A、Bananas were among the first plants to be domesticated in UK. B、The Cavendish banana was actually originated in South China. C

W: Hi there, Martin. How are you going with your Australian studies tutorial paper?
M: Oh good. I’ve finished it actually.
W: Lucky you. What did you do it on? I’m still trying to find an interesting topic.
M: Well... after some consideration I decided to look at the history of banana growing in Australia.
W:(surprised)Banana growing!
M: Yes, banana growing.
W:(sarcastically)Fascinating, I’m sure!
M: Well... Britney, it’s not as boring as you’d think. And I wanted to tie it into the work I’ve been doing on primary industries and the economy. Anyway I bet there are a few things you didn’t know about bananas!
W: Such as?
M: Such as the fact that bananas were among the first plants ever to be domesticated.
W: Oh, really?
M: Yes, they’re an extremely nourishing food.
W: I suppose you’re going to tell me the whole history of banana growing now, aren’t you?
M: Well, it’d be a good practice run for my tutorial next week I’ll do the same for you some time.
W: OK. So where were these bananas first domesticated?
M: According to my research, the Cavendish banana, which is a type of banana and the first type to be cultivated here, actually originated in China but they had a fairly roundabout route before they got to Australia.
W: You mean they didn’t go straight from China to Australia?
M: No, they didn’t. It seems that in 1826, bananas were taken from South China to England.
W: I suppose they would have made a welcome addition to the English diet.
M: Yes, I’m sure. Well apparently there was an English Duke who was particularly fond of bananas and he used to cultivate them in his hothouse, which is where you have to grow them in England, of course, because of the cool climate and they became quite popular in the UK. So he was the one responsible for cultivating the Cavendish banana which was then introduced into Australia.
W: I see. And we’ve been growing them ever since?
M: Yes.
W: Are they hard to grow?
M: Well, yes and no. To grow them in your garden, no, not really. But to grow them commercially you need to know what you’re doing. You see you only get one bunch of bananas per tree and it can take up to three years for a tree to bear fruit if you don’t do anything special to it. But this period is greatly reduced with modern growing methods, particularly in plantations where you have perfect tropical conditions.
W: Right! So what are you looking at? One year? Two years?
M: No, no, around 15 months in good conditions for a tree to produce a bunch of bananas. And once you’ve got your bunch you cut the bunch and the plant down.
1. What does Britney think about the topic of Martin’s research at first?
2. Why Martin doesn’t want to tell Britney the whole history of banana growing at the moment?
3. What do we learn from Martin’s tutorial paper?
4. According to the conversation, why do bananas have to be grown in the hothouse in the UK?
5. What can we learn from the conversation?