VOA慢速英语--在美国,野外寻蘑很受欢迎

Mushroom Hunting Gains Popularity in US

From VOA Learning English, this is the Health & Lifestyle report.

What used to be an outdoor activity for only extreme foodies is now becoming more and more popular in many parts of the United States.

I am talking about mushroom hunting!

Mushroom hunters – also called foragers -- spend hours, even days, in wooded areas searching for wild mushrooms.

Dennis Aita lives in New York City. He has been a mushroom hunter since the 1980s. He first became interested in them while exploring the Appalachian Trail in the 1970s. As he hiked, he began noticing mushrooms and other wild edibles³. So, he decided⁴ to try foraging⁵ for mushrooms.

Aita says mushroom foraging changed his relationship with the environment. When hiking, he says, he would walk quickly and not see much of the plants and trees around him.

However, to find mushrooms, you must walk slowly.

“Um, by looking for mushrooms, you tend to slow up a little bit. You get a chance to see the birds. You get a chance to see the trees and shrubs⁷, little animal life and everything.”

So, it is necessary to pay close attention to the details on trees and on the ground.

But this presents its own problem.

Mushroom foragers, with their heads turned downward, can easily get lost in the woods. In the States, people have died after spending all night unprotected in the cold woods -- lost while hunting mushrooms.

So, what makes people go out for hours and hours searching for a fungus⁸? Mushrooms, after all, are often found growing from dead and dying things in the woods.

Well, some people just love mushrooms! They love finding them in unexpected places. They love cooking them. And they love eating them. Many restaurants buy different kinds of mushrooms for the meals they prepare. So foraging can be profitable.

Mushrooms grow very well in wet climates. Some countries in Europe, parts of Russia, Japan and Iran are known having different mushrooms as well as a food culture based on mushroom foraging.

Dennis Aita has traveled to Canada, Italy, India, Nepal and Argentina in search of mushrooms. He says some cultures seem to like them more than others.

“...You go to Italy, not only do you go mushroom hunting, but of course, there’s great food there, and they cook with mushrooms in a very big way. Italians, they love mushrooms. Most of the Europeans eat mushrooms. Many of the Asians do. But, um, there are certain cultures that don’t.”

Health benefits

Experts say eating mushrooms can be good for your health. Mushrooms contain the mineral selenium. This mineral helps the liver to work properly. The mineral also helps to prevent infection in the body and may decrease the growth of cancerous tumors. Most fruits and vegetables do not have selenium.

Mushrooms may help you to lose weight. They are high in fiber⁹ – some more than others. So, they can make us feel fuller for long periods. As a result, we eat less.

Mushroom are healthy (except for the ones that can kill you)

So mushrooms are good for you and can be tasty. But foraging on your own can be dangerous.

For those who have never been mushroom hunting, but want to start, Dennis Aita has one important suggestion: do not do it alone!

“Well, they should join a club – a mushroom club. If there’s a club in your area – that's the best way to learn about which mushrooms to eat. You go on walks. And then you start to learn which books to buy. You buy a few mushroom books with some pictures. And that’s the best way to do it.”

Deadly mushrooms

With mushroom foraging, it is important to know that some mushrooms can kill you. The online Encyclopedia¹⁰ Britannica lists the most deadly ones and gives pictures of each.

One thing that makes some mushrooms so deadly is that they look like perfectly¹¹ common, edible² mushrooms. So they are sometimes collected and eaten by mistake.

Tor example, the Death Cap is perhaps “the deadliest of all mushrooms.” Found throughout Europe, it looks similar to two types of edible mushrooms.

Another thing that makes poisonous mushrooms so deadly is that signs of poisoning can take a long time to show. Or they show themselves and then go away. People think that they are in good health and fail to get proper treatment.

Sometimes the signs are similar to influenza¹². So, mushroom poisoning can easily be misdiagnosed.

For whatever reason, if left untreated, mushroom poisoning can result in serious health conditions, like kidney failure, or even death.

That is why Aita warns beginners to go out foraging with experienced mushroom hunters.

“As I say, it’s very dangerous. People really should not go out to the woods and come back with things and start eating mushrooms. No. It can be a deadly endeavor.”

And that’s the Health & Lifestyle report.

I’m Anna Matteo.

Words in This Story

forage¹ – v. to search for something (such as food or supplies)

hike – v. to walk a long distance especially for pleasure or exercise

edible – n. something to be eaten

shrub⁶ – n. a low usually several-stemmed woody plant

fungus – n. organisms once classified as plants that lack the green coloring chlorophyll

fiber – n. plant material that cannot be digested but that helps you to digest other food

club – n. a group or organization of people who share common interests

diagnose – v. to recognize (something, such as a disease) by signs and symptoms : misdiagnose – v. to diagnose incorrectly

endeavor – n. a serious effort or attempt

1 forage   

n.(牛马的)饲料，粮草；v.搜寻，翻寻

参考例句：

• They were forced to forage for clothing and fuel.他们不得不去寻找衣服和燃料。
• Now the nutritive value of the forage is reduced.此时牧草的营养价值也下降了。

2 edible   

n.食品，食物；adj.可食用的

参考例句：

• Edible wild herbs kept us from dying of starvation.我们靠着野菜才没被饿死。
• This kind of mushroom is edible,but that kind is not.这种蘑菇吃得，那种吃不得。

3 edibles   

可以吃的，可食用的( edible的名词复数 )； 食物

参考例句：

• They freely offered for sale what edibles they had. 他们很自愿地把他们的一点点可吃的东西卖给我们。
• Our edibles the wild vegetable. 我们只能吃野菜。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 foraging   

v.搜寻（食物），尤指动物觅（食）( forage的现在分词 )；（尤指用手）搜寻（东西）

参考例句：

• They eke out a precarious existence foraging in rubbish dumps. 他们靠在垃圾场捡垃圾维持着朝不保夕的生活。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The campers went foraging for wood to make a fire. 露营者去搜寻柴木点火。 来自辞典例句

6 shrub   

n.灌木，灌木丛

参考例句：

• There is a small evergreen shrub on the hillside.山腰上有一小块常绿灌木丛。
• Moving a shrub is best done in early spring.移植灌木最好是在初春的时候。

7 shrubs   

灌木( shrub的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The gardener spent a complete morning in trimming those two shrubs. 园丁花了整个上午的时间修剪那两处灌木林。
• These shrubs will need more light to produce flowering shoots. 这些灌木需要更多的光照才能抽出开花的新枝。

8 fungus   

n.真菌，真菌类植物

参考例句：

• Mushrooms are a type of fungus.蘑菇是一种真菌。
• This fungus can just be detected by the unaided eye.这种真菌只用肉眼就能检查出。

9 fiber   

n.纤维，纤维质

参考例句：

• The basic structural unit of yarn is the fiber.纤维是纱的基本结构单元。
• The material must be free of fiber clumps.这种材料必须无纤维块。

10 encyclopedia   

n.百科全书

参考例句：

• The encyclopedia fell to the floor with a thud.那本百科全书砰的一声掉到地上。
• Geoff is a walking encyclopedia.He knows about everything.杰夫是个活百科全书，他什么都懂。

11 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

12 influenza   

n.流行性感冒，流感

参考例句：

• They took steps to prevent the spread of influenza.他们采取措施
• Influenza is an infectious disease.流感是一种传染病。