The Tallest Grass--Bamboo
     Although bamboo is really a kind of grass, it looks more like tree -- a beautiful tree. It has long leaves that sway in the wind like slim fingers reaching to touch something. Chinese and Japanese poets write poems and songs about bamboo, the artists paint it in pictures.
     Not all bamboo grows tall.  Altogether there are more than 500 different kinds of bamboo, and some grow no higher them your ankles. Bamboo grows best in places where it is warm and where it rains often. Some kinds of bamboo grow very fast. If they are growing near a house, their slim leaves brush the roof gently and cool the house with their shade.
     Some bloom and have seeds every year. Some never bloom at all. Some bloom only once, after living about 40 years, and then die. However, new shoots of bamboo will come up from around the roots of the old ones.
     But the most interesting about this remarkable plant is what people do with it after it is cut down. As bamboo is hollow, it can be fitted together and used for pipes to carry water. At the same time it is so strong that people use it to build houses, and even high bridges over rivers. Bamboo is used for more then building.  People can eat it.  The tender young shoots of hamboo are crisp and tasty. They are often found in Chinese or Japanese dishes. Bamboo can also be made into a fine paper, good walking sticks and fishing poles.
     Bamboo probably has more uses than any other plant in the world.
[点评]
    竹子是人们所熟悉的植物，但鲜为人知的是：它是一种草，而不是树。文章从各个方面描述了竹子的风姿，竹子的生长以及竹子的作用，让我们对竹子有了全面的了解。此文是一篇非常好的背景材料。

[参考译文]
最高的草——竹子
    虽然竹子实际上是一种草，但它看上去更像树——一种美丽的树。它那修长的树叶在风中摇动，好像伸出纤细的手指去触摸什么东西似的。中国和日本的诗人们经常以竹子为题材写诗写歌，画家们为竹子作画。
    并非所有的竹子都长得那么高。总共有500种不同种类的竹子，而某些竹子长得只有脚踝那么高。温暖而多雨的地方最适合竹子生长。某些竹子长得很快。如果竹子生长在房屋附近，它们那修长的叶子轻指着屋顶，竹荫使房屋变得凉爽。
    有些竹子每年都开花结子。有些竹子则从不开花。有些竹子只在存活了差不多40年后才开一次花，然后就死去。然而，从老杆的根部周围又会长出新的幼芽来。
    有关这种奇异的植物的最有趣的事是在被砍倒后人们对它的利用。由于竹子是空心的，人们把它们连接起来当作管子输水。同时，它又非常坚固，因而人们可以用它建造房屋，甚至可以在河上架起高高的桥梁。竹子不仅用于建筑，还可供人们食用。竹子的幼芽脆嫩可口，经常是中国人
与日本人的盘中菜。竹子也可用来造成一种优质纸。还可以用来做成很好的手杖和鱼竿。
    竹子大概比世界上任何其它植物的用途都广泛。