VOA慢速英语2010年-Agriculture Report - Why Grafting Stil

Grafting² is a way to produce plants from pieces of existing plants instead of seeds.

Branches or buds are cut from one plant and placed on a related kind of plant. The branch or bud that is grafted³ is called the scion⁴. The plant that accepts the graft¹ is called the rootstock.

Grafting can join scions⁵ with desirable qualities to rootstock that is strong and resists disease and insects.

A graft can be cut several ways. One way is a cleft⁶ graft. It requires a scion with several buds on it. The bottom of the scion is cut in the shape of the letter V.

The scion is then securely placed into a cut on the rootstock. Material called a growth medium is put on the joint⁷ to keep it from getting dry and to help the two plants grow together.

Many fruits and nuts have been improved through grafting. Flowers can also be improved this way.

Some common fruit trees such as sweet cherries and McIntosh apples have to be grafted. Grafting is also used to produce seedless fruits like navel oranges and seedless watermelons.

Grafting continues to hold an important place in agriculture even in an age of modern genetic⁸ engineering.

Recently we told you about a study of genetically⁹ engineered crops and how they have affected¹⁰ farming in the United States. The study found that many farmers have better harvests, better weed control and fewer losses from insect damage compared to traditional crops.

Our story brought a number of comments, including this one from Odalberto Domingos Casonatto in Brazil. He wrote that in his town the population depends on agriculture and transgenic crops. He says it is true that such crops can have higher output with less cost, but added:

No one knows the consequences that will have on soil fertility and the human body. Only the future will tell us the truth about transgenic food.

Christian¹¹ in France expressed a different concern, saying: The big problem of the transgenic seeds is that they are the monopoly of big companies. The small farmers cannot reproduce any more seeds by themselves.

And Joom from Thailand wrote: I don't care where the crops come from, natural plants or genetic engineering, as long as we can produce food enough for people.

You can comment on our stories and find transcripts¹², MP3s and podcasts at voaspecialenglish.com. You can also join us on Facebook and Twitter at VOA Learning English.

And that's the VOA Special English Agriculture Report. I'm Bob Doughty¹³.
 

1 graft   

n.移植，嫁接，艰苦工作，贪污；v.移植，嫁接

参考例句：

• I am having a skin graft on my arm soon.我马上就要接受手臂的皮肤移植手术。
• The minister became rich through graft.这位部长透过贪污受贿致富。

2 grafting   

嫁接法，移植法

参考例句：

• Even grafting new blood vessels in place of the diseased coronary arteries has been tried. 甚至移植新血管代替不健康的冠状动脉的方法都已经试过。
• Burns can often be cured by grafting on skin from another part of the same body. 烧伤常常可以用移植身体其它部位的皮肤来治愈。

3 grafted   

移植( graft的过去式和过去分词 )； 嫁接； 使（思想、制度等）成为（…的一部份）； 植根

参考例句：

• No art can be grafted with success on another art. 没有哪种艺术能成功地嫁接到另一种艺术上。
• Apples are easily grafted. 苹果树很容易嫁接。

4 scion   

n.嫩芽，子孙

参考例句：

• A place is cut in the root stock to accept the scion.砧木上切开一个小口,来接受接穗。
• Nabokov was the scion of an aristocratic family.纳博科夫是一个贵族家庭的阔少。

5 scions   

n.接穗，幼枝( scion的名词复数 )；（尤指富家）子孙

参考例句：

• Eldritch giants are powerful scions of arcane lore. 邪术巨人是神秘奥术知识的强大传承者。 来自互联网
• Grafting can join scions with desirable qualities to root stock that is strong and resistsand insects. 嫁接能够将理想质量的接穗嫁接到强有力抗病虫害的砧木上。 来自互联网

6 cleft   

n.裂缝；adj.裂开的

参考例句：

• I hid the message in a cleft in the rock.我把情报藏在石块的裂缝里。
• He was cleft from his brother during the war.在战争期间，他与他的哥哥分离。

7 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

8 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

9 genetically   

adv.遗传上

参考例句：

• All the bees in the colony are genetically related. 同一群体的蜜蜂都有亲缘关系。
• Genetically modified foods have already arrived on American dinner tables. 经基因改造加工过的食物已端上了美国人的餐桌。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 基因与食物

10 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

11 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

12 transcripts   

n.抄本（ transcript的名词复数 ）；转写本；文字本；副本

参考例句：

• Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样，都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
• You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书，你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句

13 doughty   

adj.勇猛的，坚强的

参考例句：

• Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质：脾气倔强，性格刚强。
• The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。