Nature Reuses and Recycles

Nature Reuses and Recycles. Written by Molly Wedderschneider. Focus question. How does nature reuse and recycle?

大自然会回收再利用。 作者：莫莉·韦德施奈德。 核心问题。 大自然是如何回收再利用的？

recycle, reuse, or trash, clink, bonk, plonk, those are the sounds of cans and bottles being tossed into the trash or into the recycling bin. Items such as cans, bottles, and newspapers can be treated as trash, but they can be recycled instead. When you recycle something, the materials that make up the thing can be remade into a new thing.

回收、再利用或是扔垃圾，哐当、咚、扑通，这是易拉罐和瓶子被扔进垃圾桶或是回收箱的声音。 易拉罐、瓶子、报纸这类物品，可以被当成垃圾处理，但其实它们还可以回收再利用。 回收一样物品时，组成它的材料可以被重新做成新的东西。

Recycling is different from reusing. When you reuse something, you keep it in the same form and do not have to break it down and remake it. When you reuse a bottle, you might fill it up with water again, but you don't have to reuse something for its original purpose. When you reuse a soup can, you might keep pencils in it. When you reuse newspaper, you might use it to wrap birthday presents. After you are through reusing something, you can then recycle it or reuse it again.

回收和再利用不一样哦。 再利用就是保留物品原本的样子，不用打碎之后重新加工。 比如重复用瓶子，你可以再往里面装水，但再利用不一定非要用它做原本的事。 空汤罐你可以用来放铅笔呀。 旧报纸你可以用来包生日礼物。 你用完一样东西之后，既可以送去回收，也可以接着再用。

Nature Reuses and Recycles People are not the only ones who reuse and recycle. Nature does this too, with organic materials. Organic materials are what living things are made of. By reusing and recycling organic materials in nature, living things adapt and survive. Take a tree. Every part of it can be used and reused in some way by other living things. Other plants, along with insects, birds, and other animals, have adapted to use parts of

大自然也会回收再利用，不是只有人类才会做这件事。 大自然也会回收再利用，处理的是有机物质。 有机物质就是组成生命体的材料。 通过回收再利用自然界的有机物质，生命体得以适应环境、生存下去。 我们拿树举个例子。 树的每一部分，都能被其他生物以某种方式使用再利用。 其他植物、昆虫、鸟类还有其他动物，都适应了利用

For instance, the original purpose of a tree's leaves is to make food for the tree to survive. But a tree's leaves also offer shade for sprouting plants. Birds line their nests with leaves. Sometimes squirrels reuse a bird's nest for their own. Some insects make homes from dead leaves. That's five uses for the same leaves. Trees are used in other ways, too. Owls make homes in the hollows of tree trunks. Beavers cut down trees and branches to make their homes. Some animals eat bark, leaves, and fruit from trees.

举个例子，树叶原本的作用是给树制造生存所需的养分。 但树叶还能给刚发芽的小苗遮荫呀。 小鸟会用树叶铺垫鸟巢。 有时候松鼠会把废弃的鸟巢改造成自己的窝。 有些昆虫会用枯树叶搭建自己的家。 你看，同一片树叶就有五种用途哦。 树还有很多其他的用处呢。 猫头鹰会住在树干的树洞里。 海狸砍倒树木和树枝来建造自己的家。 有些动物以树的树皮、树叶和果实为食。

Trees also provide valuable help to other living things when they die. Fallen trees become nurse logs that provide food and a protected place for new trees and other plants to grow. Dead trees provide a home for animals. They can also provide food and building materials for other organisms.

哪怕树枯死了，也能给其他生物提供很大的帮助。 倒下的枯树会成为保育木，给新树苗和其他植物提供养分和安全的生长空间。 枯树还是很多动物的家呢。 它还能给其他生物提供食物和建造住所的材料。