新奇事件簿 中国在月球上种植植物

For the first time ever, plants from Earth are growing on the moon. The China National Space Administration showed photos of cotton seeds sprouting² into life. The administration said the cotton plants were among several plants that were "growing well". Other plants that are now growing on the moon are potatoes, rock cress and rapeseed. The plants are part of a project on China's space mission to the far side of the moon. The project is called a "moon surface micro-ecological circle". Project leader Liu Hanlong says the cotton seeds were the first to sprout¹. He said the plants were chosen because they were small, strong and could grow in the difficult conditions on the moon's surface.

来自地球上的植物首次在月球生长。中国国家航天局放出了一张棉花种子发芽的照片。中国国家航天局表示棉花是几种“生长良好”的植物之一。其他种在月球的植物有土豆、筷子芥和油菜籽。种植这些植物是中国月球背面航天任务项目的一部分。该项目被称为“月表微型生态圈”。项目领导人刘汉龙表示棉花种子是都最先发芽的。他表示选择这些植物是因为，它们很小、坚强且可以在月球表面严峻的环境中生长。

Professor Hanlong said the project's aim was to understand more about how plants grow outside of Earth. The long-term aim is to develop plants that can grow on the moon or on planets like Mars. The professor said: "We have given consideration to future survival in space. Learning about these plants growing in a low-gravity environment would allow us to lay the foundation for our future establishment of a space base." The project also includes yeast³ and fruit flies. The professor hopes the six organisms in the project will make up a mini-ecosystem. The plants will produce oxygen and food for the fruit flies, and the yeast could manage the flies' waste and the dead plants to provide another food source.

刘教授表示该项目的目标是了解植物如何在地球之外生长。长期目标是发开可以在月球或火星等其他星球上生长的植物。教授表示：“我们已经在考虑将来在太空生存。了解这些植物在低重力下的生长情况可以使我们为今后建立太空基地奠定基础。”该项目也包括酵母和果蝇。教授希望该项目中的这里六种生物体能够形成一个微型生态系统。这些植物将为果蝇提供氧气和食物，酵母可以处理果蝇的排泄物和植物残体以提供其他食物来源。

1 sprout   

n.芽，萌芽；vt.使发芽，摘去芽；vi.长芽，抽条

参考例句：

• When do deer first sprout horns?鹿在多大的时候开始长出角？
• It takes about a week for the seeds to sprout.这些种子大约要一周后才会发芽。

2 sprouting   

v.发芽( sprout的现在分词 )；抽芽；出现；（使）涌现出

参考例句：

• new leaves sprouting from the trees 树上长出的新叶
• They were putting fresh earth around sprouting potato stalks. 他们在往绽出新芽的土豆秧周围培新土。 来自名作英译部分

3 yeast   

n.酵母；酵母片；泡沫；v.发酵；起泡沫

参考例句：

• Yeast can be used in making beer and bread.酵母可用于酿啤酒和发面包。
• The yeast began to work.酵母开始发酵。