World's first underwater farm世界上第一座水下农场

浙江 张 芬

在意大利北部沿海城市诺利的海平面以下6米处，坐落着世界上第一座水下农场。

1Nemo's Garden is not your typical farm.That's because this unique agricultural enterprise is located under the sea just off the coast of Italy.

2The project was created in 2012 by Sergio Gamberini,the founder of the Ocean Reef Group,a diving equipment firm.One day when he was resting between dives,he came up with the idea of growing basil under water in ideal growing conditions.It would combine his two passions:diving and gardening.

3Gamberini made some phone calls and he and his team started experimenting by sinking transparent biospheres(生物圈)6 meters below the surface of the sea and filling them with water.A few days later,he placed a vase with basil seeds in the biosphere and it sprouted after only 48 hours.

4The result of this is Nemo's Garden,a project that is looking to create sustainable agriculture underwater.The six unit biosphere farm uses renewable energy from the sun and desalinated water to make it a fully self-sustainable project.

5The project was starting to produce fruits and vegetables when it suffered storm damage in 2019.Then came the coronavirus pandemic(流行病)and due to restrictions,the habitat could not be staffed and just recently reopened.

6The biosphere system has drawn the attention of researchers and Nemo's Garden has been rented to pharmaceutical companies that want to explore this unique plant growing method,said the company.

7Every year,they are discovering new possible applications for the biospheres.These include eco-tourism,seaweed farming,sustainable fish farming,and scientific research.

8But Nemo's Garden is not the only underwater farm.An organization called GreenWave developed a method of vertical(垂直的)underwater farming that is also known as regenerative ocean farming.This allows them to grow seaweed and farm shellfish.

9Using our seas to sustainably grow food is one of the ways to produce more food in a growing hungry world.It can also be a way to sequester carbon and reduce the greenhouse gases that land agriculture produces.

Reading Check

Choose the best answers according to the text

Detail 1.What contributed to Gamberini's creating the underwater farm?

A.Eco-tourism. B.His hobbies.

C.A unique biosphere. D.A growing hungry world.

Inference 2.What probably happened to the underwater farm?

A.It was shut down for some time.

B.It was sold to another company.

C.It affected the environment of the sea.

D.It encouraged researchers to find a new biosphere.

Inference 3.What do we know about GreenWave?

A.Its history is longer than that of Nemo's Garden.

B.It produces more fruits than those of Nemo's Garden.

C.It draws more attention of researchers than that of Nemo's Garden.

D.Its method of farming is different from Nemo's Garden's.

Inference 4.What's the author's attitude to Nemo's Garden?

A.Doubtful. B.Uncaring.

C.Favorable. D.Confused.

Language Study

Ⅰ.Analyze the difficult structure in the text

An organization called GreenWave developed a method of vertical underwater farming that is also known as regenerative ocean farming.一个名为GreenWave的组织开发了一种垂直水下养殖方法，也称为再生性海洋养殖。

【点石成金】本句是一个主从复合句，句中的called GreenWave为过去分词短语作后置定语；that引导定语从句，修饰先行词a method of vertical underwater farming。

Ⅱ.Memorize some text-centered chunks

come up with想出

fill...with...用……填充……

due to由于

draw the attention of...吸引……的注意力

be known as因……出名