1 . In early October, Travis Gienger transported an enormous pumpkin (南瓜) from his home in Minnesota to the World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off in California. His pumpkin set the record for the biggest one ever grown in North America. How do competitive growers get their pumpkins to grow to massive sizes?
Gienger, who teaches horticulture (园艺学) at Anoka Technical College, begins growing his pumpkins in mid-April, starting with seeds that he grows indoors for the first few weeks, when Minnesota’s soil is too frosty.
Depending on the variety, pumpkin plants can grow up to a dozen fruits on a single vine (藤曼) . But to maximize size, growers remove all but one or two of these pumpkins in order to decrease each individual fruit’s competition for resources.
But what exactly happens inside a pumpkin as it grows? Two factors drive natural growth: cell division and cell expansion. Cell division accounts for most of the growth at the beginning of a fruit’s life. This period lasts for about 20 days in pumpkin plants.
A.Biology has the answers. |
B.Genetics also influences pumpkin growth. |
C.The following tips will give you a head start. |
D.Once it warms up, the plants are transferred outside. |
E.When it stops, cell expansion will then come into play. |
F.Growers extend the growth period for as long as possible. |
G.Growers also remove the weeds in the area for the same reason. |
2 . The Healing Power of Water
It has been a rough few years. Many of us are finding ourselves exhausted, burned out, struggling to build balance back into our lives.
Participating in water activities such as swimming or surfing can help us enter a “flow state,” where we become fully immersed in what we’re doing.
Bodies of water also can produce a glorious sense of awe—the emotional response to something vast that expands and challenges how we see the world.
Water has special properties that may boost nature’s positive impact.
A.Most important: Water is dynamic. |
B.We need to recharge and water can help. |
C.The sound of water, typically steady and soft, soothes us. |
D.We can spend time on the water anywhere, anytime in our mind. |
E.This calms the mind, which is often absorbed by worry and anxiety. |
F.It’s not just our bodies that need the element of life—it’s our minds too. |
G.Such sense of awe can decrease stress and help us put things into perspective. |
The Amazon rainforest is home to a great