VOA标准英语2014--Project to Save Endangered Orchids Blossoms in Florida 佛罗里达开始拯救濒危兰花花种的计划

 

Project to Save Endangered Orchids² Blossoms in Florida 佛罗里达开始拯救濒危兰花花种的计划

Many gardeners around the world consider orchids among the most beautiful flowering plants. There are more than 20,000 species of orchids, and some of them are in danger of extinction³. Botanists⁴ in Florida have embarked⁵ on a five-year project to save some of the local species.

Orchids grow almost everywhere in the world, although they are mostly associated with the warm and humid tropics, including South Florida.

The 'Sunshine State' is home to about 50 native species, but many of them are critically endangered by urban expansion and orchid¹ hunters, says the director of Miami's Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden, Carl Lewis.

“Most of those orchids are very difficult to find now. They have been hunted almost to extinction in the wild, so, really, we launched this project just as an effort to bring those orchids back,” said Lewis.

The project - to grow and plant 1 million orchid seedlings⁶ - began two years ago.

Orchids primarily grow on trees, but because their seedlings are so delicate, they start their life in the lab.

Tiny seeds, no bigger than a grain of dust, grow in sterile⁷ bottles with appropriate nutrients⁸. After they germinate⁹, the young plants are transferred to an incubator with LED lights.

The next phase is the nursery. It may take up to two years before the plants are strong enough to be attached to trees.

Lewis said it is important to transplant enough mature orchids so they can continue to reproduce without help from his volunteers.

“This is supposed to be an infusion¹⁰, just to get so many out there that they start to reproduce on their own,” he said.

Scientists hope that once they are reintroduced in their natural habitat, the orchids will attract insects and micro-organisms not seen in South Florida in decades.

They also count on help from local students, to keep an eye on the transplanted orchids in their neighborhoods. A number of plants also will be given away to try to reduce the chance people will steal them off the trees.

 

The conservation and study of endangered native plants across the United States is coordinated¹¹ by the Center for Plant Conservation, based in St. Louis, Missouri.

1 orchid   

n.兰花，淡紫色

参考例句：

• The orchid is a class of plant which I have never tried to grow.兰花这类植物我从来没种过。
• There are over 35 000 species of orchid distributed throughout the world.有35,000多种兰花分布在世界各地。

2 orchids   

n.兰花( orchid的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Wild flowers such as orchids and primroses are becoming rare. 兰花和报春花这类野花越来越稀少了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She breeds orchids in her greenhouse. 她在温室里培育兰花。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 extinction   

n.熄灭，消亡，消灭，灭绝，绝种

参考例句：

• The plant is now in danger of extinction.这种植物现在有绝种的危险。
• The island's way of life is doomed to extinction.这个岛上的生活方式注定要消失。

4 botanists   

n.植物学家，研究植物的人( botanist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Botanists had some difficulty categorizing the newly found plant. 植物学家们不大容易确定这种新发现的植物的种类。 来自辞典例句
• Botanists refer this flower to the rose family. 植物学家将这花归入蔷薇科。 来自辞典例句

5 embarked   

乘船( embark的过去式和过去分词 )； 装载； 从事

参考例句：

• We stood on the pier and watched as they embarked. 我们站在突码头上目送他们登船。
• She embarked on a discourse about the town's origins. 她开始讲本市的起源。

6 seedlings   

n.刚出芽的幼苗( seedling的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Ninety-five per cent of the new seedlings have survived. 新栽的树苗95%都已成活。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• In such wet weather we must prevent the seedlings from rotting. 这样的阴雨天要防止烂秧。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 sterile   

adj.不毛的，不孕的，无菌的，枯燥的，贫瘠的

参考例句：

• This top fits over the bottle and keeps the teat sterile.这个盖子严实地盖在奶瓶上，保持奶嘴无菌。
• The farmers turned the sterile land into high fields.农民们把不毛之地变成了高产田。

8 nutrients   

n.（食品或化学品）营养物，营养品( nutrient的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a lack of essential nutrients 基本营养的缺乏
• Nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream. 营养素被吸收进血液。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 germinate   

v.发芽；发生；发展

参考例句：

• Seeds will not germinate without water.没有水，种子是不会发芽的。
• Can thin and hollow seeds germinate?瘦瘪的种子能够发芽吗？

10 infusion   

n.灌输

参考例句：

• Old families need an infusion of new blood from time to time.古老的家族需要不时地注入新鲜血液。
• Careful observation of the infusion site is necessary.必须仔细观察输液部位。

11 coordinated   

adj.协调的

参考例句：

• The sound has to be coordinated with the picture. 声音必须和画面协调一致。
• The numerous existing statutes are complicated and poorly coordinated. 目前繁多的法令既十分复杂又缺乏快调。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法