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选修一课文只读版~U5

花匠小妙招
2024-09-21 10:55

Unit 5 Revealing nature

Developing ideas

Passage 2

The Secret Language of Plants

植物密语

1 Talking plants have long been a thing of myths and legends. Many cultures have stories of talking trees that give advice as well as warnings to people. Alexander the Great and Marco Polo were said to have visited such a tree in India. And in some modern stories, such as the film Avatar, trees can communicate with animals and people.

会说话的植物一直是神话传说中的一大元素。在许多种文化中流传下来的故事里，会说话的树给予人们忠告和警示。据说亚历山大大帝和马可·波罗曾在印度见过一棵会说话的树。在一些现代故事，例如电影《阿凡达》中，树可以与人类和动物沟通交流。

2 With us long believing that talking plants are fantasy, new research has revealed something amazing: it appears that plants can communicate after all.

我们一直认为会说话的植物只存在于幻想之中，但新研究有了令人惊奇的发现：植物间似乎确实可以交流。

3 It has been known for some time that plants use chemicals to communicate with each other. This happens when a plant, say a bean plant, gets attacked by insects. The plant releases tiny amounts of chemicals from the leaves that are being eaten. This is like a warning, or a call for help: “I’m being attacked!” When another bean plant detects the chemicals from its injured neighbour, it starts to release its own, different chemicals. Some of these chemicals drive insects away. Others attract insects—the wasps! The wasps kill the insects that are eating the bean plants. Scientists hope to learn more about this plant warning system, so that we can use it to grow crops without pesticides.

人们早就知道植物可以利用化学物质相互交流。当一株植物——比如豆科植物——被昆虫袭击时，就会发生这种情况。植物从正遭受啃食的叶子中释放出微量的化学物质，这像是警示，抑或求救：“我被攻击了!”当另一株豆类植物检测到附近受伤同伴释放的化学物质时，它自身便开始释放不同的化学物质，其中一些能驱赶昆虫，而另一些则会吸引另一种昆虫——黄蜂！黄蜂会杀死那些啃食豆类植物的昆虫。科学家希望能进一步了解这种植物警报系统，从而将其应用于种植不用使用农药的农作物。

4 More surprisingly, plants also use sound to communicate. People can’t hear these sounds, but plants are making them. Some plants make noises with their roots. Corn and chilli plants do this. They also “listen” to the noises from other plants. A chilli plant can tell if a neighbouring plant is helpful, or unfriendly. Some trees make clicking noises when there is not enough water, indicating drought is arriving.

更不可思议的是，植物还能用声音进行交流。虽然人类听不到，但植物确实正在发出声音。有些植物通过根部发出声响，比如玉米和辣椒。它们还能“听见”其他植物发出的声响。由此，辣椒可以知道自己附近的植物是敌是友。还有些树木在缺水时会发出咔嗒声，以示干旱就要来了。

5 Most surprisingly of all, plants have an amazing system of communication that can link nearly every plant in a forest. Scientists call this system the “wood wide web”. It is in some ways similar to the Internet we use. While the Internet is a worldwide network of computers linked by cables and satellites, the wood wide web is linked underground by fungi. This fungal network links the roots of different plants to each other. Using the wood wide web, plants can share information and even food with each other. For example, some pine trees can send food to smaller pine trees to help them grow. But just like our own Internet, the wood wide web has its own version of “cybercrime”. Plants can steal food from each other, or spread poisons to attack other plants. Perhaps one day scientists will learn how to create a “firewall” to help prevent these attacks within the wood wide web.

然而最令人惊奇的是，植物拥有一套神奇的信息交流系统，几乎可以连接起森林中所有的植物。科学家们称之为“植物万维网”。在某种程度上，它很像人类使用的互联网。互联网是通过电缆和卫星连接的全球计算机网络，而植物万维网则是在地下通过真菌连接而成的。这个真菌网络将不同植物的根彼此连接。通过“植物万维网”，植物可以互相分享信息甚至是食物。比如，某些松树会通过真菌网络向松树幼苗输送养分，帮助它们生长。但是，像互联网一样，植物万维网也会发生“网络犯罪”。植物会偷取同伴的养分，或散播有毒物质攻击其他植物。也许未来某一天，科学家会研究出建造“防火墙”的方法来阻止植物万维网中的这些攻击。

6 Scientists are learning more every day about the secret ways in which plants talk to each other. Who knows? Maybe one day we will know enough about plant communication to be able to “talk” with them ourselves.

科学家们每天都在增进对植物间相互沟通的秘密方式的了解。谁知道呢？说不定哪一天，我们就能足够了解植物沟通的知识，从而亲自和植物“聊天”了。