每周一聽(tīng)——那些年我們一起練過(guò)的聽(tīng)力（第44期）

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    Poinsettias are the best-selling potted flowering plant in the United States. Red poinsettias are a traditional part of Christmas    (1)    , which is why almost all of them are sold at wintertime. The Department of Agriculture    (2)    that Americans bought $250 million worth of poinsettias last year.

    The poinsettia is native to Central America and needs    (3)    to grow. Bright red poinsettias are the best known. But there are about one hundred different kinds, in colors including white, pink, yellow and purple.

    The flowers of the poinsettia are very small. Around the flowers are colorful leaves called bracts. These bracts are what give the plants their beauty.

    The poinsettia is named for Joel Roberts Poinsett from South Carolina. In 1825 President John Quincy Adams    (4)    him as the United States' first minister to Mexico. Poinsett had an interest in plants. He saw the colorful plants    (5)    in the wild. Wild poinsettias can grow up to four meters tall. He liked them so much that he sent some cuttings back to the United States.

    The botanical name for the plant is Euphorbia pulcherrima. In Latin, that means "most beautiful euphorbia." There are    (6)    related plants, including rubber trees, trees that produce castor and tung oil, and the cassava, a root crop.

    People who    (7)    the latex produced by rubber trees can develop a mild skin rash from poinsettia plants. Babies and pets that chew on poinsettias can get sick. But experts say the plant is not    (8)    ] some people think.

    In the 1920s, Albert Ecke and his son Paul    (9)    the poinsettia’s ability to flower in winter. Paul Ecke thought it would be a good plant to display at Christmastime.

    They started a farm near Encinitas, California. At first, Paul Ecke, and later his son, grew large plants in fields. Then they sent them to growers by train.    (10)    .

    In the 1960s came poinsettias that grew best in containers. The Eckes started to sell cuttings from these new plants. Today Ecke Ranch remains a major supplier in the United States and around the world. In August, Paul Ecke's grandson announced that the company was joining the Dutch-based Agribio Group.


上期活動(dòng)答案：
1.        executive
2.        subscriptions
3.        widespread
4.        compliance
5.        nongovernmental
6.        launched a public/private partnership
7.        die from
8.        sends messages to
9.        registered into
10.        Even simple text messages can be important sources of information to people without Internet access