018 Plants and Nature · 万词百篇

It was a warm Saturday in spring春天 /sprɪŋ/. Jack stepped outside户外 /ˌaʊtˈsaɪd/ into the back garden花园 /ˈɡɑːr.dən/ where Mum was already kneeling跪着 /ˈniː.lɪŋ/ by a flower bed花圃 /bed/. She had a pair of gloves手套 /ɡlʌvz/ on and a small pot花盆 /pɒt/ of soil土壤 /sɔɪl/ beside her. "What are you planting?" Jack asked. "Lavender薰衣草 /ˈlæv.ən.dər/," she said. "It's a beautiful plant植物 /plænt/ with a lovely scent气味 /sent/. Come and help me dig挖 /dɪɡ/ a little hole坑 /hoʊl/."

Jack grabbed a small trowel小铲子 /ˈtraʊ.əl/ and knelt beside her. The soil was dark and damp潮湿的 /dæmp/ — good for planting. Mum pointed to the lavender seedling幼苗 /ˈsiːd.lɪŋ/ with its tiny purple flower花朵 /ˈflaʊər/ just starting to bloom开花 /bluːm/. "See how the roots根 /ruːts/ wrap around each other? That means it's ready to go into the ground地面 /ɡraʊnd/." She lowered the plant in gently and pressed the soil around the roots. "Always make sure the roots have space to grow生长 /ɡroʊ/," she explained.

After planting, Jack took the watering浇水 /ˈwɔː.tər.ɪŋ/ can from the shed小屋 /ʃed/ and gave the new plants a gentle drink. "How much water水 /ˈwɔː.tər/ do they need?" he asked. "Not too much," said Mum. "Too much water can能（可能性） /kæn/ kill a plant just as fast as no water at all. " Jack nodded. "Like us at breakfast!" Mum laughed. "Exactly like that."

Next, Mum showed Jack how to pull up weeds杂草 /wiːdz/ — the unwanted plants that stole偷走（过去式） /stoʊl/ water and sunlight阳光 /ˈsʌn.laɪt/ from the good ones. "Get the whole root根 /ruːt/," she said. "If you only pull the stem茎 /stem/, the weed杂草 /wiːd/ will grow back quickly." Jack tugged使劲拔 /tʌɡd/ one out carefully, holding up the root with its clump一团；一簇 /klʌmp/ of soil. "Got it!" he said. "Well done," said Mum. "Put it in the compost堆肥 /ˈkɒm.pɒst/ bin垃圾桶；箱 /bɪn/ over there. It'll break分解 /breɪk/ down and turn into compost for next season季节 /ˈsiː.zən/."

They moved to the far end of the garden where there was a thick hedge树篱 /hedʒ/ and a wide lawn草坪 /lɔːn/. A tall tree树 /triː/ stood in the shade阴凉处 /ʃeɪd/ at the corner, its trunk树干 /trʌŋk/ wide and covered in bark树皮 /bɑːrk/. Long branches树枝 /ˈbrɑːntʃɪz/ spread伸展 /spred/ out above them, full of leaves树叶 /liːvz/. "What is this tree called?" Jack asked. "It's an oak橡树 /oʊk/," said Mum. "Very old and very strong强壮的 /strɒŋ/. Oak trees provide shelter庇护所 /ˈʃel.tər/ for many insects昆虫 /ˈɪn.sekts/ and animals动物 /ˈæn.ɪ.məlz/."

A butterfly蝴蝶 /ˈbʌt.ər.flaɪ/ landed on a bush灌木 /bʊʃ/ nearby, its wings opening and closing slowly. Jack watched it, delighted高兴的 /dɪˈlaɪ.tɪd/. "Look at that! What do butterflies eat?" "They drink nectar花蜜 /ˈnek.tər/ from flowers花 /ˈflaʊərz/," Mum said. "And bees蜜蜂 /biːz/ do the same. Bees are very important for the garden because they pollinate传粉 /ˈpɒl.ɪ.neɪt/ the plants. Without bees, many flowers would not bloom." A fat worm蚯蚓 /wɜːrm/ appeared in the soil near their feet. "Oh! A worm!" said Jack. "Good for the soil," Mum smiled. "Worms break it down and help plants grow."

They were about to head inside when Jack heard a soft rustling沙沙声 /ˈrʌs.lɪŋ/ above him. He looked up抬头看 and saw a small robin知更鸟 /ˈrɒb.ɪn/ on a low branch树枝 /brɑːntʃ/, carrying a piece of dry grass草 /ɡrɑːs/ in its beak鸟嘴 /biːk/. "It's building a nest巢 /nest/," Mum whispered低声说 /ˈwɪs.pərd/. They stood站着 /stʊd/ very still and watched看 /wɒtʃt/ until the bird flew飞走 /fluː/ off. "This garden is full of life生命 /laɪf/," Jack said. Mum smiled微笑 /smaɪld/. "That is why we look after it."

📖 参考译文

春天里一个温暖的周六，Jack 走到户外，来到后花园，妈妈已经跪在花圃旁了。她戴着手套，旁边放着一小盆土。"你在种什么？"Jack 问。"薰衣草，"她说，"这是一种美丽的植物，有迷人的香气。来帮我挖个小坑吧。" Jack 拿起一把小铲子，跪在妈妈身旁。土壤深色而潮湿——非常适合种植。妈妈指着薰衣草幼苗，上面刚刚开始绽放的细小紫花。"看到根是怎么缠绕在一起的吗？这说明它可以移到地里了。"她轻轻地把植株放入坑里，压实根部周围的土。"要确保根有足够的空间生长，"她解释道。

种完后，Jack 从小屋里拿来水壶，给新种的植物轻轻浇水。"要浇多少水？"他问。"不能太多，"妈妈说，"水太多和水太少一样都会要了植物的命。它们也需要充足的阳光来制造能量、促进生长。"Jack 点点头。"就像我们早饭一样！"妈妈笑了。"一模一样。"

接下来，妈妈教 Jack 如何拔除杂草——那些偷走好植物水分和阳光的不速之客。"要把整根拔出来，"她说，"如果只拔茎，杂草会很快长回来的。"Jack 小心地拔出一棵，举起带着泥土的根。"拔出来了！"他说。"干得好，"妈妈说，"把它扔进那边的堆肥桶，它会腐烂分解，变成下一季的肥料。"

他们走到花园另一端，那里有一道茂密的树篱和一片宽阔的草坪。角落里，一棵高大的橡树在阴凉中屹立，树干粗壮，树皮布满纹路。粗大的树枝向四周延伸，叶片繁茂。"这棵树叫什么名字？"Jack 问。"是橡树，"妈妈说，"非常古老，非常强壮。橡树为许多昆虫和动物提供庇护所。"

一只蝴蝶落在附近的灌木上，翅膀缓缓开合。Jack 看着它，满脸喜悦。"快看！蝴蝶吃什么？""它们从花朵里吸食花蜜，"妈妈说，"蜜蜂也一样。蜜蜂对花园非常重要，因为它们能给植物传粉，没有蜜蜂，很多花就开不了。"他们脚边的土里出现了一条肥胖的蚯蚓。"哦！一条蚯蚓！"Jack 叫道。"对土壤有好处，"妈妈笑道，"蚯蚓能疏松土壤，帮助植物生长。"

他们正准备进屋，Jack 听到头顶传来轻轻的沙沙声。他抬头望向橡树的枝丫。"哦，快看！"他轻声说。一只小鸟正在树枝的叉口处，用枯草和细枝编织着，在建一个巢。妈妈悄悄靠近，抬头看。"是一只知更鸟，"她轻声说，"它正在为这个季节做巢，很快就会产蛋了。"Jack 屏住呼吸，不想打扰它。那只鸟继续工作，十分专注，用心地、熟练地编织着巢穴。

他们穿过草坪回到屋里，把知更鸟留在树上继续工作。Jack 感到非常平静。"我以前从没注意到外面有这么多事情在发生，"他说。妈妈微笑着。"大自然总是很忙，"她说，"昆虫、鸟儿、蚯蚓——都在各司其职。我们只需要放慢脚步，留心观察就好。"Jack 又望了一眼那棵橡树，知更鸟还在，正将最后一根草塞进巢里。"下周同一时间？"他问。"每周都来，"妈妈说，"花园离不开我们——说实话，我觉得我们也离不开它。"

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根据文章内容填写英文单词或短语，填完后按 Enter 或点击空格外检查答案。

It was a warm Saturday in （春天）. Mum was kneeling in the back （花园） with a （花盆） of （土壤）.

Mum showed Jack how the （根） wrapped together. She said the （植物） was ready to （生长） in the （地面）.

Plants need （水） and （阳光） to （生长）. The soil was dark and （潮湿的）.

Mum told Jack to get the whole （根） when pulling a （杂草）. If you only pull the （茎）, it will grow back.

Weeds go into the （堆肥） bin. They break down each （季节）.

The oak （树） had a wide （树干） with rough （树皮） and long （树枝） full of （树叶）.

A （蝴蝶） landed on a （灌木）. Mum said （蜜蜂） and butterflies drink （花蜜） from flowers.

A fat （蚯蚓） appeared in the soil. Worms help （植物） to （生长）.

They saw a small （鸟） building a （巢） in the （树枝） of the oak tree. Jack didn't want to （打扰） it.

Mum said （自然） is always busy. We need to slow down and （注意） it.

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