Meat-Eating Plants
食肉植物 I-09 / 009

Sundews are beautiful little plants. They seem so small and harmless. All around the edges of their leaves are tiny hairs that glisten with a shiny liquid. To an insect this liquid looks like food. The insect lands on the leaf. The liquid is sticky, and the insect cannot get loose.

The sundew wraps itself around the insect and eats it.

Many years ago a scientist named Charles Darwin became fascinated with sundews. Would they eat only insects? Darwin put small bits of roast lamb on the sticky leaves. The plant gobbled them up. Darwin next tried drops of milk, bits of egg, and other foods. The sundew loved them all.

Sundews are just one kind of meat-eating plant. These plants trap insects in different ways. Some, like the sundew, use their tiny hairs. Others, like the pitcher plant, have bright colors that attract insects. When an insect lands on the colorful petals, the bug starts falling. The insect slides down into the slippery insides of the plant. At the bottom is a pool of liquid. Special chemicals in this liquid turn the insect into food for the flower.

Bladderworts are meat-eating plants that live mostly in water. Bladderworts have trapdoors in their sides. When an insect comes near the tiny hairs on a bladderwort leaf, the trapdoor opens. The insect is pulled inside.

Some plants collect rainwater at their base. When insects go to get the water, they cannot escape. The plants are lined with a powder that makes it impossible for the insects to get away. A scientist named Durland Fish put four of the plants on a fence around a garden. Within eight days these four plants trapped 136 insects.

Words and Phrases

sundew [ˈsʌnˌdu:] 名 茅膏菜

glisten [ˈɡlɪsn] 动 闪耀，闪光

sticky [ˈstɪkɪ] 形 黏的，有黏性的

wrap around 缠绕，包裹

fascinated [ˈfæsɪneɪtɪd] 形 着迷的；极感兴趣的

roast lamb 烤羊肉

gobble [ˈɡɒbl] 动 狼吞虎咽地吃

pitcher plant 猪笼草，捕虫草

petal [ˈpetl] 名 花瓣

slippery [ˈslɪpərɪ] 形 滑溜溜的

bladderwort [bˈlædəwɜ:t] 名 狸藻类植物

trapdoor [ˈtræpdɔ:(r)] 名 活板门；活盖

be lined with 布满

Practice

1. When did Darwin become fascinated with sundews?

A. recently

B. years ago

C. within eight days

2. What did Darwin feed the plant before he fed it milk?

A. roast lamb

B. bits of egg

C. a drinking straw

3. When does the insect slide down into the pitcher plant?

A. after the insect falls into a pool of liquid

B. before the plant uses its hairs

C. after the insect lands on the petals

4. When does the bladderwort's trapdoor open?

A. after the insect is pulled inside

B. after the insect climbs out

C. after the insect comes near its hairs

译文

食肉植物

茅膏菜是一种漂亮的小型植物。它们看上去是如此的小又不会造成任何伤害。叶子的边缘布满细小的绒毛，这些绒毛上裹着汁液，看上去闪闪发亮。对昆虫而言，这汁液看起来就像是食物。昆虫落在叶子上，绒毛上的液体很粘，使昆虫动弹不得。

于是茅膏菜就用自己的叶片将昆虫包裹起来，继而吃掉它。

很多年前，一位名叫查尔斯·达尔文的科学家对茅膏菜很感兴趣。这种植物是否只吃昆虫呢？达尔文放了几小片烤羊肉在那些粘粘的叶子上，被茅膏菜狼吞虎咽地一扫而光。接着达尔文试着滴几滴牛奶，放一些蛋的碎末和其他食物，茅膏菜更是来者不拒。

茅膏菜只是食肉植物的一种。这些植物捕捉昆虫的手法可谓五花八门。有些如茅膏菜一样，用细小的绒毛；有的则像猪笼草，用植物本身的亮丽色彩吸引昆虫。当一只昆虫降落到色彩艳丽的花瓣上时，它就会开始坠落，滑入植物滑溜溜的内部。植物底部像是盛满液体的池子，这种液体含有特殊的化学物质，能把昆虫转化成花朵所需的食物。

狸藻类植物也是食肉植物，它们大部分生长在水中。这类植物的侧面有活动盖。当昆虫靠近狸藻类植物叶子上的细小绒毛时，活动盖就会打开，这样昆虫就会被拉进去。

有些植物则在其底部收集雨水。当昆虫前来喝水就逃不掉了。原因是这种植物上布满一种粉末，这些粉末使昆虫无法逃脱。一位名叫德兰·菲什的科学家在一个花园四周的栅栏上安放了四株这种植物。在八天内，这四株植物就捕捉了136只昆虫。

练习

1．达尔文什么时候对茅膏菜感兴趣的？

A．最近

B．很多年前

C．在八天的时间内

2．在达尔文喂食这种植物牛奶以前，他喂的是什么？

A．烤羊肉

B．鸡蛋碎末

C．吸管

3．昆虫什么时候滑进猪笼草？

A．在昆虫掉进盛着液体的池塘时

B．在猪笼草用它的绒毛之前

C．当昆虫落在它的花瓣上之后

4．狸藻类植物什么时候打开它的活盖？

A．当昆虫被拉进去后

B．当昆虫爬出来后

C．当昆虫接近它的绒毛后