听播客学英语 282 南瓜

 　　I have found a short video for you to watch. But first, I will explain what the video is about, and some of the words that are used in it.

　　The video is about John. His hobby is growing pumpkins² (in a secret location in the South of England!). He is trying to grow giant pumpkins for an annual pumpkin¹ festival (the Jubilee³ Sailing Trust’s Annual Pumpkin Festival.) His largest pumpkin weighs 80-90 lb (NOTE : We use the abbreviation⁴ lb to mean a pound weight. A pound is about half a kilo). Last year however the winning pumpkin weighed 819 lb, and for a fortnight it was the largest pumpkin ever grown in Britain. Why are John’s pumpkins not big enough? He feeds them, he talks to them and plays music to them, but they are just not up to it (ie they are just not good enough). The big pumpkins are all water, but some of the smaller ones are really tasty with a nutty flavour. In the greenhouse John shows us his Turks Turban pumpkins. He says that you can eat them, or varnish⁵ them and use them at home as doorstops! John says that, when the pumpkin festival is over, he feels that he never wants to see another pumpkin. But they are so fascinating and delicious that within a few weeks he knows that he will be cooking pumpkins or planning for next year’s crop.

　　Now go to the podcast website (http://www.listen-to-english.com) and click on the link at the end of this episode⁶. It will take you to a BBC website where you can view the video. Click on Watch this Video to start. Let me know if you would like me to find some more short videos for you to watch. My e-mail address is [email protected].

1 pumpkin   

n.南瓜

参考例句：

• They ate turkey and pumpkin pie.他们吃了火鸡和南瓜馅饼。
• It looks like there is a person looking out of the pumpkin!看起来就像南瓜里有人在看着你！

2 pumpkins   

n.南瓜( pumpkin的名词复数 )；南瓜的果肉，南瓜囊

参考例句：

• I like white gourds, but not pumpkins. 我喜欢吃冬瓜，但不喜欢吃南瓜。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Then they cut faces in the pumpkins and put lights inside. 然后在南瓜上刻出一张脸，并把瓜挖空。 来自英语晨读30分（高三）

3 jubilee   

n.周年纪念；欢乐

参考例句：

• They had a big jubilee to celebrate the victory.他们举行盛大的周年纪念活动以祝贺胜利。
• Every Jubilee,to take the opposite case,has served a function.反过来说，历次君主巡幸，都曾起到某种作用。

4 abbreviation   

n.（用词首字母组成的）缩写

参考例句：

• A.D.is the abbreviation for"advertisement".A.D.是advertisement的缩写。
• The postal abbreviation for Kansas is KS.堪萨斯州的邮政缩写是KS。

5 varnish   

n.清漆；v.上清漆；粉饰

参考例句：

• He tried to varnish over the facts,but it was useless.他想粉饰事实，但那是徒劳的。
• He applied varnish to the table.他给那张桌子涂上清漆。

6 episode   

n.（作品的一段）情节，插曲，系列事件中之一

参考例句：

• The episode was a huge embarrassment for all concerned.这段小插曲令所有有关人员都感到非常尴尬。
• This episode remains sharply engraved on my mind.这段经历至今仍深深地铭刻在我的心中。