美国小学英语教材6:第240课 森林产品(5)

To us, in America, the term Christmas tree means a number of different trees.

对于美国而言，圣诞树这个词意味着许多不同的树。

The kind of Christmas tree you think of depends upon where you live, for we use firs, spruces, cedars², even magnolia. On the Pacific Coast white fir is used;

你认为的圣诞树种类取决于你居住的地方，因为我们用冷杉，云杉木，雪松木，甚至木兰树来做圣诞树，在太平洋沿岸我们用冷杉；

in Ohio, Norway spruce; in Maryland and Virginia, the scrub pine; and farther south, cedar¹ and holly³. Hemlock⁴, too, is a beautiful Christmas tree,

在俄亥俄我们用挪威雲杉；在马里兰和弗吉尼亚，我们用丛生松；在往南部走，我们用雪松木和冬青树，铁杉也是很好看的圣诞树，

but drops its needles very soon. Perhaps most widely loved of all for Christmas trees is the balsam fir, with its long horizontal branches,

但它的树针会很快脱落，或许大部分人都喜欢用香脂冷杉做的圣诞树，它的树枝又长又平。

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its deep green foliage⁵, and spicy⁶ fragrance⁷. Nikko fir, a beautiful native tree of Japan, has recently found favor in this country.

还有深绿色的枝叶，浓郁的香味，日光冷杉是日本独有的美丽树种，近日在美国大受欢迎。

The question is often asked if this Christmas tree custom does not waste the forests.

常被人问道的问题是，圣诞树的习俗是否浪费森林资源。

Foresters reply that the Christmas trees used by every person in the land could be grown on a few thousand acres,

护林人回复说土地上的所有人都用圣诞树，这种树可以几千英亩的土地上种植，

and that their use has practically no effect on the present drain on our forests. Growing trees for the holidays is becoming an important industry.

圣诞树的使用不会对森林匮乏造成实质性的影响，为圣诞季种树已经成为非常重要的产业，

The government in recent years has been selling Christmas trees thinned out from crowded forests of timber,

近些年，政府售卖的圣诞树是从拥挤的林木中挑选的。

thus leaving the remaining trees with more room and light. After all, so far as our wood supply is concerned,

让剩下的树木有更多空间和阳光，毕竟就林木产量而言，

it would be more important to stop using toothpicks than Christmas trees,

我们更应该停止使用筷子而不是圣诞树，这是最重要的，

for each year six times as much area is cut over by the toothpick industry as for Christmas trees.

每年筷子产业需要的林地是圣诞树的六倍。

1 cedar   

n.雪松，香柏(木)

参考例句：

• The cedar was about five feet high and very shapely.那棵雪松约有五尺高,风姿优美。
• She struck the snow from the branches of an old cedar with gray lichen.她把长有灰色地衣的老雪松树枝上的雪打了下来。

2 cedars   

雪松，西洋杉( cedar的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The old cedars were badly damaged in the storm. 风暴严重损害了古老的雪松。
• Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may devour thy cedars. 1黎巴嫩哪，开开你的门，任火烧灭你的香柏树。

3 holly   

n.[植]冬青属灌木

参考例句：

• I recently acquired some wood from a holly tree.最近我从一棵冬青树上弄了些木料。
• People often decorate their houses with holly at Christmas.人们总是在圣诞节时用冬青来装饰房屋。

4 hemlock   

n.毒胡萝卜，铁杉

参考例句：

• He was condemned to drink a cup of hemlock.判处他喝一杯毒汁。
• Here is a beech by the side of a hemlock,with three pines at hand.这儿有株山毛榉和一株铁杉长在一起，旁边还有三株松树。

5 foliage   

n.叶子，树叶，簇叶

参考例句：

• The path was completely covered by the dense foliage.小路被树叶厚厚地盖了一层。
• Dark foliage clothes the hills.浓密的树叶覆盖着群山。

6 spicy   

adj.加香料的；辛辣的，有风味的

参考例句：

• The soup tasted mildly spicy.汤尝起来略有点辣。
• Very spicy food doesn't suit her stomach.太辣的东西她吃了胃不舒服。

7 fragrance   

n.芬芳，香味，香气

参考例句：

• The apple blossoms filled the air with their fragrance.苹果花使空气充满香味。
• The fragrance of lavender filled the room.房间里充满了薰衣草的香味。