Mushrooms Can Talk

Here are a few questions for you: What grows outside in the forest, but is not a plant? What is alive, but is not an animal? What is not an animal, and not a plant, but you can eat them? 什麼東西是長在森林裡面，卻不是植物？有生命，卻不是動物？但是卻可以吃？ The answer is mushrooms! Mushrooms are part of a special family of living things… not animals and not plants. 蕈菇類是一種特別的生物，不是動物也不是植物。 And, scientists say mushrooms can "talk" with electricity. 科學家說它們用電來講話！ Mushrooms look small, but underground there is a huge mushroom world, and they are talking to each other. It's almost like they have a mushroom internet! 蕈菇小小的，但是在它們的地底下卻有一個大型的菇菇世界在交談，就像個菇類的網路！ Mushrooms use electricity to talk. And, scientists now think they might have their own language. 科學家認為菇類很有可能有自己的語言。 Scientists think they've discovered at least 50 electric messages that are mushroom words! 他們發現了至少50種電訊。 They think one electric message is a word that means "danger!" and another means "there is food nearby!" 有一些訊號的意思是「危險」，有一些是「附近有食物」。 This is really cool, but it's a little hard for people to understand, because we use sounds to make words, but they use electricity! 我們很難理解，因為我們用聲音來溝通，而蕈菇用電來發出訊號。 Scientists are going to keep studying mushrooms and keep discovering amazing things about them and how they talk. Who knows? One day, we might be able to talk to mushrooms! ________________________________ Vocabulary 蕈菇的菌絲錯綜複雜，還能用微弱的電力來傳遞訊息。 1) underground 地下的 What animals live underground? 什麼動物住在地下？ I do. I live in the basement. 是我。我住在地下室。 I wouldn't count you as an animal. 你不算動物。 2) language 語言 Animals use a lot of body language. 動物用很多身體語言。 I know. 我知道。 My dog bares his teeth when angry. 我的狗生氣時會露出牙齒。 3) word 字 So he uses his teeth like we use words. 所以他用牙齒就像我們用文字。 I guess so. 大概是吧。 And the word means "angry". 而那個字的意思是生氣。 4) message 訊息 That's a clear message. 那是很清楚的訊息。 It is. My dog can send many other messages too. 是啊。我的狗也可以傳遞很多別的訊息。 Okay, let's read the words. underground 地下的 language 語言 word 字 message 訊息 ________________________________ Quiz 1. What is not an animal or a plant, but is alive? A: Pizza B: Mushrooms C: Computers 2. How do mushrooms talk? A: By screaming really loudly B: They use electric messages C: They use cell phones 3. What do scientists think they found? A: They think they found a mushroom language B: They think they found some jelly beans C: They think they found a dancing dog Answers 1. B 2. B 3. A -- Hosting provided by SoundOn