园艺带来的乐趣 Gardening

Hello and welcome to 6 Minute English. I’m Sophie…
大家好，欢迎收听六分钟英语。我是苏菲。
And I’m Neil… What did you do at the weekend, Sophie?
我是尼尔。苏菲，你周末都做什么了？
I did a spot of gardening.
我弄了弄花草。
So, you are you a keen gardener?
所以，你是一名园艺爱好者吗？
Yes, I am, Neil. And gardening is the subject of today’s show! Now why don’t we start with a quiz question?
没错，是的。园艺就是今天节目的主题。我们以问题开始今天的节目吧？
Good idea.
好主意。
What percentage of people in the UK said that gardening makes them happier, according to a survey conducted by the Royal Horticultural Society?Is it…a) 22%b) 52%Or c) 82%?
根据皇家园艺学会的调查，在英国多少人表示园艺令他们心情更加愉快？a) 22%b) 52%还是c) 82%?
Well, I’ll guess: b) 52%.
我猜一下，选b) 52%。
Well, we’ll find out later on if you got it right or not. So, does gardening make you happy, Neil?
好的，之后我们再看你回答得是否正确。那么，尼尔，园艺会令你开心吗？
Well, I tried to grow some tomatoes once. And to be honest it made me rather anxious. All the leaves curled up… and then dropped off.
我曾经试着栽种西红柿。老实说它让我感到很烦躁。所有的叶子都卷了，最后都落了。
Did you get any tomatoes?
那你收获西红柿了吗？
No.
没有。
So you don’t have green fingers, then? Why are you looking at your fingers, Neil? I wasn’t asking whether you literally have green fingers! Having green fingers means a natural ability for growing plants.It’s funny you should say gardening makes you anxious because other people find it calming and relaxing.
所以说你没有园艺技能，是吧？你看你的手指干什么？我不是说字面意义上的绿手指。“Having green fingers”是指具有栽培植物的天赋。你说园艺令你很焦躁，挺有意思，因为其他人都觉得园艺可以让人安静和放松下来。
Do they? Do you?
其他人这么想？你也是？
Yes, I do. Being in the fresh air, in all weathers, communing with nature…
我也是如此。呼吸着清新的空气，不论天气如何，与自然亲密接触。
Sounds very unpleasant!
这听上去就不怎么样！
In all weathers means something you do in all types of weather – rain, snow, sunshine.And communing with nature means feeling close to nature, and being a part of it.
不论天气如何，是指无论雨雪还是艳阳高照，无惧各类天气，依然如故。和自然亲密接触是指亲近自然、融入自然。
Well, when I tried communing with nature my hands got all scratched – I got stung by nasty creepy-crawlies – and I got soil up my nose. I didn’t enjoy it at all.
我也试过与自然亲密接触，结果我的手到处是刮痕，还被讨厌的爬虫咬，鼻子上也都是土。我实在不喜欢。
Try wearing protective clothing next time – and maybe a nose plug too!A creepy-crawly is a small insect, by the way.
下次穿上防护衣试试，也许你还得带个鼻塞！爬虫是一种昆虫。
So do you like getting your hands dirty, Sophie?
那你喜欢手上弄得脏兮兮的吗？
Yes, I love it. And it turns out there might be a good reason for this.Dr Christopher Lowry from the University of Colorado conducted an experiment to test whether soil gives us a natural high – meaning to make us happy without taking drugs. He injected a bacterium commonly found in soil into mice to see what affect this would have on them.Let’s hear what he said in this BBC programme.
喜欢啊。而且事实证明这是有原因的。科罗拉多大学的Christopher Lowry教授做了一个实验，测试土壤是否会让我们自然而然地开心，也就是不使用药物而感到兴奋。他将土壤中常见的一种细菌注入小白鼠体内，观察会对其产生什么作用。我们来听听他在BBC节目中所说的。
Rodents like mice and rats are very good swimmersand it was found many years ago that if you treat animals with antidepressant drugsand then put the animals in just a beaker of water it would cause the animals to swim for longer periods of time.
像老鼠这样的啮齿类动物，都非常擅长游泳。几年前实验发现，如果给老鼠注射抗抑郁药，然后将其放入盛水的烧杯中，老鼠会游很长时间。
After injecting the mice with the bacterium Dr Lowry placed them in a cup of water.
给老鼠注射这种细菌后，Lowry教授将其放入盛水的杯子中。
These mice that had been injected with bacterium swam during a 6-minute test for a longer period of time than animals that just got a placebo.
这些老鼠都被注射了细菌，相比其他注射安慰剂的老鼠，前者在六分钟测试内游的时间更长。
So the bacterium had a similar effect on the mice as an antidepressant drug might.When we dig in soil we ingest – or absorb – the bacterium through our lungs or cuts in our skin. A placebo, by the way, is a substance with no physical effects that is used when testing a drug.So here one group of mice were injected with the bacterium and another group were injected with the placebo. And since the mice seemed happier when treated with soil bacteria, there’s a good chance we would too.
所以这种细菌在老鼠身上所产生的作用和抗抑郁药类似。当我们挖土时，我们会通过肺吸入这种细菌，或者通过皮肤上的创口进入体内。顺便说一下安慰剂是一种在测试药物时不会产生任何物理反应的物质。所以一组老鼠被注射细菌，另一组被注射安慰剂。注入土壤细菌的老鼠似乎更加开心，所以我们人类也会这样。
Let’s move on and hear about how gardening can be therapeutic – or used to try and treat addiction.Here’s Scot Stephenson, a recovering alcoholic, who is learning to garden to help cure him.
接下来我们听听园艺有怎样的疗效，如何被用于治疗上瘾。Scot Stephenson曾经酗酒，如今正在进行戒酒治疗，他正在学习如何利用园艺戒酒。
I left school early or should I say I got expelled...came here, I got my NVQ level 2 which is my first qualification and enjoyed it ever since.
我很早就辍学了，应该说被开除了。来到这儿之后，我拿到了国家二级职业资格证书，这是我人生中第一个资格证书，我感到前所未有的开心。
So Scot Stephenson was expelled from school – he was forced to leave – with no qualifications.But with the help of a support group he now has an NVQ – that’s a National Vocational Qualification here in Britain – in gardening.
所以Scot Stephenson被开除了，没有拿到任何学历。但是在支持小组的帮助下，他拿到了园艺方面的国家职业资格证书（NVQ）。
That’s right. At a centre in the UK, recovering alcoholics have been given the opportunity to plant, grow, and even sell their produce.These addicts are literally breaking their addiction by breaking the soil.
没错。在英国一个中心，戒酒的人有机会学习种植、培育植物，然后出售他们的果实。这些瘾君子通过挖土戒掉了自己的酒瘾。
Nicely phrased, Sophie!
说得好！
Thank you! Now, are you ready, Neil, for the answer to today’s quiz question?
谢谢！现在你准备好了吗？要公布今天问题的答案了。
I am.
准备好了。
I asked: What percentage of people in the UK said that gardening makes them happier, according to a survey conducted by the Royal Horticultural Society?Is it… a) 22%, b) 52% or c) 82%?
我问你：根据皇家园艺学会的调查，在英国多少人表示园艺令他们心情更加愉快？a) 22%b) 52%还是c) 82%?
I guessed b) 52%. I’m wrong, aren’t I?
我选的是b) 52%。我答错了，是不是？
Oh, you are Neil, I’m sorry. The percentage of people who really enjoy gardening is much higher. You should have chosen option c). A survey from the Royal Horticultural Society has shown that Brits truly are a nation of gardeners with 82% saying it makes them feel happier. The results also revealed that 70% said that given the choice, they would prefer to spend their working day in the garden with just 9% opting for an office and 21% undecided.
很抱歉，你确实答错了。享受园艺的人比这更多。你应该选c)。皇家园艺学会的一项调查显示，英国真的是园艺大国，82%的人都表示园艺让他们更加愉快。结果还显示，如果可以选择，70%的人愿意在花园中工作，只有9%的人选择在办公室，21%的人未做出选择。
Well, I’m with the 9% I’m afraid. Now can we hear the words we learned today, Sophie?
我恐怕是那9%。现在我们再来听听今天的单词吧？
They are:
今天听到的单词有：
green fingers
有园艺技能
in all weathers
不论天气如何，风雨无阻
communing with nature
与自然亲密接触
creepy-crawly
爬虫
natural high
自然而然的兴奋
ingest
摄取
placebo
安慰剂
therapeutic
治疗的
expelled
被开除
NVQ
国家职业资格证书
Well, that’s the end of today’s 6 Minute English. Now go back outside Sophie and get your hands dirty!Please do join us again soon!
今天的六分钟英语就到这里。现在一起跟着苏菲到外面，弄脏你们的双手吧！下期节目再会！
Bye.
再见！