英语课程计划-Plant Appreciation Day

April 14 is Plant Appreciation¹ Day (PAD). This is when you appreciate just how important plants are to us. Few of us ever stop to think just how vital plants are to our survival. Without them, we wouldn’t be here. Plants change the CO2 in the air into oxygen. No plants, no oxygen. Plants also improve our daily lives. Most of us have a plant or many plants we like to look after. Some of us even talk to our plants. On PAD, say some nice things to the plants in your life, or treat them to some plant food. The PAD website has a few other suggestions, such as growing your own vegetables and giving them to the poor. Another idea is to plant a tree for every year you’ve been on the planet. Plants are so important for our future.

What are plants exactly? They don’t all grow in pots. Plants are living organisms belonging to the Plantae kingdom. They include trees, bushes, vines, ferns, grasses, herbs, mosses², and green algae³. People who study plants are called botanists⁴. They say there are 350,000 species of plants in the world. Plants are important for all of our food. We eat fruit, vegetables and grains, and the animals we eat also eat plants. We also need plants to breathe. Plants have a system called photosynthesis⁵ which provides us with oxygen. Plants also provide us with materials for building things, like wood; and medicines. Even the energy we use is from plants. Oil is a fossil fuel from plants that died millions of years ago. We really need to appreciate plants more.

1 appreciation   

n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨

参考例句：

• I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
• I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。

2 mosses   

n. 藓类, 苔藓植物 名词moss的复数形式

参考例句：

• Ferns, mosses and fungi spread by means of spores. 蕨类植物、苔藓和真菌通过孢子传播蔓生。
• The only plants to be found in Antarctica are algae, mosses, and lichens. 在南极洲所发现的植物只有藻类、苔藓和地衣。

3 algae   

n.水藻，海藻

参考例句：

• Most algae live in water.多数藻类生长在水中。
• Algae grow and spread quickly in the lake.湖中水藻滋蔓。

4 botanists   

n.植物学家，研究植物的人( botanist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Botanists had some difficulty categorizing the newly found plant. 植物学家们不大容易确定这种新发现的植物的种类。 来自辞典例句
• Botanists refer this flower to the rose family. 植物学家将这花归入蔷薇科。 来自辞典例句

5 photosynthesis   

n.光合作用

参考例句：

• In apple trees photosynthesis occurs almost exclusively in the leaves.苹果树的光合作用几乎只发生在叶内。
• Chloroplasts are the structures in which photosynthesis happens.叶绿体就是光合作用发生的地方。