阅读理解。
Most people may not think that there are any problems with watermelons (西瓜), but some Japanese
sellers do. There is often wasted space when they store (贮存) watermelons, because round watermelons
do not sit nicely on shelves. So some clever farmers have solved the watermelon problem. They make their
watermelons grow in square glass boxes so the watermelons become square. The only problem now is the
price. The square watermelons cost about 80 dollars each.
Many people know the saying "Roses are red, violets are blue, sugar is sweet and so are you". Well, today
the poem needs to change to "Roses are red, roses are blue"! Australian scientists have just recently discovered
that when they put a chemical from a blue flower into a rose, they can create a nearly 100% blue rose. Some
of science's inventions are beautiful, not just useful!
Since the mid-1990s, many Chinese farmers have had amazing rice harvests. For many years Chinese
scientists have been working on developing new kinds of stronger rice and now they have produced a new
kind, called super rice. Super rice not only can protect itself against insects (昆虫) and diseases, but it also
produces more than any other kind of rice. Today farmers can grow almost one and a half times more rice
than they could grow in the past.
Doctors might be able to use vegetables to fight cancer now. US scientists have discovered a way to put
a chemical into tomato plants while they are growing. When cancer patients eat the tomatoes, the tomatoes
will fight the cancer in their bodies. These cancer-fighting vegetables are not yet for sale, because scientists
have not finished testing them. If study finds no problems with the tomatoes, then patients can begin to use
this easy and delicious new treatment.
1. The square watermelons look like ____________.
A.
B.
C.
D. 
2. __________ find a way to make blue roses.
A. Chinese scientists
B. Australian scientists
C. American scientists
D. Japanese farmers
3. Which of the following is true?
A. Super rice can keep itself from insects.
B. Blue roses are more beautiful than red ones.
C. The tomatoes can fight many kinds of diseases.
D. The square watermelons cost less than ordinary ones.
4. The main idea of this passage is ____________.
A. how scientists discover new plants
B. how science makes plants produce more
C. how science has changed plants and people's lives
D. how technology makes our world more beautiful
