15篇文章贯通六级词汇Unit03-Part1

[00:00.00]UNIT3

[00:15.09]Gardening

[00:17.29]One of the quiet joys

[00:18.71]of life in the southern part

[00:20.57]of Ontario, Canada, is gardening.

[00:23.31]Whether pursued as a hobby

[00:25.71]or solely 1 to improve

[00:27.25]the esthetic 2 value of one's home,

[00:28.89]the pleasure derived 3 is only exceeded

[00:31.19]by the therapeutic 4 benefit.

[00:33.38]The exercise involved in working

[00:35.78]in a garden is helpful in

[00:37.42]keeping people in good physical condition.

[00:40.59]It has become a ritual

[00:42.45]for homeowners to spend

[00:43.66]late winter weekends browsing 5

[00:45.29]through seed catalogues while

[00:47.48]sitting on their couch.

[00:48.80]They make lists of items

[00:50.87]they wish to purchase

[00:52.19]and often make notations 6 right

[00:54.05]on the catalogue as they make

[00:55.91]decisions about this year's garden.

[00:57.77]If they order early,

[01:00.51]there is usually a discount coupon 7,

[01:02.26]allowing a percentage of

[01:04.44]the cost to be

[01:05.75]deducted from the price.

[01:06.96]Often the coupon needs to

[01:09.15]be detached from the catalogue

[01:11.34]and mailed to the company

[01:13.31]along with the order.

[01:14.84]This is an extra bonus

[01:16.37]for the consumer. The investment cost

[01:18.89]required is nominal 8 when the amount

[01:20.96]of pleasure generated is considered.

[01:23.59]The seed companies will

[01:25.67]usually warrant the plants,

[01:26.98]and often a refund 9 is offered

[01:29.06]if the plants do not thrive.

[01:31.58]The shipment from the

[01:33.44]seed company's warehouse 10 is awaited

[01:35.07]with eager anticipation 11.

[01:37.48]Its appearance means that

[01:39.13]spring will soon arrive.

[01:40.88]The glossy 12 pages of the catalogues

[01:44.05]provide a preview of the visual

[01:45.91]delights that can be grown.

[01:47.55]Pictures show an array of

[01:50.17]flowers that dazzle the eye.

[01:52.03]There are monochromatic 13 displays

[01:53.78]as well as others that

[01:55.53]are a fusion 14 of the complete

[01:57.17]spectrum of the rainbow's colors.

[01:58.93]Also included in the publication

[02:02.65]are pictures and descriptions

[02:04.72]of vegetables, shrubs 15, and trees.

[02:07.46]Avid gardeners subscribe 16 to magazines

[02:11.84]that specialize in articles

[02:13.70]and ads about this enjoyable pastime

[02:16.43]and people literally 17 read

[02:18.18]each issue from cover to cover.

[02:21.79]Descriptions of plants include

[02:24.64]implicit instructions on whether

[02:26.71]to plant them in sun or shade.

[02:29.45]Specification as to the amount

[02:31.53]of irrigation required is also stated.

[02:34.59]Elaborate irrigation systems are sometimes

[02:37.66]installed or a trench 18 for

[02:39.84]improving the water flow is used.

[02:41.70]Controls are needed on

[02:43.56]irrigation systems because if

[02:45.10]the ground becomes too saturated 19

[02:46.96]the soil in the garden

[02:49.03]will be too muddy to

[02:50.45]allow anyone to work in it

[02:51.99]until it dries out.

[02:53.85]If there is too much

[02:55.38]water constantly, the garden

[02:57.13]will become a swamp

[02:58.55]and impossible to cultivate.

[03:00.52](Many people like to preserve

[03:02.71]the natural habitat of birds

[03:04.46]and wildlife in a marsh 20.

[03:06.10]These areas are usually protected

[03:08.84]by the government and

[03:10.26]although important to our environment,

[03:12.77]are not considered gardens.)

[03:14.74]Geographic location is important for plants.

[03:18.68]Certain plants are only suitable

[03:20.76]for propagation close to the equator.

[03:22.73]Others need to be several degrees

[03:25.25]of latitude 21 away from the equator.

[03:27.32]Longitude is also a factor

[03:29.62]and most companies clearly state

[03:31.70]the conditions that will

[03:33.34]provide the optimum chances

[03:35.20]for the plants survival.

[03:36.74]Canadians grow tulips imported

[03:39.03]from Holland and they do well

[03:41.33]in the Southern Ontario climate.

[03:43.62]Because it is late spring

[03:45.70]before plants can survive

[03:47.02]outdoors in Southern Ontario,

[03:48.99]it is common for people to

[03:50.85]start their plants indoors.

[03:52.93]Seeds are planted in small containers

[03:55.44]and continue to grow indoors

[03:57.19]until the appropriate size

[03:59.60]is achieved. Sometimes ultraviolet light

[04:03.87]is used to encourage plant growth.

[04:06.06]When the mercury rises and

[04:08.46]the danger of frost is past,

[04:10.54]the plants are then transplanted

[04:12.95]to the garden or to a flowerbed.

[04:15.24]Plants are nourished from

[04:18.52]the soil, but to provide

[04:20.50]optimum food, fertilizer can be

[04:22.80]applied to encourage vigorous growth.

[04:25.53]Sometimes fertilizer is diluted 22

[04:28.26]with water while other kinds

[04:30.23]are dispersed 23 with a spreader that

[04:31.87]flings the fertilizer granules in a

[04:34.28]small radius 24 around the plants.

[04:36.91]The water soluble 25 fertilizer will

[04:39.43]then be absorbed into the soil

[04:41.17]the next time it rains.

[04:43.14]Just as people need minerals,

[04:46.10]such as calcium 26 and zinc 27,

[04:47.63]to be healthy, plants also need

[04:49.82]minerals but phosphorous and nitrogen

[04:52.77]are better food for them