奇速英语官网—英语在线学习平台_让学英语更快乐_更快速

Four-year-old Stellan Smith now has a 20-foot sunflower outside his house in Hertfordshire, and it may just be the tallest one in Britain at the moment. His dad Douglas planted the seed back in March, after buying it from a man called John Butler, who grew North America's tallest sunflower at 26-feet and eight inches.

Douglas said, "I am glad that it's topped out a bit now. I think it probably got another inch or two left in it to grow, but it's pretty much done." Explaining his sunflower's height, Douglas said, "A big part of it is to do with the genetics(遗传学).”

Most importantly, the sunflower has proved a hit with little Stellan. Douglas said, "Earlier this year he said he wanted a sunflower as tall as the house. People at his nursery didn’t believe him when he told them he actually had one."

Now the UK record is held by Richard Hope, who managed to grow a sunflower that was 26 feet tall. That's not far off the biggest recorded of all time. While Douglas didn't finally go on to break the record, it's still a really good effort. It must be great fun to have in the back garden.

Maybe when Stellan grows up, he'll be able to take on the top of the table. We'd need to have a nice summer before that happens, though. With the British weather as it is, that's almost not possible.

1.Stellan’s father got the sunflower seed from _______.

A his neighbour

B John Butler

C Richard Hope

D his son

解析：选B。细节理解题。根据文章第一段His dad Douglas planted the seed back in March, after buying it from a man called John Butler…可知，斯特兰的父亲所种的向日葵种子是从一个叫约翰·巴特勒的人那里买来的，故选B。

2.People probably _______ when they heard about the tall sunflower.

A believed him

B felt very surprised

C felt it unbelievable

D followed Stellan home

解析：选C。细节理解题。根据文章第三段People at his nursery didn’t believe him when he told them he actually had one.可知，斯特兰所在的托儿所的人不相信他所说的，觉得不可信，故选C。

3.What can we learn about the sunflower?

A It is as tall as Richard Hope’s.

B It became the tallest one in Britain.

C It made Stellan’s dream come true.

D It grows very tall under good care.

解析：选C。推理判断题。根据文章第三段Earlier this year he said he wanted a sunflower as tall as the house.可知，今年早些时候，斯特兰表示他想要一棵和房子一样高的向日葵。于是，斯特兰的父亲购入了种子。由此推测种道格拉斯植向日葵是为了实现斯特兰的梦想，故选C。

4.What can we infer from the last paragraph?

A The sunflower growth depends on the hot climate.

B The British weather often changes a lot during the summer time.

C Stellan will have no chance to see the tallest sunflower at home.

D Stellan’s sunflower may not grow taller because of the weather.

解析：选D。推理判断题。根据最后一段可知，也许等斯特兰长大了，他就能坐上榜首。不过，在那之前，需要一个像样的夏天。鉴于英国的天气，这几乎不可能，由此可推测他的向日葵可能不会再长高了，故选D。