՝ 金银花 )…

3. Can you name any other plants that are

used to build houses or make furniture

with in Asia?

----Pine, straw( 稻草 ), rattan([ rə tæn  ]՝ 藤 )

…

1 Water lilies can often be seen in China, with

their round leaves, or pads, floating in pounds.

2 Some flowering plants can also be eaten.

3 The banyan tree is an interesting tree with

many roots growing down from its branches.

4 Speaking of trees, a gingko tree believed to be

around 2,800 years old was recently

discovered in Hebei Province, China.

Read

1. Where are water lilies found floating in China? ( ) A. In the sea B. In ponds C. In swimming pools2. What can we do with some flowering plants? ( ) A. Eat them B. Smell them C. Sell them3. Which tree has roots which grow down from its

branches? ( ) A. The banyan tree B. The gingko tree C. The bristlecone tree4. Where was an old gingko tree found? ( ) A. In America B. In Shanghai C. In Hebei Province

b

a

a

c

Skimming

1 In Asia, parts of it are often eaten.

2 It is one of the oldest of all trees.

3 It can have very large flowers.

4 It can cover a large area.

5 It is called the longevity tree in China.

the lotus

the bristlecone pine tree

the Victoria lily

the banyan tree

the gingko tree

Scanning

speak of separate original serve float pad

Replace the italicized words with the appropriate words in the box. Change the form of the words as necessary.

1. After the accident, the ship could no longer stay on the surface of the water.

2. After the main dish, the waiter will bring the customers the soup.

3. Referring back to films, would you like to go to the cinema later?

4. After the fire, none of the first or beginning buildings remained.

5. The couple were forced to live in different cities because of their work.

6. There were many frogs sitting on the lily flat leaves in the water.

float

serve

speaking of

separate

pads

original

enormous relative trunk bark root

Fill in the blanks

rootsenormous trunk

bark

relatives

1. Both the Victoria lily and the lotus are flowering plants.

2. The lotus has many holes in its purple root.

3. Eating lotus seeds and roots is very popular in Europe.

4. The banyan tree can be found all over the world.

True or False

T

F

F

F

5. The roots of the banyan tree can plant themselves and grow bark.

6. There are no gingko trees left in China.7. The gingko tree is the oldest tree in the

world.8. The oldest bristlecone pine tree is more

than forty centuries old.9. All the plants mentioned in the transcript

grow in China.

TF

F

T

F

Match

Para. 1:

Para. 2:

Para. 3:

Para. 4:

This is a Victoria lily, the largest kind of water lily in the world.

The lotus, a near relative of the water lily, is such a plant.

The banyan tree is an interesting tree with many roots growing down from its branches.

Many gingko trees have been around for more than 1, 000 years.

1. Where does a huge Victoria lily grow? ____________________________________2. On which part of the Victoria lily can

people stand? ___________________________ 3. How large can the leaves of the Victoria

get to be? ___________________________________ __________________________

Questions

A huge Victoria lily grows in Hangzhou.

People can stand on its pads.

The leaves of the Victoria lily can grow to be more than metres wide.

4. What colour are the Victoria lily’s flowers?

_______________________________________

5. Which part of the lotus can be eaten?

________________________________________6. Where can the largest banyan tree be found? ________________________________________7. How large an area does the largest banyan tree cover? ___________________________________ ___________________________

The Victoria lily’s flowers are white or purple.

People can eat the roots and seeds of the lotus.

The largest banyan tree can be found in India.

The largest banyan tree covers an area larger than a football pitch.

8. Which plant can look like a forest of small trees?

_______________________________________________9. What was recently discovered in Hebei Province? How old is it?______________________________________________________________________________10. What type of tree can be found in Nevada?

How old is it? ___________________________________ ___________________

A gingko tree which is around 2, 800 years old has recently been discovered in Hebei Province.

A bristlecone pine tree in Nevada is more than 4, 600 years old.

The banyan tree can look like a forest of small trees.

Important sentences

1. Its pads are more than two metres wide and its white or purple flowers can grow as large as 45

centimetres across

它的浮叶有两米多宽，白色或紫色的花可以长到 45 厘米宽。

across 在此处为副词，“从一边到另一边；宽”。如：That river is more than half a mile across. 那条河有半英里多宽。

2. The lotus, a near relative of the water lily, is such a plant.

与睡莲同科属的荷花就是这样一种植物。

a near relative of the water lily“ 与睡莲同科属的植物”在句中作主语 the lotus 的同位语。名词或名词作同位语可用来进一步说明所修饰的名词，常位于逗号后。如：

Mrs. Woolard, a distant relative of little Tom, adopted him after his parents died. 小汤姆的父母去世后，一位远亲—伍德太太收养了他。

3. The banyan tree is interesting tree with many roots growing down its branches.

(2) growing down from its branches 是一个现在分词短语，其功能 相当于一个定语从句，在句中修饰名词 roots. 如：Do you know the boy chatting with Jane?Do you know the boy who is chatting with Jane?

(1) with “ 有；带有” , 与所接名词一起构成介词短语，作定语，修饰前面的名词。如：

Children like to read books with many interesting pictures.

4. Even though it is only one tree, it looks like a whole forest!

even though 为复合连词 , “ 尽管，虽然” , 引导让步状语从句。如：

I like the little girl very much, even though she can be very annoying sometimes.

5. Speaking of trees, a gingko tree believed to be around 2,800 years old was recently discovered in Hebei Province, China.

(1) believed to be around 2,800 years old 是一个过去分词短语，在句中作定语。如：The French lady, moved to tears by the poor boy’s

story, decided to finance him until he finished his

university education.

(2) speaking of 是一个固定的现在分词短语，意为“提起，说到”。可单独放在句子前作状语，也可作插入语，其逻辑主语和句子的主语可以不一致。其他类似的常见现在分词短语有： generally speaking, judging from…, 根据… considering…, 考虑 , 顾及 , 认为 talking of….,

supposing.., n. 假如 , 去 ... 吧 , 不妨 ... 吧 time permitting…,

6. Many gingko trees have been around for more 1,000 years—that is the reason why they are known as ‘longevity trees’ in China.

around 在本句中是副词，意思是“存在 着，活着”。如：

The dog is very healthy, and is going to be around for many years yet.

7. While gingko trees can live for a long time, they are not even near being the oldest trees.

while 在此句中是连词，意为“虽然，尽管”， while 引导的让步状语从句位于句首，相当于 although. 如：

While he became quite wealthy, he still led a simple life. 尽管他变得非常富有了，他仍然过着一种朴素的生活。

8. Bristlecone pine trees in America are among the oldest living trees.

介词 among 意思是“在……中；……之一”，后可接复数名词、代词或集合名词。如：

Books and pens were among the materials sent to the schools in the poor mountain area.

送往贫困山区学校的物品中有书和笔。

Exercise

1.Perhaps this is the only market ______ we can get such cheap goods.

  A. that    B. of which   C. by which    D. where

2. There are times ______ I wonder why I do this job instead of that. 

A. as  B. while  C. when D. which 

 

3. He reached London in 2001, ______, some time later,

he became a famous actor.

A. where B. when C. which D. that

4. Jane still lives in the house, the door ______ faces to

the southeast.

A. which B. whose C. where D. of which

5. I’ll never forget the days ______ we spent together

ten years ago.

A. on which B. that C. when D. for which

6. I can still remember the place ______ my girlfriend and I used to walk after supper.

   A. which  B. what  C. where  D. that

7. We’re just trying to reach a point ______ both sides will sit down together and talk. A. where B. that C. when D. which

8. To tell you the truth, I don’t like the way ______ he spoke to his parents. A. which B. by which C. in which D. on which9. The company has 1,000 employees, ______ 800 are women.

A. of whom B. whose C. that D. of which

Strategy

Finding the topic sentence and examples

Paragraphs which explain something usually have a topic sentence, which tell us what the paragraph is mostly about. The topic sentences is often the first sentence in the paragraph. A paragraph also has details that help explain the topic. One type of detail is an example. In order to understand what a paragraph is about, you need to be able to see the difference between the topic and details (i.e., the examples).