Britain's 5,000-year-old yew could die

江西贛州三中 賴麗霞

“Britain's oldest tree could be dead in fifty years because tourists keep ripping off its branches and keeping them as souvenirs,”environmentalists have warned.The Fortingall Yew(紅豆杉)in Perthshire is thought to be 3,000 to 5,000 years old.

Despite now being surrounded by a cage,tourists visiting Fortingall have allegedly been taking cuttings from the ancient yew.Catherine Lloyd,coordinator of the Tayside Biodiversity Partnership,said the tree has become stressed.She said,“They are attacking this poor tree so that it's stressed,but whether that's the reason why this poor tree is not doing very well at the moment,we don't know.”

Neil Hooper,the tree warden for Fortingall,said he can't tell how many visitors have attacked the tree,but certainly some branches have been torn off.He said the more common problem came from visitors climbing into the enclosure(圍場),via a listed wall,to tie ribbons to the tree's branches.Mr Hooper said,“Recently the metal plaque(匾牌)put up by the Tree Council has been forced down and twisted flat face down,which must have been taken considerable force by someone climbing into the enclosure.”

Now,in a bid to keep the original specimen alive,seedlings from the yew will be planted in Perthshire and Angus,as well as at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.Catherine said,“I would love to look back into time.You look at it and think it's been there for at least 3,000 years,1,000 years before the Romans came across Scotland.But we know so little about it.I will try my best to know more about it.”

閱讀檢測

1.Why could the tree be dead in fifty years?A.It is being damaged by tourists.B.It has a history of 3,000 to 5,000 years.C.It stands tall inside the Fortingall.D.It is being surrounded by a cage.

2.According to Mr Hooper,the metal plaque _______.A.was put up by tourists B.was taken down on purpose C.was got down by accident D.was originally placed flat face down

語言學習

難句分析

They are attacking this poor tree so that it's stressed,but whether that's the reason why this poor tree is not doing very well at the moment,we don't know.他們正在攻擊這棵可憐的樹，所以它承受了壓力，但這是不是這棵樹目前長勢不是很好的原因，我們還不得而知。

They are attacking...stressed和we don't know是并列句。第一個分句中的so that引導的是結果狀語從句，在第二個分句中，whether引導的是位置被提前的賓語從句，起到語意上的突出強調作用，why引導的是定語從句，修飾reason。

背景知識

紅豆杉

紅豆杉屬于淺根植物，其主根不明顯、側根發達，是世界上公認瀕臨滅絕的天然珍稀抗癌植物，是經過了第四紀冰川遺留下來的古老孑遺樹種，在地球上已有250萬年的歷史。由于在自然條件下紅豆杉生長速度緩慢，再生能力差，所以很長時間以來，世界范圍內還沒有形成大規模的紅豆杉原料林基地。