【一起听英语】植物种子王国

将地球上所有植物的种子都存储起来，形成我们的植物种子王国。已经有些植物是濒临灭绝的了....

Rob: Hello! I’m Rob, this is 6 Minute English - and today, I'm joined by

Yvonne. Hello, Yvonne.

Yvonne: Hi Rob!

Rob: Today, we’re talking about seed banks – a place where the seeds from all kinds

of plants are carefully stored. Unfortunately, researchers are warning that about

one fifth of the world's plants are at risk of becoming extinct¹.

Yvonne: Wow – so there's a danger that they might disappear altogether. That's really

worrying, Rob.

Rob: Yes it is, but the seed bank is also showing people how to grow plants from

those seeds again in the future. But, before we find out more about protecting

the world's plants from extinction², here's today's question: The Youtan Poluo is

one of the world's rarest flowers and was recently found in China.

Yvonne: Yes, by a farmer! 

6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2010

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Rob: That's right, but how often does it bloom³ - so, when will the farmer see it in

flower again? Is it:

a) in 1000 years

b) another 3000 years or

c) in another 5000 years? Yvonne, what did you say when you were looking at

this story yesterday?

Yvonne: Well, I went for the lowest number, Rob – once every one thousand years. But

even that seemed far too long for another flower to appear!

Rob: Yes, I know what you mean – so we'll find out how long the Youtan Poluo

actually does take to bloom later on. Now, the Millennium⁴ Seed Bank is a

project based just outside London and it was set up in the year 2000.

Yvonne: But I've heard that there are other seed banks in other countries which are also

a part of that project.

Rob: That's true, so seeds are sent in from all over the world. But the big question is:

why are so many plants dying⁵ out in the world?

Yvonne: And how does the bank decide which seeds should be stored?

Rob: Well, Paul Smith is head of the Millennium Seed Bank - he has some answers

for us. 

6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2010

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Extract⁶ 1:

It’s absolutely essential that we get the right species⁷ – those which are most threatened,

those which are most useful, because we know that there's a good chance that many

plant species will become extinct over the next few decades. And it’s largely⁸ land-use

change; it’s development for agriculture, it's development for urban centres and so on.

Rob: Paul Smith says that many 'plant species' – that’s different types of plants – are

dying out because of 'land use change' – so we no longer use our land in the

same way. For example, it's used for 'development for agriculture'. Yvonne,

tell us what Paul Smith means by that, please?

Yvonne: Well, land where lots of plant species used to grow is being cleared for farming

- to grow crops and to raise animals.

Rob: And what about 'development for urban centres'?

Yvonne: Land is also being used to build new cities – places where people live, work

and shop.

Rob: So it's essential or absolutely necessary – for the bank to store the seeds of

plants which are 'most threatened' – or at the greatest risk or danger of

becoming extinct. But the bank must also store the seeds which are the most

useful to us.

Yvonne: For example, the seeds of food plants or plants that can be used to develop new

medicines.

6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2010

Page 4 of 6

 

Rob: Now, it's also interesting how the bank stores seeds so that they can be used to

grow plants in the future. Here's what the BBC's David Shukman found out

when he visited the Millennium Seed Bank.

Extract 2:

And this is where all those seeds end up - 1.8 billion of them in one of these cold stores

kept at minus 20. That's why you have to wear the cold weather equipment. Jar after jar,

tube after tube, of these seeds, from more than 160 countries. The whole point of this

Millennium Seed bank is to try to build up a store of the planet’s plant biodiversity.

Rob: The 1.8 billion seeds have come from more than one hundred and sixty

countries and the seeds are stored at minus twenty degrees centigrade – much,

much colder than the freezing point for water.

Yvonne: So David Shukman definitely⁹ needed to wear 'cold weather equipment' to

protect him from the extreme cold.

Rob: Absolutely. Now ideally¹⁰, the bank would like to have seeds from all the plants

in the world – seeds from 'the planet's plant biodiversity'. By the end of last

year, the bank had 10% of the world's plant biodiversity.

Yvonne: And by 2020, the Millennium Seed Bank hopes to have seeds from about 25%

of the world's plants. So there's lots of work to do.

Rob: Now speaking of plant biodiversity - earlier, I asked how often the Youtan

Poluo blooms¹¹. Was it every 1,000 years, 3,000 years or every 5,000 years? 

6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2010

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Yvonne: And yesterday, I thought – surely it can't take longer than a thousand years to

bloom? But even that wasn't long enough for the plant to flower, was it?

Rob: No, that’s right. According to botanical experts – the people who know the

most about plants - the Youtan Poluo only blooms once every three thousand

years. In fact, the flower is so rare that people thought it only existed in sacred

Buddhist¹² writings.

Yvonne: So the farmer who found it only has to wait for roughly¹³ another three thousand

years to see the flower again, if he can keep the plant alive!

Rob: And if he stays alive that long! Okay, there's just time now for a reminder¹⁴ of

some of the language we have came across in today's programme. Yvonne, can

you help us with those please?

Yvonne: Certainly, Rob. We heard:

Extinct

Bloom

Species

Agriculture

Urban centres

Plant biodiversity

Botanical experts 

6 Minute English © bbclearningenglish.com 2010

Page 6 of 6

Rob: Thank you. Well, we hope you've enjoyed today's "6 Minute English" – and do

join us again soon for more.

Rob/Yvonne: Goodbye! 

1 extinct   

adj.灭绝的，不再活跃的，熄灭了的，已废弃的

参考例句：

• All hopes were extinct.所有希望都破灭了。
• Dinosaurs have been extinct for millions of years.恐龙绝种已有几百万年了。

2 extinction   

n.熄灭，消亡，消灭，灭绝，绝种

参考例句：

• The plant is now in danger of extinction.这种植物现在有绝种的危险。
• The island's way of life is doomed to extinction.这个岛上的生活方式注定要消失。

3 bloom   

n.花，花期；vi.开花；容光焕发，显露出健康

参考例句：

• The park is a picture when flowers are in bloom.当鲜花盛开时，这个公园的景色美极了。
• The flowers in the garden are now in full bloom.花园里的花盛开。

4 millennium   

n.一千年，千禧年；太平盛世

参考例句：

• The whole world was counting down to the new millennium.全世界都在倒计时迎接新千年的到来。
• We waited as the clock ticked away the last few seconds of the old millennium.我们静候着时钟滴答走过千年的最后几秒钟。

5 dying   

adj.垂死的，临终的

参考例句：

• He was put in charge of the group by the dying leader.他被临终的领导人任命为集团负责人。
• She was shown into a small room,where there was a dying man.她被领进了一间小屋子，那里有一个垂死的人。

6 extract   

vt.取出，提取，获得，摘录；n.摘录，提出物

参考例句：

• The article was a choice extract from her writings.这篇文章是从她的著作中摘录出来的精粹。
• We can extract oil from olive.我们可以从橄榄中榨油。

7 species   

n.物种，种群

参考例句：

• Are we the only thinking species in the whole of creation?我们是万物中惟一有思想的物种吗？
• This species of bird now exists only in Africa.这种鸟现在只存在于非洲。

8 largely   

adv.大部分，主要地

参考例句：

• It is largely dependent on the weather.这多半取决于天气情况。
• Their conclusions were largely founded on guesswork.他们的结论大部份基于猜测。

9 definitely   

adv.一定地，肯定地；明确地，确切地

参考例句：

• The team will definitely lose if he doesn't play.如果他不参加比赛，这个队肯定会输。
• I shall definitely be home before six o'clock.6点以前，我一定回家。

10 ideally   

adv.理想地，圆满地；理论上地

参考例句：

• She was ideally suited to the job.她是这项工作的理想人选。
• Ideally,we would like to start at the beginning.要是有可能，我们真想从头开始。

11 blooms   

n.（常指供观赏的）花( bloom的名词复数 )；最佳时期；茂盛时期；健康有精神的面貌

参考例句：

• the exotic blooms of the orchid 奇异的兰花
• This plant blooms between May and June. 这种植物在5月至6月间开花。 来自辞典例句

12 Buddhist   

adj./n.佛教的，佛教徒

参考例句：

• The old lady fell down in adoration before Buddhist images.那老太太在佛像面前顶礼膜拜。
• In the eye of the Buddhist,every worldly affair is vain.在佛教徒的眼里，人世上一切事情都是空的。

13 roughly   

adv.概略地，粗糙地，粗鲁地

参考例句：

• If you treat your coat so roughly,it will be worn out soon.你如果这么糟蹋你的外套，它很快就不能穿了。
• The island is roughly circular in shape.这个岛屿大致是圆形的。

14 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。