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So, let me explain to you about this rye plant.
那么，我來給你們解釋下這株黑麥。
If you take a little seed of many grasses—and remember rye is a grass;
如果你從很多草中取一點點種子——別忘了黑麥是一種草；
if you take a tiny little seed and you germinate it—actually, take one of my least favorite grasses that starts growing about May.
如果你取一點種子然后使它發芽——其實，拿一個我最不愛的五月開始生長的草來說好了。
What's my least favorite grass that starts growing about May?
我最不喜歡的在五月開始生長的草是什么？
Crabgrass.
馬唐。
Crabgrass. Remember how I showed you in the lab, one little seed starts out producing one little shoot.
馬唐。記得我在實驗室給你們展示過，一顆小種子抽出一顆芽。
Then at a week or so later you've got about six shoots,
然后大概一個星期之后就有六顆芽，
and then, three weeks later you've got about fifteen shoots coming out all directions like this— all those little shoots up there?
三個星期后就有大約十五顆芽從各個方向冒出來——長在那里的小芽？
Well, that's what they did with the rye. And the little seedling started and pretty soon there were several shoots, and then more shoots.
他們也是這樣處理黑麥的。小幼苗開始生長很快就有了一些芽，之后有了更多的芽。
In the end, that one single seed produced eighty shoots, with an average of fifty centimeters of height...
最后，那一顆種子發出了80顆芽，平均50厘米高，
from one seed, eighty shoots coming out, average fifty centimeters high.
一顆種子，發了80顆芽，平均每顆50厘米高。
When they looked at the shoot versus the root surface,
當他們對比觀察芽和根表面的時候，
they found that the shoot surface, with all of its leaves, had a total surface area of about five square meters.
他們發現，芽表面包括其所有的葉子，總表面積達約5平方米。
Now, here's the biggie, when they looked at the root surface area,
讓人驚訝的事來了，當他們觀察根表面的時候，
you would expect that the root and the shoot would be in balance, right?
你們覺得根與芽會平衡，對嗎？
So, they should be pretty close in terms of surface area, right?
它們的表面積應該很接近，對吧？
Uh-un.
不是。
What's that? Did somebody say “no”? Well, you're absolutely correct.
什么？有人說了不是嗎？你說對了。
Instead of five square meters, the root system was found to have more than two hundred square meters of surface area.
他們發現根系的表面積大約200平方米，而不是5平方米。
Where did all of that extra surface area come from? Who did it?
額外的表面積來自于哪里？誰增加的？
Who was responsible for all those extra square meters of surface area?
誰讓那些多出來的表面積產生？
What did roots do to increase their surface area?
根系做了什么來增加它們的表面積？
Student: Root hairs.
根須。
Root hairs, that's exactly it. So those root hairs were responsible for an incredible chunk of surface area.
根須，正是它。那些根須占據的表面積大到不可思議。
They constantly have to be spread out in the water so they can absorb minerals from the fertilizer, and of course they need oxygen access as well.
它們不時地得在水中延伸開來，才能從肥料中吸收礦物質，當然它們也需要獲取氧氣。
