Not all vegetables need lots of sunshine. Mark Hoffman and his wife own a bed-and-breakfast guesthouse in rural Kempton, Illinois. They often serve their guests fresh products from the garden.
The Hoffmans have been growing food and flowers for twenty-five years. For almost ten of those years, Mr. Hoffman has been experimenting and working with shade (阴凉) plantings. He says, “The bottom line here is that most plants will produce more in full sun. But if you do not have full sun, there are other choices.”
For example, he grows tomatoes near oak trees. Oak trees can produce a lot of shade. But Mr. Hoffman says his tomato plants grow as long as they get five hours’ direct sunshine a day, especially morning sun. Not only does this go against the traditional advice that tomatoes need six, eight, even twelve hours’ full sun a day. It also shows how plants and tree roots can share nutrients and water.
Mr. Hoffman says plants with wider leaves seem to do better in shady environments. He also found that his potatoes did better partly in shade than in full sun.
Moving them out of the sun helped control an insect problem. Mr. Hoffman does not use pesticide (农药). Instead, he planted the potatoes in the shade, especially on the east side of the tree. The potatoes get morning sun, but they are shaded during the hottest part of the day. Some insects dislike shade, and the hottest part day is when they do the worst of their damage.
Time of day, sun intensity (强度), shadows from trees, walls and buildings all influence how much sunlight falls on plants. And people interested in shade planting should also remember something else. The term “shade” can describe different amounts of darkness. It can even mean different things in different parts of the world.
【小题1】How many hours of sunshine are enough to keep tomato plants growing in Hoffman’s garden?A．five hours a dayB．Six hours a dayC．Eight hours a dayD．Twelve hours a day【小题2】From the passage we can know that .A．plants with wider leaves produce more in full sun.B．as a matter of fact, plants don’t need to grow in full sun.C．the more sunshine plants get, the more they will produceD．plants with wider leaves grow better in shadows【小题3】All of the following can influence how much sunlight falls on plants EXCEPT .A．length of day timeB．brightness of the sunC．changes of the seasonD．shadows【小题4】 Which of the following can best describe Mr. Hoffman?A．CuriousB．ExperiencedC．Easy-goingD．Funny【小题5】We may read the passage on a website in the section of .A．environmentB．travellingC．agricultureD．lifestyleA
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(答案→)A
解析：
【小题1】A 细节题。根据第三段第2行his tomato plants grow as long as they get five hours’ direct sunshine a day说明A正确。
【小题2】D 细节题。根据第四段第一行Mr. Hoffman says plants with wider leaves seem to do better in shady environments.说明D正确。
【小题3】C 细节题。根据最后一段1，2行Time of day, sun intensity (强度), shadows from trees, walls and buildings all influence how much sunlight falls on plants.说明ABD都能影响植物的生长，C项没有提及。
【小题4】B 推理题。根据第二段第一行The Hoffmans have been growing food and flowers for twenty-five years.说明他有多年的种植经验，经验丰富。故B正确。
【小题5】C 推理题。本文是关于阳光和阴凉对植物生长的影响，应该是在网站的农业相关的部分，故C正确。