TED演讲:树木之间如何交流(2)
Our poor dog Jigs had slipped and fallen into the pit.
我们可怜的狗吉格斯，脚一滑跌进了一个坑里。
So grandpa ran up with his shovel to rescue the poor dog.
爷爷匆忙抄起一把铁铲，跑过去救那只可怜的狗。
He was down there, swimming in the muck.
那狗掉进了深处，在淤泥里挣扎。
But as grandpa dug through that forest floor, I became fascinated with the roots,
但在爷爷挖开森林的地面的时候，我却被那些露出的树根深深地吸引了，
and under that, what I learned later was the white mycelium and under that the red and yellow mineral horizons.
我后来发现了，在树根下面有很多白色的菌丝，再下面就是红色和黄色的矿质土层了。
Eventually, grandpa and I rescued the poor dog, but it was at that moment that I realized
当然最终我和爷爷救出了那只可怜的狗，但也就是在那时我意识到，
that that palette of roots and soil was really the foundation of the forest.
正是树根和土壤的混合构成了森林的基础。
And I wanted to know more. So I studied forestry.
于是我就想了解更多。所以我开始学习林业学。
But soon I found myself working alongside the powerful people in charge of the commercial harvest.
但后来很快我发现我的工作是在那些负责商业化采集的、那些有权有势的人周围。
The extent of the clear-cutting was alarming,
在森林中皆伐的范围已经敲响了警钟，
and I soon found myself conflicted by my part in it.
我很快意识到我所处位置的矛盾性。
Not only that, the spraying and hacking of the aspens and birches
不仅如此，为了种植更具有商业价值的松树和冷杉，
to make way for the more commercially valuable planted pines and firs was astounding.
从而喷死或者砍伐掉山杨和桦树的规模也非常让人震惊。
It seemed that nothing could stop this relentless industrial machine.
看上去好像没什么能阻止这些无情的工业机器了。
So I went back to school, and I studied my other world.
所以我回到了学校，转而研究我的“新世界”。
You see, scientists had just discovered in the laboratory in vitro
你知道，科学家们那时已经在实验室的试管中发现了
that one pine seedling root could transmit carbon to another pine seedling root.
一棵松树的幼苗根系可以将碳转移到另一颗松树的幼苗根系上。
But this was in the laboratory, and I wondered, could this happen in real forests? I thought yes.
但这仅仅是在实验室里，所以我想：这也会发生在真正的森林里吗？我觉得是的。
三毛说“如果有来生，要做一棵树，站成永恒，没有悲伤的姿势：一半在尘土里安详，一半在空中飞扬；一半散落阴凉，一半沐浴阳光。非常沉默非常骄傲，从不依靠从不寻找。”但是你知道吗？其实大树并不沉默。在地下存在着另外一个世界，它们使得无数的大树可以彼此交流，一片森林表现的像一个整体。它们是如何做到的呢？来一起且听树语。