普通高中课程标准实验教科书 英语选修9 Unit 4 Reading

　　PLANT EXPLORATION IN THE 18TH AND 19TH CENTURIES

　　The plants in our gardens look so familiar that often we do not realize that many of them actually come from countries far away. Collecting "exotic" plants, as they are called, dates back to the earliest times. Many ancient civilisations saw the value of bringing back plants from distant lands. The first plant collecting expedition recorded in history was around 1500 BC when the Queen of Egypt sent ships away to gather plants, animals and other goods.

　　However, it was not until the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries that the exploration of the botanical world began on a large scale. Europe had become interested in scientific discovery and the European middle classes took great interest in collecting new plants. This

　　attraction to exotic plants grew as European nations, like the Netherlands, Britain and Spain, moved into other parts of the world like Asia and Australia. Brave young men took the opportunity of going on botanical expeditions, often facing many dangers including disease,near-starvation, severe environments and conflicts with the local people.

小精灵儿童https://www.060s.com