英国学生科学读本 第65期:洋葱(2)

 　　An onion can be easily pulled to pieces, for its bulb is made of a great many thick juicy leaves, all growing closely together.

　　我们可以轻而易举地将洋葱剥开, 分成很多片, 因为它的球茎由许多厚厚的多汁叶片构成, 彼此之间紧密相连。

　　The onion plant has no stem¹ or trunk that you can see at first; but when you pull one to pieces, or split² it up with a knife, you notice a thin white plate at the bottom of the bulb, from which the white, thread-like roots grow downward. This is really the stem of the onion.

　　乍一看, 洋葱似乎没有茎或干；不过, 当你掰开洋葱或者用刀子切碎就会发现, 球茎底部有一个白色的薄片, 线状的根须从那里向下生长。这实际上就是洋葱的茎。

　　You will be sure to notice the strong smell of the onion, which will cling³ to your fingers for a time, even after you have washed them. If you eat some of the onion raw, you will find that it has a strong and rather burning taste. When it is cooked, its flavour is much improved.

　　毫无疑问, 你一定会注意到洋葱那浓烈的味道, 即便洗过手之后, 你的手上还是会留有这种味道, 需要一段时间才能散去。如果你生吃洋葱, 那么就能够立刻体验到那种强烈的辛辣味道。烹饪之后, 洋葱的味道会可口很多。

　　Very large onions, of a mild flavour, are sent to us from Spain, and are therefore called Spanish onions. These onions have been left to grow for a very long time, and so we need not be surprised that they are so large.

　　味道温和的巨型洋葱从西班牙传入英国, 所以它们被称之为西班牙洋葱。这些洋葱的生长时间很长, 因此, 长得这么大也就不足为奇了。

　　In Spain the onion seed is sown in August, and the bulbs are not gathered until the following August. As a rule, we do not usually follow this plan in our country, for the frosts of our cold winters are apt⁴ to kill the young onion plants.

　　在西班牙, 人们在八月的时候播下洋葱的种子, 直到第二年的八月才会采摘果实。不过, 这种做法在英国通常并不适用, 因为这里寒冷的冬季很可能会让洋葱幼苗夭折。

　　Do you know any plants which are of the same family as the onion? If you carefully examine the parts of the flower, and the leaves with their straight veins⁵ , you will find that the onion has a family likeness⁶ to the leek⁷, the tulip, and the lily.

　　你知道还有哪些植物与洋葱同属一类呢? 如果你仔细观察, 那么就会发现, 芹菜、郁金香、百合它们的花朵和直直的叶脉都与洋葱非常相似。

1 stem   

n.茎，干，船首，词干，血统；vt.堵住，阻止，抽去梗；vi.起源于，发生

参考例句：

• Cut the stem cleanly,just beneath a leaf joint.把茎切整齐点，正好切在叶根下。
• The ship was in a blaze from stem to stern.整艘船从头到尾都着火了。

2 split   

n.劈开，裂片，裂口；adj.分散的；v.分离，分开，劈开

参考例句：

• Who told you that Mary and I had split up?谁告诉你玛丽和我已经离婚了？
• The teacher split the class up into six groups.老师把班级分成6个小组。

3 cling   

vi.缠住，粘住，依恋，依靠，坚信，坚持

参考例句：

• Wet clothes cling to the body.湿衣服贴身。
• Members of a family should cling together in times of trouble.一家人应该患难与共。

4 apt   

adj.易于，有...倾向，恰当的，聪明的

参考例句：

• Beginners are too apt to make mistakes in grammar.初学者极易犯语法错误。
• He is the most apt of all pupils.他是所有学生中最聪明的一个。

5 veins   

n.纹理；矿脉( vein的名词复数 )；静脉；叶脉；纹理

参考例句：

• The blood flows from the capillaries back into the veins. 血从毛细血管流回静脉。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I felt a pleasant glow in all my veins from the wine. 喝过酒后我浑身的血都热烘烘的，感到很舒服。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 likeness   

n.相像，相似（之处）

参考例句：

• I think the painter has produced a very true likeness.我认为这位画家画得非常逼真。
• She treasured the painted likeness of her son.她珍藏她儿子的画像。

7 leek   

n.韭葱

参考例句：

• He is always confusing wheat with leek.他对麦苗和韭菜总是辨别不清。
• He said the dumplings with the stuffing of pork and leek were his favourite.他说他喜欢吃猪肉韭菜馅的饺子。