The Secret Language of Plants
Talking plants have long been a thing of myths① and legends②.Many cultures have stories of talking trees [1]that give advice as well as③ warnings to people.Alexander the Great and Marco Polo were said to have visited such a tree in India.And in some modern stories，such as the film Avatar, trees can communicate with④ animals and people.
[1]that引导定语从句，修饰先行词talking trees。
[2]With us long believing that talking plants are fantasy⑤， new research has revealed something amazing：[3]it appears that plants can communicate after all⑥.
[2]with复合结构(with＋代词＋doing)作状语。
[3]it appears that ... 似乎……，it作形式主语，真正的主语是由that引导的从句。
[4]It has been known for some time that plants use chemicals to communicate with each other.This happens when a plant, say a bean plant, gets attacked by insects.The plant releases tiny amounts of⑦ chemicals from the leaves [5]that are being eaten.This is like a warning, or a call for help：“I'm being attacked！” When another bean plant detects⑧ the chemicals from its injured neighbour, it starts to release its own, different chemicals.Some of these chemicals drive insects away⑨.Others attract insects — the wasps⑩！ The wasps kill the insects that are eating the bean plants.Scientists hope to learn more about this plant warning system，[6]so that we can use it to grow crops without pesticides?.
