Botany, the study of plants, occupies a peculiar position in the history of human knowledge. We don"t know what our Stone Age ancestors knew about plants, but from what we can observe of preindustrial societies that still exist, a detailed learning of plants and their properties must be extremely ancient. This is logical. Plants are the basis of the food pyramid for all living things, even for other plants. They have always been enormously important to the welfare of people, not only for food, but also for clothing, weapons, tools, dyes, medicines, shelter, and many other purposes. Tribes living today in the jungle of the Amazon recognize hundreds of plants and know many properties of each. To them botany has no name and is probably not even recognized as a special branch of "knowledge" at all.
Unfortunately, the more industrialized we become the farther away we move from direct contact with plants, and the less distinct our knowledge of botany grows. Yet everyone comes unconsciously on an amazing amount of botanical knowledge, and few people will fail to recognize a rose, an apple, or an orchid. When our Neolithic ancestors, living in the Middle East about 10,000 years ago, discovered that certain grasses could be harvested and their seeds planted for richer yields the next season, the first great step in a new association of plants and humans was taken. Grains were discovered and from them flowed the marvel of agriculture: cultivated crops. From then on, humans would increasingly take their living from the controlled production of a few plants, rather than getting a little here and a little there from many varieties that grew wild and the accumulated knowledge of tens of thousands of years of experience and intimacy with plants in the wild would begin to fade away.
单选题
It is logical that a detailed learning of plants and their properties must be extremely ancient.
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】[解析] 题干大意：对植物及其特点的详细了解一定由来已久，这是合乎逻辑的。文章第一段第三句话This is logical，其中的指示词This回指上一句话中的陈述，也就是We don"t know what our Stone Age ancestors knew about plants, but from what we can observe of preindustrial societies that still exist, a detailed learning of plants and their properties must be extremely ancient，关于植物及其特点的详细知识一定由来已久，由此可以判断题干所述内容与原文一致，故答案为A。
单选题
Tribes living today in the jungle of the Amazon teach botany to their children at school.
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】[解析] 题干大意：现今仍生活在亚马孙丛林中的部落在学校教他们的孩子植物学。第一段结尾部分提到：Tribes living today in the jungle of the Amazon recognize hundreds of plants and know many properties of each. To them botany has no name and is probably not even recognized as a special branch of "knowledge" at all.现今仍生活在亚马孙丛林中的部落能识别成百上千种植物及其特性，但在他们的词汇中还没有“植物学”这个词，甚至有可能不承认“植物学”是专门的知识。由此可以判断题干所述与原文不相符合。故答案为B。
单选题
Our direct contact with plants grows with the process of industrialization.
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】[解析] 题干大意：我们对植物的了解与工业化进程同步增长。文章第二段第一句话提到：Unfortunately, the more industrialized we become the farther away we move from direct contact with plants，and the less distinct our knowledge of botany grows.工业化的程度越高，我们与植物的直接接触就越少。由此可以判断出题干所述与原文信息不符合，故答案为B。
单选题
Today people usually acquire a large amount of botanical knowledge from textbooks.
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】[解析] 题干大意：如今人们从书上获得大量的植物学知识。第二段第二句提到：Yet everyone comes unconsciously on an amazing amount of botanical knowledge, and few people will fail to recognize a rose, an apple, or an orchid.人们无意识地获得了大量植物学知识，由此可以判断出这些知识不是从教科书中获得的，故答案为B。
单选题
People living in the Middle East first learned to grow plants for food about 10,000 years ago.
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】[解析] 题干大意：生活在中东地区的人们大约在1万年前最早学会了以种植植物为食。第二段提到：when our Neolithic ancestors, living in the Middle East about 10,000 years ago, discovered that certain grasses could be harvested and their seeds planted for richer yields the next season, the first great step in a new association of plants and humans was taken.当生活在大约1万年前中东地区的人们发现从某些禾本植物中可以收获粮食，并且播种后下一个收获季节还能产出更多的粮食时，农业就出现了。由此判断出题干所述与原文信息一致，故答案为A。
单选题
Once mankind began farming, they no longer had to get food from many varieties that grew wild．
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】[解析] 题干大意：一旦人类开始耕作，他们不必再摄取多种生长在野外的食物。第二段末尾提到：From then on, humans would increasingly take their living from the controlled production of a few plants, rather than getting a little here and a little there from many varieties that grew wild and the accumulated knowledge of tens of thousands of years of experience and intimacy with plants in the wild would begin to fade away.大意为：从那时起，人类就越来越多地依赖几种可控产量的植物谋生，而不是从众多的野生种类中东采一点，西摘一点。在数万年的经验中积累起来的知识以及与大自然中各种植物的联系也就开始消失。由此可以判断出题干所述信息与原文不相符合，故答案为B。