15篇文章贯通六级词汇Unit04-Part1

[00:00.00]Some gardeners plan their garden

[00:02.61]with meticulous 1 attention to detail.

[00:04.80]They choose colors that

[00:06.44]will complement 2 each other

[00:07.75]and design their garden

[00:08.85]as if they were

[00:09.83]painting on a canvas.

[00:11.03]Others are more spontaneous

[00:13.00]and simply visit a nursery

[00:15.08]and purchase plants

[00:16.40]that appeal to them.

[00:18.14]Often gardeners have a trademark 3 plant

[00:21.10]that is their specialty 4.

[00:22.96]Perhaps they enjoy the velvet 5

[00:25.15]texture of the leaves, or maybe

[00:27.12]the flower's color attracts them.

[00:28.97]The varieties of gardens

[00:31.60]are endless. Terrace gardening

[00:34.01]has become popular. With

[00:35.65]a herbal garden, cooks enjoy

[00:37.73]being able to use fresh herbs

[00:39.04]from their garden to

[00:40.35]add zest 6 to their favorite dishes.

[00:43.31]They simply visit their garden

[00:45.28]and clip a few pieces of

[00:46.81]the herb they wish to use.

[00:48.78]Every garden is as individual

[00:51.62]as its owner. Gardens come

[00:54.58]in all shapes and sizes.

[00:56.66]Some are in the shape

[00:58.14]of a rectangle, while others

[00:59.67]are circular or irregular in shape.

[01:01.97]Some gardeners like the appearance

[01:03.93]of an asymmetrical 7 shape

[01:06.13]while others work to

[01:07.88]achieve symmetry in their gardens.

[01:09.73]For vegetable gardens, the most

[01:12.03]popular shape is rectangular

[01:14.22]and vegetables are usually planted

[01:16.84]in a linear fashion.

[01:18.70]This method makes it easier

[01:21.33]to cultivate between

[01:22.65]the rows of plants.

[01:23.95]You could mistake some gardens

[01:25.92]for a meadow when the gardener

[01:27.46]chooses to include only

[01:29.10]wildflowers as a choice of vegetation.

[01:32.49]Including a pond in

[01:34.13]a garden is popular too.

[01:36.10]Entrepreneurs are always looking

[01:39.17]for innovations and gadgets 8 that

[01:41.02]will attract the attention

[01:42.56]of devoted 9 gardeners and

[01:43.76]induce them to spend their money.

[01:45.95]It has become a huge industry

[01:48.57]in the last few years,

[01:50.76]as the baby boomers reach

[01:52.40]retirement age and have more time

[01:54.59]to pursue hobbies such as gardening.

[01:57.32]There are new products patented

[01:58.97]every year to tempt 10 the gardener.

[02:01.37]It is possible to

[02:03.78]buy a kit 11 that contains

[02:05.42]a complete set of tools

[02:06.73]needed by the home gardener.

[02:08.48]Unfortunately, often the quality

[02:11.33]is poor and the product

[02:12.97]is a fraud. Instead of

[02:14.83]having something good to

[02:16.25]work with, the purchase

[02:17.57]turns out to be junk.

[02:18.99]If you want to flatter

[02:21.17]a gardener, and boost

[02:22.71]their ego 12 at the same time,

[02:24.13]summon up the courage to

[02:25.88]simply ask if you can

[02:27.52]swap plants. Of course,

[02:29.49]it will give them a thrill

[02:31.24]if you also compliment them

[02:32.45]on the hardiness 13 of their plants

[02:33.86]as compared to yours.

[02:35.29]They might even try to

[02:37.15]console you on your lack

[02:38.35]of competence 14 as a gardener

[02:39.56]because your plants are not

[02:41.31]as sturdy as their plants.

[02:43.28]Irrespective of the competence

[02:45.46]of the gardener, anyone who

[02:47.10]augments the number of plants

[02:48.96]grown is helping 15 to conserve 16

[02:50.71]our planet by averting 17 erosion.

[02:52.46]This pays great dividends 18

[02:54.87]for everyone as it also

[02:56.18]serves to protect the ozone 19 layer.

[02:58.26]Some people erect 20 barricades 21

[03:01.43]to keep small animals

[03:02.97]from attacking the plants.

[03:04.61]Squirrels love to dig up

[03:06.47]flower bulbs. They find

[03:08.33]them a tasty treat.

[03:09.97]It is common to see

[03:11.61]ceramic fixtures 22 or figurines

[03:13.14]in a garden. Even

[03:15.22]the untrained eye can tell

[03:17.19]that the imitations are a fake,

[03:19.05]yet properly placed, they add

[03:20.80]to the intrinsic beauty.

[03:22.88]A rain gauge 23, attached

[03:24.74]by a bracket to a fence,

[03:26.38]is a common sight and

[03:27.91]is used to enable the gardener

[03:29.44]to diagnose the moisture level

[03:30.97]of the soil around

[03:32.18]the plants and determine

[03:33.82]if they need more water.

[03:35.90]If nature does not provide

[03:37.54]enough rain, then the gardener

[03:39.40]will use a plastic or

[03:40.49]rubber hose to provide

[03:41.81]more irrigation. With a twist

[03:44.21]of a knob, or by moving

[03:46.18]a lever, the thirst of

[03:47.93]the plants for moisture

[03:49.03]can be quenched 24.What greater pleasure,

[03:51.55]than to work in your garden

[03:53.19]and as you clip

[03:54.39]the overgrown plants back to

[03:55.37]size or prune 25 branches

[03:56.58]of fruit trees, hear

[03:58.22]the buzz of bees?

[03:59.53]You know that they are

[04:01.39]enjoying your garden as

[04:02.37]they extract the pollen 26

[04:03.25]from the blooms. You relish 27

[04:04.89]the feeling that you are

[04:06.86]one with nature. The hum

[04:08.28]of insects as they share

[04:09.70]the garden is more pleasurable

[04:11.13]than music from a stereo

[04:12.33]or a symphony to

[04:13.32]a devoted gardener. In addition,

[04:14.85]the scent 28 of the flowers

[04:18.90]is an integral part

[04:19.77]of the joy of spending

[04:20.86]time working in a garden.

[04:21.85]The irony 29 of the situation

[04:24.37]is that nature sometimes

[04:26.55]conspires against the gardener,

[04:28.31]and a hailstorm can riddle 30

[04:30.06]beautiful plants, shredding 31 their leaves

[04:32.90]in minutes. Hurricanes can uproot 32

[04:35.30]even the largest trees

[04:36.83]although this is an event

[04:38.81]that seldom occurs in Southern Ontario.

[04:41.10]Tornadoes are more likely

[04:43.73]in this area.Parasites 33 can

[04:46.25]attack plants and threaten their survival.

[04:49.20]Any number of things

[04:50.62]can become a plague.

[04:51.93]It is often difficult

[04:53.25]to discern exactly what it is

[04:54.78]that is destroying the precious plants.

[04:56.86]Any number of complications

[04:59.59]can shatter the gardener's dream

[05:01.89]of surpassing last year's accomplishment 34.

[05:04.30]An authentic 35 gardener will not

[05:06.59]brood about the disappointment

[05:07.80]for long. Even as

[05:09.22]the disaster is occurring,

[05:10.97]you might overhear the gardener

[05:12.83]murmur “There's always next year.”