科技动态:加利福尼亚最古老的植物

At first glance, this old bush looks much like many other plants in the area, but researchers say this shrub¹ known as Palmer's Oak is considerably² more special, because they believe it to be 13,000 years old, one of the oldest plants in the country. And it's literally³ right across the street from Jurupa Hills residence Samuel Cano.

第一眼看上去，这些灌木和这片地区的其他植物无甚区别，但研究人员说这种叫做Palmer's Oak的灌木其实十分特别，因为它们是这个国家最古老的植物，已经活了一万三千年。生长面积从Jurupa Hills蔓延至Samuel Canon。

13,000 years old,I mean that's a long time. A lot of history.Wow! And this literally could predate man in North America if my guesses are right. Scientist Andrew Sanders says what he found odd about this particular plant is that it's typically found high in the mountains, not down here.So it got him and others thinking what if this oak bush sprouted⁴ during a much colder era. So they dated the plant and sure enough it probably was around during the ice age.

一万三千年，真是很长的一段时间。有很长的历史。哇！如果我的猜测正确，这种植物比北美洲早期人类出现得还要早。科学家Andrew Sanders说，这种植物的奇怪之处在于，海拔越高，它就长得越高，海拔低就不会长得高。因此，Andrew和其他人都认为这种橡木灌木曾生活在较冷的区域。研究人员通过数据进行研究推测这些植物产生于冰河时代。

The main thing that strikes me is that we've got where literally looking at a bit of what the world was like in the Ice Age. I mean we don't have to look at a fossil in this case. We can see the living individuals. So as far as researchers can tell this exact plant was growing here at the same time mastodons and sabre tooth tigers were roaming the area. The big question: how did it survive all these years.

最震撼我的是，我们能够在理论上知道冰河时代地球上的情形。我是说，我们不用化石印证，而是能看到现存的植物个体。研究人员惊讶于这种植物是如何在乳齿象和剑齿虎四处游荡的环境下生存的。

I think the main thing is that it's manage to get into this narrow rocky crevasse⁵ on a north facing slope. So it's start to shade it. Scientists believe the shrub to be at least 1,000 years older than this creosote bushes in Palm Springs. So while that they may not look like much, this 75-foot-long old bush is in fact the oldest known living plant in the state,right here in Jurupa Hills.

我认为主要是因为这种植物生长在狭窄的岩石裂缝中，面向北的斜坡上，始终不见阳光。科学家认为这种灌木比棕榈泉的石炭酸灌木至少早出现1千年。尽管它们长得一点也不像。这种高75英尺生长在Jurupa Hills的古老灌木实际上是加利福尼亚州最古老的现存植物。

This is Rob for ABC News

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1 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。

2 considerably   

adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上

参考例句：

• The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
• The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。

3 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。

4 sprouted   

v.发芽( sprout的过去式和过去分词 )；抽芽；出现；（使）涌现出

参考例句：

• We can't use these potatoes; they've all sprouted. 这些土豆儿不能吃了，都出芽了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The rice seeds have sprouted. 稻种已经出芽了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 crevasse   

n. 裂缝，破口；v.使有裂缝

参考例句：

• The deep crevasse yawned at their feet.他们脚下的冰川有一道深深的裂缝。
• He fell down a crevasse.他从裂缝处摔了下来。