英语听力文摘 English Digest 221、种子休眠

　　Seed Dormancy¹
种子休眠是，有生活力的种子由于内在原因，在适宜的环境条件下仍不能萌发的现象。休眠是植物在长期系统发育过程中获得的一种抵抗不良环境的适应性。具有休眠特性的农作物种子在高温多雨地区可防止穗发芽；某些沙漠植物的种子可以休眠状态度过干旱季节，以待合适的萌发条件。种子休眠的原因可归为两大类：第一类是胚本身的因素造成的，包括胚发育未完成；生理上未成熟；缺少必须的激素或存在抑制萌发的物质。用低温层积、变温处理、干燥、激素处理等方法可解除休眠。第二类是种壳（种皮和果皮等）的限制造成的。包括种壳的机械阻碍、不透水性、不透气性以及种壳中存在抑制萌发的物质等原因。用物理、化学方法破坏种皮或去除种壳即可解除休眠。

　　Learn about seed dormancy on this Moment of Science.
A man named William James Beal started an experiment in 1879, which has become the longest-running（持续时间最长的） test of seed dormancy in soil.
Beal buried twenty bottles containing sand and seeds from twenty-one common plants. He buried the bottles eighteen inches underground, (1)uncorked（拔去塞子） to allow in oxygen, and upside down to prevent water from accumulating in the bottles and drowning the seeds. The experiment was designed to test how long these various seeds could survive under virtually natural conditions before they would lose their ability to produce a plant.
Seed dormancy is why some seeds wait for the correct season before they (2)germinate²（发芽）. They’re (3)programmed to（按程序做事） wait for conditions suitable to the plant’s survival. Seed dormancy is also why weeds are never-ending (4)nuisances（麻烦事，骚扰行为）. Weed seeds can (5)lurk（潜伏） underground unseen, and then when you till（耕种） soil to make way for a flower bed, the seeds awaken³ and before you know it, your flower bed is (6)overrun（泛滥） with the pesky（讨厌的，麻烦的） weeds.
Most of the seeds in Beal’s experiment were still viable（能养活的） after ten years, but as time passed, fewer and fewer of the seeds would germinate. The fifteenth of Beal’s twenty bottles was dug up in 2000, 120 years after it was buried, and two species were successfully germinated⁴–moth mullein（蛾毛蕊花） and a mallow（锦葵） called cheeses. These are also the same two species that grew from the fourteenth bottle in 1980.
The plant that holds the record for the longest dormancy is a lotus（莲花） that was sprouted⁵ in 1995 from a seed that radiocarbon（放射性碳素） dating estimated to be a whopping（巨大的） 1300 years old. Now that’s one stubborn seed.
注释：
(1)uncork [,?n'k?:k]
vt. 泄漏；透露；发泄；拔去塞子
DO NOT uncork the champagne⁶ but it may be worth cracking open a beer.
开香槟庆祝也许为时尚早，不过开瓶啤酒痛饮一番还是值得的。
(2)germinate ['d??:mineit]
vt. 使发芽；使生长
vi. 发芽；生长
1..I don't know how the idea germinated in my mind.
我不知道这个想法在我的头脑中是怎么产生的。
2.Seeds germinate in the spring.
种子在春天发芽。
(3)be programmed to do：编制程序去做 编制程序去做
programmed to do something：按程序做事
1."Relax", said the night man , "We are programmed to receive.
值夜班的人说，“别紧张，我们只是按程序接待。
2.He points out that creatures are programmed to find food and to avoid predators⁷.
他指出生物有与生俱来的寻找食物和躲避捕食者的本能。
(4)nuisance['nju:sns]
n.
1.讨厌的人(或事物);麻烦事[C]
He was nothing but a nuisance and a rascal⁸.
他是一个十足的讨厌鬼和恶棍。
2.【律】妨害行为,骚扰行为[C][U]
The prosecutor⁹ indicted¹⁰ him of nuisance.
原告指控他非法妨害他人。
(5)lurk [l?:k]
vi.潜伏；潜藏；埋伏
n.潜伏；埋伏
I don't know what lurks¹¹ in his mind.
我不知道他心里潜藏着什么。
(6)overrun [,?uv?'r?n, '?uv?r?n]
n.泛滥成灾；超出限度
vt.泛滥；超过；蹂躏
vi.泛滥；蔓延
The ultimate victim may be the environment, suddenly overrun with trash that was once recycled.
环境将是最终的受害者，囤积的垃圾必将超出大自然的正常负荷。

1 dormancy   

n.睡眠，冬眠，隐匿

参考例句：

• During dormancy the plants must be kept very dry. 在休眠期，植物必须保持非常干燥。 来自辞典例句
• It may also come to the point of virtual dormancy. 它也可以达到实际上的潜伏状态。 来自辞典例句

2 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？

3 awaken   

vi.醒，觉醒；vt.唤醒，使觉醒，唤起，激起

参考例句：

• Old people awaken early in the morning.老年人早晨醒得早。
• Please awaken me at six.请于六点叫醒我。

4 germinated   

v.（使）发芽( germinate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• First, the researchers germinated the seeds. 研究人员首先让种子发芽。 来自辞典例句
• In spring they are germinated and grown for a year in beds. 春季里，他们在苗床发芽并生长一年。 来自辞典例句

5 sprouted   

v.发芽( sprout的过去式和过去分词 )；抽芽；出现；（使）涌现出

参考例句：

• We can't use these potatoes; they've all sprouted. 这些土豆儿不能吃了，都出芽了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The rice seeds have sprouted. 稻种已经出芽了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 champagne   

n.香槟酒；微黄色

参考例句：

• There were two glasses of champagne on the tray.托盘里有两杯香槟酒。
• They sat there swilling champagne.他们坐在那里大喝香槟酒。

7 predators   

n.食肉动物( predator的名词复数 )；奴役他人者（尤指在财务或性关系方面）

参考例句：

• birds and their earthbound predators 鸟和地面上捕食它们的动物
• The eyes of predators are highly sensitive to the slightest movement. 捕食性动物的眼睛能感觉到最细小的动静。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 rascal   

n.流氓；不诚实的人

参考例句：

• If he had done otherwise,I should have thought him a rascal.如果他不这样做，我就认为他是个恶棍。
• The rascal was frightened into holding his tongue.这坏蛋吓得不敢往下说了。

9 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

10 indicted   

控告，起诉( indict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The senator was indicted for murder. 那位参议员被控犯谋杀罪。
• He was indicted by a grand jury on two counts of murder. 他被大陪审团以两项谋杀罪名起诉。

11 lurks   

n.潜在，潜伏；（lurk的复数形式）vi.潜伏，埋伏（lurk的第三人称单数形式）

参考例句：

• Behind his cool exterior lurks a reckless and frustrated person. 在冷酷的外表背后，他是一个鲁莽又不得志的人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Good fortune lies within Bad, Bad fortune lurks within good. 福兮祸所倚，祸兮福所伏。 来自互联网