VOA慢速英语2010年-Agriculture Report - Growing Trees in

This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

Pieter Hoff used to export lilies and tulips from the Netherlands. He retired¹ from the flower export business seven years ago. Now, he is trying to help people grow trees and plants in the desert -- and save water.

In many places, much of the freshwater supply is used for irrigation. Yet most of that water may be lost through evaporation² into the air. So Pieter Hoff has invented a simple plastic device³ called the Groasis Waterboxx. He says he got the idea from nature.

PIETER HOFF: "If you look at nature, and I give an example in your own country, if you look to the Rocky Mountains of the Sierra Nevada, you find trees all over the mountains. So trees are actually able to grow on rocks. They have very strong roots."

Mr. Hoff says the trick is that nature does not dig a hole like we humans do to plant seeds. Nature plants the seeds through birds or animals on top of the soil. Their waste then acts as a cover. It prevents the humidity⁴ in the soil from evaporating⁵.

The Dutch inventor says he is simply copying that system. The Waterboxx is a round device about the size of a motorcycle tire. It sits flat on the ground with the bottom open to the earth. Seeds or a young planting grow out of a hole in the center.

A tree growing in a Waterboxx

Some people call the Waterboxx a water battery because of its ability to collect and store water.

The cover has deep ridges⁶. These collect rainwater. But the device is designed to collect water even when there is no rain. The cover gets cold during the night and creates condensation⁷.

The water is collected through two holes and in the holes there is a siphon to carry it to the soil. Pieter Hoff says the nice thing about the siphons is that, once collected, the water is not able to evaporate⁸ anymore.

The roots of the plant may have to grow several meters deep to reach groundwater. Once growth is established, the box can be removed and used to start another planting. The company also makes a version⁹ for one-time use.

Researchers at Mohammed the First University in Oujda, Morocco, tested the Waterboxx for three years in the Sahara. They said close to ninety percent of the trees planted with the device survived. Without it, they said, only about ten percent survived.

Pieter Hoff says he is now doing experiments with twenty thousand Waterboxxes in countries including Pakistan, Ecuador and the United States. The reusable box now sells for about fifteen dollars.

And that’s the VOA Special English Agriculture Report, by Jerilyn Watson and Bob Burns. I’m Steve Ember
 

1 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

2 evaporation   

n.蒸发，消失

参考例句：

• Be careful not to lose too much liquid by evaporation.小心不要因蒸发失去太多水分。
• Our bodies can sweat,thereby losing heat by evaporation.我们的身体能出汗，由此可以蒸发散热。

3 device   

n.器械，装置；计划，策略，诡计

参考例句：

• The device will be in production by the end of the year.该装置将于年底投入生产。
• The device will save much time and effort for us.这种装置会使我们节省大量时间和气力。

4 humidity   

n.湿度，潮湿，湿气

参考例句：

• The house is not comfortable tonight ,because of the high humidity.由于湿度高，今晚屋子里不舒服。
• It's difficult to work because of the humidity.由于空气潮湿，工作很困难。

5 evaporating   

adj.蒸发用的，蒸发作用的v.（使某物）蒸发掉( evaporate的现在分词 )；消失，不复存在；使脱水

参考例句：

• She went on separating, bolting, evaporating, filtering and mixing. 她不断地进行分离、熬煮、蒸发、滤清、调制。 来自辞典例句
• You transfer the solution to an evaporating basin. 转移溶液至一蒸发皿中。 来自辞典例句

6 ridges   

n.脊( ridge的名词复数 )；山脊；脊状突起；大气层的)高压脊

参考例句：

• The path winds along mountain ridges. 峰回路转。
• Perhaps that was the deepest truth in Ridges's nature. 在里奇斯的思想上，这大概可以算是天经地义第一条了。

7 condensation   

n.压缩，浓缩；凝结的水珠

参考例句：

• A cloud is a condensation of water vapour in the atmosphere.云是由大气中的水蒸气凝结成的。
• He used his sleeve to wipe the condensation off the glass.他用袖子擦掉玻璃上凝结的水珠。

8 evaporate   

vi.蒸发，挥发，消失；vt.使蒸发，使挥发

参考例句：

• Clearly,the star wars problem was not going to evaporate.显然，星球大战问题并没有不了了之。
• It will evaporate like a spirit.它将来总要像幽灵一样化成云烟。

9 version   

n.版本；型号；叙述，说法

参考例句：

• His version of the events is pure supposition.他对这件事的说法纯属猜测。
• What is your version of this matter?你对这件事情的看法 怎么样？