The Green Planet （Part Three）绿色星球（三）

前两期我们了解了北极圈和赤道的不同生态风景，也领略了冰雪世界与热带雨林的极致反差，更了解了植物是如何在极端环境中生存的。本期，我们将了解植物和植物之间、植物和人类之间相互依存的关系。

剧情简介

本期以“休戚与共”为主题，展示那些休戚与共的场景和生物。这些场景中，形形色色的生物相互依存、共同生长。无论是在荒漠中顽强生存的植物，还是为人类生活带来便利的单一作物栽培，都让我们感受到了生命的坚韧与伟大。

Scene A

在城市的钢筋水泥之中，依然有植物随风飘落并野蛮生长。有的是缝隙中的杂草，有的长成了大树。它们或许不起眼，但就在我们的身边，极其顽强地生存着。

The relationship between plants and humans isextraordinary. We’ve been adapting to each other for aslong as we’ve been on the planet. We rely upon plantsfor almost everything， the air we breathe， the water wedrink， the food we eat， much of the clothes we wearand in some parts of the world， the very buildings inwhich we live. But that relationship is nowchanging. How it changes next willshape the future of our green planet.

Some plants have the ability to live alongside us， even whenwe make it extremely difficult for them to do so. This is PiccadillyCircus， in the heart of London. It would be difficult to imagine amore 1）hostile place for a plant. And yet， even here， plants willfind a way. Plants like this may seem to follow us wherever wego. We call them， perhaps a little unkindly， weeds. In fact， theseplants are pioneers， theones that are most ableto take advantage ofnew habitats， even very2）harsh ones.

This wall is at leasta hundred years old. It’slike a 3）sheer cliff face，with no sign of soil. And yet this Ivy-Leaved Toadflax thrives here.How？ The plant grows towards the light with its flowers facingoutwards to attract 4）pollinators. But once they’ve succeededin doing that， and the seed pod starts to develop， its behaviourchanges. Now the pods turn， and grow away from the light，seeking the darkest place they can find， a 5）crevice perhaps， likethis one. It’s all the Toadflax needs. It can now germinate andstart to produce a new plant.

Other pioneers have adifferent strategy. They insteaddistribute their seeds far andwide in great numbers. Sowthistles are masters of this trick.Each of its seeds is equippedwith a tiny downy 6）parachutewhich will catch the slightestbreeze. And they can travelextraordinary distances. Theycan rise a mile high in the skyand reach places hundreds ofmiles away from the parent plant.

The seeds only need tofind the tiniest chink and theycan take hold. We barely noticemany of these plant invaders.But here in the heart of HongKong， strangler fig seedsthat landed on a stone wallgenerations ago， have spreadtheir flexible， branching rootsfar and wide. They can beanchored so firmly that theybecome a part of the city’sarchitecture. This is， perhaps，the ultimate weed.

1） hostile adj. 敌对的

2） harsh adj. 严酷的；严厉的

3） sheer adj. 陡峭的

4） pollinator n. 传粉者

5） crevice n. 裂缝

6） parachute n. 降落伞

植物与人类之间形成了非同寻常的关系。自从地球万物诞生以来，人类与植物就开始了互相适应。人类生活的方方面面，大多离不开植物——我们呼吸的空气、我们喝的水、我们吃的食物以及我们穿的衣服，甚至在地球的某些地方，植物能为人类提供栖息地。然而，这种关系正在发生变化。这种变化的方向，将决定着这颗绿色星球的未来。

有一些植物能与人类比邻而居，哪怕我们留给它们的生存环境极为苛刻。这里是伦敦市中心的皮卡迪利广场。我们很难想象出还有比这里更不适合植物生长的环境。然而，即便在这里，植物也能找到求生之道。无论我们走到哪里，类似这样的植物似乎比比皆是。我们对它们的称呼似乎不太友善，把它们叫作“杂草”。事实上，它们是植物界的先锋。它们最为擅长适应新的栖息地，无论那里多么恶劣。

这面墙至少有100 年的历史了。它就像是一处陡峭的悬崖，毫无泥土的痕迹。然而，这株蔓柳穿鱼却在这里茁壮成长。它是怎么做到的？这种植物会向光生长，花朵朝外，以吸引传粉动物。但是等到花朵成功授粉，种荚开始发育之后，它的行为就会发生变化。现在，种荚调转方向，背离光线生长，寻找周围最黑暗的地方，也许是一个缝隙，就像是这里。这里正是蔓柳穿鱼需要的环境。它会在这里发芽并生成新株。

其他的植物先锋则拥有不同的生存策略。有些会反其道而行之，将大批种子散播到遥远的地方。苦苣菜是运用这一策略的高手。每颗种子上的冠毛如同小小的降落伞，每一丝微风都是机遇。它们可以随风飘到很远的地方，也可以升上一千米的高空，飘到距离母株数百千米之外。

只需要找到一条最微小的缝隙，种子就能生根发芽。几乎没人注意到这些“入侵”的植物。但是在香港的城市中心，很久之前掉落在石墙上的榕树种子，现已长成大树。历代以来它灵活的枝条与根系延伸的范围颇广。它们生长得非常牢固，与城市建筑融为一体。这大概就是最不同寻常的“杂草”了。

Know More

as long as 的常见用法

原文：We’ve been adapting to each other for as long as we’ve been on the planet.

as long as 表示“ 只要；既然”

1. 表示“只要”，用于条件状语从句，相当于so long as。

【例】They’ll respect you as long as you play fair.

只要你为人正直，他人就会尊敬你。

2. 表示“既然，由于”，用于引导原因状语从句。

【例】As long as the weather is changeable these days， we’d better get in wheat in time.

由于这几天天气变化无常，我们最好及时把小麦收割完。

其他的as...as 词组

1. as soon as 表示“一……就……”，常见的用法是在将来时态的情境中，遵守“主将从现”的原则。

【例】As soon as I finish my homework， I will go and play with you.

我一写完作业，就和你玩。

2. as well as 表示“也；既……又……”（注意：就远原则）。

【例】Your husband as well as you is friendly to me.

不仅你而且你的丈夫也对我很友好。

The girl is lively as well as healthy.

这个女孩既活泼又健康。

3. as far as 表示“就……而言”（等于so far as）。

【例】As far as I am concerned， I’m not against your plan.

就我而言，我并不反对你的计划。

As far as I could remember， I did return him the money.

就我所能记得的，我确实把钱还给他了。

Scene B

有些植物生长在极端环境中，为“垂死”的环境带来一丝希望。沙漠中的还魂草将自己伪装成一坨枯草。只要一有风，没有根的它便开始了漫长的跋涉之旅。寻到水源后，它便张开“枯萎”的外壳，露出绿色的内芯开始生长。

Some deserts can be sodry that plants must findtechniques of survivingf o r l o n g p e r i o d swithout any waterwhatsoever. TheChihuahuan desertin North Mexico.Here， one particularplant plays the waitinggame so well， that it spendsmuch of its life looking dead andcertainly not worth eating. And it can survive like this for adecade.

This is the 7）resurrection plant. It’s a kind of 8）moss. Itbarely has roots and it certainly can’t store much water. Butit can travel. After a particularly long drought， it breaks awayfrom its roots and becomes a 9）tumbleweed. Moving across the desert， it can travel a mile in a week. With luck， it mayfind water. Just a shower of rain can bring it back to life. As itsfronds soak up the water， they unfurl.