Imagine this: you sit down and begin to eat a tasty tomato when, suddenly, it starts to scream! This thing will never really happen. But a new study showed that plants can make sounds when they are stressed.
想象一下：你坐下来开始吃一个美味的番茄，突然，它开始尖叫！这件事永远不会真正发生。但一项新的研究表明，植物在受到压力时会发出声音。

Researchers did the study. They used ultrasonic microphones to record the sounds of tomato plants in boxes.
研究人员进行了这项研究。他们使用超声波麦克风记录盒子里番茄植株的声音。

Three groups of plants were listened to: one group wasn’t watered for five days, another group had the stems cut off and the third group was untouched. It turned out that the first two groups made sounds 30 to 50 times per hour at a frequency of 40 to 80 kilohertz, while the untouched group only made the sound once per hour. When tomatoes are not stressed at all, they are very quiet.
听了三组植物：一组五天不浇水，另一组剪掉茎，第三组保持原状。结果发现，前两组每小时发出30到50次声音，频率为40到80千赫，而未受影响的组每小时只发出一次声音。当西红柿完全没有压力时，它们会非常安静。

The researchers don’t know how the sounds are made, but they believe the noise comes from the breaking of air bubbles in the plants. This means the noise produced by the plants is not intentional or a form of active communication.
研究人员不知道这些声音是如何产生的，但他们认为这些噪音来自植物中气泡的破裂。这意味着植物产生噪音不是故意的，也不是一种主动沟通的形式。

There is no evidence that plants can intentionally communicate. But animals and insects may be “listening in” to benefit from the sound. For example, the sound can tell a moth that the plant is under stress and not suitable to lay eggs on. An animal that wants to eat a plant could also use the sounds to make decisions, according to Science Focus.
没有证据表明植物可以主动交流。但动物和昆虫可能会“倾听”声音以从中受益。例如，声音可以告诉飞蛾植物处于压力之下，不适合产卵。据《科学焦点》报道，想吃植物的动物也可以利用声音做出决定。

After the experiment, the researchers listened to other plants such as wheat and corn, and found that they also made more sounds when stressed. Researchers said the study can benefit farmers in the future, as they can better take care of the crops by “hearing” how plants feel.
实验结束后，研究人员听取了小麦和玉米等其他植物的声音，发现它们在受到压力时也会发出更多的声音。研究人员表示，这项研究可以使农民在未来受益，因为他们可以通过“听到”植物的感受来更好地照顾作物。