英国学生科学读本 第49期:栗子

 　　Lesson 49 Chestnuts²

　　第49课 栗子

　　How nice it is to go for a country walk in the spring, when everything looks fresh and green, and the air is not too hot! Probably we shall not have to go very far before we see the fine large shady tree called the horse-chestnut¹.

　　春天，天气还不太热的时候，去乡间散散步，看着周围的一切都是新鲜青翠的，多惬意啊！可能没走多远我们就能看到长得欣欣向荣、枝繁叶茂的“马栗树。”

　　If we go to the horse-chestnut tree in March, we shall find all the leaves in bud. Each bud is covered over with a sticky stuff like glue, which keeps it dry and warm. When the leaves come out, they are like large green hands, as you can see in the picture.

　　走近三月的“马栗树”，就能发现，所有的叶子都刚刚萌芽。每片刚萌芽的叶子，都被一种类似胶水的粘稠的东西覆盖着，能让叶子干燥温暖。叶子长出来的时候，像一只只绿色的大手，就像图片里看到的这样。

　　How beautiful the white flowers of the horse-chestnut look! They grow in upright spikes³, and stand like candles on a Christmas tree. After they have all withered⁴ and fallen to the ground, we find the green prickly fruit. By August the fruit has become ripe, and then it too drops to the ground.

　　欧洲七叶树的白花好美！白花长在尖尖的花穗上，花穗是直立的，像圣诞树上的蜡烛一样。叶子在枯萎落地之后，我们就能看见绿色的带刺果实了。八月，果实成熟了，也会落到地上。

　　When the fruit dries it splits open, and then out roll one, two, or sometimes even three smooth brown seeds—chestnuts or "cheggies, " as some children call them. These seeds or nuts. used to be ground down and given to horses for food. That is why they are called horse-chestnuts.

　　果实干燥之后会裂开，从里面滚出一颗、两颗，有时候甚至三颗光滑的棕色种子，看上去很像栗子，英国有些小朋友叫它cheggies。以前曾经有人把这些种子，或者“坚果”磨碎给马吃，所以在英语里叫“马栗”。

　　But there is another kind of chestnut—the sweet or Spanish chestnut—which you can buy at the shops, and which is good to eat, especially when cooked. It has not a bitter taste like the horse-chestnut. This sweet chestnut is the fruit of quite a different kind of tree.

　　但还有另一种栗子——“甜栗子”或“西班牙栗子”，在商店里可以买到，非常好吃，尤其在煮熟了之后。它的味道可不像马栗那么苦。甜栗子是一种很不一样的树结出来的果实。

　　The Spanish chestnut tree grows to a very great size. One of these trees, growing on the side of Mount Etna in Sicily, measures one hundred and ninety feet round the trunk. It would take more than thirty men holding each other's hands to reach round it.

　　西班牙栗子树可以长得非常高大。在意大利的西西里地区，有一座名叫“埃特纳”的火山，山上有一棵栗子树，树干周长足有190英尺，要30多个男人手拉手，才能合抱过来呢！

　　Hang a horse-chestnut in a glass half full of water, with its point touching⁵ the water, and keep it in the dark for a few days. It will soon sprout⁶, and a little horse-chestnut tree will begin to grow out of it.

　　把一颗马栗挂在玻璃杯里，盛上半杯水，让马栗的尖儿碰到水面，在暗处放上几天。马栗会很快发芽，从里面长出一棵小小的马栗树！

1 chestnut   

n.栗树，栗子

参考例句：

• We have a chestnut tree in the bottom of our garden.我们的花园尽头有一棵栗树。
• In summer we had tea outdoors,under the chestnut tree.夏天我们在室外栗树下喝茶。

2 chestnuts   

n.栗子( chestnut的名词复数 )；栗色；栗树；栗色马

参考例句：

• A man in the street was selling bags of hot chestnuts. 街上有个男人在卖一包包热栗子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Talk of chestnuts loosened the tongue of this inarticulate young man. 因为栗子，正苦无话可说的年青人，得到同情他的人了。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

3 spikes   

n.穗( spike的名词复数 )；跑鞋；（防滑）鞋钉；尖状物v.加烈酒于( spike的第三人称单数 )；偷偷地给某人的饮料加入（更多）酒精（ 或药物）；把尖状物钉入；打乱某人的计划

参考例句：

• a row of iron spikes on a wall 墙头的一排尖铁
• There is a row of spikes on top of the prison wall to prevent the prisoners escaping. 监狱墙头装有一排尖钉，以防犯人逃跑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 withered   

adj. 枯萎的，干瘪的，（人身体的部分器官）因病萎缩的或未发育良好的 动词wither的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The grass had withered in the warm sun. 这些草在温暖的阳光下枯死了。
• The leaves of this tree have become dry and withered. 这棵树下的叶子干枯了。

5 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

6 sprout   

n.芽，萌芽；vt.使发芽，摘去芽；vi.长芽，抽条

参考例句：

• When do deer first sprout horns?鹿在多大的时候开始长出角？
• It takes about a week for the seeds to sprout.这些种子大约要一周后才会发芽。