Lesson 11 She Plays Music for Plants

Mrs. Dorothy Retallack is a perfectly pleasant American lady who kills plants. She does it by playing rock music for them.

When Mrs. Retallack went to college, most of her classes were in music. But she also took a science course. To pass in science she had to do some tests with plants. Her teacher thought she should try experiments using music.

“What in the world can you do with music and plants?” asked Mrs. Retallack.Then she had an idea. She would play music for plants.

She planted seeds in small cups, each with the same kind of soil. She planted both garden and house plants—some vegetables and some flowers. When the plants started to grow, Mrs. Retallack divided them into groups of five. She placed these groups of plants in big closed cabinets on wheels. All the plants were put on the same watering schedule. The light, heat, and air were kept the same in all the cabinets.

The only difference between the cabinets was sound, or the lack of it. At one side of each cabinet was a loudspeaker. Through it, sound would be sent to the group of plants inside. Inside only one of the cabinets the plants would grow in silence.

Mrs. Retallack started her tests with piano tones. She gave some plants long sessions① of these tones. They leaned② away from the loudspeaker. Then they collapsed. In three weeks all were dead. But plants that had piano tones for just a short time grew well.

For the second test Mrs. Retallack used music from two different radio stations.One station played rock music. The other played soft music and hymns③.

The group of plants receiving the rock station would not grow. The petunias④ in the group would not bloom. In a month all plants given rock music were dead. The plants given soft music were strong and healthy. The petunias among them had lovely blooms. The plants growing in silence were straight and well. But they were not as lush or strong-rooted as plants given soft music.

When she saw what had happened, Mrs. Retallack began to wonder what other people had found out about sound and plants. She learned that in India scientists had tried to increase plant yield with music. In Canada sounds of a high pitch⑤ had seemed to help the growth of wheat. In the United States, when scientists had broadcast city noise to plants, their-growth was cut almost in half. Another experimenter in the United States had found that plants seem to be able to show fear, worry, and even love.

Because of her hard work, Mrs. Retallack passed in science with high marks. And she kept on thinking about music and plants.

She had always believed that music could heal and noise could hurt. After seeing what music did to plants, she wanted to learn more. She made up her mind to spend the rest of her life studying what sound can do to plants—and to people.

Mrs. Retallack had seen that some sounds seemed to help plants. She felt that maybe there were sounds that would help man. She had seen that soft music seemed to be better for plants than complete silence. She thought perhaps there could be blends⑥of musical notes that would strengthen people, improve their growth, and heal their illnesses.

If there really are such sounds, whoever finds them will do the world a great service. Perhaps in the future many others will join Mrs. Retallack, studying the effects of sound on people—and playing music for plants!

(597 words)

Ⅰ . How well did you read?

1. [Understand the reason.] Mrs. Retallack played music for plants because she___________ .

A. did not like them

B. wanted to study its effects C. hoped to increase their yield

2. [See the likeness.] When she began her work, she gave all plants the same amounts of___________ .

A. water B. light C. both A and B

3. [See the difference.] She gave them different amounts of___________ .

A. sound B. plant food C. both A and B

4. [Note the fact.] In her first test, plants that did well had___________ .

A. piano music from a radio station

B. short sessions of piano tones

C. long sessions of piano tones

5. [Note the fact.] Her second test seemed to show that___________ .

A. soft music helps plants

B. city noise harms plants

C. all radio music harms plants

6. [Understand the reason.] Mrs. Retallack decided to continue her work because she thought___________ .

A. plants could help people

B. sound might help or harm people

C. she had failed in her science course

7. [Note the fact.] She felt people might be helped most by___________ .

A. garden and house plants

B. complete silence

C. the right blends of musical notes

Ⅱ. Read for words.

Choose one best paraphrase for the underlined words.

1. Her teacher thought she should try experiments using music. (Para. 2)

A. products

B. energy sources

C. tests done to discover new facts

2. She placed these groups of plants in big closed cabinets on wheels. (Para. 4)

A. walled-in places B. flowerpots C. piano tones

3. At one side of each cabinet was a loudspeaker. (Para. 5)

A. musical parts

B. public notice

C. instrument used to make sounds louder

4. They leaned away from the loudspeaker. Then they collapsed. In three weeks all were dead. (Para. 6)

A. fell down B. grew well C. improved

5. But they were not as lush or strong-rooted as plants given soft music. (Para. 8)

A. hurt B. beautiful C. grown green and fresh

Ⅲ. Writing practice.

What do you think scientists will find in future experiments with sound?

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