Britain's 5,000-year-old yew could die

江西赣州三中 赖丽霞

“Britain's oldest tree could be dead in fifty years because tourists keep ripping off its branches and keeping them as souvenirs,”environmentalists have warned.The Fortingall Yew(红豆杉)in Perthshire is thought to be 3,000 to 5,000 years old.

Despite now being surrounded by a cage,tourists visiting Fortingall have allegedly been taking cuttings from the ancient yew.Catherine Lloyd,coordinator of the Tayside Biodiversity Partnership,said the tree has become stressed.She said,“They are attacking this poor tree so that it's stressed,but whether that's the reason why this poor tree is not doing very well at the moment,we don't know.”

Neil Hooper,the tree warden for Fortingall,said he can't tell how many visitors have attacked the tree,but certainly some branches have been torn off.He said the more common problem came from visitors climbing into the enclosure(围场),via a listed wall,to tie ribbons to the tree's branches.Mr Hooper said,“Recently the metal plaque(匾牌)put up by the Tree Council has been forced down and twisted flat face down,which must have been taken considerable force by someone climbing into the enclosure.”

Now,in a bid to keep the original specimen alive,seedlings from the yew will be planted in Perthshire and Angus,as well as at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.Catherine said,“I would love to look back into time.You look at it and think it's been there for at least 3,000 years,1,000 years before the Romans came across Scotland.But we know so little about it.I will try my best to know more about it.”

阅读检测

1.Why could the tree be dead in fifty years?A.It is being damaged by tourists.B.It has a history of 3,000 to 5,000 years.C.It stands tall inside the Fortingall.D.It is being surrounded by a cage.

2.According to Mr Hooper,the metal plaque _______.A.was put up by tourists B.was taken down on purpose C.was got down by accident D.was originally placed flat face down

语言学习

难句分析

They are attacking this poor tree so that it's stressed,but whether that's the reason why this poor tree is not doing very well at the moment,we don't know.他们正在攻击这棵可怜的树，所以它承受了压力，但这是不是这棵树目前长势不是很好的原因，我们还不得而知。

They are attacking...stressed和we don't know是并列句。第一个分句中的so that引导的是结果状语从句，在第二个分句中，whether引导的是位置被提前的宾语从句，起到语意上的突出强调作用，why引导的是定语从句，修饰reason。

背景知识

红豆杉

红豆杉属于浅根植物，其主根不明显、侧根发达，是世界上公认濒临灭绝的天然珍稀抗癌植物，是经过了第四纪冰川遗留下来的古老孑遗树种，在地球上已有250万年的历史。由于在自然条件下红豆杉生长速度缓慢，再生能力差，所以很长时间以来，世界范围内还没有形成大规模的红豆杉原料林基地。