Iraqis Plant Trees to Stop Deserts

06/16/23 • 5 min

Phew! It’s very dry! Are we in a desert? I need water... A desert is a place without water. It gets very little rain. It’s hard to find plants in a desert. Plants need water to grow. 沙漠裡面很少下雨,水很少,也沒有甚麼植物。 Good soil needs plants. Without plant roots, the soil can’t hold water. The soil gets hard and dry. No plants can grow. The place becomes a desert. 少了植物的根,土壤很難留住水分,很快就會變乾、變硬。最後這片土地就會變成沙漠。 Iraq has two big deserts. This country has long, hot, and dry summers. Now the earth is getting hotter. And Iraq is getting less water from rain and rivers. More places there are becoming desert. 伊拉克有兩個大沙漠。伊拉克的夏天又長又熱,現在因為全球暖化,伊拉克的水越來越少,更多地方變成了沙漠。 People want good soil again. So some people planted trees. Then more people planted trees! Now Iraq wants to plant 5 million trees! 伊拉克希望改善土壤品質,決定開始種樹。他們決心要種五百萬顆樹! The tree roots will help the soil hold water. Then more plants can grow. Their roots will help the soil. Then more plants can grow. Their roots will help the soil. Then more... 樹根可以幫助土壤留住水分,這樣就可以種更多植物,留住更多水分,變成一個正向循環! The earth needs our help! Can you plant a tree today? ________________________________ Vocabulary 伊拉克希望多種樹,把沙漠變成綠洲。 1. grow 種植 I’m trying to grow roses, but it’s a lot of work.我正在種玫瑰,但是它需要做好多事。 Roses? You can’t even grow cucumbers! 玫瑰? 你甚至不會種小黃瓜! 2. soil 泥土 That’s why I’m using the soil for roses. 這是為什麼我用這些泥土來種玫瑰。 3. root 根部 But roses have deep roots. 但是玫瑰的根很深。 Your pots are not big enough. 你的花盆不夠大。 Since when did you know so much about roses? 你什麼時候開始這麼懂玫瑰? 4. more 更多 I read about it. 我有看書。 But I learned more from my mom. 但是我從我媽媽那裏學到更多。 She plants roses every year. 她每年都種玫瑰。你有種過任何植物嗎?一起來讀今天的單字。 grow 種植 soil 泥土 root 根部 more 更多 ________________________________ Quiz 1. What is a desert? A: A place without water B: A plant C: Good soil 2. What can grow when tree roots help the soil hold water? A: Strong winds B: No plants C: More plants 3. How many trees do they plan to plant in Iraq? A: 5 B: A million C: 5 million Answers 1. A 2. C 3. C -- Hosting provided by SoundOn

Previous Episode

Scientists Learn How Butterflies Began

Guys! There's a butterfly on my nose! *giggle* It tickles! *sneeze* Aa... aa... AAA-CHOO! How many kinds of butterflies are there? Scientists say there are more than 19,000 kinds! Butterflies have lots of beautiful colors. 科學家說,世界上的蝴蝶種類超過一萬九千種!蝴蝶有各種繽紛的色彩。 Where did the first butterfly come from? Scientists wanted to know. They went back 100 million years. That's back to dinosaur times... 科學家想知道,世界上第一隻蝴蝶出現在甚麼時候?他們一路找回到一億年前,也就是恐龍的時代。 Many kinds of animals were not living yet. There were no dogs. There were no cats. And there were no butterflies. But there were lots and lots of moths. 那時候沒有狗狗、沒有貓咪,也沒有蝴蝶。不過有很多很多蛾。 Moths and butterflies are in the same family. But they are very different. Butterflies have lots of bright colors: yellow, blue, green, and more. Most moths do not. That's because moths fly at night. Many are black, brown, or gray. These dark colors help them keep safe. 蛾跟蝴蝶是親戚,但牠們其實大不相同。蝴蝶有很多鮮豔顏色,蛾沒有,這是因為蛾是夜行性的,暗沉的顏色比較安全。 Scientists think a moth didn't like the dark 100 million years ago. It liked the light! It wanted to fly in the bright sunlight! Flying in the sun made the moth's dark colors brighter. Now scientists think that's where the first butterfly came from! 科學家認為一億年前,有一隻蛾不喜歡晚上,牠喜歡光亮的地方!在陽光下飛讓這隻蛾的顏色變亮了,科學家認為這就是第一隻蝴蝶的起源! A dark moth gave the world beautiful bright butterflies, thanks to the sun! ________________________________ Vocabulary 一億年前的陽光,讓蛾類開始演化成蝴蝶。 1. bright 光亮的 Wow, look at these paintings! 哇,你看這些畫。 The colors are so bright and beautiful! 顏色好鮮明,真好看! 2. sunlight 陽光 Yeah, it's like they come alive under the sunlight. 對啊,在陽光下好像變成活的。 How many butterflies are there in this painting? 這幅畫裡有幾隻蝴蝶? 3. dark 黑暗的 I guess at least one hundred. 我猜至少一百隻。 It would look good on a dark wall. 掛在黑暗的牆上可能不錯。 4. night 夜晚 The dark wall of our house? 我們家那面黑暗牆壁嗎? Are you thinking of buying it? 你想買這幅畫? Maybe. It would look even better at night. 也許。它晚上看起來可能更好。來讀讀單字。 bright 光亮的 sunlight 陽光 dark 黑暗的 night 夜晚 ________________________________ Quiz 1. How many kinds of butterflies are there? A: 19 B: 1,000 C: 19,000 2. Which animals have lots of beautiful, bright colors? A: Moths B: Butterflies C: Dinosaurs 3. Why do most moths have dark colors? A: To keep safe B: To fly C: To look cool Answers 1. C 2. B 3. A -- Hosting provided by SoundOn

Next Episode

Pair Makes Tropical Fruit Farm With One Tree

Mmm... I love wax apples. It’s my favorite fruit. I want wax apple trees in my garden. Then I can pick wax apples when I want them. I can eat them all the time! 我好愛吃蓮霧!好希望能夠在我的花園種一顆蓮霧樹,讓我想吃就可以摘。 Farmers in Taiwan grow a lot of wax apples. We can get them at fruit stands and supermarkets here. But sometimes we can’t get wax apples in other countries. 在台灣買到蓮霧很容易,不過在其他國家就不一定了。 A husband and wife from Taiwan live in the USA. He wanted to eat wax apples there. But he didn’t find any. Then someone gave him a wax apple tree. The pair made a tropical fruit farm... with that one tree! 有一對住在美國的台灣夫妻,老公想要吃蓮霧,但是在美國找不到。後來有人給了他們一棵蓮霧樹,這對夫妻就用一棵樹,種出了一整座熱帶水果園! “Uncle Happy Farmer” and his wife made the farm 40 years ago. Now their farm has more than 40 kinds of tropical fruits and vegetables. His wife grows the fruit trees. Uncle Happy Farmer grows the vegetables. 「快樂農夫叔叔」跟他的老婆四十年前建了這座農場,現在農場裡面已經有四十多種蔬果。老婆種水果,老公種蔬菜。 A chicken helps them! Her name is Lucy. Her poop is good for the trees. 還有一隻雞 Lucy 會幫忙!牠的便便對樹木很好。 Maybe I can make a fruit farm too. And maybe I can get a chicken to help me! Then I’ll have all the wax apples I can eat! ________________________________ Vocabulary 快樂農夫叔叔農場有各種蔬菜水果。 1. fruit stand 水果攤 Don’t you just love fruit stands? 你會不會很喜歡水果攤? They are so pretty to look at. 它們真好看。 2. farm 農場 You’re right. 你說得對。 Red apples, yellow bananas and green guavas. 紅蘋果,黃香蕉,綠芭樂。 My cousin owns a fruit farm in Taitung. 我表哥在台東有一個水果農場。 3. pick 採摘 We sometimes go there to pick the fruit. 我們有時候會去那裏採果子。 How nice! 真好! Yeah, it’s wonderful! 對啊,是很棒。 4. chicken 雞 He raises chickens, too. 他也養雞。 So you would have chicken soup after the hard work. 所以你們辛苦工作之後就喝雞湯。 No! He never wanted to kill the chickens. 沒有,他從來不肯殺雞。你最喜歡什麼水果呢? fruit stand 水果攤 farm 農場 pick 採摘 chicken 雞 ________________________________ Quiz 1. What is the husband known as? A: Mr. Joy Planter B: Uncle Happy Farmer C: Grandpa Fun Rancher 2. Where do the husband and wife live? A: The USA B: Taiwan C: Malaysia 3. What did the pair start their fruit farm with? A: Wax apple seeds B: A wax apple tree C: Tropical vegetables Answers 1. B 2. A 3. B -- Hosting provided by SoundOn