事实：达芬奇眼中的树-Da Vinci’s Rule of the Trees

 Pre-Listening Vocabulary

 

observation: something that you see

cross section: a view of the inside of something after a cut has been made across it

hold true: remain a fact or truth even in other situations

ideal: suitable

sap: fluid (sugar and minerals) inside a plant

resistant¹: able to withstand

 

Da Vinci’s Rule of the Trees

Over 500 years ago, Leonardo da Vinci made an interesting observation about trees. He concluded that the total thickness of a tree’s branches at a certain height almost always equals the total thickness of the tree trunk. In other words, as the tree splits into branches, the cross section of the branches remains² equal to the cross section of the trunk. This observation holds true for almost all trees. When trees begin to split, they make exact copies of themselves. Scientists believe that there are two reasons for this law of nature. Firstly, this design is ideal for transporting sap through a tree. Secondly³, this structure makes a tree more resistant to wind. Artists commonly use Leonardo da Vinci’s rule of nature to design real-looking trees.

1 resistant   

adj.(to)抵抗的，有抵抗力的

参考例句：

• Many pests are resistant to the insecticide.许多害虫对这种杀虫剂有抵抗力。
• They imposed their government by force on the resistant population.他们以武力把自己的统治强加在持反抗态度的人民头上。

2 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

3 secondly   

adv.第二，其次

参考例句：

• Secondly,use your own head and present your point of view.第二，动脑筋提出自己的见解。
• Secondly it is necessary to define the applied load.其次，需要确定所作用的载荷。