本篇文章共分 8 段，從華蘭戈樹在祕魯南部海岸歷史上的重要性開始，到後來逐漸被砍伐殆盡以及目前農業學者推動的復育計畫，一一臚列說明，最後以華蘭戈樹對於生物多樣化的貢獻作終，帶領讀者認識這種具有特殊根系的乾燥地區重要植物。

本篇考題英文原文與對應之中文翻譯整理如下。練習作答解題時若有對語意不清楚之處，請仔細查閱對照，以提升閱讀理解能力。

The return of the huarango 華蘭戈的回歸

1. 華蘭戈樹的根系特色

   The arid valleys of southern Peru are welcoming the return of a native plant

   The south coast of Peru is a narrow, 2,000-kilometre-long strip of desert squeezed between the Andes and the Pacific Ocean. It is also one of the most fragile ecosystems on Earth. It hardly ever rains there, and the only year-round source of water is located tens of metres below the surface. This is why the huarango tree is so suited to life there: it has the longest roots of any tree in the world. They stretch down 50-80 metres and, as well as sucking up water for the tree, they bring it into the higher subsoil, creating a water source for other plant life.

   秘魯南部的乾旱山谷正在迎接一種本土植物的回歸

   秘魯的南部海岸是一條狹長的 2,000 公里長的沙漠地帶，被擠壓在安地斯山脈和太平洋之間。它也是地球上最脆弱的生態系統之一。那裡幾乎從不下雨，唯一的常年水源位於地表下幾十米處。這就是為什麼華蘭戈樹如此適合那裡的生活：它的根是世界上所有樹木中最長的。它們向下延伸 50-80 米，除了為樹吸水外，它們還將水帶到更高的底土中，為其他植物創造水源。

2. 華蘭戈的功用

   Dr David Beresford-Jones, archaeobotanist at Cambridge University, has been studying the role of the huarango tree in landscape change in the Lower Ica Valley in southern Peru. He believes the huarango was key to the ancient people’s diet and, because it could reach deep water sources, it allowed local people to withstand years of drought when their other crops failed. But over the centuries huarango trees were gradually replaced with crops. Cutting down native woodland leads to erosion, as there is nothing to keep the soil in place. So when the huarangos go, the land turns into a desert. Nothing grows at all in the Lower Ica Valley now.

   劍橋大學的考古植物學家大衛．貝瑞斯福特．瓊斯博士一直在研究華蘭戈樹在秘魯南部下伊卡山谷景觀變化中的作用。他認為，華蘭果是古代人飲食的關鍵，由於它可以到達深層水源，當其他作物無法生長時，它使當地人能夠抵禦多年的乾旱。但是幾個世紀以來，華蘭戈樹逐漸被農作物取代。砍伐原生林地會導致水土流失，因為沒有任何東西可以保持土壤固定不動。因此，當華蘭戈樹消失後，土地變成了沙漠。現在，下伊卡谷地根本沒有任何東西可以生長。

3. 華蘭戈的砍伐

   For centuries the huarango tree was vital to the people of the neighbouring Middle Ica Valley too. They grew vegetables under it and ate products made from its seed pods. Its leaves and bark were used for herbal remedies, while its branches were used for charcoal for cooking and heating, and its trunk was used to build houses. But now it is disappearing rapidly. The majority of the huarango forests in the valley have already been cleared for fuel and agriculture – initially, these were smallholdings, but now they’re huge farms producing crops for the international market.

   幾個世紀以來，華蘭戈樹對鄰近的中伊卡谷地的人們也很重要。他們在樹下種植蔬菜，並食用由其種子莢製成的產品。它的葉子和樹皮被用來製作草藥，而它的樹枝被用來製作烹飪和取暖用的木炭，它的樹幹被用來建造房屋。但現在它正在迅速消失。山谷中的大部分華蘭戈森林已經被清除，用於燃料和農業—最初，這些都是小農場，但現在它們是為國際市場生產農作物的巨大農場。

4. 華蘭戈的重建計畫

   ‘Of the forests that were here 1,000 years ago, 99 per cent have already gone,’ says botanist Oliver Whaley from Kew Gardens in London, who, together with ethnobotanist Dr William Milliken, is running a pioneering project to protect and restore the rapidly disappearing habitat. In order to succeed, Whaley needs to get the local people on board, and that has meant overcoming local prejudices. ‘Increasingly aspirational communities think that if you plant food trees in your home or street, it shows you are poor, and still need to grow your own food,’ he says. In order to stop the Middle Ica Valley going the same way as the Lower Ica Valley, Whaley is encouraging locals to love the huarangos again. ‘It’s a process of cultural resuscitation,’ he says. He has already set up a huarango festival to reinstate a sense of pride in their eco-heritage, and has helped local schoolchildren plant thousands of trees.

   倫敦邱園的植物學家奧利佛．沃利說：「1000 年前這裡的森林，99% 已經消失了。」他和民族植物學家威廉．密立肯博士一起，正在開展一項開拓性的計畫，保護和恢復迅速消失的棲息地。為了計劃成功，沃利需要讓當地人加入進來，這意味著要克服當地的偏見。他說：「越來越多有熱望的社區認為，如果你在家裡或街道上種植糧食樹種，就表示你很窮，仍然需要自己種植食物。」為了阻止中伊卡谷地重蹈下伊卡谷地的覆轍，沃利正在鼓勵當地人再次熱愛華蘭戈。「這是一個文化復甦的過程，」他說。他已經設立了一個華蘭戈節，以恢復人們對其生態遺產的自豪感，並幫助當地學童種植了數千棵樹。

5. 華蘭戈的商業應用

   ‘In order to get people interested in habitat restoration, you need to plant a tree that is useful to them,’ says Whaley. So, he has been working with local families to attempt to create a sustainable income from the huarangos by turning their products into foodstuffs. ‘Boil up the beans and you get this thick brown syrup like molasses. You can also use it in drinks, soups or stews.’ The pods can be ground into flour to make cakes, and the seeds roasted into a sweet, chocolatey ‘coffee’. ‘It’s packed full of vitamins and minerals,’ Whaley says.

   「為了讓人們對棲息地的恢復感興趣，你需要種植對他們有用的樹，」沃利說。因此，他一直在與當地家庭合作，試圖透過將其產品變成食品來創造源源不絕的收入。「煮沸豆子，就能得到這種像糖蜜一樣的濃稠棕色糖漿。你也可以把它用於飲料、湯或燉菜。」豆莢可以磨成麵粉做蛋糕，種子可以烘烤成甜美的巧克力味「咖啡」。沃利說：「它含有大量的維生素和礦物質。」

6. 華蘭戈的實驗復育

   And some farmers are already planting huarangos. Alberto Benevides, owner of Ica Valley’s only certified organic farm, which Whaley helped set up, has been planting the tree for 13 years. He produces syrup and flour, and sells these products at an organic farmers’ market in Lima. His farm is relatively small and doesn’t yet provide him with enough to live on, but he hopes this will change. ‘The organic market is growing rapidly in Peru,’ Benevides says. ‘I am investing in the future.’

   一些農民已經開始種植華蘭戈。阿爾貝托．貝內維德斯是伊卡谷地唯一經過認證的有機農場的主人，沃利幫助他建立了這個農場，他已經種植這種樹木 13 年了。他生產糖漿和麵粉，並在利馬的一個有機農貿市場出售這些產品。他的農場相對較小，還不能為他提供足夠的生活費用，但他希望這種情況會改變。「秘魯的有機市場正在迅速增長，」貝內維德斯說。「我正在對未來進行投資」。

7. 森林走廊

   But even if Whaley can convince the local people to fall in love with the huarango again, there is still the threat of the larger farms. Some of these cut across the forests and break up the corridors that allow the essential movement of mammals, birds and pollen up and down the narrow forest strip. In the hope of counteracting this, he’s persuading farmers to let him plant forest corridors on their land. He believes the extra woodland will also benefit the farms by reducing their water usage through a lowering of evaporation and providing a refuge for bio-control insects.

   但是，即使沃利能夠說服當地人再次愛上華蘭戈，仍然存在著大型農場的威脅。其中一些農場橫跨森林，破壞了哺乳動物、鳥類和花粉在狹窄的森林地帶上下移動的重要通道。為了抵制這種情況，他正在說服農民讓他在他們的土地上種植森林走廊。他相信，額外的林地也將有利於農場，通過降低蒸發量來減少他們的用水量，並為生物控制昆蟲提供庇護。

8. 華蘭戈對多樣性的助力

   ‘If we can record biodiversity and see how it all works, then we’re in a good position to move on from there. Desert habitats can reduce down to very little,’ Whaley explains. ‘It’s not like a rainforest that needs to have this huge expanse. Life has always been confined to corridors and islands here. If you just have a few trees left, the population can grow up quickly because it’s used to exploiting water when it arrives.’ He sees his project as a model that has the potential to be rolled out across other arid areas around the world. ‘If we can do it here, in the most fragile system on Earth, then that’s a real message of hope for lots of places, including Africa, where there is drought and they just can’t afford to wait for rain.’

   「如果我們能夠記錄生物多樣性，並看到它是如何運作的，那麼我們就能在一個有利的位置上繼續前進。沙漠棲息地可以減少到非常少，」沃利解釋說。「它不像雨林那樣需要有那麼大的面積。在這裡，生命總是被限制在走廊和島型地帶中。就算你只剩下幾棵樹，生物仍然可以迅速增長，因為它已經習慣於在水到來時就加以利用。」他認為他的項目是一個有可能在世界其他乾旱地區推廣的模式。「如果我們能在地球上最脆弱的系統這裡做到這一點，那麼對於包括非洲在內的許多地方來說，這會是一個真正的希望訊息，因為那裡有乾旱發生，而他們根本無法等待雨水。」