普通高中课程标准实验教科书 英语选修9 Unit 4 Exploring plants

PLANT EXPLORATION IN THE 18TH AND 19TH CENTURIES

        The plants in our gardens look so familiar that often we do not realize that many of them actually come from countries far away. Collecting "exotic¹" plants, as they are called, dates back to the earliest times. Many ancient civilisations saw the value of bringing back plants from distant lands. The first plant collecting expedition recorded in history was around 1500 BC when the Queen of Egypt sent ships away to gather plants, animals and other goods.

         However, it was not until the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries that the exploration of the botanical world began on a large scale. Europe had become interested in scientific discovery and the European middle classes took great interest in collecting new plants. This

attraction to exotic plants grew as European nations, like the Netherlands, Britain and Spain, moved into other parts of the world like Asia and Australia. Brave young men took the opportunity of going on botanical expeditions, often facing many dangers including disease,near-starvation, severe environments and conflicts with the local people.        

   

        An important group of collectors were Frencn Catholic² missionaries³ who, by the middle of the 18th century, were beginning to set themselves up in China. One such missionary⁴, Father d'Incarville, was sent to Beijing in the 1740s. He collected seeds of trees and bushes including those of the Tree of Heaven. Just before he died, he sent some Tree of Heaven seeds to England. They arrived in 1751 and plants from these seeds were grown throughout Europe and later, in 1784, the species⁵ was introduced in North America.

       Sir Joseph Banks was a very famous British plant collector, who accompanied James Cook on his first voyage from England to Oceania. The purpose of the trip for Banks was to record the plant and animal life they came across. He and his team collected examples whenever they went onto dry land. In 1769, Banks collected vast quantities of plants in the land now known as Australia. None of these plants had been recorded by Europeans before. Cook called the bay where the Endeavour had anchored⁶ Botany Bay.

       Keeping plants alive during long land or sea voyages was an enormous⁷ challenge. Large numbers of seeds failed to grow after long sea voyages or trips across land between Asia and Europe. One plant explorer lost several years' work when his plants were mined with seawater.

       The world of plant exploration was completely changed with Dr Nathaniel Ward⁸'s invention of a tightly⁹ sealed portable¹⁰ glass container. This invention, called the Wardian case, allowed plants to be transported on long journeys. In 1833, Ward shipped two cases of British plants to Sydney, Australia. All the plants survived the six-month journey. In 1835, the cases made a return trip with some Australian species that had never been successfully transported before. After eight months at sea, they arrived safely in London.

       A British man called Robert Fortune was one of the earliest plant collectors to use Wardian cases. He made several trips to China between 1843 and 1859. At that time, there were restrictions¹¹ on the movement of Europeans and so, in order to travel unnoticed, he developed his fluency¹² in Chinese and dressed as a Chinese man, even shaving his head in the Chinese style. He experienced¹³ many adventures including huge thunderstorms in the Yellow Sea and pirates¹⁴ on the Yangtze River. Not only did Fortune introduce over 120 species of plants to Western gardens but he also shipped 20,000 tea plants from Shanghai to India, where a successful tea industry was established.

      The second half of the nineteenth century was a very important period of plant exploration. During this time many Catholic missionaries were sent to China from France. They valued the study of the natural sciences and many of the missionaries knew a lot about plants and animals. Their expeditions resulted in huge plant collections, which were sent back to France. One of the collectors was Father Farges, who collected 37 seeds from a tree that had appealed to him. This tree was later called the Dove¹⁵ Tree. He sent the seeds back to France in

1897 but only one seed grew.

     Although the missionaries collected large numbers of soecimens. there was not enough material for growing particular species in Western gardens. However, European botanists¹⁶ were very excited with the knowledge that China had a vast variety of plants, so many plant collectors were sent on collecting trips to China. One of these collectors was E H Wilson who, in 1899, was able to collect a large quantity of seeds of the Dove Tree that Father Farges had discovered. Wilson and other plant collectors introduced many new plants to Western gardens.

1 exotic   

adj.奇异的，异乎寻常的，外（国）来的，外国产

参考例句：

• There are some exotic words in English language.英语中有一些外来词。
• She likes to wear exotic clothes.她喜欢穿奇装异服。

2 catholic   

adj.天主教的；n.天主教徒

参考例句：

• The Pope is the supreme leader of the Roman Catholic Church.教皇是罗马天主教的最高领袖。
• She was a devoutly Catholic.她是一个虔诚地天主教徒。

3 missionaries   

n.传教士( missionary的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Some missionaries came from England in the Qing Dynasty. 清朝时，从英国来了一些传教士。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The missionaries rebuked the natives for worshipping images. 传教士指责当地人崇拜偶像。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 missionary   

adj.教会的，传教(士)的；n.传教士

参考例句：

• She taught in a missionary school for a couple of years.她在一所教会学校教了两年书。
• I hope every member understands the value of missionary work. 我希望教友都了解传教工作的价值。

5 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。

6 anchored   

adj. 抛锚的 动词anchor的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• We anchored in midstream 我们在河中心抛锚了。
• They anchored their ship in the river in a foggy morning. 在一个迷雾的早晨他们把船停泊在河上。

7 enormous   

adj.巨大的；庞大的

参考例句：

• An enormous sum of money is injected each year into teaching.每年都有大量资金投入到教学中。
• They wield enormous political power.他们行使巨大的政治权力。

8 ward   

n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开

参考例句：

• The hospital has a medical ward and a surgical ward.这家医院有内科病房和外科病房。
• During the evening picnic,I'll carry a torch to ward off the bugs.傍晚野餐时，我要点根火把，抵挡蚊虫。

9 tightly   

adv.紧紧地，坚固地，牢固地

参考例句：

• My child holds onto my hand tightly while we cross the street.横穿马路时，孩子紧拉着我的手不放。
• The crowd pressed together so tightly that we could hardly breathe.人群挤在一起，我们几乎喘不过气来。

10 portable   

adj.轻便的，手提式的；n.便携的东西

参考例句：

• I have a portable typewriter.我有一个便携式打字机。
• There is a pretty portable pair of steps in one corner of the room.屋角放着一架小巧玲珑的折梯。

11 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

12 fluency   

n.流畅，雄辩，善辩

参考例句：

• More practice will make you speak with greater fluency.多练习就可以使你的口语更流利。
• Some young children achieve great fluency in their reading.一些孩子小小年纪阅读已经非常流畅。

13 experienced   

adj.有经验的；经验丰富的，熟练的

参考例句：

• Experienced seamen will advise you about sailing in this weather.有经验的海员会告诉你在这种天气下的航行情况。
• Perhaps you and I had better change over;you are more experienced.也许我们的工作还是对换一下好，你比我更有经验。

14 pirates   

n.海盗( pirate的名词复数 )；剽窃者；侵犯版权者；非法播音的人（或组织）

参考例句：

• Children dressed (themselves) up as pirates. 孩子们假扮成海盗。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The pirates treated their captives with barbarity. 海盗们残暴地对待他们的俘虏。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

15 dove   

n.鸽，温和派人物，“鸽派”人物

参考例句：

• A dove is often used as a symbol of peace.鸽常作为和平的象征。
• Paul seemed more impressed by the dove.保尔似乎对鸽子更感兴趣。

16 botanists   

n.植物学家，研究植物的人( botanist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Botanists had some difficulty categorizing the newly found plant. 植物学家们不大容易确定这种新发现的植物的种类。 来自辞典例句
• Botanists refer this flower to the rose family. 植物学家将这花归入蔷薇科。 来自辞典例句