20090725 -- Eye-Catching Trees (1)

Eye-Catching Trees

These trees are so special that you’ll take another look!
Henry Ward Beecher, a 19th century minister wrote, "Of all man's works of art, a cathedral is the greatest. A vast and majestic tree is greater than that." Whether majestic or simply unusual, these trees stand out.

Baobabs
Found on the plains of Africa, these trees appear upside down. Their branches, which look more like roots, grow out of abnormally thick trunks. The trunks hold water, sometimes up to 120,000 liters, which helps baobabs survive in Africa's dry climates.

Banyans
Instead of growing up, these unique tress grow outward. From their branches hang aerial roots, which reach to the ground and eventually create new tree trunks. A large banyan tree may look like a forest. The world's largest such tree, the Great Banyan located in Kolkata, India, covers about one and a half hectares.

Redwoods and sequoias
These two related species, found mostly in California, literally stand out for their height and size. Coastal redwoods commonly grow over 100 m tall. Their slightly shorter relatives, giant sequoias, are simply massive. General Sherman, the world's largest tree, weights in at 120,000 kg.

These eye-catching trees are indeed natural treasures worth admiring.


majestic adj. 雄偉的/威嚴的
=> great/wonderful
eg: Peter wants to travel to China so he can see the majestic Great Wall.

stand out
stand out from someone 在一個群體中顯得特別突出
=> different from the other things aroud it
eg: Gareth's strong reading skills make him stand out from his classmates.
eg: Her mathematic skills made her stand out from her classmates.
eg: Her looks really stood out from other beauty contestants.

upside down adv. 上下顛倒的/倒過來的
=> turn 180 degree
eg: This book is turned upside down. You can't read it that way!
eg: The car landed upside down on the road.
eg: The books on the shelf were placed upside down.

upside down adv. 一片混亂地
eg: These naughty kids turned my house upside down.

outward adv. 向外
eg: Because of the heavy rain, the lake filled up and spread outward toward the nearby town.

Eye-Catching 引人注目的
=> catch your eye
=> grab your attention

minister 牧師/神職人員
=> a leader in a church

cathedral 天主教堂
=> a great big church

vast
=> big

slightly adv. 稍微地
=> just a little bit
eg: My next trip to America will be slightly longer than my last one.

aerial root
=> root on top from the air

hec=> one hundred
hectare 公頃
=> 10,000 square meters

literally adv. 按字面意義地
literally adv. (本課)確實地/沒有誇張地
=> to really do
eg: The whole town was literally destroyed by the flood.
eg: Our team literally sees each other every day of the week.

baobab 猴麵包樹(熱帶樹木)
banyan 榕樹
redwood 紅杉木
sequoia (產於美國加州的)紅杉

riddle:
What is the five English word where if you take away the four last letters, the words pronounce the same.
Anser: queue

//== Chat room ==//

church 教堂統稱
chapel 小教堂/附屬於大教堂的小教堂/學校醫院裡面的禮拜堂
=> small church
cathedral 大教堂
=> very beautiful church

一個大教堂通常有:
stained glass windows 彩色玻璃窗
towers 塔樓
columns 大型的柱子
mosaic 馬賽克裝飾

//== Grammer on the go ==//

These eye-catching trees are indeed natural treasures worth admiring.

indeed
=> certainly/without doubt

eg: The wedding is indeed cancelled.
eg: The secretary did indeed send the proposal last week.

be-verb or helping verb + indeed

eg: Is it raining outside? Yes, indeed.
eg: Gary is late again, right? Indeed, he is.