Plants pursue a never-ending quest for nourishment（食物，营养品） of the liquid and solar variety. Clearly, the very essence of life. But what can our obsession（痴迷，困扰） with plants teach us
My aunts, mom and grandma always talk
We turn plants into sentimental（感伤的） objects as we do with books and art, but with plants it’s different because they’re alive. They grow and change. You see photographs of your former apartment, and there’s that peace lily（百合花） , half its present size. It’s like looking at old family pictures: “Look how little you used to be!” Plants have a history and a life. That’s why they’re so hard to give up, even when you don’t love them anymore, even when you don’t have room for them. What are you supposed to do, just let them die? Impossible.
When I had to move everything out of my house recently, I realized there were more little plants than I was willing to find places for in my new cramped（狭窄的，难懂的） quarters. I thought, it’s silly to be sentimental
It sat on top of a microwave, in a tiny, dark, cold office space that was really a storage closet with a window. During the times I thought I might lose my mind, I watched the plant’s health. It refused to wither. It stood hardy and strong, and occasionally sprung a tender new leaf. Sometimes I would forget to water it or take it home during vacations, but it withstood this neglect and stubbornly（顽固地，倔强地） lived on. This buoyed（支撑，鼓励） my spirit more than chocolate or pats on the back.
Our adopted foliage（植物，叶子） can serve as a sort of bellwether（前导，领导者） for our lives. Most of us have gone through periods where we let the phone ring, the dishes pile up, and the houseplants shrivel（枯萎，褶皱） . Eventually, the pile of brittle（易碎的，脆弱的） leaves collecting beneath the ficus（无花果属） forces us to assess the state of our lives.
Of course, because we have sentimentalized our plants, it’s tempting to read their lives for clues to our own. Once, when a relationship was dying, my African violet exploded with unseasonable purple flowers. Maybe, I thought, there’s hope. There was—for the violet.
My stepmom visits a particular hemlock（铁杉） in a park near her home every New Year’s Day. She walks circles around its trunk, one hand on the bark, releasing regrets from the old year and planning for the new one. Her own history and life is now intertwined with the hemlock’s, as year after year, the tree receives her hopes and ushers（招待，引导） them forth with fresh oxygen. “Here you go,” it says. “Here’s some more life.”
相关单词：nourishment
nourishment解释：n.食物，营养品；营养情况
nourishment例句：
Lack of proper nourishment reduces their power to resist disease.营养不良降低了他们抵抗疾病的能力。
He ventured that plants draw part of their nourishment from the air.他大胆提出植物从空气中吸收部分养分的观点。
相关单词：obsession
obsession解释：n.困扰，无法摆脱的思想(或情感)
obsession例句：
I was suffering from obsession that my career would be ended.那时的我陷入了我的事业有可能就此终止的困扰当中。
She would try to forget her obsession with Christopher.她会努力忘记对克里斯托弗的迷恋。
相关单词：smuggling
smuggling解释：n.走私
smuggling例句：
Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。
相关单词：sentimental
sentimental解释：adj.多愁善感的，感伤的
sentimental例句：
She's a sentimental woman who believes marriage comes by destiny.她是多愁善感的人，她相信姻缘命中注定。
We were deeply touched by the sentimental movie.我们深深被那感伤的电影所感动。
相关单词：cramped
cramped解释：a.狭窄的
cramped例句：
The house was terribly small and cramped, but the agent described it as a bijou residence. 房子十分狭小拥挤，但经纪人却把它说成是小巧别致的住宅。
working in cramped conditions 在拥挤的环境里工作
相关单词：wither
wither解释：vt.使凋谢，使衰退，(用眼神气势等)使畏缩；vi.枯萎，衰退，消亡
wither例句：
She grows as a flower does-she will wither without sun.她象鲜花一样成长--没有太阳就会凋谢。
In autumn the leaves wither and fall off the trees.秋天，树叶枯萎并从树上落下来。
相关单词：hardy
hardy解释：adj.勇敢的，果断的，吃苦的；耐寒的
hardy例句：
The kind of plant is a hardy annual.这种植物是耐寒的一年生植物。
He is a hardy person.他是一个能吃苦耐劳的人。
相关单词：buoyed
buoyed解释：v.使浮起( buoy的过去式和过去分词 )；支持；为…设浮标；振奋…的精神
buoyed例句：
Buoyed by their win yesterday the team feel confident of further success. 在昨天胜利的鼓舞下，该队有信心再次获胜。
His encouragement buoyed her up during that difficult period. 他的鼓励使她在那段困难时期恢复了乐观的情绪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
相关单词：foliage
foliage解释：n.叶子，树叶，簇叶
foliage例句：
The path was completely covered by the dense foliage.小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。
Dark foliage clothes the hills.浓密的树叶覆盖着群山。
相关单词：bellwether
bellwether解释：n.系铃的公羊，前导，领导者，群众的首领
bellwether例句：
University campuses are often the bellwether of change.大学校园往往引领变革的新潮。
For decades the company was the bellwether of the British economy.几十年来，这家公司一直是英国经济的晴雨表。
相关单词：brittle
brittle解释：adj.易碎的；脆弱的；冷淡的；(声音)尖利的
brittle例句：
The pond was covered in a brittle layer of ice.池塘覆盖了一层易碎的冰。
She gave a brittle laugh.她冷淡地笑了笑。
相关单词：tempting
tempting解释：a.诱人的, 吸引人的
tempting例句：
It is tempting to idealize the past. 人都爱把过去的日子说得那么美好。
It was a tempting offer. 这是个诱人的提议。
相关单词：hemlock
hemlock解释：n.毒胡萝卜，铁杉
hemlock例句：
He was condemned to drink a cup of hemlock.判处他喝一杯毒汁。
Here is a beech by the side of a hemlock,with three pines at hand.这儿有株山毛榉和一株铁杉长在一起，旁边还有三株松树。
相关单词：ushers
ushers解释：n.引座员( usher的名词复数 )；招待员；门房；助理教员v.引，领，陪同( usher的第三人称单数 )
ushers例句：
Seats clicked, ushers bowed while he looked blandly on. 座位发出啪啦啪啦的声响，领座员朝客人们鞠躬，而他在一边温和殷勤地看着。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
The minister then offers a brief prayer of dedication, and the ushers return to their seats. 于是牧师又做了一个简短的奉献的祈祷，各招待员也各自回座位。 来自辞典例句
相关单词：forth
forth解释：adv.向前；向外，往外
forth例句：
The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。
