Clever trees 樹木的生存智慧

我們認為人類智慧無窮，動物也一樣，但植物呢？本文討論為什麼樹木能給人類和大自然帶來好處，以及樹木之間如何互相幫助，相互交流，共同茁壯成長。

詞匯: nature 大自然

There’s nothing better than a walk in the countryside for lifting our spirits. Connecting with nature has been proven to help our mental health. For some, the best tonic is to stroll through a forest, but as we admire the trees that surround us, it’s worth knowing these trees are doing more than just being nice things to look at.

We’re already aware of the healing properties of trees – they produce oxygen and clean the air we breathe by absorbing about a quarter of all human-caused carbon dioxide emissions. Deforestation isn’t helping with this which is why so many people want to save them. But there’s more to these impressive forms of vegetation than we might think. Researchers have discovered evidence that proves they are actually intelligent.

It’s thought that trees talk and share resources right under our feet, using a fungal network. Under the ground are tree roots, and mingling among them, along with bacteria, are thousands of superfine threads of fungi, known as hyphae. And research has shown that they are all interconnected. They can help each other by sharing nutrients, and they can even warn of approaching threats. Scientists say it’s like the trees are talking to one another.

Ecologist Suzanne Simard has called this network the Wood Wide Web. She discovered that parent trees use this network to help their offspring. Speaking to the AYYBLOG, she said: “We found that the parent trees would favour those seedlings that were of their own kin versus the strangers” by sending them more nutrients. She also found that trees are smart enough to change their behaviour and have managed to adapt and survive in a changing environment.

So it seems trees really are the stars of our natural world, and with around three trillion of them on our planet, it’s time to show them some respect if we want them to flourish.

詞匯表

countryside 郊外，鄉下
lift one’s spirits 振奮精神
tonic 使人精神振作的事情
forest 森林
healing properties 治療功效
oxygen 氧氣
carbon dioxide emissions 二氧化碳排放
deforestation 毀林，大面積砍伐森林
vegetation 植被，植物
resources 資源
fungal network 真菌網絡
tree root 樹根
bacteria 細菌
fungi 真菌，真菌類植物
hyphae 菌絲
nutrient 養分，營養物
Wood Wide Web “樹聯網”
offspring 後代，產物
seedling 幼苗
kin 同族，親戚
flourish 茁壯成長

測驗與練習

1. 閱讀課文並回答問題。

1. What can being surrounded by nature help us with?

2. How do trees help improve the air quality?

3. How do parent trees help their offspring to survive?

4. True or false? Trees talk to each other by using thousands of superfine threads of fungi under the ground.

5. Why do trees need to adapt if they want to survive?

2. 選擇意思恰當的單詞或詞組來完成下列句子。

1. Watching the comedy film really _______ after a hard day at work.

lifting my spirits lifted my spirits lift my spirits lifted my spirit

2. To survive in the modern world, the business has to _______ its working practices.

absorb hyphae adapt resources

3. My brother and his _______ always come over for dinner on Sundays.

offsprung offsprings offsprang offspring

4. None of the crops grew because there was a lack of _______ in the soil.

nutrients bacteria roots seedlings

5. Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is one of the wonders of the _______.

nature world natural worlds naturing world natural world

答案

1. 閱讀課文並回答問題。

1. What can being surrounded by nature help us with?
Being connected with or surrounded by nature has been proven to help our mental health.

2. How do trees help improve the air quality?
Trees clean the air we breathe by absorbing about a quarter of all human-caused carbon dioxide emissions.

3. How do parent trees help their offspring to survive?
Doctor Suzanne Simard said that parent trees would favour those seedlings that were of their own kin as opposed to the strangers by sending them more nutrients.

4. True or false? Trees talk to each other by using thousands of superfine threads of fungi under the ground.
True. Trees talk to each other using thousands of superfine threads of fungi, known as hyphae, which are all interconnected.

5. Why do trees need to adapt if they want to survive?
They need to adapt because the environment is changing.

2. 選擇意思恰當的單詞或詞組來完成下列句子。

1. Watching the comedy film really lifted my spirits after a hard day at work.

2. To survive in the modern world, the business has to adapt its working practices.

3. My brother and his offspring always come over for dinner on Sundays.

4. None of the crops grew because there was a lack of nutrients in the soil.

5. Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is one of the wonders of the natural world.