新奇事件簿 植物比我们想象的要聪明

Plants are a lot smarter than we thought. According to researchers, they are capable of making intelligent decisions regarding risk. Scientists have discovered that one plant, the humble¹ pea, can make decisions regarding how to survive best, even though it does not have a brain. Researchers from the UK's Oxford² University and Israel's Tel-Hai College grew several pea plants that had their roots separated between two pots. Each pot contained differing amounts of nutrients³. One pot always had the same amount, while the other pot varied⁴ between a lot and a little. The plants turned out to be remarkably⁵ consistent at diverting their roots to the pot with the most nutrients.

植物比我们想象的要聪明。据研究学家指出，它们在遇到风险时刻能做出理智决定。科学家发现即使豌豆没有大脑，它也可以决定如何更好的生存。英国牛津大学和以色列Tel-Hai大学的研究学家种植了几颗豌豆，将种子分别放在两个花盆中。每个花盆中的营养物多少不同。其中一盆的含量始终不变，另一盆的营养物分含量多和含量少。结果种子毫无例外地向营养多地的地方转移。

The research paper will be published this week in the 'Current Biology' journal. Researcher Alex Kacelnik said the experiment, "raises a question, not about plants, but about animals and humans". He wondered whether the pea plant might be more efficient in using its limited decision-making resources than humans. He said: "We have a very fancy brain, but maybe most of the time we're not using it." Professor Kacelnik said he did not think that pea plants were intelligent in the human sense, but that they exhibited complex behaviours to efficiently⁶ take advantage of natural opportunities. It would be interesting to see how our lives would be different if we adopted similar strategies.

研究报告将于本周刊登在《当代生物学》杂志。研究学家艾利克斯·卡塞尔尼克称，这项实验提出了关于动物和人类的问题，而不是植物。比起利用有限的决策资源，豌豆看起来比人类更有效率，这引起了艾利克斯的好奇。他称：“我们的大脑非常神奇，但在大部分时间里，我们从未使用过它。”卡塞尔尼克教授认为，从人类意义上而言，豌豆并不聪明，但为了有效利用自然恩赐，它们的行为也会变得复杂。若人类遇到类似情况，观察人类的一举一动定将非常有趣。

1 humble   

adj.谦卑的，恭顺的；地位低下的；v.降低，贬低

参考例句：

• In my humble opinion,he will win the election.依我拙见，他将在选举中获胜。
• Defeat and failure make people humble.挫折与失败会使人谦卑。

2 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

3 nutrients   

n.（食品或化学品）营养物，营养品( nutrient的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a lack of essential nutrients 基本营养的缺乏
• Nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream. 营养素被吸收进血液。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 varied   

adj.多样的，多变化的

参考例句：

• The forms of art are many and varied.艺术的形式是多种多样的。
• The hotel has a varied programme of nightly entertainment.宾馆有各种晚间娱乐活动。

5 remarkably   

ad.不同寻常地，相当地

参考例句：

• I thought she was remarkably restrained in the circumstances. 我认为她在那种情况下非常克制。
• He made a remarkably swift recovery. 他康复得相当快。

6 efficiently   

adv.高效率地，有能力地

参考例句：

• The worker oils the machine to operate it more efficiently.工人给机器上油以使机器运转更有效。
• Local authorities have to learn to allocate resources efficiently.地方政府必须学会有效地分配资源。