VOA标准英语2012--Orchids Bloom in Washington Exhibit

Orchids² Bloom in Washington Exhibit

 Hundreds of orchids rare and common are on display in the U.S. capital with a nod to Japan. They set the stage for the upcoming Cherry Blossom Festival, this year a centennial celebration of Japan's gift. 

"We blended two things: the orchids together with the annual celebration of the gift of the Cherry blossoms from Japan to the American government, with all the cherry trees that made this city so famous," said Shimizu.

Holly³ Shimizu is director of the Botanic Garden. She says this year's Japanese Garden setting is an effort to combine Japanese aesthetics⁴ with the orchid¹'s beauty. 

"Orchids are the most complicated plant family that we have and the most extensive family," said Shimizu.

The show displays orchid species that originated all over the world. Now, they are grown a few kilometers away in greenhouses. There the temperatures are adjusted so the orchids bloom in time for the show.

"Orchids are probably the most beloved flower on earth," said Shimizu. "Around the world people will pay huge sums of money to gather rare and unusual orchids."

Nick Nelson, a landscape architect for the Botanic Garden, worked on the exhibit's design for a year and a half. 

"In our structure here, we are not allowed to put any holes in the wall or holes in the ground for footers or things like that, so getting things to stand up in the conservatory⁵ is always an issue," said Nelson.

Despite the challenge, Nelson was able to create a traditional Japanese garden. Its simplicity⁶ complements⁷ the orchids. 

Orchid Mystique: Nature's Triumph runs through April. So those who come to Washington for the Cherry Blossom Festival can also admire the orchids. 

1 orchid   

n.兰花，淡紫色

参考例句：

• The orchid is a class of plant which I have never tried to grow.兰花这类植物我从来没种过。
• There are over 35 000 species of orchid distributed throughout the world.有35,000多种兰花分布在世界各地。

2 orchids   

n.兰花( orchid的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Wild flowers such as orchids and primroses are becoming rare. 兰花和报春花这类野花越来越稀少了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She breeds orchids in her greenhouse. 她在温室里培育兰花。 来自《简明英汉词典》

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 aesthetics   

n.(尤指艺术方面之)美学，审美学

参考例句：

• Sometimes, of course, our markings may be simply a matter of aesthetics. 当然，有时我们的标点符号也许只是个审美的问题。 来自名作英译部分
• The field of aesthetics presents an especially difficult problem to the historian. 美学领域向历史学家提出了一个格外困难的问题。

5 conservatory   

n.温室，音乐学院；adj.保存性的，有保存力的

参考例句：

• At the conservatory,he learned how to score a musical composition.在音乐学校里，他学会了怎样谱曲。
• The modern conservatory is not an environment for nurturing plants.这个现代化温室的环境不适合培育植物。

6 simplicity   

n.简单，简易；朴素；直率，单纯

参考例句：

• She dressed with elegant simplicity.她穿着朴素高雅。
• The beauty of this plan is its simplicity.简明扼要是这个计划的一大特点。

7 complements   

补充( complement的名词复数 )； 补足语； 补充物； 补集（数）

参考例句：

• His business skill complements her flair for design. 他的经营技巧和她的设计才能相辅相成。
• The isoseismal maps are valuable complements to the instrumental records. 等震线图是仪器记录有价值的补充资料。