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I see what you mean, Squeaks. Your plants haven't grown at all.
我知道你是啥意思了，吱吱，你种的植物一点儿都没长。
And you said you plant these in The Fort every year?
你说你每年都会在“城堡”里种这个？
Oh, hi, everyone! Squeaks was just showing me one of his lettuce plants. Or… what's supposed to be a lettuce plant.
哦，嗨，吱吱正在给我看他种的一棵莴苣。或者说……本该是颗莴苣。
He says he's planted lettuce in The Fort's greenhouse every year, and it's gone great!
他说他每年都会在“城堡”的温室里种莴苣，而且都长得很好！
But this year, something isn't working. He's using the same soil and the same kind of seeds, but his lettuce just won't grow.
但是今天出了点儿问题，今年他用的是同样的土、同样的种子，但莴苣就是没长出来。
Aw, I'm sorry, Squeaks. But you know what? I know a science story that might be able to help.
啊，抱歉吱吱，但你知道吗？我知道一个科学故事，或许能帮上忙。
It's the story of George Washington Carver, an amazing scientist and inventor who taught people how to take care of their plants.
这是关于乔治·华盛顿·卡弗的故事，乔治·华盛顿·卡弗是一位了不起的科学家和发明家，他会教人们如何照料自己的植物。
It's story time! George Washington Carver was born around 1865 in Missouri, in the United States.
故事时间到！乔治·华盛顿·卡弗于1865年左右出生在美国密苏里州。
That was a hard time in the U.S., especially for Black people like George Washington Carver.
那是美国的一段艰难时期，尤其是对像乔治·华盛顿·卡弗这样的黑人来说。
That's because slavery was still allowed in some parts of the country.
因为当时美国的某些地方仍在实行奴隶制。
Slavery is when someone claims another person as property — like you might own a toy or a piece of clothing.
“奴隶制”指某人宣称另一个人是他的财产——就像你拥有一个玩具或者一件衣服一样。
It wasn't kind or fair, but it's a big part of history for the United States.
这并不仁慈，也不公平，但它是美国历史很重要的一部分。
Enslaved people didn't have any freedom, so they couldn't choose what to do, where to live, or if they could go to school.
被奴役的人没有任何自由，他们不能自己决定自己做什么，住在哪里，或者是否可以去上学。
Instead, they were forced to do work — almost always without getting paid.
相反，他们要被迫工作，而且通常拿不到任何报酬。
In the U.S., many enslaved people were taken from different parts of Africa, where they used to be free.
在美国，许多被奴役的人从非洲的不同地方被带过来，但在非洲的他们曾是自由的。
Others were taken from Indigenous communities people who had lived freely in what's now the United States for thousands of years.
还有一些是从土著社区被带走的，他们已经在现在的美国自由地生活了数千年。
Meanwhile, most enslavers — or people who had slaves — had light-colored skin, and their families came from Europe.
同时，大多数奴隶主，就是那些拥有奴隶的人，都是浅色皮肤，他们以及他们的家人从欧洲而来。
You're right, Squeaks. Slavery can be such a hard thing to think about because it was so unfair and unkind.
没错，吱吱，奴隶制是一件很难去想象的事情，因为它太不公、太无情。
And eventually, it did become against the law.
最后，它确实违背了法律。
But it's still important to remember — and it's an important part of this story, because Mr. Carver was enslaved when he was born.
但仍需记住这一点——奴隶制也是这个故事的重要部分，因为卡弗先生出生时就被奴役了。
Thankfully, slavery became illegal in Missouri not too long after that.
幸运的是，在那之后不久奴隶制在密苏里州就变成了非法。
But people were still treated unfairly based on the color of their skin.
但人们仍然受到基于肤色的不公平对待。
For example, many schools wouldn't teach Black students, so when he got older, Mr. Carver had to travel to lots of different schools to get an education.
例如，许多学校不教黑人学生，所以卡弗先生长大后，他不得不到很多不同的学校接受教育。
But that didn't stop him! As a kid, he loved to read books, explore the world around him, and learn about nature — especially plants!
但这并没有阻止他！小时候，他喜欢读书，喜欢探索周围的世界，喜欢了解大自然——尤其是植物！
He also loved to make art and play piano. And as he got older, he eventually decided to become a scientist.
他还喜欢艺术创作和弹钢琴。随着年龄的增长，他最终决定成为一名科学家。
He went to college and studied farming and how to grow food. And later, he became a teacher.
他上了大学，学习农业，学习如何种植粮食。后来，他成为了一名教师。
One of the biggest lessons he taught people was how to keep their soil — or the dirt they grow plants in — healthy.
他教给人们的最重要的一课就是如何保持土壤——或者说种植植物的土壤——健康。
See, for years, people had been planting cotton in their fields. But that cotton was taking nutrients from the soil.
多年来，人们一直在自己的田地里种植棉花，但是棉花会从土壤中吸收养分。
Nutrients are just things plants and other living things use to grow and stay healthy.
养分只是植物和其他生物用来生长和保持健康的东西。
You use nutrients, too, and you get them from your food. Cotton, though, was using a nutrient called nitrogen.
人类也需要养分，会从食物中获取。然而棉花使用的是一种叫做氮的营养物质。
It's found in the air you breathe and in the dirt under your feet, and it helps plants grow.
它存在于我们呼吸的空气和脚下的泥土当中，有助于植物生长。
The problem is, since people had been growing cotton for a long time, there wasn't much nitrogen left!
但问题是，因为人们种植棉花已经有很长时间了，所以(土壤中)并没有剩下多少氮！
So the cotton plants weren't growing. That's where Mr. Carver came in.
所以棉花没有生长，这就是卡弗先生的切入点。
He taught people how important it was to change the type of plants they grew.
他告诉人们，改变种植的植物的种类非常重要。
For example, he taught people that if they planted peanuts one year instead of cotton, the peanut plants would put some of the nitrogen back in the soil.
例如，他告诉人们，如果他们用一年的时间种植花生而不是棉花，那么花生就会把一些氮带回土壤中。
That's because peanut plants have a special kind of bacteria on their roots.
这是因为花生的根部有一种特殊的细菌。
Bacteria are creatures so tiny, you'd need a microscope to see them.
细菌是非常微小的生物，你需要用显微镜才能看到它们。
There are lots of different kinds of bacteria, and they do different things.
有很多不同种类的细菌，它们的功能也不同。
Like, some make your yogurt taste sour, and others can get you sick if they get into your body.
比如，有些细菌会让酸奶变酸，有些些如果进入人的身体，人就会生病。
But the bacteria on peanut plants can take nitrogen from the air and put some of it into the soil for plants like cotton to use later.
但是花生植株上的细菌可以从空气中吸收氮，并将一部分氮放入土壤中，供棉花等植物以后使用。
So in a way, peanut plants could fix the soil!
所以在某种程度上，花生能对土壤起到修复作用！
Oh, what did he do with all those peanuts? That's a great question!
哦，他怎么处理这些花生的？是个好问题！
Thanks to George Washington Carver, lots of people started growing peanuts and other foods like sweet potatoes.
多亏了乔治·华盛顿·卡弗，后来种植花生和甘薯等其他食物的人越来越多。
And Mr. Carver came up with all kinds of ways to use them!
卡弗先生想出了各种各样的使用它们的方法！
I mean, you can eat those foods, of course. But Mr. Carver also invented other things made from plants like peanuts.
我是说，吃是肯定没问题的，不过卡弗先生还发明了其他的用植物做的东西，比如用花生。
He made shampoo, lotion, and even medicine made from peanuts.
他用花生做了洗发水，润肤露，甚至还做成了药。
He didn't invent peanut butter, though, even though lots of people think he did.
他并没有发明花生酱，虽然很多人都认为是他发明了花生酱。
So, Squeaks! I think there's a lesson you can learn here about your plants.
所以，吱吱，我觉得你可以从这里学到一些关于植物的知识。
If you've been planting lettuce every year, your soil might not have a lot of nitrogen left in it.
如果你每年都种莴苣，那么你的土壤里可能就没有多少氮了。
So, what do you think about planting peanuts this year?
那么，你觉得今年种花生怎么样？
I thought you'd like that idea! See, this is one reason it's so important to know about different scientists.
我想你会喜欢这个主意的！看，这就是为什么了解不同的科学家这么重要的原因。
There's a lot you can learn! And thanks for joining us, everyone!
你可以学到很多东西！感谢大家的加入！
If you want to keep learning with us here at The Fort, you can hit the subscribe button. And we'll see you next time!
如果你想继续和我和吱吱一起享受乐趣，学习新事物，可以点击订阅按钮。咱们下期再见！
