2024-2025学年新概念英语第二册外刊精读：人与自然-为什么真菌和植物会散发难闻的气味学案

Corpse flowers and flesh flies: why so many plants and fungi stink like death warmed up Right now, people are lining up at the Geelong Botanic Gardens to see and smell the giant corpse flower, a rare plant that stinks like a dead body. This is the titan arum. It’s a plant that makes news whenever it flowers in a botanic garden around the world. It’s sometimes called a lily, but it’s an arum, a genus not closely related to true lilies. Why do people travel to see it? The huge arum might only bloom once a decade. It spends huge amounts of energy preparing to flower. And when it does, it’s spectacular. Its huge flowering structure (the spadix) can be up to three metres in height and one to two metres across, which is why it has the wonderfully apt Latin name of Amorphophallus titanium, which translates as “giant misshapen phallic-like”. But the spadix is actually not a flower – it’s an inflorescence. Its true flowers are small and hidden from view at the base. The main reason people seek it out is because of its stench. The spadix stinks like a rotting animal carcass – and the strong smell spreads far and wide. The spadix lasts only one or two days. But why would a plant spend so much time and energy doing this? The answer is reproduction – the titan arum needs pollinators such as flies, and flies like dead things. Many other plants use the same tactic to get insects to pay attention. The corpse flower is native to the dense rainforests of Sumatra in Indonesia. Many plants make their flowers attractive to bees, which like sweeter smells. But a large variety of insects can pollinate flowers. This arum has opted instead to attract flesh flies and carrion beetles, which polish off dead animals. The corpse flower’s reddish-purple structure and stench of death attract these insects to what appears to be a rotting corpse. Even better, the plant heats up its flowering structure to about 32°C as it develops, to make it seem even more like a dead animal in a tropical rainforest. It can take decades for this plant to produce its first inflorescence and it takes a lot of the plant’s energy and reserves to produce such a huge warm structure. Mature specimens have a corm, a swollen stem base a bit like a bulb which can weigh over 100 kilograms. This is where the plant stores the energy it will need to make its giant stinky spadix. Not surprisingly, it does not have the energy to flower every year. It might be five to ten years between flowering. But in ideal growing conditions, it can be as short as two to three years. All of this effort goes towards making a structure at its best for about 24 hours before beginning to collapse. The titan arum’s female flowers are receptive for a very short time, meaning the window of opportunity for successful reproduction is brief. Sometimes it’s good to be stinky Other plants have evolved similar strategies to woo pollinators. They often earn similar monikers, such as carrion plants, corpse flowers or stinking plants. Sumatran rainforests have produced another plant known as the corpse flower, the giant padma, Rafflesia arnoldii. This parasitic plant has no leaves or stems. It spends most of its life as long strands of fibre inside its host, a vine. But every now and again, it produces a giant flower, a metre across, and stinking of death. In Australia, our most well known carrion species is an introduced succulent, the weedy carrion flower, Orbea variegata, which originates from southern Africa. Worldwide, there are many other plants known for their rotten smell. The North American pawpaw, Asimina triloba and species from the African succulent genus Stapelia are carrion flowers. Some orchids from the genius Bulbophyllum also pack an olfactory punch, though they can smell more like urine or animal dung. The goal is the same: attracting scavenging flies and beetles. While beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, scent depends on the nose of the sniffer. Smells humans find repulsive are very attractive if you’re a flesh fly. Not all smells vile to humans are of corpses and carcasses. The ginkgo tree, Ginkgo biloba, is famous for its golden foliage – and for its remarkable longevity as a living fossil. It’s also hugely resilient – six gingko trees survived the bombing of Hiroshima. But people tend to only plant male trees, as the female trees produce a fruit that smells like vomit for many people. We don’t really know why it has this smell. But given it has been around 200 million years, the smell might have attracted a long extinct species to eat and spread the seeds. Some of us are more susceptible than others. Many people complain when privets (Ligustrum spp.) are in flower, while others find some wattles (Acacia) nauseating. Even the popular hedge plant, red-tipped photinia (Photinia × fraseri) cops the occasional disparaging remark. It’s not only plants which have learned how to make pungent smells. The wonderfully named stinkhorn fungi genus uses the same tactic as the titan arum to attract the insects and beetles it needs to spread its spores. The anemone stinkhorn, Aseroe rubra, is found in many parts of Australia, often close to the coast. Another species, Phallus rubicundus, is found across the tropics, including northern parts of Australia. Like many stinkhorns it is slimy, smelly and reddish. They are not generally considered toxic and people ask if they are edible. I don’t know because my response is, “Why would anyone even think of eating something that smells like that?” It never ceases to amaze me that faking the appearance and stench of death has been so widely adopted by plants and fungi as a means of creating new life. 生词表： ​Botanic Gardens [bəˈtænɪk ˈɡɑːrdnz] ​词性: 名词短语 ​释义: 植物园 ​Titan arum [ˈtaɪtən ˈeərəm] ​词性: 名词短语 ​释义: 泰坦魔芋（一种巨型开花植物，俗称“尸花”） ​Genus [ˈdʒiːnəs] ​词性: 名词 ​释义: 属（生物分类单位，介于科和种之间） ​Spadix [ˈspeɪdɪks] ​词性: 名词 ​释义: 肉穗花序（某些植物的穗状结构） ​Amorphophallus titanium [əˌmɔːrfəˈfæləs taɪˈteɪniəm] ​词性: 拉丁学名 ​释义: 泰坦魔芋的学名，意为“巨大的畸形阴茎状结构” ​Inflorescence [ˌɪnflɔːˈresəns] ​词性: 名词 ​释义: 花序（植物的开花部分，由多朵小花组成） ​Stench [stentʃ] ​词性: 名词 ​释义: 恶臭 ​Carcass [ˈkɑːrkəs] ​词性: 名词 ​释义: 动物尸体 ​Pollinators [ˈpɑːlɪneɪtərz] ​词性: 名词（复数） ​释义: 传粉者（如昆虫） ​Carrion beetles [ˈkæriən ˈbiːtlz] ​词性: 名词短语 ​释义: 食腐甲虫 ​Corm [kɔːrm] ​词性: 名词 ​释义: 球茎（植物的地下储存器官） ​Parasitic [ˌpærəˈsɪtɪk] ​词性: 形容词 ​释义: 寄生的 ​Succulent [ˈsʌkjələnt] ​词性: 名词/形容词 ​释义: 多肉植物；多汁的 ​Olfactory [ɑːlˈfæktəri] ​词性: 形容词 ​释义: 嗅觉的 ​Resilient [rɪˈzɪliənt] ​词性: 形容词 ​释义: 有韧性的，适应力强的 ​Vile [vaɪl] ​词性: 形容词 ​释义: 恶臭的，令人厌恶的 长难句分析： 1. ​"The corpse flower’s reddish-purple structure and stench of death attract these insects to what appears to be a rotting corpse." ​结构拆解: 主句：​The structure and stench attract insects​（主谓宾结构） 修饰成分： ​reddish-purple​（形容词修饰 ​structure） ​stench of death​（名词短语，与 ​structure 并列） 目的状语：​to what appears to be a rotting corpse​（“to + 宾语从句”） ​翻译: 尸花的紫红色结构和死亡恶臭将这些昆虫吸引到一个看似腐烂尸体的地方。 ​语言点: ​what appears to be... 是宾语从句，表示“看似……的东西”。 2. ​"Mature specimens have a corm, a swollen stem base a bit like a bulb which can weigh over 100 kilograms." ​结构拆解: 主句：​Mature specimens have a corm​（主谓宾） 同位语：​a swollen stem base...​（解释 ​corm 是什么） 定语从句：​which can weigh...​（修饰 ​bulb） ​翻译: 成熟的泰坦魔芋有一个球茎——一种类似鳞茎的肿胀茎基，重量可超过100公斤。 ​语言点: ​a bit like a bulb 是插入语，补充说明 ​stem base 的特征。 3. ​"It’s not only plants which have learned how to make pungent smells." ​结构拆解: 主句：​It’s not only plants...​（强调句型） 定语从句：​which have learned...​（修饰 ​plants） ​翻译: 不仅仅是植物学会了制造刺鼻气味。 ​语言点: ​It is... which... 是强调句型，突出“不仅仅是植物”。 4. ​"The goal is the same: attracting scavenging flies and beetles." ​结构拆解: 主句：​The goal is the same​（主系表结构） 同位语：​attracting...​（解释 ​goal 的具体内容） ​翻译: 目标是一致的：吸引食腐苍蝇和甲虫。 ​语言点: 冒号（:）后接同位语，补充说明前文。 阅读理解： 1.What is the ​main purpose of the titan arum’s inflorescence? A. To store energy for survival. B. To attract pollinators like flies. C. To protect itself from predators. D. To compete with other plants for sunlight. 2.The Latin name Amorphophallus titanium reflects the plant’s: A. Color and smell. B. Size and shape. C. Growth speed. D. Origin in Sumatra. 3.What is the ​function of the corm in the titan arum? A. To produce a strong odor. B. To store energy for flowering. C. To attract carrion beetles. D. To protect the plant from heat. 4.Why does the titan arum ​not flower every year? A. It needs time to grow taller. B. It lacks enough pollinators. C. It requires decades to mature. D. It takes years to accumulate energy. 5.The word ​​“olfactory”​ in the phrase “olfactory punch” (para. about Bulbophyllum orchids) most likely relates to: A. Visual appearance. B. Sound production. C. Smell perception. D. Temperature control. 6.What is the ​main idea of the article? A. Plants and fungi use foul smells to avoid being eaten. B. Some species imitate rotting matter to attract pollinators. C. Humans should protect rare plants like the titan arum. D. Flies play a key role in rainforest ecosystems. 答案和解析： 1.B ​解析: 文中明确提到泰坦魔芋开花的主要目的是吸引食腐昆虫（如苍蝇）进行授粉（“the titan arum needs pollinators such as flies”）。其他选项（储存能量、保护自身）是辅助功能，而非主要目的。 2.B ​解析: 拉丁学名 Amorphophallus titanium 的含义是“巨大的畸形阴茎状结构”（“giant misshapen phallic-like”），直接指向其形状（shape）而非颜色或气味。 3.B ​解析: 文中指出球茎（corm）是泰坦魔芋储存能量的器官（“stores the energy it will need to make its giant stinky spadix”）。其他选项（散发气味、吸引甲虫）与球茎无关。 4.D ​解析: 文章提到泰坦魔芋需要多年积累能量才能开花（“it takes a lot of the plant’s energy and reserves to produce such a huge warm structure”）。选项C（需要数十年成熟）不准确，因为成熟后仍需积累能量。 5.C ​解析: “olfactory” 意为“嗅觉的”，与气味相关。上下文提到兰花的气味类似尿液或动物粪便（“smell more like urine or animal dung”），进一步支持答案。 6.B ​解析: 全文核心观点是某些植物和真菌通过模仿腐烂物质（如尸体）的气味和外观吸引传粉者（“faking the appearance and stench of death”）。选项A（避免被吃）和D（苍蝇的生态作用）是细节，非主旨。 学科网（北京）股份有限公司 $$