AGRICULTURE REPORT - Mushrooms

AGRICULTURE REPORT - Mushrooms
By Bob Bowen

Broadcast: Tuesday, May 11, 2004

This is Steve Ember with the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

Year after year, mushrooms of every size and shape push their way up from under dead leaves or from inside dead trees.

The yearly¹ growing season begins in late summer and continues through autumn. During that brief period, people who like to eat mushrooms spend a lot of time walking through fields and forests. They look for what some people call "the food of the gods."

Mushrooms are a fungus². They grow on dead organic³ matter. Mushrooms do not grow from seeds. They are formed by spores⁵. Spores are produced by fully⁶ grown mushrooms. They fall from the underside of the top of a mushroom.

Mushrooms drop their tiny spores only once. However, they drop millions of them at the same time. The wind spreads them over a wide area. When spores land on a tree that has fallen, they begin to grow.

At first, a spore⁴ produces long tube-like growths called hyphae. A number of hyphae form what is known as a mycelium. In time, the mycelium grows into a mushroom.

Mushrooms are rich in vitamin B. They contain more protein than most vegetables. And studies show they can lower cholesterol⁷ in the blood.

It is possible to grow your own mushrooms – either inside the house or outside in the garden.

Companies sell mushroom mycelium that you can use to start your own mushroom garden. Or you can buy small containers of organic matter with mushroom spores inside. You add water and put the container in a room at the correct temperature as directed. Then wait for your mushrooms to grow.

The hunt for wild mushrooms has taken place throughout the world since ancient times. And, like most hunts, there is some danger. People have to be careful not to eat mushrooms that are poisonous.

Until two-thousand years ago, mushrooms could be eaten only when they were found in the wild. Then the Chinese began to grow the shiitake mushroom. Shiitakes are popular for their taste and because they are easy to grow. They grow naturally in warm areas of China and Japan.

The European button mushroom is also popular. It grows very quickly. During a thirty-day period, it is possible to get two button mushroom crops from one container of mycelium.

This VOA Special English Agriculture Report was written by Bob Bowen. This is Steve Ember.

1 yearly   

adj.每年的，一年一度的；adv.一年一次地

参考例句：

• The flower show is a yearly event in our town.我们镇上的花展一年举行一次。
• The yearly rental of her house is 2400 yuan.她这房子年租金是2400元。

2 fungus   

n.真菌，真菌类植物

参考例句：

• Mushrooms are a type of fungus.蘑菇是一种真菌。
• This fungus can just be detected by the unaided eye.这种真菌只用肉眼就能检查出。

3 organic   

adj.有机的，有机物的；有组织的

参考例句：

• Organic farming is expanding everywhere.有机农业正在各地迅速发展起来。
• The organic fertilizer shall keep the soil in good heart.这有机肥一定会使土壤保持肥沃。

4 spore   

n.(无花植物借以繁殖的)孢子，芽胞

参考例句：

• A spore can quickly spread and form a mould.一个孢子能迅速蔓延并形成霉。
• The cation penetrates the spore.这种阳离子能透入孢子。

5 spores   

n.（细菌、苔藓、蕨类植物）孢子( spore的名词复数 )v.（细菌、苔藓、蕨类植物）孢子( spore的第三人称单数 )

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。
• Spores form a lipid membrane during the process of reproducing. 孢于在生殖过程中形成类脂膜。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 预防生物武器

6 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

7 cholesterol   

n.（U）胆固醇

参考例句：

• There is cholesterol in the cell of body.人体细胞里有胆固醇。
• They are determining the serum-protein and cholesterol levels.他们正在测定血清蛋白和胆固醇的浓度。