Bamboo is one of the nature's most surprising plants. (1) 许多人称这种植物为树，但它是一种草。
Like other kinds of grass, a bamboo plant may be cut very low to the ground, but it will grow back very quickly. A Japanese scientist recorded one bamboo plant that grew almost 1.5 meters in 24 hours! Bamboo grows almost everywhere in the world except Europe.
（2）There are more than 1 ， 000kinds of bamboo that grow around the world on both mountains and plains （平原）．
Not all bamboo looks the same．Some bamboo plants are very thin．They may only grow to be a few centimeters wide while others may grow to more than 30centimeters across．This plant also comes in different colors，from yellow to black to green．
Many Asian countries have been using bamboo for hundreds of years．They often use bamboo for building new buildings．As a matter of fact，the cables （绳索） that hold up the hanging bridge across the Min River in Sichuan are made of bamboo．The bridge has been in use for more than 1，000years，and is still holding strong．
In Africa，（3）engineers are teaching poor farmers how to use bamboo to find water ． These African countries need cheap ways to find water because （4 ）they have no money，and their fields often die from no rain and no water．It seems that bamboo is one of the best things they can use．Bamboo pipes and drills （钻） can help to make the poor thirsty fields be watered．
