When a leafy plant is under attack ，it doesn’t sit quietly. Back in 1983,two scientists,Jack Schultz and Ian Baldwin,reported that young maple trees getting bitten by insects send out a particular smell that neighboring plants can get. These chemicals come from the injured parts of the plant and seem to be an alarm.What the plants pump through the air is a mixture of chemicals known as volatile organic compounds,VOCs for short.
当一种多叶植物受到攻击时，它并不会静静不动。早在1983年，两位科学家，杰克·舒尔茨和伊恩·鲍德温，报告说，被昆虫咬伤的年轻枫树会散发出一种特殊的气味，邻近的植物可以感知到。这些化学物质来自植物受伤的部分，看起来像是一种警报。植物通过空气释放的是一种被称为挥发性有机化合物（简称VOCs）的化学物质混合物。

Scientists have found that all kinds of plants give out VOCs when being attacked .It’s a plant’s way of crying out.But is anyone listening?Apparently.Because we can watch the neighbours react.
科学家们发现，各种植物在受到攻击时都会释放VOCs。这是植物呼救的方式。但是，有人在听吗？显然有。因为我们可以看到邻近植物的反应。

Some plants pump out smelly chemicals to keep insects away.But others do double duty .They pump out perfumes designed to attract different insects who are natural enemies to the attackers.Once they arrive,the tables are turned .The attacker who are natural enemies to the attackers . zxx|k Once they arrive,the tables are turned.The attacker who was lunching now becomes lunch.
有些植物释放出有气味的化学物质以驱赶昆虫。但其他植物则有双重作用。它们释放出香气，旨在吸引那些攻击者的天敌昆虫。一旦这些天敌到达，局势就会逆转。原本正在享用大餐的攻击者现在变成了食物。

In study after study,it appears that these chemical conversations help the neighbors .The damage is usually more serious on the first plant,but the neighbors ,relatively speaking ,stay safer because they heard the alarm and knew what to do.
在一项又一项的研究中，这些化学对话似乎帮助了邻近的植物。通常，第一株植物受到的损害更为严重，但相对而言，邻近的植物因为听到了警报并知道该做什么，所以相对更安全。
Does this mean that plants talk to each other? Scientists don’t know. Maybe the first plant just made a cry of pain or was sending a message to its own branches, and so, in effect, was talking to itself. Perhaps the neighbors just happened to “overhear” the cry. So information was exchanged, but it wasn’t a true, intentional back and forth.
这是否意味着植物在相互交流？科学家们不知道。也许第一株植物只是发出了痛苦的呼喊，或者在向它自己的枝干发送信息，因此，实际上它是在自言自语。或许邻近的植物只是偶然“听到”了这个呼喊。所以信息被交换了，但这并不是真正的、有意图的来回交流。

Charles Darwin, over 150 years ago, imagined a world far busier, noisier and more intimate(亲密的) than the world we can see and hear. Our senses are weak. There’s a whole lot going on.
查尔斯·达尔文在150多年前就想象了一个比我们能看到和听到的世界更繁忙、更吵闹、更亲密的世界。我们的感官是弱的。有很多事情正在发生。

1. What does a plant do when it is under attack?
   A. It makes noises. B. It gets help from other plants.
   C. It stands quietly D. It sends out certain chemicals.
   答案：D

2. What does the author mean by “the tables are turned” in paragraph 3?
   A. The attackers get attacked.
   B. The insects gather under the table.
   C. The plants get ready to fight back.
   D. The perfumes attract natural enemies.
   答案：A

3. Scientists find from their studies that plants can .
   A.predict natural disasters B.protect themselves against insects
   C.talk to one another intentionally D.help their neighbors when necessary
   答案：B

4. what can we infer from the last paragraph?
   A.The word is changing faster than ever.
   B.People have stronger senses than before
   C.The world is more complex than it seems
   D.People in Darwin’s time were imaginative.
   答案：C