Dodder is an unusual and unwanted plant that attacks other plants. Except for its flowers, the plant looks like spaghetti noodles. Its almost leafless, thread–like stems hang down atop other plants that dodder needs to stay alive. Dodder does not produce its own food. Instead, it steals it from other plants. It feeds by sucking juices from the plant it is wrapped around, often making its host very weak or even killing it. Dodder can find other plants by their smell. When a dodder seedling starts growing, it follows the scent of plants it prefers, like tomato plants, potato plants, or other farm crops.

   Unlike most plants that usually grow in the direction of light or warmth, a dodder plant will grow in the direction of, for example, tomato odor––if a tomato happens to be growing nearby. However, a young dodder plant must find a host plant quickly. If it cannot catch a whiff of a potential host within a few days, it will dry up and disappear— even if there is plenty of water around. Once it finds a host, the young dodder plant will attach itself to it and start growing faster. At that point, the dodder plant will drop its root.

   Dodder is thus a difficult weed to manage and a real headache for farmers. When it does get out of hand, dodder can greatly reduce a farmer’s harvest or even destroy crops completely. Before sowing their produce, farmers in warm parts of the world often check to make sure no unwanted dodder seeds have intermingled with their crop seeds. This is a good way to stop dodder plants from sneaking their way into a crop field.

The expression get out of hand is closest in meaning to .........

Câu hỏi liên quan

• The word “advantage” in the last paragraph most closely means .................

• Based on the passage, what is probably true about the south of France?

• The word “odd” refers to which of the following?

ZUNIA12

• The writer uses the phrase “On the other hand” in the last paragraph to .......

• This article is about ...............

• The word "appealing" is closest in meaning to ........

• The word “woo” is closest in meaning to __________

• The topic of the passage is ________.

• In general, what did the Brazilian students think about people who are late?

• Which is the most popular sport in the US?

• The latter half of the last sentence in paragraph 3, “or one tourist for every person living in Spain” means .........

• The word “immense” in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to ______.

• Most people are afraid of being operated on ............

• The speaker’s main topic is ...................

• The author mentions all of the following as requirements for slang expressions to be created EXCEPT ......

• Who called the apelike creatures 'Sasquatch'?

• Which of the following is the best title for the passage?

• According to the passage, approximately how many non-native users of English are there in the world today?

• Which of the following statements can best summarize the main idea of the passage?

• The word “urgent” in the last paragraph probably means .............