In many people’s eyes, plants are quiet and passive. They can’t talk. They can’t walk. And they can’t think like us.
在許多人眼里，植物悄無聲息，處于被動狀態(tài)。植物不能說話、行走，不能像人類一樣思考。

Or can they? A new BBC documentary series, The Green Planet, gives us a new look at plants. Released on Jan 10 on Bilibili, it uncovers the wonderful and dramatic ways that plants behave.
又或許，植物可以嗎？英國廣播公司（BBC）推出全新系列紀錄片《綠色星球》，讓我們得以重新審視植物。該片于1月10日在嗶哩嗶哩上線，揭示了植物奇妙而戲劇性的行為方式。

“The Green Planet reveals the secret lives of plants in the same way The Blue Planet opened our eyes to the oceans,” editor Elle Hunt wrote in New Scientist.
編輯艾爾·亨特在《新科學家》雜志發(fā)文稱:“《綠色星球》揭示了植物的秘密生活，就像《藍色星球》讓我們看到海洋的奧秘一樣?！?/span>

Plants compete against each other to live. Each species has its own ways of defense. In tropical rainforests, different kinds of plants race for sunlight. The forest floor is described as a “battlefield” in the series as only two percent of the sunlight filters through it. Some plants like Monstera spread their big leaves to reach light. But they are caught up in a vine that tries to hitch a ride. Finally, they are both overtaken by a fast-growing balsa tree. As the balsa has slippery hairs on its leaves, the vine can’t get a hold. Similarly, some trees make poisonous sap to protect themselves.
植物會為了生存而相互競爭，而且每個物種都有自己的防御方式。在熱帶雨林，不同種類的植物競相爭奪陽光?！毒G色星球》將森林的地面描述為一個“戰(zhàn)場”，因為只有2%的陽光能照射到地上。一些諸如龜背竹的植物，展開大大的葉片迎接陽光。但這些植物又會讓一根想搭便車的藤蔓纏住。但最終，它們都會為一棵飛速生長的巴爾沙樹所取代。由于巴爾沙樹的葉子上長有光滑的絨毛，藤蔓抓不住這種樹。同樣，有些樹還會分泌有毒的汁液來保護自己。

Plants also help each other and even communicate. In deserts, the roots of Euphrates poplar are connected. If a tree finds water, it will share it with others through the roots. Studies also show that plants use fungus in the soil as a way to “talk” to each other. It’s kind of like how Wi-Fi works. If a tomato plant gets a leaf disease, it can tell nearby plants about it.
植物還會互相幫助，甚至是交流。在沙漠里，胡楊的根是連在一起的。一棵樹如果找到了水，會通過根與其他樹分享。研究還表明，植物利用土壤中的真菌作為一種相互“交談”的方式，其工作原理和無線網(wǎng)絡(luò)相像。番茄植株如果發(fā)生葉病，可以告訴附近的植株。

The series not only lets us marvel at the plant world but pushes us to understand that plants are important. “Plants are the basis of all life, including ourselves. We depend upon them for every mouth of food that we eat and every lungful of air that we breathe,” said David Attenborough, presenter of the series. It’s time to look after wild plants just as carefully as our houseplants.
《綠色星球》不僅讓我們驚嘆于植物的世界，也讓我們認識到植物的重要性。該片的解說大衛(wèi)·愛登堡說：“植物是包括我們在內(nèi)的一切生命的基礎(chǔ)。我們吃的每一口食物、呼吸的每一口空氣都依賴于植物?！笔菚r候像照顧室內(nèi)盆栽那樣照顧野生植物了。

以上文章內(nèi)容選自《21世紀學生英文報高中版》，詳情請見《21世紀學生英文報高中版》高二862期