Ikea got a load of children to record insults — and play them back at plants in a bizarre experiment.

　　宜家让一群孩子录下侮辱性话语，然后在一个奇怪的实验中播放给植物听。

　　The retailer wanted to stress just how harmful bullying can be by staging the live test at schools across the United Arab Emirates.

　　这家零售商想通过在阿联酋学校进行的现场测试强调欺凌行为的危害。

　　Audio messages were recorded and then played on loops for 30 days. Half the plants were taunted with insults while the others were played compliments.

　　音频信息被录音，然后循环播放30天。一半的植物被嘲笑辱骂，而其他的植物则被赞美。

　　All the plants were given the exact same amount of sunlight and water.

　　所有的植物都得到了相同的阳光和水份。

　　In a video highlighting the results, one message says: “You look rotten.”

　　在一段强调结果的视频中，一条信息说:“你看起来很糟糕。”

　　Another says: “Are you even alive?”

　　另一条说:“你还活着吗?”

　　But the compliments include, “I like you the way you are,” and “You’re making a difference in the world.”

　　但赞美之词包括:“我喜欢你现在的样子”和“你正在改变世界”。

　　Incredibly, the plants which got played the negative comments withered after 30 days while the ones played compliments remained healthy.

　　令人难以置信的是，那些听了负面评论的植物30天后枯萎了，而那些听了赞美之词的植物却依然健康。

　　Thomas Nelson, teacher and head of house at GEMS Wellington Academy in Dubai, a school that participated in the initiative, said: “It has raised the profile massively of different forms of bullying and the effects that bullying can have on people.”

　　迪拜的惠灵顿学院参与了这项倡议，该学院的教师兼院长托马斯.纳尔逊表示:“它极大地提高了人们对于各种形式的欺凌和欺凌造成的影响的认知。”

　　But gardeners have also been impressed by the study. It has long been considered a myth that saying nice things to plants help them grow.

　　但是园丁们也对这项研究印象深刻。长期以来，人们都认为对植物说好话能帮助它们成长是一个神话。

　　One green-fingered YouTuber posted: “It’s true that if you talk to your plants and even sing to them, they grow better and are healthier. I know so because I have done the same experiment on my own plants.”

　　一位精通园艺的YouTube用户发帖说:“的确如此，如果你和你的植物说话，甚至唱歌给它们听，它们会长的更好更健康。我知道这些是因为我对自己的植物做过同样的实验。”

　　Alana Schetzer of the University of Melbourne wrote online: “Plants may not have eyes, ears or a tongue, but their skin can perform many of the same functions… [They] can respond accordingly.”

　　墨尔本大学的阿拉娜. 谢泽尔在网上写道:“植物可能没有眼睛、耳朵或舌头，但它们的皮肤可以执行许多相同的功能……(它们)可以做出相应的反应。”