VOA慢速英语2021 马来农场用音乐和按摩种植日本甜瓜（在线收听）

A Malaysian farm says it has perfected its methods to successfully grow Japanese muskmelons, one of the world's costliest fruits.

马来西亚一家农场表示，他们已经完善了成功种植日本甜瓜的方法，日本甜瓜是世界上最昂贵的水果之一。

Farmers at Malaysia's Mono Premium Melon company said they had discovered the right mix of nutrients and treatments to grow the top quality melons.

马来西亚Mono优质甜瓜公司的农民表示，他们发现了营养物质和处理方法的正确搭配，以种植出优质甜瓜。

One of the methods involves workers rubbing the melons with a soft cloth. The farmers believe that doing this can improve the taste of the fruit. They also play classical music around the plants, which is thought to increase growth.

其中一种方法是工人利用一块软布按摩甜瓜。农民们相信这样做可以改善甜瓜的口感。他们还在甜瓜周围播放古典音乐，据说是为了刺激甜瓜生长。

Seh Cheng Siang is the director and co-founder of the farm, in Putrajaya, south of Kuala Lumpur. "Every single Japanese melon that you see in our farm is almost like an art piece," Seh told Reuters news agency.

Seh Cheng Siang是这家位于吉隆坡南部布城的农场的负责人兼联合创始人。他对路透社表示：“您在我们农场看到的每颗日本甜瓜几乎都像是一件艺术品。”

Since the last century, farmers in Japan have been perfecting the art of growing the fruit. Japanese muskmelons are prized for their tastiness and exact, rounded shape. In Japan, the costly melons are sold in high-end stores as luxury products.

上个世纪以来，日本农民一直在完善这种水果的种植艺术。日本甜瓜因其美味和标准的圆形而备受赞誉。在日本，这种昂贵的甜瓜只作为奢侈品在高端商店出售。

The farmers said they aim to grow melons with the same level of quality as those sold in Japan. But the process is more difficult in Malaysia because of the country's hot and humid climate. Japan enjoys more moderate climate conditions than Malaysia.

农民们表示，他们的目标是种植出与日本销售的甜瓜质量相同的瓜果。但在马来西亚，这一过程更加困难，因为该国的气候炎热潮湿。日本的气候相较于马来西亚更加温和。

"We have to make sure that nutrition, the watering and the fertilizer are done very consistently and precisely," Seh said. He added that his company had tried growing more than 10 kinds of Japanese melon before settling on the right one.

他说：“我们必须确保营养、浇水和施肥的步骤都能持续、准确地进行。”他补充说，他的公司在找到适宜的品种之前，已经尝试种植了10多种日本甜瓜。

The Malaysian farmers get their seeds from Japan and also travel to Japanese farms to learn the correct growing methods.

马来西亚农民从日本获得了种子，也到日本农场学习正确的种植方法。

The farmers say they had to do a lot of experimentation to find out exactly which ingredients provided the best nutrition to the muskmelon plants.

农民们说，他们不得不进行了多番实验，才找出哪些成分为甜瓜提供了最充足的营养。

The company's efforts have been successful so far. The famers reported that the first crop of 200 selected muskmelons had quickly sold out. Most of the sales happened online.

到目前为止，该公司的努力是成功的。农民们报告说，首批200颗精选甜瓜很快就售罄了。大部分的销售都是在网上进行的。

The melons are sold for 186 ringgit each, which is about 40 U.S. dollars. That price is about one-third lower than what muskmelons sell for in Japan.

这些甜瓜每颗售价为186林吉特，约合40美元。这个价格比日本卖的甜瓜便宜三分之一。

Elaine Chow attended a recent sales event at the company's farm and said she was very pleased to find the local muskmelons. "It's pretty interesting to know that as a Malaysian, we can actually grow Japanese-grade melons in Malaysia," she said.

伊莱恩（Elaine Chow）参加了该公司最近的一次农场展销活动，她表示很高兴能找到当地的甜瓜。“作为马来西亚人，我们居然能在马来西亚种植日本的甜瓜，这很有趣，”她说道。

Words in This Story

luxury – n. something that is very costly and gives pleasure, but is not needed

humid – adj. hot and slightly wet

consistent – adj. always behaving in a similar way

precise – adj. exact and accurate

ingredient – n. one of the things that are used to make a food, product, etc.