5-15 室内植物的神奇功能（在线收听）

The Magic Powers of Indoor Plants

　　Common indoor plants may prove to be a valuable weapon in the fight against rising levels of indoor air pollution. Those plants in your office or home are not only decorative, but NASA scientists are finding them to be surprisingly useful in absorbing potentially harmful gases and cleaning the air inside modern buildings.

　　NASA and the Associated Landscape Contractors of America (ALCA) have announced the findings of a 2-year study that suggest the common indoor plant may provide a natural way of helping combat "Sick Building Syndrome."

　　Research into the use of biological processes as a means of solving environmental problems, both on Earth and in space habitats, has been carried out for many years by Dr. Bill Wolverton, formerly a senior research scientist at NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center, Bay St. Louis, Miss.

　　Based on preliminary¹ evaluations² of the use of common indoor plants for indoor air purification and revitalization³, ALCA joined NASA to fund a study using about a dozen popular varieties of ornamental plants to determine their effectiveness in removing several key pollutants associated with indoor air pollution. NASA research on indoor plants has found that living plants are so efficient at absorbing contaminants⁴ in the air that some will be launched into space as part of the biological life support system aboard future orbiting space stations.

　　While more research is needed, Wolverton says the study has shown that common indoor landscaping plants can remove certain pollutants from the indoor environment. "We feel that future results will provide an even stronger argument that common indoor landscaping plants can be a very effective part of a system used to provide pollution free homes and work places," he concludes.

　　"Plants take substances out of the air through the tiny openings in their leaves," Wolverton said. "But research in our laboratories has determined that plant leaves, roots and soil bacteria are all important in removing trace levels of toxic vapors⁵."

　　"Combining nature with technology can increase the effectiveness of plants in removing air pollutants," he said. "A living air cleaner is created by combining activated⁶ carbon with a potted plant. The roots of the plant grow right in the carbon and slowly degrade⁷ the chemicals absorbed there," Wolverton explains.

　　NASA research has consistently shown that living, green and flowering plants can remove several toxic chemicals from the air in building interiors. You can use plants in your home or office to improve the quality of the air to make it a more pleasant place to live and work -- where people feel better, perform better, and enjoy life more.

注释:

1.preliminary [pri5liminEri] a. 初步的，起始的，预备的

2.evaluation [i7vAlju5eiFEn] n. 估算，评价

3.revitalization [ri:7vaItElaI5zeIFEn] n. 新生，复兴

4.contaminant [kEn5tAminEnt] n. 致污物，污染物

5.vapor [5veipE] n. 蒸气，汽，toxic～有毒气体

6.activate [5Aktiveit] vt. 使活动起来，文中过去分词作形容词，意为“有活性的”

7.degrade [di5^reid] vt. 使退化，[化] 使降解

室内植物的神奇功能

普通室内盆栽植物可能是很有价值的武器，可以用来对付日益严重的室内空气污染。那些摆放在你办公室或家中的植物不仅是装饰品，而且美国国家航空航天局发现，它们在吸收潜在有害气体和净化现代建筑内的空气方面还能起到令人惊异的作用。

　　美国国家航空航天局和美国园林产业联合会发布了他们研究两年后的发现：普通室内植物可能提供一种帮助防治“大楼综合症”的自然方式。

　　比尔•沃尔弗顿博士同时在地球上和太空站里，对使用生物方法作为一种解决环境污染问题的手段，进行了多年的研究。沃尔弗顿博士先前是美国国家航空航天局位于密西西比州贝圣路易斯的约翰•斯坦尼斯航天中心的高级研究员。

　　基于对使用普通室内植物净化室内空气和再生新鲜空气的初步评估，美国园林产业联合会与美国国家航空航天局共同赞助了一项研究。该研究用约12种常见的观赏植物，测定它们清除与室内空气污染相关的几种主要污染物的效力。美国国家航空航天局的室内植物研究发现：活的植物吸收空气中的污染物非常有效。一些植物将会被送上太空，作为未来轨道空间站上生物生命保障系统的一部分。

　　虽然还需要进一步的研究，但是沃尔弗顿说：这项研究已经表明，普通室内观赏植物能够清除室内环境中的某些污染物。他的结论是：“我们认为，未来的研究成果将会更有力地证明，普通室内观赏植物可以作为一个系统的一部分发挥效力，营造无污染的住所和工作场所。”

　　“植物通过叶片上的小孔吸收空气中的有害物质，”沃尔弗顿说。“但是，我们的实验室研究已得出结论：植物叶片、根部以及土壤细菌在清除微量有害气体方面都起着非常重要的作用。”

　　“把自然和技术结合起来能够增强植物清除空气污染物的效力，”他说。“把活性碳和盆栽植物结合在一起，一个活的空气清洁器就诞生了。植物的根就长在活性碳中，在那儿慢慢地将吸收的化学物质降解，”沃尔弗顿解释说。

美国国家航空航天局的研究一再表明，活的、绿色以及开花的植物，能够清除建筑物内空气中多种有害化学物质。你可以在家中或办公室里摆放植物，用它们来改善空气质量，使这些地方成为更舒适的生活与工作场所——人们在这儿感觉更好，办事效率更高，更多地享受生活。