I'm guessing you're thinking of a collection of trees,  我猜你想的是一大片树，

what we foresters call a stand, with their rugged stems and their beautiful crowns. 我们林业工作者称之为“林分”，它们有着遒劲的枝干，和美丽的树冠。

Yes, trees are the foundation of forests, but a forest is much more than what you see, 是的，树是森林的基础，但是森林可比你看到的复杂多了，

and today I want to change the way you think about forests.  而今天我想改变一下你们对森林的看法。

You see, underground there is this other world,  你知道吗，森林的地下是另外一个世界，

a world of infinite biological pathways that connect trees and allow them to communicate 一个拥有无限的生物通路的世界，这些通路把树木连接起来，使得它们可以彼此沟通，

and allow the forest to behave as though it's a single organism.  也使森林表现得好像一个单独的有机体。

It might remind you of a sort of intelligence.  这可能会让你想到某种程度的智慧。

How do I know this? Here's my story. 我是怎么知道这些的呢？来听听我的故事吧。

I grew up in the forests of British Columbia.  我是在不列颠哥伦比亚省（加拿大）的森林中长大的。

I used to lay on the forest floor and stare up at the tree crowns.  那时我总喜欢躺在森林的地面上，向上望着那些树冠。

They were giants. My grandfather was a giant, too. 它们都是巨人。我的祖父也是个巨人。

He was a horse logger, and he used to selectively cut cedar poles from the inland rainforest. 他是一名伐木工，他以前曾在内陆雨林有选择性地砍伐杉木。

Grandpa taught me about the quiet and cohesive ways of the woods, and how my family was knit into it. 爷爷教会我了解树木间安静而紧密连接的沟通方式，以及我们家族是如何融入其中的。

So I followed in grandpa's footsteps.  所以我也追随了爷爷的脚步。

He and I had this curiosity about forests,  他和我都有关于森林的好奇心，

and my first big "aha" moment was at the outhouse by our lake. 我的第一次“顿悟”时刻是在我们湖边的外屋的时候。