VOA标准英语2010年-400-Year-Old Bonsai Survived Hiroshima

Bonsai¹ tree in U.S. National Arboretum²

Sixty five years ago, during World War II, a B-29 bomber³ known as the "Enola Gay" dropped the first atomic bomb over the city of Hiroshima, Japan, killing⁴ hundreds of thousands of people. Among the survivors⁶ was a small tree, a Bonsai, which ended up in the United States as part of a national gift from Japan. The Bonsai, now 400-years-old, is still alive, and forms part of one of the most striking collections in the U.S. capital. 

If this tree could talk, it would have a lot to say.  In its nearly 400 years of life it has seen more than one war.

"It is a survivor⁵.  It was actually in Hiroshima when the atomic bomb was dropped," said Jack⁷ Sustic, the Curator at the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum in Washington.  He says the tree came to the U.S. in 1976, to celebrate the U.S. bi-centennial, as a gift of 53 bonsai from Japan,

"This is a Japanese white pine; it was part of the original donation.  It was in one family, the Yamaki family for 6 generations before they donated it.  It was started as a Bonsai in 1625," Sustic said pointing to the tree.

Sustic says the Yamaki family had a Bonsai nursery and this was one of their signature trees.  Six generations of the family took care of the tree in Japan and so far four curators in the U.S. have cared for it.

"Mr. Yamaki the original donator, came 4 or 5 years after they donated it.  It's an interesting story because he was here looking at the tree and he began con⁸ cry and the curator at the time got a little uneasy and a little nervous so he asked the translator to make sure everything was O.K., so the translator asked him, is everything O.K.? and he said yes the tree is happy here, that's why I am crying," he said.

Sustic says taking care of the trees is an honor and a joy - but also a great responsibility.   What would he do if something happened to them? "I don't even want to think about it.  But I have a suitcase at home that is packed.  If anything ever happens to this I don't think anybody would be able to find me," he said.

The bonsai donation started this collection, the largest in North America, at the U.S. National Arboretum. The collection now has almost 300 trees, divided among three pavilions for the Japanese, Chinese and American bonsai. 

"Bonsai literally⁹ means tree in a pot.   But you can look around in the collection and see that is much more than just sticking a tree in a pot.  It's an art also, is a living art," Sustic said.

One of the most famous bonsai of the collection is this 57-year-old Juniper forest created by John Naka, considered the father of North American Bonsai. He planted one tree for every one of his grandchildren. "The work on the tree never ends because it is a living art.  It's the pruning¹⁰ technique that keeps it small," Sustic said.

The art of the Bonsai demands great care and patience, carried out here by a small staff and 15 volunteers.  The trees continue growing, so they have to be trimmed once or twice a year, and  re-potted every couple of years.  Some of the trees are particularly sensitive, like this one.

"It doesn't like the oil from your fingers and it doesn't like to be rubbed or anything like that, so whenever that happen, the tips turn brown, so I have to go in and remove the brown," Sustic said.

The Bonsai collection is priceless.  Every tree is unique and the average age is around 100-years-old - which means several generations have cared for them.   Bonsai trees bloom, give fruits and change colors in the fall.  Sustic says he and his family eat apples from one of his 30 bonsai at home.

"One interesting aspect is that fruit and flowers will not reduce in size," Sustic said.

From its beginnings in China more than 1,000 years ago, the art of the Bonsai was only a pastime of the elite¹¹ for many centuries  In the U.S., it has grown in popularity mostly due to the support of the National Bonsai Foundation.  Johann Klodsen is the foundation's director, and like others close to the collection, she says there is more to the bonsai than simply what one sees. "Standing¹² like in any work of art before a great piece of art, it becomes a conversation between the work of art and the individual and that conversation takes on a spiritual dimension," she said.

"If you do Bonsai, it begins to change you as a person I believe.  It makes you a better person.  It teaches you patience and reverence¹³.  It certainly has made me a better person," she said.
 

1 bonsai   

n.盆栽，盆景

参考例句：

• It's a bonsai tree for your new apartment.这是一颗盆栽，祝贺你迁新居。
• The dish looks like a bonsai flower.这道菜看上去像一盆花。

2 arboretum   

n.植物园

参考例句：

• We can go to the arboretum in the southern suburb.我们可以去南郊的植物园。
• The arboretum is full of exotic flowers and rare herbs.植物园里长满了各种奇花异草。

3 bomber   

n.轰炸机，投弹手，投掷炸弹者

参考例句：

• He flew a bomber during the war.他在战时驾驶轰炸机。
• Detectives hunting the London bombers will be keen to interview him.追查伦敦爆炸案凶犯的侦探们急于对他进行讯问。

4 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

5 survivor   

n.生存者，残存者，幸存者

参考例句：

• The sole survivor of the crash was an infant.这次撞车的惟一幸存者是一个婴儿。
• There was only one survivor of the plane crash.这次飞机失事中只有一名幸存者。

6 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

7 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

8 con   

n.反对的观点，反对者，反对票，肺病；vt.精读，学习，默记；adv.反对地，从反面；adj.欺诈的

参考例句：

• We must be fair and consider the reason pro and con.我们必须公平考虑赞成和反对的理由。
• The motion is adopted non con.因无人投反对票，协议被通过。

9 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

10 pruning   

n.修枝，剪枝，修剪v.修剪（树木等）( prune的现在分词 )；精简某事物，除去某事物多余的部分

参考例句：

• In writing an essay one must do a lot of pruning. 写文章要下一番剪裁的工夫。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• A sapling needs pruning, a child discipline. 小树要砍，小孩要管。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

11 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

12 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

13 reverence   

n.敬畏，尊敬，尊严；Reverence:对某些基督教神职人员的尊称；v.尊敬，敬畏，崇敬

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• We reverence tradition but will not be fettered by it.我们尊重传统，但不被传统所束缚。