Squat1, homely2, dwarfed3 by the stately oaks and poplars nearby and unnoticed by the tourists passing in horse-drawn carriages, it's a tree that only birds and nut-hungry squirrels could love.
But on Thursday, the 100-year-old European beech4 on Central Park's Cherry Hill was the center of attention - chosen by New York city officials as the first of 25 "historical" trees to be cloned as part of a plan announced last year to add a million new trees to streets, parks and public spaces over the next decade.
Agriculture students from a Queens high school rode hydraulic-powered tree-trimmers' buckets to upper branches of the 60-foot tree and snipped5 off 6- to 12-inch sections of new growth, to be sent to a scientific tree nursery in eastern Oregon. If all goes well, the genetic6 copies will be sent back in two years to New York for replanting.
"We want to break the stereotype7 of New York as skyscrapers8 and sidewalks," Parks Commissioner9 Adrian Benape said. "New York abounds10 in historical trees."
The target trees include nine different species. All were selected by borough11 foresters as historical for having existed for at least a century - either as fixtures12 of the urban landscape or as having special significance to local communities.
City partners in the cloning effort include the Central Park Conservancy, a private group that manages the 840-acre park; Bartlett Tree Experts, a century-old Connecticut-based company that has tree care contracts in New York, 25 other states, Canada, England and Ireland; the nonprofit Tree Fund, and the Coleman Co., a camping equipment maker13, whose coolers would be used to ship the cuttings to Oregon.
David McMaster, a Bartlett vice14 president, said the cloning would target several "Olmsted trees," dating from the creation of Central Park by famed architect Frederick Law Olmsted in the late 1850s.
Benape said being less than beautiful had no bearing on the European beech tree's potential contribution to a greener Gotham.
"Like the other trees to be cloned, it has withstood the test of time and the indignities15 of urban life," he said. "These trees as a result tend to be hardier16 species, inherently disease resistant17. They are a great reaffirmation of the importance of nature in New York City - trees so good that people are looking to clone them."
1 squat [skwɒt] 第8级 | |
vi. 蹲,蹲下;蹲坐;蹲伏 vt. 使蹲坐,使蹲下 n. 蹲坐,蜷伏 | |
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2 homely [ˈhəʊmli] 第9级 | |
adj.家常的,简朴的;不漂亮的 | |
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3 dwarfed [] 第7级 | |
vt.(使)显得矮小(dwarf的过去式与过去分词形式) | |
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4 beech [bi:tʃ] 第12级 | |
n.山毛榉;adj.山毛榉的 | |
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5 snipped [snɪpt] 第10级 | |
v.剪( snip的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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6 genetic [dʒəˈnetɪk] 第7级 | |
adj.遗传的,遗传学的 | |
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7 stereotype [ˈsteriətaɪp] 第7级 | |
n.固定的形象,陈规,老套,旧框框 | |
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8 skyscrapers ['skaɪˌskreɪpəz] 第7级 | |
n.摩天大楼 | |
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9 commissioner [kəˈmɪʃənə(r)] 第8级 | |
n.(政府厅、局、处等部门)专员,长官,委员 | |
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10 abounds [əˈbaundz] 第7级 | |
v.大量存在,充满,富于( abound的第三人称单数 ) | |
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11 borough [ˈbʌrə] 第10级 | |
n.享有自治权的市镇;(英)自治市镇 | |
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12 fixtures ['fɪkstʃəz] 第7级 | |
(房屋等的)固定装置( fixture的名词复数 ); 如(浴盆、抽水马桶); 固定在某位置的人或物; (定期定点举行的)体育活动 | |
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13 maker [ˈmeɪkə(r)] 第8级 | |
n.制造者,制造商 | |
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14 vice [vaɪs] 第7级 | |
n.坏事;恶习;[pl.]台钳,老虎钳;adj.副的 | |
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15 indignities [ɪnˈdɪgnɪti:z] 第10级 | |
n.侮辱,轻蔑( indignity的名词复数 ) | |
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16 hardier [ˈhɑ:diə] 第9级 | |
能吃苦耐劳的,坚强的( hardy的比较级 ); (植物等)耐寒的 | |
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