英国学生科学读本 第34期:大麦(1)

 　　Lesson 34 Barley¹

　　第34课 大麦

　　I know some children who are very fond of growing seeds of all kinds in pots. Sometimes they fill a flower-pot rather more than half-full with moist sand. On the top of this damp sand they sprinkle some grains of barley, and then they cover them well with more sand.

　　我认识一些小朋友，他们非常喜欢在花盆里种花，什么种子都种。有时候他们在花盆里装上大半盆湿沙子，在沙子上面撒上点儿大麦粒，再用沙子盖住。

　　The sand is kept moist, and in a week or two the children are glad to see pretty little green shoots of grass growing up.

　　保持沙子的湿润，过一两个星期，小朋友们就能高兴地看见，绿色的草芽长出来啦！

　　But can grass come from barley seeds? Yes; barley is a kind of grass. And wheat, oats, rye, rice, and maize² are also grasses, which once grew wild in the fields. These grasses have now been taken care of, or cultivated, for thousands of years;and so they have become much larger than the grasses which we still find growing wild in the lanes and meadows.

　　但是，大麦粒也能长出草来么？能。大麦也是一种草。小麦、燕麦、黑麦、稻米、玉米也都是草，以前是在野地里野生的。人类的祖先把这些野草栽种，也就是“培养”了上千年，于是它们长得比野草个头大多了。现在，我们在乡间小路和草地上，还能找到这些野草呢。

　　We shall not likely get barley plants grown in pots to produce flowers or seeds; for to do that they need the earth, and the rain, and the bright sunshine, which they get in the open fields.

　　花盆里的大麦植株，是不大可能开花结果的，因为，大麦要开花结果，需要足够的泥土、雨水，还有明亮的阳光；这些只有在屋外的田野里才能得到。

　　The barley plant has long slender green leaves, and a hollow, jointed³ stem. At the top of each stem, a number of tiny green flowers grow one above another in the form of a spike⁴. Each little flower forms a seed; and then the flowers drop off, and the seeds swell⁵, while the green stem turns to yellow straw.

　　大麦植株，长着又细又长的绿叶，和一个中空、分节的茎。茎的顶端，有很多绿色的小花，上下排列，样子就像一个锥子。每朵花都会长出一个种子，然后花就凋谢了。种子会长大，绿色的茎也会变成黄色的麦秆。

1 barley   

n.大麦，大麦粒

参考例句：

• They looked out across the fields of waving barley.他们朝田里望去,只见大麦随风摇摆。
• He cropped several acres with barley.他种了几英亩大麦。

2 maize   

n.玉米

参考例句：

• There's a field planted with maize behind the house.房子后面有一块玉米地。
• We can grow sorghum or maize on this plot.这块地可以种高粱或玉米。

3 jointed   

有接缝的

参考例句：

• To embrace her was like embracing a jointed wooden image. 若是拥抱她，那感觉活像拥抱一块木疙瘩。 来自英汉文学
• It is possible to devise corresponding systematic procedures for rigid jointed frames. 推导出适合于钢架的类似步骤也是可能的。

4 spike   

n.长钉，钉鞋；v.以大钉钉牢，使...失效

参考例句：

• The spike pierced the receipts and held them in order.那个钉子穿过那些收据并使之按顺序排列。
• They'll do anything to spike the guns of the opposition.他们会使出各种手段来挫败对手。

5 swell   

vi.膨胀，肿胀；增长，增强

参考例句：

• The waves had taken on a deep swell.海浪汹涌。
• His injured wrist began to swell.他那受伤的手腕开始肿了。