每日英語跟讀 Ep.K392: About Australia - World’s biggest plant discovered off Australian coast

The largest known plant on Earth - a seagrass roughly three times the size of Manhattan - has been discovered off the coast of Australia.

地球上已知的最大植物－大約是曼哈頓面積3倍大的一種海草－已在澳洲海岸外被發現。

Using genetic testing, scientists have determined a large underwater meadow in Western Australia is in fact one plant.

使用基因測定，科學家已判定在西澳洲的一片大型水下草甸其實是一棵植物。

It is believed to have spread from a single seed over at least 4,500 years. The seagrass covers about 200 sq km , researchers from the University of Western Australia said.

據信這片草甸從一顆種子擴散而成，歷時至少4500年。西澳洲大學的研究人員說，這棵海草覆蓋的面積約200平方公里。

The team stumbled upon the discovery by accident at Shark Bay, about 800km north of Perth. They had set out to understand the genetic diversity of the species - also known as ribbon weed - which is commonly found along parts of Australia’s coast.

研究團隊在伯斯北方約800公里的鯊魚灣意外找到這發現。他們先是著手了解這些常在澳洲部份海岸被發現的物種－也被稱為絲帶海草－的基因多樣性。

Researchers collected shoots from across the bay and examined 18,000 genetic markers to create a "fingerprint" from each sample. They had aimed to discover how many plants made up the meadow.

研究人員從整個鯊魚灣蒐集幼芽，並且檢視了1萬8000個基因標記來為每個樣本製造「指紋」。他們原本目標是要找出有多少棵植物構成這片草甸。

"The answer blew us away - there was just one!" said Jane Edgeloe, the study’s lead author.

該研究主要作者珍．艾吉羅說：「這個答案讓我們大吃一驚，居然只有一棵！」

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Not a square to spare: Australian shops ration toilet paper amid coronavirus panic 一張都不分：澳洲商店在冠狀病毒恐慌中限購衛生紙

Australia’s major grocers put strict limits on purchases of toilet paper on Wednesday, after shoppers stripped shelves in a rush of panic buying spurred by fears over a coronavirus.

在購物者因冠狀病毒掀起的恐慌而倉皇大肆搶購，將貨架上商品一掃而空後，澳洲大型零售商店週三對購買衛生紙祭出嚴格限制。

The demand for toilet paper, in particular, has sparked the trending hashtags #toiletpapergate and #toiletpapercrisis on Twitter, along with photographs of overloaded shopping trolleys, and calls for calm from baffled officials.

尤其，對衛生紙的需求已經在「推特」掀起「衛生紙門」和「衛生紙危機」熱門話題標籤，以及一張張堆到爆滿的購物車照片，和對此難以理解的官員喊話呼籲冷靜。

The biggest grocery chain, Woolworths Group Ltd, limited sales to four packs a shopper, to keep up stock levels while suppliers ramp up production.

在供應商加速生產的同時，最大連鎖零售商Woolworths集團為了維持存貨量，限制每人最多購買4袋。

Shoppers have swooped on other products also. Costco has put limits on purchases of milk, eggs, rice, disinfectants and soap.

購物者也搶購其他商品。好市多限制牛奶、雞蛋、米、消毒殺菌品和肥皂的購買量。Source article: https://features.ltn.com.tw/english/article/paper/1523717 ; https://features.ltn.com.tw/english/article/paper/1361291?fbclid=IwAR3kVmMFa5gdommS4R4Ftm8HzoQ7DeQzQ5yjoI0jTvkQDeAtMfTFjDfgQCI