Passage 17
学霸导读 你知道世界上最大的花是什么花吗？近期，这种花将第一次在多伦多动物园 绽放……
One of the world’s largest f lowers， known as the “corpse f lower （ 腐尸花 ）”， will bloom at the Toronto Zoo—a f irst for the zoo and the city.
The corpse f lower， off icially titled Amorphophallus Titanum （ 巨魔芋 ）， has been recorded as having the world’s tallest bloom. The corpse f lower smells like a rotting corpse， and it looks like it belongs in the movie Avatar. People would imagine that the smell helps p 1 it from being eaten， but， despite this defense mechanism， the plant is still very rare. According to the IUCN， it’s a threatened species. It’s not a 2 one big f lower， but thousands upon thousands of little male and female f lowers. These exude （ 分泌 ） oils， while the center will collect heat. The heat c 3 the oils to create the smell that attracts the beetles that pollinate （ 授粉 ） the f lower. In case you were wondering， a mature plant can weigh 200 pounds.
For the f irst time ever the corpse f lower will bloom at the Toronto Zoo， with off icials e 4 the majority of the plant’s specimens （ 样本 ） to bloom in the next two weeks.
One of the six specimens of the smelly plant， under the care of the Zoo’s horticulture （ 园艺 ） division， has begun its early bloom—four years ahead of schedule.
The corpse plant, native to the Indonesian island of Sumatra, can take six to ten years to p 5 its f irst f lower, a zoo keeper said.
The Toronto Zoo has continued to keep the public i 6 of the status of the f lower and when it’s projected （ 预计 ） to bloom. The zoo will extend viewing hours in its Greenhouse during the plant’s bloom period.
The corpse plant that has started its early bloom, dubbed “Pablo ‘Pe-ew’ Caso”, is expected to bloom towards the end of the week.
“It’s a big e 7 and we’re very excited here at the Toronto Zoo,” said Paul Gellatly, a gardener at the zoo. Facebook users have also expressed excitement over the anticipation for the plant’s bloom period. “Anxiously waiting for the blossom! It’s amazing!” one Facebook user wrote on the zoo’s page.
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高频词汇
bloom /bluːm/ v. 开花；绽放
off icially /ə'fɪʃəli/ adv. 官方地
despite /dɪ'spaɪt/ prep. 不管；尽管；无论
native /'neɪtɪv/ adj. （动植物） 原产于某地的，土生的
extend /ɪk'stend/ v. 扩大；扩展；使增加长度
mature /mə'tʃʊər/ adj. 成熟的
anticipation /ænˌtɪsɪ'peɪʃn/ n. 期望，盼望
anxiously /'æŋkʃəsli/ adv. 焦虑不安地