2019年经济学人 树桩如何无限期存活(1)

树桩如何无限期存活(1)

A living stump¹ sounds like something out of a horror movie.

一个活着的树桩，听起来像是恐怖电影才会有的东西。

In fact, it is not unusual for a tree, deprived of its trunk and foliage² by lightning, disease or a lumberjack,

事实上，这对一棵被闪电、疾病或伐木工人夺去树干和树叶的树来说并不稀奇，

but still possessed³ of roots and an above-ground stump, to continue a zombie-like existence for years—even decades.

这些树仍有树根和在地面上的残余，它们可以像僵尸一样存活数年，甚至数十年。

Such arboreal⁴ undead have been recognised since 1833.

这种树栖不死生物自1833年就被发现了。

But surprisingly, until now, no living stump has been subjected to detailed⁵ scientific scrutiny⁶.

但令人惊讶的是，直到现在都没有对这种活着的树桩的详细科学检查。

The scrutinised stump, pictured above, is the remains⁷ of a Kauri tree in Waitakere Ranges Regional Park, New Zealand.

上图中经过仔细检查的树桩是新西兰怀特克雷山脉地区公园里一棵贝壳杉的残余部分。

It and two neighbouring, intact, Kauris were investigated by Martin Bader and Sebastian Leuzinger of Auckland University of Technology,

奥克兰理工大学的Martin Bader和Sebastian Leuzinger研究了这颗树桩以及周围两棵完整的贝壳杉，

who have just published their results in iScience.

他们刚在《iScience》发表了他们的研究结果。

Dr Bader and Dr Leuzinger started with the suspicion that living stumps⁸ are sustained through their roots by nearby, intact trees of the same species.

Bader和Leuzinger博士开始怀疑活着的树桩是靠着附近同种完整树木的树根支撑着的。

Above ground, trees look like distinct entities⁹, but below the surface things get more complicated.

在地面上，树木看起来像像是不同的实体，但在地面下，事情变得更加复杂。

More than 150 tree species, Kauris among them, are known to have roots that sometimes fuse with those of other members of the same species.

包括贝壳杉在内的150多种树木，它们的树根有时会和同一物种中其他成员的树根交缠。

Such subterranean¹⁰ junctions¹¹ permit exchange between individual trees of food, water, minerals and even micro-organisms,

这种地下的连接允许食物、水、矿物质甚至微生物在树木之间进行交换

to create what some regard as a superorganism.

以创造出一些人认为是超个体的东西。

The question the researchers asked was: if a tree in such a network were reduced to a stump,

研究人员提出的问题是：如果这一网络中的一棵树被砍成树桩，

would that remnant quickly be cut loose as useless and left to fend¹² for itself?

剩余的部分会很快被认为是一种无用的东西被抛弃或让其自生自灭吗？

Their study, carried out over the course of nine days, proved that the stump under scrutiny was still a participating member of the local superorganism.

他们的研究进行了9天，研究证明经过仔细检查的树桩仍然是本地超个体中一位参与成员。

Sensors¹³ fitted to the two intact trees and the stump showed that the stump's flow of sap and water ran inversely¹⁴ to that of the trees.

安装在两棵完整的树和树桩上的传感器显示，树桩液流和水的流量与树木的流量成反比。

On sunny days, when the intact trees were photosynthesising extensively and drawing a great deal of water up their trunks,

在阳光明媚的日子里，完整的树木会进行广泛的光合作用，把大量的水分吸到树干上

there was almost no water movement in the stump. At night, when the trees were no longer transpiring¹⁵ in this way,

而树桩里几乎没有水的流动。在夜晚，当树木不再以这种方式蒸发水分时，

water flooded into the stump and sap flow reached a maximum, indicating that it was receiving a burst of resources.

流入树桩的水和液流达到最大值，表明它接收到了大量的资源。

1 stump   

n.残株，烟蒂，讲演台；v.砍断，蹒跚而走

参考例句：

• He went on the stump in his home state.他到故乡所在的州去发表演说。
• He used the stump as a table.他把树桩用作桌子。

2 foliage   

n.叶子，树叶，簇叶

参考例句：

• The path was completely covered by the dense foliage.小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。
• Dark foliage clothes the hills.浓密的树叶覆盖着群山。

3 possessed   

adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的

参考例句：

• He flew out of the room like a man possessed.他像着了魔似地猛然冲出房门。
• He behaved like someone possessed.他行为举止像是魔怔了。

4 arboreal   

adj.树栖的；树的

参考例句：

• Man was evolved from an ancestor that was probably arboreal.人大概是从住在树上的祖先进化而来的。
• Koala is an arboreal Australian marsupial.考拉是一种澳大利亚树栖有袋动物。

5 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

6 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

7 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

8 stumps   

（被砍下的树的）树桩( stump的名词复数 )； 残肢； （板球三柱门的）柱； 残余部分

参考例句：

• Rocks and stumps supplied the place of chairs at the picnic. 野餐时石头和树桩都充当了椅子。
• If you don't stir your stumps, Tom, you'll be late for school again. 汤姆，如果你不快走，上学又要迟到了。

9 entities   

实体对像； 实体，独立存在体，实际存在物( entity的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Our newspaper and our printing business form separate corporate entities. 我们的报纸和印刷业形成相对独立的企业实体。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities. 北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

10 subterranean   

adj.地下的，地表下的

参考例句：

• London has 9 miles of such subterranean passages.伦敦像这样的地下通道有9英里长。
• We wandered through subterranean passages.我们漫游地下通道。

11 junctions   

联结点( junction的名词复数 )； 会合点； （公路或铁路的）交叉路口； （电缆等的）主结点

参考例句：

• Metals which were mutually soluble would tend to give strong junctions. 可互溶的金属趋向于产生牢固的结合点。
• Some adhering junctions are present as narrow bands connecting two cells. 有些粘附连接以一窄带的形式连接两个细胞。

12 fend   

v.照料（自己），（自己）谋生，挡开，避开

参考例句：

• I've had to fend for myself since I was 14.我从十四岁时起就不得不照料自己。
• He raised his arm up to fend branches from his eyes.他举手将树枝从他眼前挡开。

13 sensors   

n.传感器，灵敏元件( sensor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were more than 2000 sensors here. 这里装有两千多个灵敏元件。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Significant changes have been noted where sensors were exposed to trichloride. 当传感器暴露在三氯化物中时，有很大变化。 来自辞典例句

14 inversely   

adj.相反的

参考例句：

• Pressure varies directly with temperature and inversely with volume. 压力随温度成正比例变化，与容积成反比例变化。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The amount of force needed is inversely proportional to the rigidity of the material. 需要的力度与材料的硬度成反比。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 transpiring   

（事实，秘密等）被人知道( transpire的现在分词 )； 泄露； 显露； 发生

参考例句：

• Excellent, everything is transpiring as the Awareness has foreseen. 好极了，一切都按照“意识”的预言进行。
• But, In the face of all that is transpiring, I realize how meager my knowledge is. 但是，当面对这突发一切时，我才意识到自己的知识有多么贫乏。