In spring（春季）/sprɪŋ/, Maya's biology（生物学）/baɪˈɒlədʒi/ class began to grow（种植；生长）/ɡrəʊ/ a lemon（柠檬）/ˈlemən/ plant（植物；种植）/plɑːnt/ from a seed（种子）/siːd/. The group used a round（圆形的）/raʊnd/ pot（花盆）/pɒt/. They used a spoon（勺子）/spuːn/ to dig（挖）/dɪɡ/ a small hole（洞；孔）/həʊl/. After the seed grew, they recorded（记录）/rɪˈkɔːdɪd/ one characteristic（特征）/ˌkærəktəˈrɪstɪk/ of each leaf（叶子）/liːf/: its shape（形状）/ʃeɪp/. They also used a ruler（尺子）/ˈruːlə/ to measure（测量）/ˈmeʒə/ the plant every Friday. At first（起初）/æt fɜːst/, the stem（茎）/stem/ and leaves looked lively（有生气的）/ˈlaɪvli/.
After a three-week（为期三周的）/ˌθriː ˈwiːk/ period（一段时间）/ˈpɪəriəd/, two leaves began to drop（掉落；滴）/drɒp/. The plant was in a dark（阴暗的；黑暗的）/dɑːk/ corner（角落）/ˈkɔːnə/, and the soil（土壤）/sɔɪl/ always felt（摸起来；感觉）/felt/ soft（柔软的；松软的）/sɒft/. A weak smell（气味；闻）/smel/ came from the bottom（底部）/ˈbɒtəm/ of the pot. Maya was curious（好奇的）/ˈkjʊəriəs/ and used one finger（手指）/ˈfɪŋɡə/ to check the soil. It was wet（湿的）/wet/ below the surface（表面）/ˈsɜːfɪs/. Some students gave a general（笼统的；一般的）/ˈdʒenrəl/ answer: the plant needed even more water. Maya wondered（想知道）/ˈwʌndəd/ whether that idea was true（真实的；正确的）/truː/ or false（错误的；不真实的）/fɔːls/. She also wondered whether the plant might die（死亡；枯死）/daɪ/.
Their teacher（老师）/ˈtiːtʃə/ said one look could not prove（证明）/pruːv/ the cause（原因；导致）/kɔːz/. The group needed to make a plan（制定计划）/meɪk ə plæn/ and find out（查明）/faɪnd aʊt/ what changed after it. Actually（实际上）/ˈæktʃuəli/, the drainage（排水）/ˈdreɪnɪdʒ/ hole was narrow（狭窄的）/ˈnærəʊ/ and partly（部分地）/ˈpɑːtli/ blocked（堵住的）/blɒkt/ by soil. They cleared（清理；疏通）/klɪəd/ it and made sure it was wide（宽的）/waɪd/ enough for extra（额外的；多余的）/ˈekstrə/ water to leave. They also moved the pot where morning sun（太阳；阳光）/sʌn/ could shine（照耀；光泽）/ʃaɪn/ on it. They would pour（倒；倾倒）/pɔː/ a small amount（数量）/əˈmaʊnt/ of water only when the top soil felt dry（干燥的）/draɪ/.
For ten days, the students followed the same plan. They did not add water just because the surface looked dry. They checked it with a finger first. On day six, the old leaves stopped falling（掉落）/ˈfɔːlɪŋ/. On day eight, the plant began to produce（产生；长出）/prəˈdjuːs/ a tiny（极小的）/ˈtaɪni/ new leaf. By day ten, the new leaf had developed（生长；发展）/dɪˈveləpt/, and the other leaves began to spread（展开；传播）/spred/. Their surfaces looked smooth（光滑的）/smuːð/ and had a light（光；轻微的）/laɪt/ shine.
As a result（因此）/æz ə rɪˈzʌlt/, the record showed that the plant could grow under the new care（照料）/keə/ plan. It did not prove that every lemon plant needed exactly（完全地；精确地）/ɪɡˈzæktli/ the same amount of water. A careful scientist（科学家；科研人员）/ˈsaɪəntɪst/ would repeat（重复）/rɪˈpiːt/ the test（测试）/test/ before making that claim（结论；声称）/kleɪm/. From now on（从现在起）/frɒm naʊ ɒn/, the class would use the ruler, the soil check, and the leaf record rather than（而不是）/ˈrɑːðə ðæn/ follow a likely（很可能的）/ˈlaɪkli/ but untested（未经检验的）/ʌnˈtestɪd/ guess（猜测）/ɡes/.