The Reading / Listening - Plant Sounds - Level 4

Plant lovers help plants grow by talking to them. Scientists from Israel believe plants may be able to talk back. Researchers found that plants make sounds like a human scream when they are stressed. We may be able to interpret the sounds and give plants what they need. However, the sounds are too high for the human ear to hear. We can only hear frequencies of up to 16 kilohertz. Plants make sounds up to 250 kilohertz.

The research was done in an acoustic chamber. Scientists found that stressed tomato plants create sound waves. A researcher said: "Each plant and each type of stress is associated with a specific identifiable sound." She said animals and insects could hear the sounds. If humans understood these sounds, they could help us understand when plants and crops need water. Farmers could water their fields more efficiently and save water.

Try the same news story at these levels:

    Plant Sounds - Level 5 or  Plant Sounds - Level 6

Sources
  • https://www.cbsnews.com/news/plants-emit-a-rather-noisy-cry-for-help-when-under-stress-scientists-find/
  • https://www.sciencealert.com/plants-really-do-scream-out-loud-we-just-never-heard-it-until-now
  • https://gizmodo.com/plants-make-popping-sounds-when-stressed-study-1850283774


Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice activities, drag and drop activities, sentence jumbles, which word activities, text reconstructions, spelling, gap fills and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

Phrase Matching

Paragraph 1

  1. Plant
  2. help plants grow
  3. plants may be able to talk
  4. like a human
  5. be able to interpret
  6. too high for the human
  7. hear frequencies of
  8. Plants make sounds up
  1. up to 16 kilohertz
  2. the sounds
  3. to 250 kilohertz
  4. back
  5. lovers
  6. scream
  7. ear to hear
  8. by talking to them

Paragraph 2

  1. research was done in
  2. tomato plants create sound
  3. associated with a specific
  4. animals and insects could
  5. If humans
  6. understand when plants and
  7. water their fields more
  8. save
  1. efficiently
  2. identifiable sound
  3. understood these sounds
  4. water
  5. hear the sounds
  6. an acoustic chamber
  7. waves
  8. crops need water

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

Plant (1) ___________________ grow by talking to them. Scientists from Israel believe plants may be able (2) ___________________. Researchers found that plants make sounds (3) ___________________ scream when they are stressed. We may be able (4) ___________________ sounds and give plants what they need. However, the sounds are too high for the human (5) ___________________. We can only hear frequencies of up to 16 kilohertz. Plants make (6) ___________________ 250 kilohertz.

The research was done (7) ___________________ chamber. Scientists found that stressed tomato plants (8) ___________________. A researcher said: "Each plant and each (9) ___________________ is associated with a specific identifiable sound." She said (10) ___________________ could hear the sounds. If humans understood these sounds, they could help us understand when plants and (11) ___________________. Farmers could (12) _________________ more efficiently and save water.

Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

Plantlovershelpplantsgrowbytalkingtothem.ScientistsfromIsraelbel
ieveplantsmaybeabletotalkback.Researchersfoundthatplantsmake
soundslikeahumanscreamwhentheyarestressed.Wemaybeabletoint
erpretthesoundsandgiveplantswhattheyneed.However,thesoundsa
retoohighforthehumaneartohear.Wecanonlyhearfrequenciesofupto
16kilohertz.Plantsmakesoundsupto250kilohertz.Theresearchwasd
oneinanacousticchamber.Scientistsfoundthatstressedtomatoplants
createsoundwaves.Aresearchersaid:"Eachplantandeachtypeofstres
sisassociatedwithaspecificidentifiablesound."Shesaidanimalsandins
ectscouldhearthesounds.Ifhumansunderstoodthesesounds,theyco
uldhelpusunderstandwhenplantsandcropsneedwater.Farmerscould
watertheirfieldsmoreefficientlyandsavewater.

Student survey

Write five GOOD questions about this topic in the table. Do this in pairs. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper. When you have finished, interview other students. Write down their answers.

(Please look at page 12 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

Discussion — Write your own questions

STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

(a) ________________

(b) ________________

(c) ________________

(d) ________________

(e) ________________

(f) ________________

(g) ________________

(h) ________________

STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

(i) ________________

(j) ________________

(k) ________________

(l) ________________

(m) ________________

(n) ________________

(o) ________________

(p) ________________

Free writing

Write about this topic for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

Answers

(Please check your answers against the article above.

Help Support This Web Site

  • Please consider helping Breaking News English.com

Sean Banville's Book

Thank You