用月球上的土壤種植蔬菜

山東 孫啟祿

主題語境：人與社會(huì) 篇幅：342詞 關(guān)鍵詞：plants,soil,Moon

1Scientists at the University of Florida (UF)have grown plants in soil that came from the Moon.The plants didn't grow as well as those grown in dirt from Earth, but the experiment marks an important step towards growing plants on the Moon.

2Soil from the Moon is very different from regular soil. It's powdery and doesn't have many nutrients—things that help plants grow. The soil has a large amount of iron, and is full of tiny pieces of glass from smashed meteorites(隕石).

3The scientists chose a plant called thale cress (鼠耳芥) for their experiment. It's a small plant related to broccoli (西蘭花) that can grow in very little soil.Scientists know a lot about the DNA of thale cress,which helps them understand how it reacts to the soil it's planted in.

4The researchers separated the lunar soil into 12 tiny containers.They got the soil wet with water mixed with nutrients.Then they added seeds.The researchers also planted thale cress seeds in ash from volcanoes—a sort of fake lunar soil. After two days of watering, the scientists saw green growths in every container.“The seeds started to grow. I can't tell you how astonished we were!”said Anna-Lisa Paul,the report's lead author.

5As the scientists continued to care for the plants, they began to notice differences.The plants grown in lunar soil weren't as healthy as those grown in volcano ash. They were smaller and grew more slowly. Their roots didn't develop as well, and some leaves turned red.The plants grown in the top layer of lunar soil did the worst of all.The researchers said the growth patterns showed that the plants were“stressed”by the lunar soil. Still, they were surprised that the plants were able to grow.

6“The ability to take plants successfully with us to the Moon is how we'll grow our own food,”said Dr Robert Ferl, one of the researchers.“Showing that plants will grow in lunar soil is actually a huge step in that direction.”

Reading Check

1.What does the second paragraph mainly tell us?

A.Nutrients that help plants grow.

B.The components of soil from the Moon.

C.Tiny pieces of glass from smashed meteorites.

D.Differences between lunar soil and Earth soil.

2.Why did scientists choose thale cress for their experiment?

A.Thale cress is related to broccoli.

B.Thale cress needs little soil to grow.

C.Thale cress can react to the soil it's planted in.

D.Thale cress is familiar to scientists.

3.Why did researchers plant thale cress seeds in ash from volcanoes?

A.For fun. B.For sale.

C.For profit. D.For comparison.

4.What is Dr Robert Ferl's attitude towards the experiment?

A.Positive. B.Doubtful.

C.Negative. D.Critical.

語篇解碼

本文是一篇說明文。美國佛羅里達(dá)大學(xué)的科學(xué)家們在來自月球的土壤中種植了蔬菜。對于未來的空間站甚至是載人登陸火星、建造月球基地等長期的太空任務(wù)來說，在太空種菜將是不得不發(fā)展的一項(xiàng)技術(shù)。

語言學(xué)習(xí)

Ⅰ.語料薈萃

語篇單詞重要短語grow v.種植 experiment n.實(shí)驗(yàn) plant n.植物v.種植 regular adj.普通的 soil n.土壤choose v.選擇 water v.給……澆水 container n.容器 compare v.比較 growth n.生長物 astonished adj.感到驚訝的 continue v.繼續(xù) healthy adj.健康的 pattern n.圖案；模式 ability n.能力 direction n.方向be different from 與……不同 a large amount of 大量的 be full of 充滿…… be related to與……有關(guān) react to 對……做出反應(yīng) separate...into 把……分成…… be mixed with與……混合 care for 照料 as well 也；還

Ⅱ.語句分析

1. Scientists know a lot about the DNA of thale cress, which helps them understand how it reacts to the soil it's planted in.科學(xué)家們對鼠耳芥的DNA 了解很多，這有助于他們了解它對種植土壤的反應(yīng)。

【點(diǎn)石成金】本句是一個(gè)復(fù)合句。Scientists know a lot about...thale cress 是主句，which helps them...in是which引導(dǎo)的非限制性定語從句，how it reacts...in是how引導(dǎo)的賓語從句，it's planted in是省略了that/which的限制性定語從句。

2.“The ability to take plants successfully with us to the Moon is how we'll grow our own food,”said Dr Robert Ferl, one of the researchers. 研究人員之一羅伯特·費(fèi)爾博士說：“將植物成功帶到月球的能力，就是我們?nèi)绾畏N植自己的食物?！?/p>

【點(diǎn)石成金】said Dr Robert Ferl 是句子的主干；one of the researchers 是Dr Robert Ferl的同位語；引號里面是直接引語，在直接引語中，The ability是主語，to take plants...the Moon是動(dòng)詞不定式短語作定語，how引導(dǎo)的是表語從句。

-語言運(yùn)用

Ⅰ.例句仿寫

1.我們學(xué)校有各種各樣的課外活動(dòng)，這些課外活動(dòng)對我們非常有益。

There is a variety of after-class activities in our school, _________________________.

2.幸福并非什么都一帆風(fēng)順，而是擁有處理難題的能力。

Happiness is not the absence of problems, _________________________.

Ⅱ.寫作實(shí)踐

假定你是中學(xué)生李華，你校將在本周末舉辦一次蔬菜種植活動(dòng)。請你用英文寫一封信，邀請你的外國朋友Sam參加，內(nèi)容包括：

1.寫信的目的；

2.活動(dòng)的時(shí)間、地點(diǎn)和內(nèi)容。

注意：

1.詞數(shù)80左右；

2.可以適當(dāng)增加細(xì)節(jié)，以使行文連貫。

Dear Sam,

__________________________________________

__________________________________________

__________________________________________

__________________________________________

__________________________________________

Yours,

Li Hua