阳台园艺——都市青年的田园生活

陕西 陈春晓

一天紧张的工作之后回到家中，如果见到阳台上迎风摇曳的植物，你一定会感到心情舒畅。 这就是阳台园艺的魅力!

篇幅：368词 难度：★★★ 建议用时：7分钟

1On the 5-square-meter balcony of Zhong Liu's apartment, there is a mini-farm crammed with lemons, tomatoes, eggplants, blueberries and mint.Zhong's idyllic urban lifestyle started in 2020 when residents were required to work from home due to the COVID-19 epidemic.

2“I grew garlic for the very first time as I didn't want to throw it away. It sprouted and grew roots in just seven or eight days. It opened up a brand new world to me,” said the young illustrator who lives in the city of Shenzhen,Guangdong Province.

3Zhong is not alone. An increasing number of urban youth have picked up the hobby of growing vegetables on their balconies， as working from home has changed many people's lives in the urban areas across the country.

4In the first quarter of this year, online sales of vegetable seeds rose dramatically year on year, and the number of seed buyers increased by more than 100 percent for three years non-stop, according to a report released by China's e-commerce platform giant.

5Zhong has started sharing her journey on social media platforms this year,which has brought her more than 100,000 followers. In a chat group consisting of over 100 young balcony green-thumbed gardeners across the country, they share the growth of their vegetables every day, discussing which plants are more suitable for balcony planting and how to fertilize and pollinate crops. “Balcony gardening can heal young people's busy urban lives. We sow and look forward to the harvest, and experience the happiness of the idyllic moments,” Zhong said.

6The municipal government of Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong, launched a city vegetable garden project last March, providing seeds and farm tools as well as organizing agricultural experts to provide online Q&A for local residents, in an effort to encourage urban children to get in touch with nature through balcony planting.

7“In cities, people need to get along with nature. They will be healed spiritually during the process of getting close to soil, seeds and plants. Parent-child relationships can also be strengthened by taking part in the activities together. Community gardening also promotes people-to-people communication, and makes neighborhoods harmonious,”said Li Xiangyang, a researcher of the Guangzhou Academy of Agricultural Sciences.

Reading Check

Language Study

Ⅰ. Discover useful structures in the text

1. a number of表示“许多；大量的”，在句子中修饰主语时，谓语动词用复数形式。

An increasing number of urban youth have picked up the hobby of growing vegetables on their balconies, as working from home has changed many people's lives in the urban areas across the country. 在全国各大城市里，居家办公改变了很多人的生活，在阳台上种菜的城市青年也越来越多。

2. which指代前面的整句话，引导非限制性定语从句，从句中的谓语动词用单数形式。

Zhong has started sharing her journey on social media platforms this year, which has brought her more than 100,000 followers. 钟今年开始在社交媒体平台上分享她的种菜过程，这为她带来了超过10万名粉丝。

Ⅱ. Text-centered chunks

be required to 被要求

throw away 扔掉；丢弃

open up 打开；出现

year on year 与前一年同期比较

consist of 由……组成；由……构成

be suitable for 适合……的

get close to 靠近；接近